id
stringlengths
9
9
categories
list
date
stringlengths
10
10
title
stringlengths
5
171
abstract
stringlengths
132
7.13k
keyword
stringlengths
9
170
jp0000129
[ "business" ]
2013/12/07
Who is responsible for a corporate scandal?
Recent scandals involving Japanese businesses have included bank loans to the underworld and misrepresentations of restaurant menus at leading hotels, and many of the media reports have focused on how management takes responsibility for the mess. I would like to highlight three points that need to be taken into account...
mizuho bank;mislabeling;corporate responsibility
jp0000130
[ "national" ]
2013/12/01
In touristy Tokyo, Harajuku still stands out from the crowd
Harajuku, one of the most popular tourist spots for foreign visitors to Tokyo, is best known for Takeshita-dori, the narrow lane crammed with shops that runs for about 350 meters from JR Harajuku Station toward Meiji-dori. In a survey earlier this year by global travel information website TripAdvisor, Harajuku was vote...
fashion;harajuku;youths
jp0000131
[ "national" ]
2013/12/01
Crusader for social activism brings Change.org to Japan
It was a victorious moment for Emmy Suzuki Harris when the Matsue Board of Education in Shimane Prefecture retracted its request to limit students’ access to the manga “Hadashi no Gen” (“Barefoot Gen”). The retraction last summer was partly because the ban had gone viral and triggered a controversy after more than 20,0...
online petition;change;social change campaign
jp0000133
[ "national" ]
2013/12/15
No country for small-time rice farmers
ABIKO, CHIBA PREF., Ogata Akita Pref. - In the suburbs of Tokyo, rice farmer Koichi Yuge is weighing how the government’s change of heart on controlling rice prices will impact his 300-year-old family business. Yuge, who grows the Koshihikari brand of rice on 6 hectares of paddies in the city of Abiko, Chiba Prefecture...
agriculture;rice;maff
jp0000135
[ "national" ]
2013/12/14
State secrets bill shows Abe's tin ear for local politics
Former U.S. Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, one of America’s most influential politicians of the late 20th century, had some sage advice for those who thought about national or international politics. “All politics,” O’Neill warned, “is local.” It’s a lesson Tokyo’s political and media class too often forget...
shinzo abe;toru hashimoto;osaka;kobe;nuclear power;fukui;secrecy;state secrets;state secrets bill
jp0000136
[ "national", "history" ]
2013/12/14
Why didn't Japan have a revolution like France's?
Why wasn’t there a revolution in Japan like the one in France? The suffering was as great in 18th-century Japan as in the realm of ill-fated King Louis XVI, the government here as callous and incompetent as the government there. How did Japan’s old order — rotting internally, as its collapse under foreign threat in the...
morioka;nanbu domain;motoori norinaga;tokugawa shogunate;french revolution
jp0000137
[ "national" ]
2013/12/22
Osaka joins rush to attract foreign tourists
If you asked many Kansai-area foreigners, and not a few Tokyoites, to come up with a slogan to promote Osaka internationally, you might get a response along the lines of: “Osaka: When You Can’t Get a Hotel in Kyoto.” Proximity to the ancient capital (station to station it is only 30 minutes on an express train) is one ...
osaka;kyoto;tourism;kansai
jp0000138
[ "national" ]
2013/12/22
Kyoto aims to be Muslim-friendly city
KYOTO - Kyoto, a city known worldwide as a major center for Buddhism and as the home of some of the country’s most famous Shinto shrines, is stepping up efforts to better welcome one particular group of foreign visitors: Muslims. With the number of Muslim tourists from Malaysia on the rise, thanks to visa restrictions ...
kyoto;tourism;kansai;muslim
jp0000139
[ "business", "corporate-business" ]
2013/12/25
Mizuho Bank to face one-month suspension of some affiliated loans
The Financial Services Agency will order Mizuho Bank to suspend some of its affiliated loans for a month over its involvement in lending to members of organized crime groups, FSA sources said Wednesday. The FSA will also issue business improvement orders to the Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the sources said, adding the ...
financial service agency;mizuho bank;punitive action
jp0000140
[ "national" ]
2014/03/05
Sacred dance helps preserve community spirit in Tohoku
When Masayuki Sasayama’s house was swept away by the tsunami three years ago, he was temporarily separated from his family and forced to stay in an evacuation shelter, but the tragedy did not stop him from helping preserve his hometown’s “kagura,” a traditional performance art dedicated to Shinto gods. Sasayama, who ha...
3/11;iwate;3.11;kagura performance;kamaishi;3/11 anniversary
jp0000142
[ "national" ]
2014/03/02
Top kitchenware, plastic sushi lure cooks, tourists alike to Kappabashi
If you want to open a restaurant, the Kappabashi district in Tokyo’s Taito Ward is the place to go because it has everything you need, and more. Situated between the popular Ueno and Asakusa districts, Kappabashi boasts more than 180 shops selling tableware and kitchen equipment for business use and store fixtures. The...
tourism;ueno;tableware;asakusa;kappabashi;kitchenware
jp0000143
[ "national" ]
2014/03/18
Despite hurdles, businesses bring jobs, opportunities back to Tohoku
KAMAISHI, IWATE PREF. - When the March 2011 tsunami smashed the seafood processing factory where Shoichi Sato was working, he lost his job but eventually found a new life. Three years later, Sato is among the businessmen helping to bring back the fishing industry, long a mainstay livelihood for coastal towns dotted alo...
tsunami;3/11;fisheries;kamaishi;3/11 anniversary;kamaishi hikari foods
jp0000144
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/03/28
Are mandatory Kim haircuts a baldfaced lie?
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s distinctive hairstyle is the ‘do of the day on the Internet, thanks to a viral report that every male university student in the capital is now under orders to get a buzz just like it. But it appears the barbers of Pyongyang aren’t exactly sharpening their scissors. Recent visitors to t...
north korea;kim jong un
jp0000145
[ "business", "economy-business" ]
2014/03/01
Economic figures reveal more than you see
The Cabinet Office’s Economic and Social Research Institute on Jan. 17 released the finalized figures on the country’s economy’s stocks (the net value of accumulated assets at a balance date) and flows (net transactions, including income and expenditure, during an accounting period) that were recorded in national accou...
debt;gdp;land;assets;finances
jp0000146
[ "business", "financial-markets" ]
2014/03/01
Bitcoin believers unfazed by losses in Mt. Gox collapse
Like other bitcoin evangelists, Ken Shishido is ready to write off the money he lost in the bankruptcy of Tokyo-based virtual currency exchange Mt. Gox as the price of revolutionizing global finance. “In the early days of the automobile, there were traffic accidents because you didn’t have traffic lights or pedestrian ...
internet;theft;bitcoin;currency;mt . gox;mark karpeles
jp0000149
[ "national" ]
2014/03/23
When it comes to tourism, image is everything
During his re-election campaign these past two weeks, one of the lesser-known successes touted by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was the Osaka Government Tourism Bureau, which he set up to promote the area to tourists and convention organizers. The new bureau marks the latest effort by a town, city or prefecture in Kansai ...
toru hashimoto;osaka;washoku;foods
jp0000151
[ "national", "science-health" ]
2014/03/15
Historical ifs and weathers or not
To suggest that history is shaped by chance weather events and climatic variation doesn’t lend it quite the same gravitas as if it were wrought by great leaders. It certainly isn’t as inspirational. But such processes can be just as important — and the weather can sometimes foil even the best-laid plans for world domin...
mongolia;kublai khan;kamikaze
jp0000152
[ "national" ]
2014/03/15
Trade deals trump sex slave issue for Osakans
When Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto uttered his infamous remarks last May that Japan’s wartime sex slave system was necessary at the time, he was roundly — and rightly — condemned at home and abroad. It was clear then, and clearer today, that the real reason he go...
toru hashimoto;south korea
jp0000153
[ "business", "economy-business" ]
2014/03/12
Key firms agree to hike pay scales
Many major firms notified their labor unions Wednesday that they will raise pay scales to conclude this year’s spring wage negotiations, responding to strong calls from the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to help end long-standing deflation. Toyota Motor Corp., which has huge influence over other companies,...
shinzo abe;toyota;shunto;labor unions;wage talks;electronics manufacturers
jp0000154
[ "national" ]
2014/04/03
Back on track: Sanriku Railway's long road to recovery
OFUNATO, IWATE PREF. - A little more than three years after the devastating earthquake paralyzed the northeast, coastal communities shattered by the ensuing tsunami are slowly returning to normal. Shops that were destroyed are gradually reopening. Residents forced to evacuate to distant parts are returning to their hom...
tsunami;3/11;tohoku;earthquakes;3.11;sanriku railway co .
jp0000155
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/04/05
Pulmonary pest ravages; study of racial hygienics urged; Japan mourns Gen. MacArthur; Takeshita resigns over Recruit scandal
100 YEARS AGO Tuesday, April 21, 1914 Chiba ravaged by pulmonary pest The dreadful pulmonary pest (pneumonic plague) has plunged districts of Omikawa and Moriyama-mura, Chiba, into consternation. The physicians and police officials, who are working to check the spread of the disease, facing imminent danger almost every...
medicine;douglas macarthur;disease;discrimination;chiba;pneumonic plague;noboru takeshita
jp0000157
[ "national" ]
2014/04/27
Atrophied Osaka changes mindset toward entrepreneurs
Osaka has long been known as a merchant city, home to small but innovative businesses ranging from consumer electronics to processed foods. But the city where young entrepreneurs once flourished has recently found itself playing second fiddle to Tokyo. No matter where they’re from, Japanese — especially younger ones wh...
restaurant;kansai;entrepreneurship;service industry
jp0000158
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/04/17
Asia's worst-smelling fish a South Korean delicacy
MOKPO, SOUTH KOREA - The aroma of one of South Korea’s most popular delicacies is regularly compared to rotting garbage and filthy bathrooms — and that is by its fans. The unusual dish is typically made by taking dozens of fresh skates, a cartilage-rich fish that looks like a stingray, stacking them up in a walk-in ref...
restaurants;south korea
jp0000159
[ "national", "science-health" ]
2014/04/19
Now is the time to research Alzheimer's
The team leader at the Laboratory for Proteolytic Neuroscience at Riken’s Brain Science Institute is not a man usually given to making apocalyptic statements. Yet when I asked him whether Japan should be investing more money in Alzheimer’s research, he responded with more than the usual academic plea for more money. “A...
science;elderly;alzheimer 's disease;healthcare;aging japan
jp0000160
[ "national" ]
2014/04/19
America: the superpower ally that's far, far away
Japan is, at heart, politically as well as geographically, a country of small towns. One of these is home to the Japanese-American political relationship. Populated by distinguished elders and ambitious young courtiers from government and academia on both sides of the Pacific, this village has its own lexicon, holds to...
tokyo;osaka;kyoto;kobe;diplomacy;nara
jp0000161
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/04/01
New arms export principles, guidelines are adopted by Abe Cabinet
Japan on Tuesday adopted new principles and guidelines on arms exports, the first major overhaul in nearly half a century of its arms embargo policy, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe set the stage for the country to play a more active role in global security. Despite concern that the new policy change will hurt the country...
collective self-defense;arms exports
jp0000162
[ "national" ]
2014/04/01
Ruling puts whaling in doubt
THE HAGUE - The future of Japan’s whaling was thrown into doubt after the International Court of Justice ruled Monday that the nation’s annual hunt in the Antarctic was not really for scientific purposes — as Tokyo had claimed — and ordered it halted. The ruling was a major victory for whaling opponents, as it ends for...
sea shepherd;whaling;hague;nisshin maru;whalers;international court of justice;icj;australia-japan relations;whale hunts;iwc
jp0000163
[ "national" ]
2014/04/01
Declining appetites are bigger threat to whaling
The greatest threat to Japan’s whaling industry may not be the environmentalists harassing its ships or the countries demanding its abolishment, but consumers who have lost their appetite for the delicacy. The amount of whale meat stockpiled for lack of buyers has nearly doubled over the last decade, even as anti-whali...
sea shepherd;whaling;consumers;icj;australia-japan relations;research hunts;whale meat
jp0000164
[ "national" ]
2014/04/06
Tokyo jumps on theme bar bandwagon
Tokyo and its surrounding areas provide an array of entertainment spots to serve the varied interests of its inhabitants, day or night. The latest fads are theme bars and restaurants for those seeking an unusual drinking or dining experience. Guys who were fascinated by Ultraman in the heady high-growth 1960s can lose ...
bars;kaiju sakaba;tetsudo-izakaya little tgv;ninja akasaka
jp0000167
[ "world" ]
2014/04/15
Chilean city still besieged by fire as toll rises to 15 dead, 500 hurt
VALPARAISO, CHILE - Helicopters and airplanes dumped water on wildfires and the smoldering wreckage of hilltop neighborhoods around Valparaiso for a third straight day Monday as sailors in riot gear stood ready to evacuate 700 more families whose homes could be lost if the winds shifted. At least 11,000 people have alr...
military;weather;fires;chile;michelle bachelet
jp0000168
[ "national" ]
2014/04/13
Government plans to resume 'research whaling' in 2015
LOS ANGELES - The nation’s Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) has filed briefs in the U.S. District Court in Seattle stating its intent to resume whale hunting in the Southern Ocean as early as fiscal 2015. The move, made Friday, immediately faced strong opposition from conservation group Sea Shepherd as it came less...
sea shepherd;whaling;icj;southern ocean;research whaling
jp0000170
[ "reference" ]
2014/04/14
Tetrapod
Dear Alice, I have always wondered about the curious cement structures you see up and down the coast of Japan, the ones that look like the toy jacks I played with as a child, except that they’re massive in size. I assume they are placed to protect the coast from weather and waves, but what are they called? Who makes th...
nature;tetrapods
jp0000171
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/05/03
Empress-Dowager Shoken laid to rest; crackdown in Shanghai's foreign quarters; Olympic preparations; Lebanese businessman Japan's top tax-payer
100 YEARS AGO Tuesday, May 26, 1914 Nation bids farewell to late Empress-Dowager One of the notable landmarks in the modern history of Japan was the funeral ceremony held Saturday night for Her Majesty, the late Empress-Dowager (Shoken, empress consort of Emperor Meiji), who passed away on April 9. The augury of fine w...
tokyo;funerals;income;shanghai;real estate;1964 tokyo olympics
jp0000172
[ "national" ]
2014/05/04
Fashionable Shibuya is a magnet for youths
Known as the town for young people, Tokyo’s Shibuya district is the capital’s center of youth fashion and culture. It also attracts crowds of tourists from home and abroad. Shibuya is best known for its “scramble crossing” near the north exit of JR Shibuya Station, where as many as 3,000 pedestrians coming from mainly ...
shibuya;photos;at a glance
jp0000174
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/05/05
Australian billionaire Packer in Bondi Beach street brawl with longtime friend
SYDNEY - Billionaire Australian gaming mogul James Packer was seen brawling on a Bondi Beach street with a fellow businessman, David Gyngell, a lifelong friend, former best man and chief executive of the Nine Entertainment Group, media reported on Monday. At least 50 photos of Packer, owner of Australia’s Crown Resorts...
media;celebrities;violence;australia
jp0000176
[ "national" ]
2014/05/18
Icho's ethnic vitality poses future model for Japan
If Japan throws its doors open to immigrants it might start looking like a certain neighborhood in Yokohama with multilingual street signs, ethnic eateries, and a babel of languages spoken in the streets. At the heart of this unconventional neighborhood is the so-called Icho housing complex less than 1 km east of Koza ...
immigration;war orphans;icho;indochina refugees
jp0000177
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/05/27
Abe moves to boost control of bureaucrats
The government formally decided Tuesday to launch the Cabinet Bureau of Personnel Affairs on Friday and Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato will serve as its director general, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. The creation of the new bureau and the appointment of Kato, one of Prime Minister Shinzo ...
bureaucrats;tomomi inada;katsunobu kato;cabinet bureau of personnel affairs
jp0000178
[ "national" ]
2014/05/29
City of Chiba aims to be Japan's Muslim center
CHIBA - The city of Chiba is seeking to become the center of Muslim culture in Japan, aiming to attract Southeast Asian tourists to visit and stay in the city. The municipal government has been prompting businesses in the city to attain the status of “Japan’s first Muslim-friendly facility” in a variety of fields. In J...
inbound tourism;halal;muslim culture
jp0000180
[ "national", "science-health" ]
2014/05/17
Alien invasion threatening native species
An invasion has been going on under our noses. It is multipronged, ruthless and very difficult to repel. It has been called an “ecological apocalypse.” If you look out your window you may be able to see evidence of it. That pigeon flying past? An invader. Likewise, the cat by the garbage. Most are so familiar we don’t ...
ecology;amami rabbits;snakes;taiwanese macaques;snapping turtles;fall webworms;cane toads;chinese giant salamanders;small asian mongooses
jp0000181
[ "national" ]
2014/05/17
Pop duo's Aska held on drug possession charge
Singer-songwriter Aska, half of the famous pop duo Chage and Aska, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of possessing stimulants, the police said. Aska, 56, denied the allegations, saying, “I have never used kakuseizai.” According to the police, Aska, whose real name is Shigeaki Miyazaki, is suspected of having been in p...
drug;stimulant;chage & aska;aska
jp0000182
[ "reference" ]
2014/05/19
Shocking baths of Japan
Dear Alice, On my first trip to Japan, my host took me to an up-market hot-springs resort on the island of Awajishima. There I was introduced to a small tiled “box” within the large soaking tub. I noticed there were small panels along the sides, but didn’t think anything of it until I entered the water and felt as if I...
lifestyle;bath;denkiburo
jp0000183
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/05/09
Secrets law far too wide-reaching: U.S. expert
The new state secrets law is so broad that it’s self-defeating and must be amended before it comes into force in December or it will have a chilling effect on free speech, according to U.S. national security and civil liberties expert Morton Halperin. Halperin said in an interview Thursday in Tokyo that the legislation...
secrecy law;morton halperin
jp0000185
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/05/31
Japan called lackadaisical; simple-living laws introduced; tourist recommendations questioned; China's use of force deplored
100 YEARS AGO Tuesday, June 9, 1914 ‘Tokyo is dull, muggy and uninteresting’ “Of course it may be all that you say it is, and all that the guide books assure that it is, but to me Tokyo is insufferably dull, very muggy and generally uninteresting!” This is the opinion of Mr. Fredrick Williams, of Portsmouth, England, w...
china;tokyo;tourism;alcohol;sousuke uno
jp0000186
[ "business" ]
2014/05/30
UTme!: Want your own Uniqlo T-shirt? There's an app for that!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4VBfwMwxSE Fast-fashion titan Uniqlo had already ventured into the domain of smartphones applications with not-so-exciting Uniqlo Calendar , fashion-style browsing Uniqlooks or again Uniqlo Wake Up applications. However, the Japan-based brand has finally released something that speaks d...
uniqlo;fashion;smartphone;app;japan pulse;utme !
jp0000187
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/05/22
Abbott apologizes for 'winking' at Aussie sex worker
CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott acknowledged Thursday that he made a mistake by winking with a smile in a talk radio studio while listening to a phone sex worker complain on the air about welfare cutbacks. The gesture, captured Wednesday by a television camera and broadcast prominently in national news...
australia;sex;women;sex crimes;discrimination;tony abbott
jp0000188
[ "national" ]
2014/05/25
Mobile-fixated girls easy prey for photo-snapping pervs
KYOTO - With more than 167,000 students studying at 49 universities, junior colleges and technical schools, and with large numbers of high school students visiting on trips, it’s no surprise that Kyoto Prefecture can feel like a giant campus. Downtown Kyoto and neighborhoods near major universities draw huge numbers of...
smartphones;digital camera;illicit photography
jp0000189
[ "national" ]
2014/05/25
Kyoto law puts 'upskirt' photography in focus
Each spring, Kyoto is at its busiest. The cherry blossoms bring in multitudes of tourists, and the start of the new academic year means not only thousands of local students returning to the classroom, but also busloads of junior high and high school students from around the country arriving at hotels and taking the obl...
kyoto;illicit photography;ordinances;public places
jp0000190
[ "national", "media-national" ]
2014/05/25
Ultra Hawai’i: Even superheroes need a vacation
In a stroke of genius, travel-deal website TravelZoo , in collaboration with the Hawaii Tourism Authority and tokustasu pioneers Tsuburaya Productions, has enlisted serious star power to promote its current Hawaii travel packages. Targeting a wide range of would-be travelers, the “Ultra Hawai’i ” campaign follows the w...
tourism;hawaii;ultraman;japan pulse
jp0000191
[ "national" ]
2014/02/03
Whaling fleet being harassed, Japan says
The government on Monday slammed the conservation group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for employing dangerous tactics to obstruct the operations of Japanese whaling vessels in the Antarctic Ocean over the weekend, causing one of them to suffer damage to its stern. “It was a very dangerous act and can never be condo...
yoshihide suga;sea shepherd;whaling
jp0000192
[ "national" ]
2014/02/02
Transformational Akihabara has its finger on the pulse of pop culture
Tokyo’s Akihabara district is always transforming itself. Once promoted as the nation’s largest shopping area for home electronics and computers, where vendors thrived in line with Japan’s postwar surge in prosperity, Akihabara — or “Akiba” for short — is now the center of the nation’s pop culture as well, as typified ...
akb48;pop culture;akihabara
jp0000193
[ "business", "corporate-business" ]
2014/02/27
Bitcoin exchange's chief still in Japan
The head of troubled bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox said in a web post that he is still in Japan and “working very hard” to find a solution to the Tokyo-based organization’s problems. The exchange has suspended trading amid accusations it suffered a catastrophic theft, and its website went blank Tuesday, sparking speculation...
bitcoin;mt . gox;mark karpeles
jp0000194
[ "business", "corporate-business" ]
2014/02/27
Mt. Gox bitcoin clients lack options
NEW YORK - What can you do if you deposited bitcoins at Mt. Gox, which shuttered on Tuesday with little explanation? Probably not much. Customers of the bitcoin exchange may have little chance of recovering their funds if they prove to be missing, legal and regulatory experts said. Clients could file lawsuits, claiming...
bitcoin;mt . gox;customers
jp0000195
[ "national" ]
2014/02/16
Local startup SoftBank on course to become global player
In 2010, three decades after founding telecom giant SoftBank Corp., CEO Masayoshi Son took the stage at the company’s June shareholders’ meeting and made what he thought would be “the most important speech in my life.” The subject? His 30-year vision for the company. As grand as that sounds, SoftBank’s recent moves ind...
softbank;sprint;smartphone;mobile phone
jp0000196
[ "reference" ]
2014/02/17
Coastal shipping
Dear Alice, I spotted what I think must be a very unusual ship while riding my bike along the Tokyo waterfront near Wakasu Park. It was like a ferry, in that trucks were driving up a ramp right into the boat. But at the same time a crane was loading shipping containers onto the deck, like a cargo ship. The ship was siz...
coastal shipping;himawari 1
jp0000197
[ "business" ]
2014/02/07
Bandai's projection-mapping candy toy: Hako Vision
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5817g-2szzk Bandai’s Candy Toy division is known for those inexpensive character-driven toys packaged with just enough sugar to score shelf space where food is sold so that parents can use them to reward kids for being good at the grocery store. Their anime tie-up rosters includes Kamen ...
bandai;disney;gundam;hako vision;japan pulse
jp0000198
[ "national" ]
2014/02/07
Female scientists push for breakthrough in equality
Recent news that Haruko Obokata of Riken’s Center for Developmental Biology found a new way to generate pluripotent cells cast a spotlight on women in the male-dominant field of science. While figures show they are still a minority, Nagoya University is actively hiring women with hidden talents, and its efforts are bea...
nagoya university;haruko obokata;female researchers
jp0000199
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/02/09
Russian poachers plaguing parks as Moscow goes nuts for squirrels
MOSCOW - One by one, the bushy-tailed residents of Moscow’s parks have been disappearing. The problem: Russians have gone nuts for pet squirrels. Moscow authorities bolstered security early this month for all of the city’s green areas after city official Alexei Gorelov said he had received multiple reports of squirrel ...
russia;animals;crime
jp0000201
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/02/01
Steamer surveys new island; Forces land on Hainan Island; Kyu Sakamoto profiled; Leftists suspected in shrine bombing
Steamer discovers newly formed island 100 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, FEB. 26 1914 — The N.Y.K. Bonin liner Chefoo, which returned to Yokohama yesterday, gave an interesting account of her exploration of the newly formed island near Minami Iwojima. On its northeastern side, the island, which has been created by a recent volcan...
kyu sakamoto;sukiyaki;emperor hirohito;togo shrine;hainan
jp0000202
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/02/23
'Warring States' turmoil alive and well
OSAKA - Japanese historians date the Warring States Period roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. But when it comes to Kansai politics, modern observers could be forgiven for thinking the ancient feuds and jealous rivalries of the regional lords are not yet over. That’s becaus...
toru hashimoto;kansai integration
jp0000203
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/02/23
Final season for 'Toru Hashimoto Show'?
Is “The Toru Hashimoto Show,” the long-running Osaka political drama — which some might call a farce and others a tragedy — entering its final season? That’s the question Osakans of all political stripes are asking with the mercurial mayor set to leave office at the end of this month, only to stand for re-election Marc...
toru hashimoto;new komeito;osaka integration
jp0000204
[ "national" ]
2014/02/15
Leave Article 9 alone: New Komeito's Osaka women
Political alliances often resemble shotgun weddings. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and smaller opposition forces such as Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto’s Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) that are pushing to amend the Constitution are now wondering if their eff...
shinzo abe;toru hashimoto;osaka;ldp;new komeito;soka gakkai
jp0000205
[ "national", "science-health" ]
2014/02/15
Stem-cell leap defied Japanese norms
It’s not surprising that last week Haruko Obokata issued a plea for privacy. On Jan. 29 she published a scientific paper on stem cells that could revolutionize medicine, and overnight the researcher based at the Riken Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe became a domestic and international star. The onslaught...
nature;kyoto university;stem cells;shinya yamanaka;masayo takahashi;haruko obokata;yoshiki sasai;riken center for developmental biology
jp0000206
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/02/15
Once upon a time, China anointed a 'King of Japan'
In 1401, barely a century after the Mongols’ aborted invasions of Japan, and 600-odd years before Japan and China fell out over the Senkaku islets, a Chinese emperor conferred upon a Japanese shogun the title “King of Japan.” Ashikaga Yoshimitsu (1358-1408) was overjoyed at this mark of distinction. In a letter he sent...
mongol empire;kublai khan;kamikaze;heian period
jp0000207
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/02/13
New Zealand bans rappers Odd Future
WELLINGTON - New Zealand immigration authorities on Thursday banned Los Angeles rappers Odd Future from entering the country after deciding they pose a threat to public order. The group was due to play an open-air concert with headline act Eminem on Saturday in Auckland. Border Operations Manager Karen Urwin said that ...
u.s .;new zealand
jp0000208
[ "business" ]
2014/02/22
Return of shunto is hollow triumph for unions
S hunto is in full swing. Or so it should be. Or so they say. Shunto is the Japanese word for the annual spring round of wage negotiations conducted between big business and trade unions. This “spring offensive” used to feature large in the annual economic calendar. As the deflationary 1990s and beyond set in, this off...
shinzo abe;labor;employment;wages;shunto;trade unions
jp0000211
[ "national" ]
2014/11/02
Tokyo Station's iconic brick building, witness to war, stands test of time
Approaching its 100th anniversary in December, the red brick building of JR Tokyo Station in the Marunouchi business district is a symbol of the capital that continues to defy the high-rises around it with its classical architecture and stately appearance. The huge terminal, where trains arrive and depart 4,100 times a...
architecture;tokyo station;trains;railways;jr
jp0000212
[ "national", "crime-legal" ]
2014/11/20
Kyoto widow held over spouse's death may be a serial husband killer
KYOTO - Suspicion is mounting that a Kyoto Prefecture woman under arrest for allegedly killing her husband may have also killed previous spouses and lovers. Chisako Kakehi, 67, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murdering Isao Kakehi, 75, who died last December in his home in Muko, Kyoto Prefecture. The Kyoto Prefe...
serial killer;poison;cyanide
jp0000215
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/11/28
Australian display of 1.2 million Christmas lights sets world record
An Australian lawyer has set a world record by stringing up almost 1.2 million Christmas lights in the center of the national capital. Guinness World Records on Friday confirmed that the 120 km of multicolored wire strung in the shape of three interconnected giant, wrapped Christmas gifts in a downtown Canberra mall wa...
australia;records
jp0000216
[ "business" ]
2014/11/17
Are Japan's public school teachers paid too much?
Last month the Ministry of Finance presented a policy recommendation based on studies made by an advisory group. Such recommendations are fairly common, but this one caught more than the usual amount of attention because of where it was directed. The ministry thinks that the maximum class size for first year elementary...
teachers;finance ministry;schools;mext
jp0000217
[ "world", "crime-legal-world" ]
2014/11/19
Italian mobsters take secret oath in police video
ROME - Recruits for Italy’s ‘ndrangheta crime syndicate have been caught on video taking a loyalty oath, swearing “under the splendor of the moon,” in a ceremony secretly recorded by police in what investigators called authorities’ first such glimpse of the ritual. Carabinieri paramilitary police in Milan on Tuesday re...
italy;mobsters;'ndrangheta;loyalty oath;police video
jp0000218
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/11/26
JCP releases campaign platform, vows to cancel consumption tax hike to 10%
The Japanese Communist Party has announced a set of campaign pledges for the Dec. 14 lower house election, promising to “cancel” the planned consumption tax hike and seek other ways to secure funds for social security. The party also took aim at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” policy package of monetary easing,...
election;consumption tax;consumption tax hike;japanese communist party;platform
jp0000220
[ "national" ]
2014/11/30
Shinagawa, a gateway to old and new Tokyo
In the Edo Period, Shinagawa was the first “shukuba machi,” or “post station town” to be built on the Tokaido, the coastal road linking the bustling Nihonbashi district in Edo, then the de facto capital under the Tokugawa shogunate, to Kyoto, which remained the nominal capital in the west. Men dressed as an Edo wandere...
tourists;tourism;shinagawa;edo;traditions
jp0000223
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/11/01
That vexatious 'so desu ka'; Dalai Lama installed; Ikeda picked to be prime minister; Shibuya police box top lender nationwide
100 YEARS AGO Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1914 Journalist irritated by the words sō desu ka Writing from the Savage Club, London, the Tokyo Asahi’s war correspondent, Mr. Sugimura, describes his luncheon there with Mr. Mackenzie of the Times as host. Mr. Mackenzie, while in Japan in the same capacity, learned to hate the words s...
shibuya;tibet;dalai lama;eisaku sato;hayato ikeda;police box
jp0000225
[ "national" ]
2014/11/24
Chinese tourists step up for Abe as Japanese tighten belts
When Jingyan Hou made her first trip to Japan in 1997, the office worker from Beijing spent ¥200,000 during a weeklong stay on accommodations, meals, transport and souvenirs. On her second visit this year, she spent that much on just one Louis Vuitton handbag in Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district. The increasing wealth of...
china;tourism;tokyo 2020;2020 olympics;inbound tourism
jp0000226
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/11/23
LDP incumbents look to have electoral lock on nation's nuclear heartland
OSAKA - Political decisions over the fate of Fukui’s aging reactors have long been in the hands of powerful pro-nuclear Diet members who represent the prefecture. The Dec. 14 poll is not expected to change that, although it will be the first in which only two Fukui Lower House members are up for re-election. The loss o...
fukui;nuclear reactors;lower house elections
jp0000227
[ "national" ]
2014/11/23
Kepco weighs new lease of life for geriatric reactors
In a decision that will set a precedent for Japan’s rapidly aging nuclear reactors, Kansai Electric Power Co. must soon choose whether to restart reactors 1 and 2 at its Takahama plant in Fukui Prefecture and operate them beyond the 40-year threshold, the first time a Japanese utility has faced such a dilemma. Under ne...
fukui prefecture;kansai electric power co .;nuclear reactors
jp0000228
[ "national", "science-health" ]
2014/11/15
Eels face the slippery slope to extinction
Last week I was crossing the River Thames on the way to work in London, and I happened to see a cormorant emerge from the water with a thrashing eel in its mouth. The bird juggled the fish, skillfully managing to position it so it could swallow the wriggling animal headfirst. While it was a disaster from the eel’s poin...
wildlife;environment
jp0000229
[ "national" ]
2014/11/15
At Kyoto University, police blitz line of legal protests
On Nov. 4, a man in his 30s stepped onto the grounds of Kyoto University. A couple of days earlier, in Tokyo, two Kyoto University students had been arrested at a demonstration after an alleged scuffle with police. Those arrested were allegedly connected to the radical left-wing group Chukaku-ha (Middle Core Faction). ...
kyoto university;academic freedom;public protest
jp0000231
[ "national" ]
2014/11/13
More abandoned dogs reported in three prefectures
Amid a rash of dog abandonment cases across the nation, 80 additional instances have been reported since October 2013 in Saitama, Yamanashi and Saga prefectures, according to local communities and animal welfare groups. Officials in Saitama Prefecture said 46 abandoned dogs of various breeds, mainly small ones includin...
animal welfare;dogs
jp0000232
[ "world", "crime-legal-world" ]
2014/11/22
Two Chilans sentenced for 1974 torture of president's father
SANTIAGO - Two retired Chilean military officers were sentenced to prison Friday for the torture death of the father of President Michelle Bachelet. Judge Mario Carroza ordered Cols. Ramon Caceres Jorquera and Edgar Cevallos Jones to serve three years and two years, respectively, for the 1974 torture of Gen. Alberto Ba...
history;courts;military;torture;chile;michelle bachelet
jp0000234
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/10/04
Mao Tse-tung seeks to quell internal friction; Shinkansen starts operations; Tokyo Olympics open; America's No. 1 threat?
75 YEARS AGO Wednesday, Oct. 25 1939 Mao Tse-tung seeks to quell internal friction Mao Tse-tung, an executive member of the Communist Party, issued an important article in the Hsin Hwa Ji Pao, an organ of the Chinese Communist Party in Chungking, of Oct. 19 under the caption “New Stage in Campaign of Resistance (by) Ch...
china;soviet union;shinkansen;bullet trains;tokyo olympics;tokaido shinkansen;mao tse-tung
jp0000235
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/10/05
South Korea rumor crackdown jolts social media users
SEOUL - South Korea’s president is cracking down on rumors in cyberspace in a campaign that threatens the popularity of Kakao Talk, the leading social media service in a country with ambitions to become a global technology leader. Prosecutors announced the crackdown two weeks ago after President Park Geun-hye complaine...
internet;south korea;social media;park geun hye
jp0000236
[ "national" ]
2014/10/05
Parasite museum aside, you won't be saury for visiting Meguro
When Japanese hear the word Meguro, some might recall the old “rakugo” comedy “Meguro no Sanma” (“Meguro’s Saury”), about a samurai lord in the Edo Period who fell in love with the taste of saury, the fish that was considered humble fare for peasants and others on the lower rungs of Japan’s social ladder. In the story,...
tourism;meguro
jp0000238
[ "asia-pacific", "offbeat-asia-pacific" ]
2014/10/20
Bear in Chinese zoo bites arm off boy trying to feed it
BEIJING - A bear in China has bitten off the arm of a 9-year-old boy who tried to feed it through the cage. Media reports say the attack happened Saturday afternoon at Pingdingshan Hebin Park in central China, which has a zoo inside. The boy managed to push his arm into the cage to feed it when the bear bit him. A doct...
china;violence;children;animals
jp0000239
[ "national", "science-health" ]
2014/10/18
Suicidal cells and the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks
You may not have heard of Henrietta Lacks — an African-American woman from Baltimore who died of cervical cancer in 1951 — but you have benefited from her. A few months before she died, doctors took tissue from Lacks’ tumor and grew cells from it. The cells grew and grew. They wouldn’t stop growing. Until then, there h...
health;science;henrietta lacks
jp0000241
[ "national" ]
2014/10/18
Osaka looks to swim with the 'whales' in casino bid
Osaka faces a challenge: What to do about the whales? No, there’s nothing the International Whaling Commission can do and don’t bother calling Greenpeace or Sea Shepherd, for catching these whales is a form of hunting far more difficult than firing harpoons into a leviathan. In the gambling industry, “whales” generally...
osaka;gambling;casinos
jp0000242
[ "national" ]
2014/10/19
Abe's shift to regional woes fails to erase mistrust in LDP
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is putting priority on his new policy of rejuvenating the stalled economies of regions outside Tokyo, many of which are stuck in long-term slumps and suffering from rapid depopulation. Abe plans to draw up a road map by the end of the year for tackling rural depopulation through 2020. His gove...
shinzo abe;abenomics;revitalization;provincial economies
jp0000243
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/10/26
Kansai's fears of new law no state secret
With less than two months to go until the new designated state secrets law comes into force, how, exactly, it will work in practice is the subject of extensive debate and concern. Much of the commentary focuses on how the fundamental rights of individuals will be affected. But municipal and prefectural governments, esp...
defense;nuclear plant;state secrets;state secrets law
jp0000244
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/10/26
More distrust, less harmony if law pits local patriarchs against Tokyo secrecy fetishists
KYOTO - The state secrets law allows for the designation of 55 items related to national security. But as the new law prepares to go into effect, it’s not clear if municipal and prefectural authorities are on the same page as the central government about the need for it or what will happen if classification creates pol...
defense;terrorism;diplomacy;state secrets;state secrets law
jp0000245
[ "business", "corporate-business" ]
2014/10/07
Turner Broadcasting cutting 1,475 jobs
NEW YORK - Turner Broadcasting, the parent of the CNN, TBS and TNT networks, is eliminating about 1,475 jobs, or about 10 percent of its total employees. Monday’s announcement follows an offer of voluntary buyouts to 600 veteran employees in August, part of an overall cost-cutting effort at the Atlanta-based broadcasti...
cnn;job cuts;turner broadcasting
jp0000246
[ "business" ]
2014/10/09
J-blip: You TOO can be a 'konbini' manager of your dreams
Ever have the urge to shriek “ Irasshaimase !” and microwave meals for salarymen? You’re in luck as you can now control a Japanese convenience store right in the palm of your hands. “Konbini Dream” lets users manage a typical Japanese konbini — complete with bowing employees and cheap snacks. Players can hire workers, ...
simulation;video game;nintendo 3ds;japan pulse
jp0000249
[ "national", "media-national" ]
2014/07/05
Figuring out the science behind research whaling
Japan has a unique concept of science that doesn’t seem to be accepted in the Western world. Both the esteemed academic journal Nature and the International Court of Justice have essentially handed down rulings over the past year that question the standards of research in Japan. As far as the administration of Prime Mi...
shinzo abe;stem cells;whaling;haruko obokata
jp0000250
[ "national", "history" ]
2014/07/05
Servia strikes first blow; first private air raid shelter unveiled in Tokyo; torrential rain kills 106; LDP loses Upper House
100 YEARS AGO Thursday, July 30 1914 Servia strikes first blow in World War I Servian troops on board a steamer on the river Danube today opened fire on Austrian soldiers on the north bank of the river near Temeskub. The Austrians returned the fire and an engagement of some importance ensued. The point mentioned as tha...
ldp;world war i;air raid shelter
jp0000253
[ "national", "politics-diplomacy" ]
2014/07/27
Is 'Kobe Formula' spanner in works?
On March 18, 1975, in a show of defiance against Japan-U.S. military policy, the Kobe Municipal Assembly passed a resolution that became known as the “Kobe Formula.” From that day forward, the resolution said, any ship carrying nuclear weapons would not be allowed to enter Kobe harbor, and would have to officially decl...
defense;kobe harbor;kobe formula
jp0000254
[ "national" ]
2014/07/27
Ten people die, 1,400 rushed to hospital amid heat wave
Ten people died and around 1,400 people were taken by ambulance to hospitals nationwide due to heatstroke or heat exhaustion, a tally showed Saturday, as temperatures soared across much of Japan. The rising mercury prompted the Meteorological Agency to issue heat wave advisories for 41 of the 47 prefectures. The prelim...
meteorological agency;heatwave;higashiomi
jp0000255
[ "national" ]
2014/07/27
Self-defense less collective at local level
After the Shiga gubernatorial election earlier this month, in which Taizo Mikazuki, the hand-picked successor to former Gov. Yukiko Kada, defeated the ruling coalition’s candidate, certain media agencies and pundits suggested that collective self-defense had no impact on the race. Such arguments were factually correct....
kyoto;shiga;collective self-defense;kansai
jp0000256
[ "national" ]
2014/07/16
Mitsubishi Estate to tap Otemachi for new hot spring facility
Tourists and local residents in the Otemachi business district will soon be able to enjoy a natural hot spring bath in the heart of Tokyo, after real-estate giant Mitsubishi Estate Co. confirmed Tuesday it had successfully tapped a hot spring source and would proceed with plans to build a bathing facility. Mitsubishi E...
mitsubishi estate;otemachi
jp0000257
[ "business", "corporate-business" ]
2014/07/17
Microsoft expected to announce huge job cuts this week
NEW YORK - Microsoft Corp is planning its biggest round of job cuts in five years as the software maker looks to integrate Nokia Oyj’s handset unit, Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the company’s plans. The reductions, expected to be announced as soon as this week, could be in the Nokia unit and the...
microsoft;nokia;job cuts;overlap
jp0000260
[ "national", "science-health" ]
2014/07/19
If chimps inherit their intelligence, does that prove humans do, too?
Some people are smarter than others. And though animal intelligence is far less well studied, it turns out that within a particular population, say of chimpanzees, some animals are smarter than others, too — and these differences are heritable. To put it another way, some chimps’ mothers are smarter than other chimps’ ...
nature;genetics
jp0000263
[ "national" ]
2014/07/07
Asakusa paints traditional Tokyo in a popular light
As one of Japan’s representative tourist destinations, the Asakusa district never ceases to attract people looking for a taste of traditional downtown Tokyo. The 30 million visitors it draws each year are a testament to its popularity. Typically, an Asakusa tour starts by entering the Kaminarimon Gate of Sensoji Temple...
sensoji;asakusa;skytree;kaminarimon