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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2011

Facebook and dark matter

HONG KONG — News that Goldman Sachs has taken a $450 million stake in Facebook in a deal that puts a $50 billion valuation on the fledgling company raises interesting and somewhat troubling questions beyond the immediate gawping and jaw-dropping headlines that a spotty-faced Harvard dropout aged 26...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 18, 2011

Russian-held isles: So near, so far

On the morning of Nov. 1, Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to set foot on one of the four islands off Hokkaido seized by the Soviets at the end of World War II that Japan has long wanted returned.
Reader Mail
Jan 9, 2011

Kudos to the air-traffic controller

Regarding the Dec. 28 Kyodo article "Unauthorized runway entry at Fukuoka Airport forces JAL jet to abort approach": Although the description of the runway incursion incident was brief, it seems to indicate that the controller involved took quick and appropriate action to prevent a collision after his/her...
Reader Mail
Dec 30, 2010

The time for bamboo wheelchairs

Regarding the Dec. 22 Kyodo article: "JAL wheelchair doesn't trip up metal detectors": As I read this news, I was surprised at the idea of wheelchairs made of bamboo. I've never seen these wheelchairs before, but I feel that Japan Airline Corp.'s decision to lend them to those who now use metallic wheelchairs...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Dec 20, 2010

Trends in Japan 2010: yama boom

2010 was the year in which young women, clad in brightly colored Gore-Tex, were drawn to mountain hikes and natural power sports.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 14, 2010

Splits, rumors of splits, and the hole if Kan splits

With its rate of approval dwindling fast, the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan has fallen into a "lame-duck" status, and the resultant "political vacuum" is likely to linger on for some time to come, as there is no clear prospect as to what kind of political landscape will emerge in the event...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 28, 2010

Education profiteers and the public trough

NEW YORK — A college or university, especially of a private variety, may not be "an eleemosynary institution," as Sen. Sam Ervin, of the Watergate hearings, might put it were he alive, but the American insistence on free-market notions has brought the matter to the other extreme in higher education....
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2010

Whaling fleet yet to depart

The whaling fleet has not yet left for the Antarctic Ocean, making this year's departure unusually late.
COMMENTARY
Nov 11, 2010

Iraqi Christians: also victims of the invasion

On Sunday, Oct. 31, when a group of militants seized a church in Baghdad, killing and wounding scores of Iraqi Christians, it signaled yet another episode of unimaginable horror in the country since the U.S. invasion of March 2003. Every group of Iraqis has faced terrible devastation as a result of this...
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Oct 20, 2010

Japanese cell-phone users don't just talk about weather — they vote on it

A surprising number of Japanese purchase their weather information from cell phones, services that don't just tell you if it's raining — they let you vote on it.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2010

Latin America's commodity dependence

WASHINGTON — In 1672, Potosi, Bolivia, was one of the largest and richest cities in the world. Located at the base of Cerro Rico, Potosi was a hotbed of Spanish silver mining. Its operations were so prolific that "potosi" became synonymous for great riches.
Reader Mail
Sep 30, 2010

Can Kan make a dignified landing?

Regarding the Sept. 27 article "Kan rejects Beijing's demand for apology": Prime Minister Naoto Kan must find himself between a rock and a hard place. His position was already tenuous enough before the fishing boat incident off the Senkaku Islands. Now he faces a demand from China for an apology —...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 21, 2010

Battling a broken system

First in a two-part series In July, Tokyo's family court granted me, an American, physical custody (kangoken) of my 13-year-old daughter exactly 120 days after she was abducted by my Japanese wife, a lifelong public servant employed as a teacher at a state school in Tokyo. This just may be the first...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Sep 16, 2010

Privacy not an issue for geolocation apps

Where are you right now ... and do you want to share that information with your social network? Geolocation apps want to know.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 15, 2010

Seoul blundering on North

South Korea has committed a number of blunders in its efforts to gather intelligence on North Korea since President Lee Myun Bak took office in February 2008 with a tougher stand against Pyongyang than his predecessors.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Sep 15, 2010

Facebook is sidelined in Japan as social network battle heats up

In July, the number of active users on social networking site Facebook worldwide surpassed 500 million. More than 60 percent of Internet users in the United States have signed up with the site, and its presence has reached into almost every country on Earth. You might think that Facebook is taking over...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2010

Will nationalistic pursuits doom European Union?

WASHINGTON, THE WASHINGTON POST — The European Union is dying — not a dramatic or sudden death, but one so slow and steady that we may look across the Atlantic one day soon and realize that the project of European integration that we've taken for granted over the past half-century is no more.
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...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2010

Futenma plan OK: Ozawa

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa on Thursday backpedaled from his claim the previous day that he had a new, specific plan for relocating U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and basically said the pact reached in May to move the base to Nago, Okinawa, stands.
LIFE
Aug 22, 2010

Uneasy neighbors across the sea

August 22 is the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Annexation between Japan and Korea that came into effect on Aug. 29, 1910 — commemorated now in North and South Korea as a day of shame.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 21, 2010

Nagoya mayor petitions to recall city assembly

Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura will begin collecting signatures Aug. 27 in a bold move to recall the municipal assembly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Aug 13, 2010

Summer's 'hottest' ice treats

aisu kuriimu, popsicles and ice candies.
COMMENTARY
Jul 29, 2010

A clash of interests in Asia

The show of force mounted this week off the Korean Peninsula by the United States and South Korea was the biggest in decades and was intended to warn North Korea not to take aggressive action against the South.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 16, 2010

Big (only) in Japan? Free fans

When the dog days are upon Japan, there's always a good chance that somebody, somewhere will be passing out free fans.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 15, 2010

Mah-jongg ancient, progressive

Few games may be as addictive as mah-jongg, whose players range from university students to salarymen and tend to go at it all night, often for money.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 8, 2010

Whether covered or brazen, tattoos make a statement

Tattoos have long occupied a place in Japanese society, generally in the shadows of the underworld and the realm of taboo.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 8, 2010

Readers weigh in on U.S. military presence

Fear of breaking taboo During my 31 years in Japan I have appreciated The Japan Times' coverage of social issues such as discrimination against ethic and social minorities, which the vernacular papers give only passing mention to.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 6, 2010

The timing behind yakuza crackdown

The media has been filled with revelations of ties between professional sumo and organized crime. Since late May, the tabloids and gossipy "wide shows" on TV have made a huge flap over Sehei Kimura and one other stable master for allowing senior gang members to obtain box-seat tickets to the Nagoya Grand...

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