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JAPAN
Apr 13, 2012

Lawmakers give nod to weakened postal bill

A government-sponsored bill that waters down the postal privatization reforms pushed through by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi cleared the Lower House on Thursday, which may allow the government to retain control of the banking, mail and insurance juggernaut for years to come.
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2012

Russia's 'shadow market'

We should keep in mind that Russia is a country that has spent 70 years in an inhuman experiment aimed at arranging all sides of socioeconomic life within a giant centrally planned system. Even if this time is over, many features of today's life go on reminding us of this heavy and in many ways onerous...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 8, 2012

21st-century schizoid menswear

Never before has the creative schism at the heart of Japanese menswear been more evident than during the recent Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 2012

Lawmakers' pay cut for what?

The Democratic Party of Japan has proposed cutting Diet members' salaries by ¥3 million annually in fiscal 2012 and 2013. The proposal came after the Diet enacted a special law to cut the wages for national public servants by an average of about 7.8 percent, also in fiscal 2012 and 2013. The public...
COMMENTARY
Mar 30, 2012

Russia's civil society is key

The future of democracy in Russia will depend on the correct relationship between "people" and "power" — the two major elements constituting any society.
COMMENTARY
Mar 28, 2012

The inexorable march of creative destruction

In retreat, Sears set to unload stores
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 27, 2012

Shonan: What do you think about the government's plan to create citizen ID numbers for tax and other purposes?

Yoshihara, 45
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 20, 2012

Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya: What have you learned about Japan and the Japanese people from 3/11 and its aftermath?

Mina Jeon, 36 (Tokyo)
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 13, 2012

Tokyo: How has Japan changed since the disasters of 3/11?

Fumie Yoshihiro
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 11, 2012

Disaster had major impact on NPB

Here we are, exactly one year after the Great East Japan Earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011. Japanese baseball has been greatly affected by the quake, the tsunami triggered by it and the subsequent radiation threats from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 6, 2012

Shinchi, Fukushima: Why did you volunteer to come to Fukushima with Photohoku?

Kana Suzuki
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 4, 2012

Mahara's injury leaves a big question mark for Hawks

A couple of teams expected to be pennant contenders in Japanese baseball this season will have to patch up some holes after the loss of a key player due to injury and another who may have to play out of position.
COMMENTARY
Mar 2, 2012

Sure winner fails to inspire

Before the scandalous presidential election of 1996, the situation was clear-cut and critical. A victory by Gennady Zyuganov over Boris Yeltsin would have meant an old-style Communists' revenge for their defeat in the August 1991 putsch as well as a strong drive toward renationalization of the economy...
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2012

Better stalking measures needed

Two murders in Nagasaki Prefecture in December 2011 show that the police are ineffective in preventing stalking-related crime. Police nationwide need to improve their methods for deterring stalkers, including how and when to share information with different police units. They should not forget that a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2012

Kōji — Japan's vital hidden ingredient

The development of Japanese cuisine owes much to the humble kōji or kōji-kin. A type of fungus or mold, it is used in all kinds of foods and beverages. It's as important in Japan as the fungi, bacteria and yeast that give character to cheese, yogurt, wine, beer and bread are in the West. The difference...
COMMENTARY
Feb 24, 2012

An alternative to Putin's way

A "frosty Saturday" Feb. 4 confirmed the deadlocked nature of the situation that has ripened in Russia for more than a decade of Vladimir Putin's rule (as president and senior partner in the infamous "tandem").
COMMENTARY
Feb 20, 2012

Media and law enforcement

The revelation last year that journalists at the News of the World, a Sunday paper, owned by News Corp., had been involved extensively in hacking into the mobile phones and the voice mail of celebrities led to the closure of this populist paper. Since such hacking is illegal in Britain, News Corp. has...
CULTURE / Books
Feb 19, 2012

Codebreaker who saved the U.S. Pacific fleet

JOE ROCHEFORT'S WAR: The Odyssey Of The Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto At Midway, By Elliot Carlson. Naval Institute, 2011, 616 Pp., $36.95 (hardcover) Spying on other nations has long been part of the global power game, but it has not always been considered proper diplomatic practice.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 14, 2012

Nagoya: Do you think crusading Mayor Takashi Kawamura is doing a good job?

Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 10, 2012

Searching for a soulmate? There's an app for that

Will you ever find the One? Maybe not but at least you increase your chances with an app that knows what you're looking for, and where you are.
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2012

Russia should back up a bit to find road to the future

I am not going to speak about a time machine and America but about Russia and its urgent need to return to the past in search of a tool to secure a better future.
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2012

Capital pain: pay, bonuses

The recent international jamboree at Davos provided ample opportunity for the "great and the good," as well as the not so great and not so good, to enjoy gourmet meals and doubtless lashings of champagne ultimately at the expense of tax-payers. The participants also had time to exchange views on current...
COMMENTARY
Feb 4, 2012

The political hygienists' assault on free speech

Dina Galassini does not seem to pose a threat to Arizona's civic integrity. But the government of this desert community believes you cannot be too careful. And state law empowers local governments to be vigilant against the lurking danger that political speech might occur before the speakers notify the...
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2012

Let economic impetus drive a deal in territorial dispute

Judging by the latest events in the seemingly endless territorial dispute between Japan and Russia over the "Northern Territories," the Japanese side has decided to confirm its steadfast stance by presenting strong historical and judicial arguments — some traditional, some rather new.
COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2012

Democracy and growth: Russia's great challenge

At this particular historic moment, the urgency of the economic assimilation of new natural and human resources worldwide is somehow obscured by the global crisis and by the necessity of reforming the global financial system.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 17, 2012

Tokyo: What website could you not live without?

Eleanor
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2012

Russia's mental adjustment

Through the centuries, every people — big or small — has been working out its own approaches to various sides of life that, summed up, predestine its mentality and national character.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji