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Reader Mail
Jun 4, 2009

Inaccurate commentary on Iran

Regarding Bijan Khajehpour's May 30 article, "Key role for young Iranians in June's presidential poll": I'm not sure why The Japan Times published this article, since it is very out of date and no longer relevant.
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 Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 3, 2009

Tiny HD TVs, a jogger's dream and a tough camcorder

Small and defined: Sharp is looking to save on space with an innovative addition to its high-definition TV family. Sharp claims the Aquos DX, or LC-20DX1, is the world's first 20-inch LCD TV with a built-in Blu-ray burner. Apart from the basic function of showing high-definition television, the DX also...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 2, 2009

Supercomputers — infinity within reach?

From forecasting the weather to improving the earthquake resistance of architecture, supercomputers have become a vital tool in just the span of a few decades.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jun 2, 2009

Group offers healthy change of pace

Not many people would argue that sports aren't a great way of connecting people. The proof can be found at Namban Rengo, an international running club that meets every Wednesday near Tokyo's Yoyogi Park.
COMMENTARY
Jun 2, 2009

To Obama and others of his ilk: Quit now!

MIAMI — We expected broken promises. But the gap between the soaring expectations that accompanied Barack Obama's inauguration and his wretched performance is the broadest such chasm in recent historical memory. This guy makes Bill Clinton look like a paragon of integrity and follow-through.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2009

Masks with ostrich antibodies aid swine flu fight

Researcher Yasuhiro Tsukamoto's flock of 500 ostriches is being enlisted into the global fight against swine flu by exploiting Japan's practice of wearing masks in public to ward off allergies and colds.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 1, 2009

Win a free copy of updated 'Wa'

In conjunction with the exclusive excerpts of the updated "You Gotta Have Wa" running in today and tomorrow's editions, The Japan Times is giving away several copies of the classic published by Vintage Books free of charge only to our readers in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 31, 2009

The Missing Vermeer

In this short story by Roger Pulvers, new and distant horizons open up to put a spring in your step as summer approaches. Illustrations by Alice Pulvers
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 30, 2009

Barca put on a show for the ages

LONDON — Manchester United was totally, completely and utterly outclassed.
Japan Times
CULTURE
May 29, 2009

Looking for love, and an English teacher

Actress Kazue Fukiishi looked perplexed when I asked if she could see herself ever marrying a foreigner.
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2009

Words alone won't end torture

"We are going to smash your hands to pulp like the Chileans did to Victor Jara." Those were the words of the torturers in a Uruguayan prison spoken to my friend Miguel Angel Estrella, a pianist from Argentina. They were referring to the fate of the imprisoned Chilean singer and guitarist Victor Jara,...
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
May 28, 2009

Okazaki double helps Japan trounce Chile

OSAKA — Japan romped to a 4-0 victory over Chile in the opening match of the three-nation Kirin Cup at a blustery Osaka Nagai Stadium on Wednesday night.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2009

Incompetence marks India's new ruling caste

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The largest election in history, involving more than 700 million voters, has resulted in the victory of India's ruling alliance, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress. The verdict disproved gloomy predictions of a hung Parliament and the further strengthening...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
May 26, 2009

Waseda academic confident country's charms are to be had by the open-minded

Paul Snowden came to Japan 40 years ago — thinking that his visit here would only last for two years, after which he would go back to his native England and settle down as a grammar school teacher.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 25, 2009

Proposed foreigner card protested

More than 200 people rallied in Tokyo's Shinbashi district Sunday to protest government-sponsored immigration bills they claim would violate the privacy of foreign residents and strengthen government control over them.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 25, 2009

Traditional merchant values resurgent in recessionary Japan

There is an old Japanese saying that keeps cropping up in my conversations with people lately. It is the phrase "sampoh-yoshi."
Reader Mail
May 24, 2009

Promiscuity irrespective of gender

Regarding Jennifer Kim's May 14 letter, "Promiscuous lifestyle led nowhere": Why did The Japan Times publish such a homophobic letter? So what if the assassinated San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn in the film) was "promiscuous"? Sexual promiscuity is not a trait seen only among...
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2009

Rescinded job offers

A record number of graduates had their job offers canceled this spring, a recent survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported. More than 2,000 offers in total were withdrawn, double the number of the second worst year — 1998 — when several brokerage firms collapsed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 24, 2009

MOX use opposed by Genkai's leery residents

GENKAI, Saga Pref. — Before a two-lane access road was built to connect it with other parts of the prefecture, the village of Genkai, nestled in high hills with deep ravines beside the Sea of Japan, was so remote that even locals called it the "Tibet of Saga Prefecture."
Reader Mail
May 24, 2009

Separate memorials suspicious

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't there a memorial to the Japanese victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima within the peace park, and isn't there a separate memorial to the non-Japanese victims outside the peace park?
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 24, 2009

Students share hopes for nation's future environment

Each year on May 5, Japan celebrates Children's Day with waves of young families flooding local parks, playgrounds and amusement centers.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 24, 2009

Was Japan's first Western screen star shameful to his homeland?

The Japanese have a term for certain types of movies made outside the country featuring Japanese actors who play Japanese characters. It is kokujoku eiga. Eiga means "movies," and kokujoku, derived from the words for "country" and "insult," means "disgrace" or "denigration." In other words, kokujoku...

Longform

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