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Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 22, 2010

January goes out like a lion

Japan's lion dances, and there are about 7,800 of them, all have their own style but the purpose is mainly the same. The shishi (lion) dances act as a prayer to ward off evil spirits.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 20, 2010

Imperial Palace resides in otherworldly expanse

Like a nature reserve surrounded by Tokyo's concrete jungle, the Imperial Palace, or Kokyo, home to the Emperor and Empress, is a moated, otherworldly forested expanse where once stood a castle.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jan 18, 2010

Ex-minister making waves

Former Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, who had lain low for some time, resumed his political activities in earnest late last year. Political observers now wonder what his ultimate aims are: Does he seek to create a political party of his own?
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2010

No reason to have kids

A Cabinet Office survey late last year found that more than 40 percent of Japanese feel there is no reason to have kids. That's the highest percentage ever. Of women in their 20s and 30s, more than 60 percent said they don't feel the need to have children after marriage. This increasing indifference...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 17, 2010

Okinawa on a plate

"Everywhere in this house and its stone walls you can find the wisdom of our ancestors and how they lived," says Masako Kinjo, as she gazes around Makabe Chinaa, a 110-year-old traditional wooden home in Itoman City in the south of Okinawa Island.
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2010

Allaying alliance anxiety

In a meeting in Honolulu on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reaffirmed that Japan and the United States will begin consultations to further deepen their alliance, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the current joint security treaty....
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2010

Population decline worsening

The population dynamics estimate of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry indicates that Japan's population decline is accelerating. The report, based on birth and death registers submitted from January 2009 to October 2009, estimates the number of births in Japan in that year at 1,069,000, or 22,000...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2010

Kan sets his sights on cutting government waste

Given the nation's snowballing deficit and sluggish growth, Deputy Prime Minister and now also Finance Minister Naoto Kan announced Thursday plans to review government spending to reduce waste and come up with policies to expand the economy.
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2010

True grit to be tested

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's leadership and political resilience will be severely tested from this point as his administration deals not only with the upcoming regular Diet session but also with general government operations. The resignation of Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, for health reasons,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2010

Spain could lead way for Roma

NEW YORK — Continued discrimination against Roma in Europe not only violates human dignity but also is a major social problem crippling the development of Eastern European countries with large Roma populations.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2010

Budget to be government's top priority

Passing the fiscal 2010 budget and averting a double-dip recession will be the government's top priority heading into the new year, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday.
JAPAN / LOOMING CHALLENGES
Jan 5, 2010

Experts say Japan must change how it is handling low birthrate

The government has been grappling with a low birthrate for 20 years, but experts say the Hatoyama administration must step up the game if Japan is to maintain a leading role on the international stage.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 5, 2010

Minors in own category but never above the law

Jan. 11 marks Coming of Age Day, an annual holiday to celebrate people who have reached legal adulthood.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2010

Usual anguish for Afghan women

FARAH, Afghanistan — When the problems riddling Afghan society are listed — violence, insecurity, corruption, religious fundamentalism — one dominating factor is usually left out: the influence of customary law.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2010

Policy for economic growth

The government on Wednesday announced a basic policy for its economic growth strategy through fiscal 2020. Envisioned is average economic growth of 3 percent in nominal terms and 2 percent in real terms in the coming decade, plus a reduction in the unemployment rate from the current 5 percent level to...

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person