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JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 30, 2011

The decline and fall of Japan and its sex drive

Only our descendants will know for sure, but we may be witnessing something not seen in the world since the slow demise of ancient Egypt — a nation expiring of natural causes. Nations, unlike people, are potentially immortal. When they die, it's usually violently. Japan may make history by its manner...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 5, 2010

Fertility issue pregnant with discord

In 2004, Diet lawmaker Seiko Noda wrote a book titled "Watashi wa Umitai" ("I Want to Give Birth"), which chronicled her years of infertility treatments and the subsequent pregnancy that ended in miscarriage. Two years later she ended her six-year relationship with fellow politician Yosuke Tsuruho, who...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 25, 2010

Marijuana addiction special; running commentaries of ordinary events; CM of the week: Hakugen

The discussion show "Heart wo Tsunago" (Linking Hearts; NHK-E, Mon., 8 p.m.) always focuses on a social issue involving young people. This week, the program broadcasts part one of a series on marijuana addiction.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 22, 2008

What are your thoughts on the whaling issue?

JAPAN
Sep 26, 2007

Snap election becomes main issue

No sooner had Yasuo Fukuda formed his Cabinet on Tuesday than attention was being focused on how soon Japan's new leader will be forced to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap general election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 20, 2007

Dr. Manny Sultan and Yasuko Emmei-Sultan

Three people have had major influences on the life, character and career of Dr. Manny Sultan, Cairo-born architect, interior architect, and space planner.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2006

Question of next prime minister still taxing issue

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi succeeded in shrinking the political pork barrel by privatizing the powerful post office monopoly and weaning politicians from their heavy reliance on public works to boost the economy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 8, 2006

Japan media focus blurred on big issues

All the pain of the tragedy that has befallen their family is etched in the crumpled faces of Shigeru and Sakie Yokota.
COMMENTARY
Nov 28, 2005

A ray of hope for Chinese progressives

HONG KONG -- The recent political rehabilitation of former party chief Hu Yaobang, whose death in April 1989 triggered massive student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, is encouraging to the progressive wing of the Chinese Communist Party, even though there is little indication that the current leadership...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2005

Downsizing government sounds great

Downsizing the public sector has been high on the agenda of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's government, and both his Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan are promising this campaign season to reduce the number of people on the government payroll.
CULTURE / Books / THE BOOK REPORT
Oct 21, 2004

New life patterns for a new age

The end of the high-growth period and of the go-go bubble years has brought both new opportunities and great uncertainty as the old social system based on lifetime employment crumbles and even the outlines of its successor system remain hazy. Such uncertainty no doubt played a role in propelling novelist...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 27, 2002

Movie poll shows Asia rising

SIGHT & SOUND. Special issue: September, 2002. London: British Film Institute, £3.25. "Top 10" lists may be prejudiced, arbitrary and capricious, but they also indicate inclinations and directions. Once a decade since 1952, the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound magazine has polled leading critics...
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2001

State mulls issue of reform-linked bonds

The government is considering issuing bonds that would be repaid solely with money raised from structural reforms, government sources said Monday.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 12, 2001

To know us is to love us

ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE KEY WORDS FOR UNDERSTANDING JAPAN (Nippon o Shiru Hyakugosho). Tokyo: Corona Books/Heibonsha, 2001, bilingual (Japanese/English) edition. 328 pp. 205 plates, color, b/w. 2000 yen. This country has an abiding faith in the power of understanding. If we just understood each other,...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 28, 2001

George W. stepping on toes to dance with special interests

U.S. President George W. Bush is not the beau of the ball among scientists these days. "On both missile defense and the greenhouse effect," Dr. Hugh Gusterson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology tells the New York Times, there is "substantial [scientific] consensus against the White House."...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2000

Globalization proves a taxing issue

Listening to the bureaucrats at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and in other transnational organizations like the European Union, it appears that the most pressing issues about globalization is the impact upon governments' ability to collect taxes. Of course, these international...
CULTURE / Books / POETRY MIGNETTE
Sep 17, 2000

Tokyo poets get a night out to Howl

Howl, the bar in Aoyama, was founded just after Allen Ginsberg's death in 1997.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 1997

Experts make appeal over greenhouse issue

KOBE -- A two-day environmental conference for the Asia-Pacific region ended late Sept. 8 after an appeal was made to advanced countries to take initiatives in substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 1997

Textbook screening gets ministry's special treatment

Politically biased, sometimes inconsistent and ineffective, but otherwise reasonable.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Mar 28, 2023

Hundreds of fencers issue plea to IOC over Russia and Belarus decision

The decision to clear Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international fencing events was made on March 10 at the FIE Extraordinary Congress.
Tourists in the Dotonbori area in Osaka. Calls are growing in Osaka Prefecture for a review of <i>minpaku</i> private lodging services for tourists, as locals face the issue of bad manners by some foreign guests.
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2025

Review of minpaku private lodgings sought in Osaka

Issues linked to such services became one of the focal points in the July election for the House of Councillors.
U.S. President Joe Biden has presided over a growing economy and some foreign leaders have said after meeting him that he is sharp and focused in private meetings, but his age is still an issue that is posing a drag on his poll numbers.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 14, 2024

Democrats bungle Joe Biden age concerns, some critics say

Their strategy so far has not quelled criticism or concerns about the U.S. president's fitness for the Oval Office.
You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 4, 2024

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Summer music festivals are back, but for how long? Climate change is putting the heat on our favorite outdoor entertainment.
The number of teachers in their 20s on leave due to mental conditions has risen, highlighting the need to reduce burdens on young teachers.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 17, 2024

Japan to boost support for young teachers to secure staff

The package addresses concerns about a decline in interest in teaching jobs among young people and aims to reduce teachers' overtime work to 20 hours per month.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's special adviser on business, Varun Chandra, used to run Hakluyt, a consultancy that does not disclose its clients.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 27, 2024

Starmer’s ‘business whisperer’ brings connections and complications from past

Varun Chandra‘s previous role in charge of a secretive consultancy introduces a complexity to a government that’s vowed to rebuild trust in public institutions.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.