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JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 29, 2008

By-election loss adds to Fukuda's troubles

The Liberal Democratic Party's defeat in the Lower House by-election in the Yamaguchi No. 2 district on Sunday is yet another blow to the already reeling Cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2008

Divided Diet forecloses on Fukuda's May Europe trip

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has canceled planned visits to France, Germany and France in early May due to the expected continuation of the political standoff in the divided Diet, government officials said Wednesday.
SOCCER
Apr 4, 2008

Fenerbahce surprises Chelsea

LONDON (AP) Deivid de Souza scored a late goal Wednesday to give Fenerbahce a 2-1 upset over Chelsea, and Liverpool got a crucial away goal in its 1-1 draw at Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 1, 2008

'Half-alien' group foresees disaster, Japan UFO landing

In December, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura caused quite a stir with his bold statement that "UFOs definitely exist." In subsequent clarifications, the government claimed that there have been no confirmed sightings, but if a UFO was to appear, "fighter jets would be scrambled to attempt...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 1, 2008

Public forums, spinning wheels

A friend sent me a Yomiuri article (Feb. 10) about a neighborhood forum in Kanazawa. Its title: "Citizens consider how to live together with foreigners."
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 31, 2008

Oxymoronic sustenance and sustainability

NEW YORK — Earlier this month there was held, in a midtown hotel, an International Conference on Climate Change. Yet another one? you might ask. But, no, this one was to make the case that Al Gore, with his argument in "An Inconvenient Truth" is a fraud, a swindler. One of the conferees' premises was...
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2008

Why this foreigner supports Obama

WATERLOO, Canada — Barack Obama's speech on race and politics on March 18 came from and spoke to the heart. It was brutally, searingly honest. Nothing he said or could have said will appease the detractors and the naysayers. But their sniping and carping will diminish them and betray their smallness...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 26, 2008

Can three experts all be wrong on looming disaster?

If you ask British scientist James Lovelock about the future of humanity, be prepared for a shock.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 23, 2008

Columbia's Matsui aims to be a leader

Just days after his junior season concluded, K.J. Matsui has already set big targets for his final college basketball season at Columbia University.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2008

Fukui's term ends on sour note

What would have been a cheerful sayonara news conference Wednesday evening for departing BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui instead turned into an uncomfortable interrogation as he was peppered with questions about the Diet's failure to endorse his successor.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2008

Critical time for BOJ to lack governor

With the opposition-controlled House of Councilors' veto Wednesday of Toshiro Muto's nomination for Bank of Japan governor, the prospects are mounting that the BOJ helm will become vacant after Toshihiko Fukui's term ends March 19.
Reader Mail
Mar 13, 2008

Mothers and fathers in competition

Regarding the salary facts reported in the March 8 article "Japanese women paid 33% less than men": We ought to be glad to hear the good news. As salaries for women are increased, the increases are taken directly from the salaries of men. Subsequently, a man can no longer support a family as his income...
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2008

Right to know takes a hit

The Tokyo High Court has rejected a damages suit filed in 2005 by Mr. Takichi Nishiyama, a former Mainichi Shimbun reporter, who alleged he was illegally indicted over his news gathering on the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japan. The crux of the trial was whether Japan and the United States had had a...
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2008

What a difference a 'pilot' makes

Regarding the Feb. 14 article "Australian lawmakers deliver official apology to Aborigines": How long I have waited for this! I first read about the "stolen generation" in 1999 while I was staying in Australia. At first I could not believe that there was such a sad past in Australian history. But after...
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2008

View from newsstand on a clear day

Regarding the Jan. 30 Kyodo article "Wrapping comes off Japan's second-tallest condo complex": Don't you think that citing the tallest condo is important? Or was that not mentioned in the press release? The latest quake-resistant technology? Do tell.
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2008

Waste should figure into tax debate

Regarding the Jan. 24 article "Prefectural lawmakers rally in praise of gas taxes": Why haven't specific numbers been presented in the news covering the gasoline-tax debate? On average, how much money does the government receive from gasoline taxes (including diesel, etc.), road taxes and car inspection...
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2008

Domestic coverage could be better

As a reader for nearly 30 years, I recently switched my subscription from one of the other English-language dailies because I felt The Japan Times' coverage of domestic news was far superior. That said, there is always room for improvement, and I would like to offer two examples. In the Jan. 25 issue,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 29, 2008

Law schools come under friendly fire

With its first crop of graduates just entering the legal profession, Japan's new law school system is in trouble. The schools, most of which opened their doors in 2004, are already struggling with the mismatch between the number of law students, which is unregulated, and the number of people who are...
LIFE
Jan 27, 2008

Citizens routinely denied legal rights

The contrasts between constitutional provisions for crime suspects in Japan and their actual treatment are stark, say critics of the system.
Reader Mail
Jan 17, 2008

Accusations by soccer midfielder

Regarding the Jan. 13 article "Nakamura knocks racism in Italian soccer": I smiled at midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura's accusations of racism against Italian Football. I suggest that he come back to Japan, where foreigners are fingerprinted not only when they get a residence permit issuance but every time...
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2008

Refueling law enacted with regrets

By using a special provision in the Constitution, the ruling parties have voted into law a bill that enables the resumption of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean for antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan. The mission is expected to resume in mid-February....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2008

Lower House rams through antiterrorism bill

For the first time in half a century, the Lower House on Friday overrode the Upper, ramming a bill through the Diet to resume the Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling duty in the Indian Ocean.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2008

MSDF bill step closer to ruling bloc's ultimate OK

An opposition-controlled Upper House panel Thursday rejected a special antiterrorism bill to enable the Maritime Self-Defense Force to resume its refueling operations in the Indian Ocean, in a last-minute bid to block its expected passage Friday in the ruling bloc-dominated Lower House.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 8, 2008

Following in our fingerprints

It was a quarter of a century ago on an autumn day in 1982 that I decided to engage in a small act of civil disobedience by refusing to give my fingerprint. Little did I realize I was stepping into a decades-long controversy that would be both an education and a circus.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2008

'07 political storm really the calm before '08?

Last year was full of political turmoil — from scandals and arrests to suicide and a divided Diet — but there is no time to rest because 2008 may turn out to be a historical turning point if there is a general election, depending on which side wins, analysts say.
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2007

U.S., Australia 'still mates'

HONOLULU — "Australia's Path Bends Away from the U.S.''
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2007

It's Taiwan's referendum

For China, the launch of the Fukuda Cabinet in late September was good news, so it must expect many things from the new administration. What concerns me now in this respect is Taiwan's move to hold a national referendum on whether to seek U.N. membership in the name of "Taiwan."
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 13, 2007

Murakami's Nobel leanings

The news that 88-year-old Doris Lessing received the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature was not greeted by the Japanese media with as much fanfare as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's winning the Nobel Peace Prize. This perhaps was because Japanese literary circles were more interested in whether Haruki...

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go