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COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 9, 2012

A guide to navigating Japan's exotic legal-eagle menagerie

A common mistake made by foreigners trying to accomplish things in Japan is to go to a lawyer (bengoshi) with their problems. It is not a mistake because of a bunch of hooey about Japanese people not looking to the law for solutions, but because a lawyer may not be the best man or woman for the job....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2012

Drawing a bead on functional items as 'art work'

There is an idea common today that almost anything can be "art." This probably has something to do with a certain Frenchman who exhibited a urinal as an "artwork" many moons ago; not to mention more recent absurdities. But, despite the looseness of the "art" category, there are occasions when it resists...
COMMENTARY
Sep 24, 2012

Leadership for a nuclear weapons-free world

In a world beset by many grave problems that threaten to unleash a perfect storm at short notice, many people bemoan the dearth of responsible and high-quality leadership to point the way forward to a more prosperous, peaceful and just future.
EDITORIALS
Sep 19, 2012

Expenses for political activities

While deliberating on a bill to revise the Local Autonomy Law during the last Diet session, the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, People's Life First and Komeito suddenly added a clause that would expand the scope of research expenses provided by local governments to assembly members....
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Sep 19, 2012

Yahoo! Japan's 'explosive speed' changes Web biz

This spring, Japanese Web titan Yahoo! Japan appointed a new CEO and new board members — the first big change to its board since the company was founded 16 years ago.
EDITORIALS
Sep 18, 2012

Protect Japan's biodiversity

In releasing the newly revised Red List, a list that evaluates extinction risks of each individual species, on Aug. 28, the Environment Ministry announced that the Japanese river otter has become extinct. This is the first time that a mammal which was living during the Showa Era (1926-1989) has been...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 4, 2012

Self-sponsored visas: a passport to freedom or a world of pain?

In response to our July 31 column, "How would changing jobs affect my visa?" S.E. asks: "I have heard of foreigners sponsoring their own visa, but is this true? If so, how can I go about this?"
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2012

JAL perks lose allure in budget onslaught

The rise of budget carriers is undermining a perk for retail investors in Japan Airlines Co.'s ¥663 billion initial public offering — cheap tickets.
EDITORIALS
Aug 29, 2012

New procedures at family courts

New procedures for handling family affairs cases at family courts will go into effect in January 2013 when revisions of related laws take effect. Currently, priority is given to investigations and decisions by family courts done at their discretion. Thus there is a tendency that full consideration is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 24, 2012

Ridley Scott returns to sci-fi with 'Prometheus'

"As a cinematic genre, science-fiction has a longer shelf life than most," says director/producer Sir Ridley Scott. The mastermind behind such classics as "Alien" (1979), "Blade Runner" (1982) and this year's "Prometheus" is referring to how aspects of a sci-fi film can morph from fiction into fact with...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 15, 2012

Vitamin drinks demonstrate their stamina in the market

Stamina drinks are more popular than ever in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012

Queen Elizabeth engineering prize seeks innovation for easing life's hardships

Nominations are currently open for Britain's first-ever international Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, which has been created to honor individuals for groundbreaking innovation that benefits humanity — and which rewards the winner handsomely with a staggering £1 million (¥123 million).
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012

Japan's Paralympians overcome adversity by leaps, bounds and innovative design

When Oscar Pistorius made his dramatic debut in the men's 400-meter race in London last Saturday — becoming the first double amputee to compete alongside able-bodied athletes in Olympics history — some people might have wondered if the South African's artificial legs gave him a competitive edge over...
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 11, 2012

Bolt has put himself on another level with latest run to Olympic glory

Pick a superlative, any superlative, and add two dozen or more synonyms. And still, the total wow factor created by Usain Bolt's Olympic body of work goes beyond what your list of words.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2012

Oki's shares plunge on Spain accounting woes

Oki Electric Industry Co. shares plunged the most in at least 37 years in Tokyo after the company said its Spain unit overstated accounts and it will miss the deadline for filing financial reports, prompting the Tokyo bourse to put the company on watch for possible delisting.
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 4, 2012

Sasaki's unsavory tactics bring shame on Nadeshiko

A year ago, Nadeshiko Japan captured the world's hearts, the Women's World Cup champion producing a fabulous upset over the heavily favored United States to grab the title.
COMMENTARY
Jul 31, 2012

Smell of untaxed trillions

One of the best tax-avoidance tactics in the late Roman Empire was to sell yourself into slavery. You didn't really have to work as somebody's slave, of course — it was more like rock star Hotblack Desiato being "dead for a year for tax reasons" in Douglas Adams' wondrous confection "The Hitch-Hiker's...
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2012

America's surprisingly good score on mobility

In America, we believe that anyone can grow up to be anything. You want to be president? Go for it. Among recent presidents, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Lyndon Johnson and Dwight Eisenhower all came from modest backgrounds.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 20, 2012

Boomer boom: Businesses tapping consumption where they can find it

Retired people are already single-handedly propping up consumption.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Jul 19, 2012

Hiroshi Watanabe

Tokyo-based DJ and producer Hiroshi Watanabe, who has also worked under the monikers Quadra, Tread and more recently Kaito, recently released the mix compilation "Contact To The Spirits 2." Watanabe is now on the final leg of a tour to promote it and stopped for a moment to tell The Japan Times about...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami