PM Naoto Kan announced to bring Japan into the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.

External certified directors instead of shareholder activism for more professional corporate governance in Japan.

Rents in Tokyo are dropping and in January we moved our office to a new location in Roppongi.

Only 70% of college graduates had found jobs by December 1st, and less than half of junior college students have done so.

TEPCO announced it will roll out 27m smart power meters to consumers from 2013.

More and more seniors being driven to shoplifting because of the economy and other factors.

The Nikkei reported Yosano openly speculating that Japan's retirement age needed to rise from the current 65 years.

Most Japanese users do not like to use their real name and represent their real persona on the Internet.

Entertainment is an important aspect of Terrie's Take, so for 2011, we're back to forecasting specific events.

Our top 10 news items for the year, accompanied by a short analysis of why we think they are important.