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COMMENTARY
Oct 30, 2008

Double standard on global crises

Oct. 16 marked the 25th Annual World Food Day, an occasion whose arrival and departure received little media attention or governmental fanfare. Evidently, much of the world media and governments are consumed with an economic crisis of epic proportions.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2008

New health insurance system draws protest

Dozens of protesters outside the Diet called Wednesday for abolishment of the controversial health-care insurance system covering the "later-stage elderly" aged 75 and older.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Oct 17, 2008

Why is ousted Wakanoho dishing the dirt now?

In recent weeks, sumo has been taking hits left, right and center.
EDITORIALS
Oct 17, 2008

Stepping up to the bench

Oct. 15 was the deadline for municipal election management commissions to submit lists of citizens who might serve as lay judges in district courts under a new system that starts next May. Six lay judges will sit with three professional judges in trials dealing with serious crimes such as murder, arson...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 17, 2008

Rakushokushu Maru: Modern kaiseki the Maru way

The simple truth has become a global cliche: It is hard to get a bad meal in Tokyo. Whether you're eating humble noodles or a rarefied kaiseki banquet, it's likely to be more than just satisfactory — there's a good chance it will be prepared with flavor and flair.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 16, 2008

Toyota touts 'ultracompact' iQ

Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled Wednesday its new "ultracompact" iQ, aiming to stimulate demand for fuel-efficient "premium" cars in the sluggish domestic auto market.
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2008

A secret kind of control

The Defense Ministry on Oct. 2 dismissed a 50-year-old colonel of the Air Self-Defense Force for allegedly passing a "defense secret" to a Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reporter more than three years ago. The information was about a Chinese submarine that had surfaced in the South China Sea and was adrift....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2008

Potts' luck: the rise of a superstar

It's a cliche to say "don't take things for granted" or "you never know what's going to happen in life." But it sounds more convincing from the mouths of certain people.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2008

Health concerns of the elderly

Government leaders appear to be flip-flopping on their views of the unpopular health insurance system for people aged 75 or over. People have difficulty discerning leaders' true intentions. Unless clear explanations follow soon, the views may be taken as a ruse to soothe voters ahead of a Lower House...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 5, 2008

Once proud Yakult, Yokohama clubs now at bottom

It may be difficult to believe, but arguably the two worst franchises in Japanese pro baseball, in terms of both player talent and attractiveness to their respective fan bases, are the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and the Yokohama BayStars.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 28, 2008

A step-by-step guide to owning a home in Japan

So you are ready to be king of your own castle in Japan. Adios to the days when you, a mere rent-paying tenant of a grotty apartment, worried about landlords taking you to the cleaners for spilling tea on the carpet or making minuscule holes in the walls to pin up framed pics.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Sep 21, 2008

Stairs still slugging away 15 years after Japan stint

Why is it some players are apparently not good enough to play in Japan but, after being discarded by a Japanese team, go back to the major leagues and play some meaningful games, seasons or, in some cases, enjoy a lengthy career?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2008

'Kodomo no Kodomo'

Teenage pregnancy has always been with us, but attitudes toward it have changed. A generation ago, the situation of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughter — 17, pregnant and unwed — would have inspired conservative tut-tutting. Now it's a cause of conservative celebration.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2008

AIG Japan unit safe for time being

The U.S. Federal Reserve's emergency $85 billion rescue of the U.S. insurer American International Group eased concerns Wednesday that its Japanese unit will survive, at least for the time being.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 12, 2008

Stellar in Sendai: Iwakuma bright spot for lowly Eagles

While the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have faded out of contention during the second half of the season, Hisashi Iwakuma has continued to establish himself as the top pitcher in Japanese baseball.
Reader Mail
Sep 4, 2008

'Gaijin' to Japanese eyes

Regarding the Sept. 2 article "The 'gaijin' debate: Arudou responds": Debito Arudou's claim that the word "gaijin" is racist not only borders on whining but also smacks of something that could only be brought up by a white person. I'm part Japanese and part black, and I'll tell you right now that I would...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2008

Devo uphold their duty now for the future

As I sit down opposite the gray-haired man in a black shirt and glasses, someone comes to clear the clutter off the table — a stick-thin, retro-futuristic guitar that has been rigged for its strings to explode at the climax of a solo. His flame-haired partner takes a seat; he's wearing a full suit...
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Sep 3, 2008

Kitajima, softball team showed mettle in Beijing

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series. Part one appeared in Sunday's newspaper.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Aug 26, 2008

The Pantone Slide, TwistTogether Lamp and Sony Sountina

Tower of audio power If there's one thing you can surely trust Sony to do, it's to stoke our technolust with innovative new audio products. With the introduction of the Sountina nondirectional speaker, Sony continues that tradition. The 180-cm tower of sound, which includes a subwoofer, looks like it...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2008

From Prague Spring to the Velvet Revolution

WARSAW — What was the Prague Spring, or the events of 1968 more generally? Their meaning, it seems, has become more, not less, debatable with the passage of time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 20, 2008

This mask is used for seeking, not hiding

Photo mask: Underwater photography for the average consumer usually entails picking a waterproof instant camera with a good wrist strap, or in extreme cases, encasing valuable equipment in some expensive one-of-a-kind plastic capsule, either way ending up with often disappointing results.
OLYMPICS
Aug 13, 2008

Phelps in esteemed company at top of Mount Olympus

BEIJING — Here's the answer to an obscure trivia question: Michael Phelps' middle name is Fred.
EDITORIALS
Aug 12, 2008

Rough course to digital waves

About three years from now, the era of analog TV broadcasting will end as digital broadcasting takes over. A survey shows that 92 percent of those polled know there will be a switch from analog to digital broadcasting, but fewer people know when the switch will take place (65 percent) or that they will...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 10, 2008

Russia's convertible icon

MOSCOW — Prophets, it is said, are supposed to be without honor in their homeland. Yet Moscow has just witnessed the extraordinary sight of Alexander Solzhenitsyn — the dissident and once-exiled author of the "Gulag Archipelago" and "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" receiving what amounts...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Aug 10, 2008

Fiat's 'Bambina': a 'small car with a big heart'

Japan makes plenty of fun little cars, but it is far from having a monopoly on the aesthetic.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?