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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 25, 2009

On the pleasure of self-deception

William Kentridge is known for his hand-drawn animations that evoke the quaint charms of the silent film era while unflinchingly observing the brutality of contemporary society, with many of his works drawing from the context of his native South Africa.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2009

Foreign policy and the democratic paradox

PARIS — Elections stolen in Iran, disputed in Afghanistan and caricatured in Gabon: Recent ballots in these and many other countries do not so much mark the global advance of democracy as demonstrate the absence of the rule of law.
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2009

Words of wisdom from Hatoyama

It was just this side of comical. The leader of the new ruling party of Japan barely finishes acknowledging his Democratic Party of Japan's landslide win and a public relations disaster strikes. The result: an ignominious international climb-down.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2009

The return of Franco-German leadership

PARIS — Regardless of who wins September's parliamentary election in Germany, the time has come once again for a major Franco-German initiative.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 28, 2009

Bathing in timeless memories

Artist Shinro Ohtake discusses with The Japan Times "inside-out" buildings, private memories, public meanings and other inspirations underlying the "I Love Yu" bathhouse at Naoshima.
EDITORIALS
Aug 26, 2009

A challenge to Mr. al-Maliki

A series of bomb attacks in downtown Baghdad have exposed the weakness of the new Iraqi government. It is not clear who or what is responsible for the bombings, and the list of suspects is long. But a government's first responsibility is to provide for the safety and security of its citizens: By any...
JAPAN / History
Aug 9, 2009

'It is time to discuss this more frankly'

Kazuhiko Togo, Professor of International Politics at Kyoto Sangyo University, is a former Ambassador to the Netherlands and the author of 2005's "Japan's Foreign Policy 1945-2003" and 2008's "Rekishi to Gaiko" ("History and Diplomacy"). He is also a grandson of Shigenori Togo (1882-1950), who, after...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 9, 2009

Contention over the tenno system

This collection of 14 essays by 12 scholars, ranging from academic, journalistic, speculative, to advisory, makes an excellent introduction to the scope of arguments presently made about tenno, Japan's "emperors."
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Aug 8, 2009

Harley guide makes good on flight attendant's plight

David Macklin, a dual citizen of Australia and Britain, said meeting his future wife, Yoriko Suzuki, in Cairns, Australia, in May 1999 was a matter of fate.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 2, 2009

No brains when it comes down to transplants

The bill to revise the Organ Transplant Law, which cleared the Upper House on July 13 and thus gained full Diet passage, is a rare example of bipartisan agreement. Known as Plan A, the new law has three significant features: It recognizes brain death as legal death, allows the harvesting of organs from...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2009

Escape from propaganda

Artist, architect, designer, photographer, curator, writer, editor, activist — Ai Weiwei is many things. This multiplicity of means all serve a united end that centers on the existential question: What does human freedom mean in China today?
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2009

Are the finance sector's halcyon days over?

LONDON — For at least a quarter-century, the financial sector has grown far more rapidly than the economy as a whole, both in developed and in most developing countries. The ratio of total financial assets (stocks, bonds, and bank deposits) to gross domestic product (GDP) in the United Kingdom was...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Jul 19, 2009

Soul on ice: Resilient Ando primed for second chance at Olympic glory

"Don't judge a person until you have walked in their shoes."
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 2009

Another milestone in Iraq

More than six years after invading Iraq and deposing its leader, Saddam Hussein, U.S. combat forces have withdrawn from Iraq's cities. The redeployment is an important step forward in the reclamation of Iraqi sovereignty, and a political victory for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2009

Will Europe's economies regain their footing?

STOCKHOLM — What will Europe's growth trajectory look like after the financial crisis? For some Europeans, still nervous that their economies and banking systems might collapse, this is a little like asking a passenger on the Titanic what they plan to do when they arrive in New York.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 29, 2009

Classical music lovers get set for Matsumoto

"Sending out high-quality Western classical music from Japan" was the goal for renowned cellist and conductor Hideo Saito (1902-74), who studied in Germany. In 1955, he cofounded the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where he devoted the latter half of his life to music education and taught many...
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2009

Consensus on organ transplants

The Diet resumed deliberations April 21 on revising the Organ Transplant Law. Parliamentary moves on the issue have been virtually dormant for three years. The deliberations have suddenly gained momentum and four revision proposals have surfaced.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2009

Can India's Congress deliver?

LONDON — Yet again, India's voters confounded the pundits and comfortably returned the Congress party alliance to power. Now the question is whether leader Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and their colleagues can return the compliment and get to grips with the immense problems and the enormous...
JAPAN / CITIZEN JUSTICE
May 16, 2009

Like lay judges, court interpreter system still in nascency

Last in a series
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 12, 2009

A boost for DPJ, at LDP's expense

With Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa intending to resign over a political fundraising scandal, the party may regain some momentum for the upcoming general election, analysts say.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2009

Google crosses line with controversial old Tokyo maps

When Google Earth added historical maps of Japan to its online collection last year, the search giant didn't expect a backlash. The finely detailed woodblock prints have been around for centuries, they were already posted on another Web site, and a historical map of Tokyo put up in 2006 hadn't caused...
JAPAN
May 2, 2009

Power struggle rages in North over Kim's heir

As succession speculation abounds amid reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's deteriorating health, a recently obtained confidential report has shed new light on a power struggle taking place in the reclusive state.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 1, 2009

Sean Penn 'Milk' star is cream of the crop — again

'Y ou know, just to get one of them is something most actors don't get to do, and for a long time I didn't think I'd ever get one, let alone two."
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Apr 29, 2009

Is sumo truly the Japanese national sport?

For the 140 or so years non-Japanese have known of the existence of sumo, many have referred to it as Japan's national sport. But are they correct about the status of this ancient form of wrestling found only in these islands, misinformed entirely, or just partly right?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Apr 17, 2009

"Hiroko Inoue: Inside-Out"

Foil Gallery in Higashi-Kanda
EDITORIALS
Apr 15, 2009

Humiliation in Thailand

Who should be more embarrassed after the cancellation of the ASEAN summit that was to have been held last weekend in Pattaya, Thailand: Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as whole? Mr. Abhisit is certainly in the hot seat after insisting that the summit...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-CHINA-U.S. SYMPOSIUM
Apr 11, 2009

Rivalries, mistrust must make way for tripartite crisis control

China and the United States will step up their cooperation for global financial and economic stability out of strategic considerations despite other conflicting interests, the experts told the March 30 symposium.
JAPAN / Q&A
Apr 10, 2009

What did Japan's response to the North's rocket prove?

When North Korea sent what it claims was a rocket carrying a satellite over the Tohoku region Sunday, the Self-Defense Forces units deployed to possibly intercept it held their fire because the craft apparently posed no threat to Japan's territory.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2009

Sarkozy pushing the limits of Bonapartism

PARIS — After four decades, France has returned to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's unified military command. At a stroke, President Nicolas Sarkozy overturned one of the pillars of French policy — and of the legacy of Charles de Gaulle, the founder of Sarkozy's own political party.

Longform

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