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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2005

Australia gets tough on terror

SYDNEY -- Tough new laws enforcing preventive detention of suspected terrorists will soon drastically change the laid-back response that Australia has so far allowed to the growing world threat of terrorism. But even before new laws start, the wails of protests from civil-liberty groups are deafening....
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2005

Lump-sum asbestos redress elusive goal

The government agreed Sept. 29 on the outline of a special bill to help asbestos victims, but officials admit the legislation provides no lump sum compensation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 6, 2005

You cannot force them to sing it in Japan, or to listen in London

"In this 60th anniversary year of the end of the war . . . I thought it was the right time to ask about Japan's current movement toward constitutional revision -- especially the revision of (war-renouncing) Article 9," said 53-year-old Ai Nagai, founder of Nitosha (Two Rabbits) Theater Company, as she...
COMMENTARY
Oct 6, 2005

A lesson from Pakistan on proliferation

ISLAMABAD -- The controversy surrounding North Korea's nuclear program is a reminder of past miscues in Pakistan, whose disgraced nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, was accused last year of selling nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Oct 5, 2005

Sad drumbeats in the wilderness

I made several visits to the Aichi Expo this year and met a lot of interesting people. But one person above all left an indelible impression. Soft-spoken, modest, and wearing traditional northern buckskin, his name was Michael Cazon -- a Dene drummer, teacher and healer from Fort Simpson in the Northwest...
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2005

Nakagawa rips Keizai Doyukai chief over fuel flap

Industry minister Shoichi Nakagawa lashed out Tuesday at recent remarks by a prominent business leader questioning the government's demand that industries assist trucking firms that find it difficult to pass on high oil costs to customers.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2005

That new car smell -- a standard, harmful feature

Anyone who's pulled away from the dealer's lot in a shiny, new sedan knows the seductive scent of fresh plastic, paint and upholstery that evokes a rush of pride and consumer satisfaction.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2005

Winning doesn't make him right

The Osaka High Court on Friday found unconstitutional Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's three visits to Yasukuni Shrine from 2001 to 2003. The court said the visits violated Article 20, Section 3, of the Constitution, which prohibits religious education and any other "religious" activity by the state...
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2005

As society grows more aloof, census takers suffer

Hiroshi Tamura is keenly aware of the great changes that have taken place in his neighborhood in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, where he has lived for more than half a century.
COMMENTARY
Oct 3, 2005

The PC-cell phone downside

Since the 1990s, personal computers and cell phones have made fast inroads into the modern world. Without them, normal life would be almost impossible.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2005

Beware the hype on antipsychotic drugs

NEW YORK -- A new study financed by the U.S. government sheds new light on the system that promotes and approves new drugs, and shows the need for strict- er guidelines to better protect consumers and reduce unnecessary government spending.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 3, 2005

Bush's choice: America or the empire

KUALA LUMPUR -- Deep down, U.S. President George W. Bush should grasp the seriousness of his debacle. If true, then he must also appreciate the time element in averting the worse-case scenario, which he, along with an increasingly alienated number of ideologues are imposing on their country.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 2, 2005

Sheets a key player for Tigers in pennant-winning season

Congratulations to the Hanshin Tigers on winning their second Central League pennant in three years. The victory was a true team effort highlighted by a potent offensive attack, a balanced pitching staff and clever use of an adequate pool of talent by manager Akinobu Okada.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 2, 2005

Killing your career in the media to keep your superiors happy

The vocation of journalism in Japan is not exactly the same as it is in the West. The "kisha club" system makes reporters beholden to the bureaucrats and politicians they cover rather than to the public they're supposed to serve, while the Japanese corporate tradition of on-the-job training means that...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 1, 2005

Liverpool-Chelsea rematch unlikely to feature many thrills

LONDON -- Sequels are rarely as good as the original but English football is hoping Sunday's Premiership showdown between Liverpool and Chelsea is better than the goal-less, soul-less Champions League draw at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 1, 2005

Australian home stays -- please be kind

It's October and my students have gone to wrestle crocodiles in Australia for a month. But that's not why I'm worried. Until now, they've wrestled with the English language so much, they should be in good shape to take on any croc. I've warned them about other dangers of Australia, such as kangaroos...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 30, 2005

Classical piano

The 16th Annual Kishiko International Concert, which features contemporary piano music from China, South Korea and Japan, will be held Oct. 7. Over the past 15 years, concerts have taken place in Seoul, Beijing and Los Angeles, but this year the performance returns to Tokyo for the second successive...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2005

Four high-decibel rightists held for defaming priest

Police arrested four members of a rightwing group Thursday on suspicion of defaming the chief priest of Meiji Shrine last autumn by claiming in loudspeaker truck protests that he had embezzled money.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 30, 2005

A diet of sex and bad poetry

For their latest production, Tokyo International Players present "Arcadia." Written by Tom Stoppard ("Shakespeare in Love,") "Arcadia" spans two centuries in a single room at the Coverley family's country estate.
JAPAN / BULLETIN BOARD
Sep 29, 2005

International House plans essay contest to fete reopening

The International House of Japan will hold an essay competition in celebration of its reopening.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 29, 2005

Communal individuals

World-famous sculptor Antony Gormley has spent the last 25 years "infecting" public spaces with sculptures that transform viewers' imagination and challenge their preconceptions. In "Children's Field," a Gormley-inspired community art project produced by the American School in Japan (ASIJ) and A.R.T....
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Sep 28, 2005

Shrines are no salve when it comes to extinctions

Natural selection these days can be more than a little unnatural, especially in Japan, which has a curious relationship with nature.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2005

Chubachi reaffirms faith in Sony recovery plan

Sony Corp. President Ryoji Chubachi expressed confidence Monday the embattled electronics giant can meet its revenue target of more than 8 trillion yen in fiscal 2007 by expanding sales of LCD TVs, DVD recorders and key electronics components.
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2005

Avoiding a spinout over oil

It's as if a new oil shock had arrived. Prices of crude oil futures, which once hit $70 a barrel, have not come down enough, still hovering above $60 a barrel -- more than three times the prevailing level of three years ago.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 26, 2005

Constitutional debate welcome

NEW YORK -- I was recently intrigued by the constitutional debate -- not in Iraq, but in Japan -- when I read a book on the art of writing, "Bungei Tokuhon," that Yukio Mishima dictated in 1958.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2005

Koizumi predicted to visit Yasukuni

A former vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party said Sunday he thinks Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit Yasukuni Shrine by the end of the year.
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
Sep 25, 2005

Storm surge of deficit spending forecast

WASHINGTON -- When things go wrong, they all go wrong for U.S. President George W. Bush. We have watched his approval ratings sag through the summer as his policies in Iraq and elsewhere have begun to unravel. Then came Hurricane Katrina nearly four weeks ago, and it appears that the bottom has fallen...

Longform

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