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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 21, 2009

Secrets to studying Japanese film

In its field I cannot imagine a research guide more needed. For whole decades scholars have struggled simply to locate sources, even to find out what there were. Now, however, the skill and stamina of Mark Nornes and Aaron Gerow have resulted in a reference work that both illuminates and defines this...
Reader Mail
Jun 18, 2009

Useful but unofficial translations

The title of the June 10 article "Laws, legal terms get official translation" is misleading. As shown on the Web site in question and indeed on the predecessor site: "These are unofficial translations. Only the original Japanese texts of the laws and regulations have legal effect, and the translations...
EDITORIALS
Jun 18, 2009

Accessibility to official documents

During its current session, the Diet is expected to enact a bill to improve the system for managing and storing official documents, now that the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Japan have reached a compromise. The bill is the legacy of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, who wanted...
Reader Mail
Jun 18, 2009

D-Day Americans did their part

Peter Allen's June 11 letter, "British contribution on D-Day," begins fairly enough; he objects to the French government's billing the anniversary of D-Day "as an American-French event." Assuming this is accurate, Allen makes a good point. The British contribution, including providing the necessary rendezvous...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 16, 2009

The all-powerful voice of corporate Japan

Since its founding, the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) has been the nation's most powerful business lobby and its head is often called "the prime minister of the business world."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 14, 2009

To make an Israeli omelet is it necessary to break so many eggs?

"Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg. . . . Bombers and tanks and rockets and white phosphorus shells are that high, solid wall. The eggs are the unarmed civilians who are crushed and burned and shot by them. . . . Think of it this...
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2009

Emissions goal draws fire from all sides

OSAKA — Prime Minister Taro Aso's announcement Wednesday that Japan will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 appears to have pleased nobody.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2009

Laws, legal terms get official translation

Japanese businesses might operate on a global scale, but foreign firms often run into a wall — the language barrier — when trying to understand the ins and outs of this nation's legal system.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 3, 2009

Creative Commons fights for new copyright

On April 17, the district court of Stockholm issued its verdict in the copyright infringement case of the torrent tracking Web site The Pirate Bay, whose managers and another associate were accused of facilitating the illegal downloading of music, movie and video-game files. The four defendants were...
JAPAN
May 30, 2009

Japan, U.S. aim for tough U.N. response

NEW YORK, (Kyodo) Japan and the United States are referencing a section of the U.N. Charter that sets out the Security Council's powers — including use of force — in a resolution being drafted to respond to North Korea's nuclear test earlier in the week.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2009

What the Tigers taught al-Qaida

WASHINGTON, THE WASHINGTON POST — It took a pitched two-hour gun battle with Sri Lankan special forces. Then a rocket launched into his armor-plated ambulance. But on May 18, death finally came to Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Tamil Tigers separatist group.
CULTURE / Books
May 24, 2009

The enduring tradition of tanka

WHITE PETALS by Harue Aoki. Shichigatsudo, 2008, 126 pp., ¥1,500 (paper)
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 17, 2009

Mayhem, madness and bumps in the night

Picture this: Darkness; a strong wind blowing; fog thickening and swirling; the ceaseless crashing of waves against a rocky shore. Not a night for nature observation you may think, but think again.
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2009

'Donju'

Kankuro Kudo was once hailed as the boy wonder of Japanese show business, first as a scriptwriter for hit TV shows ("Ikebukuro West Gate Park" in 2000, and "Kisarazu Cats Eye" in 2002) and then hit films ("Go," "Ping Pong," "Zebraman"). In 2005, he released his first film as a director: "Mayonaka no...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 15, 2009

Kobe Bryant says series should decide title

A veteran coach, a voice of reason, a passionate advocate for a better and stronger bj-league, Tokyo Apache floor boss Joe Bryant has plenty of suggestions on how to improve the hoop circuit in the future.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
May 14, 2009

Say hello to Belgium's best, aptform, the Land of Tomorrow and Forever 21

Bold Belgium "Avant garde" doesn't even begin to describe some of the amazing creations that have come from the Belgian fashion capital of Antwerp over the years. Intelligent designers from the city successfully fuse fantasy with reality, and the "6+ Antwerp" exhibition at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery...
LIFE
May 10, 2009

Toilet trend gets political correctness down to a 'p'

Nothing reflects the balance of power between the sexes quite like toilet politics.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2009

Indonesian Islamic politics sees changing of the guard

SINGAPORE, OPINION ASIA — The current spotlight is on the search for a future coalition in Indonesia, but attention should also be given to the fact that the polls have led to a historical change of guard among the ranks of Islamist parties. This change concerns not only the Unity Development Party...
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2009

Who thinks of these regulations?

I have often wondered about the origin of the odious, increasingly intrusive immigration-control regulations in Japan. Whether it be the airport biometric screening and fingerprinting, the fines and detentions for failure to carry passports or alien registration cards even when jogging or taking out...
Reader Mail
Apr 23, 2009

Right way to treat people

With reference to Ian McClumpha's April 12 letter "Wrong way to treat people," concerning Japan's paying redundant South American workers to return home, may I say I think this is an excellent idea, as this will nip possible future social problems in the bud: It is far better for such people to be unemployed...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 19, 2009

Finding the exotic, alien other

The subject of the exotic and alien other is a perennial. In Japanese literature the foreign influence is usually traced to its reappearance in a native product and the results are appraised.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 16, 2009

Clemens en August's high-flying sales tour touches down in Tokyo

Our events are a happening — part social, part business, part elegance," says retail revolutionary Alexander Brenninkmeijer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Apr 14, 2009

Job firing launched labor activist on career

You may have seen him on TV, commenting on Nova teachers who lost their income and housing when the language school went bankrupt in November 2007. Or you may have seen him marching through Shibuya, leading a chant of "Tatakau zo! (We'll fight!)" and calling for solidarity and action among workers. Or...

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it