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EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2005

More than postal reform at stake

As the Lower House election campaign goes into full swing, Japanese voters face an important decision: whether to endorse the reform politics of Liberal Democratic Party leader and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, or a different kind of reform politics pushed by the opposition Democratic Party of Japan....
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2005

A timely warning to Tokyo

It is tempting to overreact to warnings that al-Qaeda is preparing an attack on a large financial center in Asia. That would be a mistake. If accurate a big if the reports should spur officials to better prepare for that awful possibility. But the news is not really new: Japan has already suffered one...
Japan Times
JAPAN / POLL SHOWDOWN
Aug 30, 2005

Okada hopes to shift election focus

Democratic Party of Japan leader Katsuya Okada is calling for voters' support in the Sept. 11 general election to bring about regime change and rebuild Japan in the face of ballooning government deficits and a rapidly aging population.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 28, 2005

Intelligent Design: One chance encounter explains it all

Ijust happened to be reading the Kansas City Star the other day when a fascinating article caught my eye. The Star reported, in its Aug. 2 edition, that the Kansas Board of Education has approved a draft of new science standards proposed by supporters of so-called Intelligent Design.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2005

State to draft law on asbestos redress

The government will draft a law outlining compensation for victims of asbestos-related illnesses, including those who lived near asbestos-linked factories and the families of those who worked with the unburnable material, the Cabinet decided Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2005

FSA going after businesses pushing risky forex trading

The Financial Services Agency is tightening its grip on financial futures businesses over high-risk foreign-exchange trading, with business suspension orders issued to three small firms in the past month.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 25, 2005

Hit piece on Valentine, Marines another black eye for journalism in Japan

Is it just me, or has the level of media assaults on prominent foreign sports figures in Japan increased markedly in the past few months?
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 25, 2005

Illuminating responses to 'Glimmers of hope . . . '

One of the most entertaining things about being a columnist is getting feedback from readers.
LIFE / Language
Aug 25, 2005

How to avoid strife when writing essays

It is a classic dilemma for any Japanese student of English: with a deadline fast approaching, how to go about writing an essay when the target language is not the student's native tongue? Many assume it is easier to write an essay in their native language and then to translate it into English. In fact,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2005

Vote on Koizumi's record, not postal reform, scholar says

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may want to make his postal privatization quest the focal point of the Sept. 11 election, but economics professor Masaru Kaneko argues voters should instead cast their ballots based on how he has steered the economy and society.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Aug 24, 2005

The best from a bygone era

I was recently tempted to term the handsome old Bridgestone Museum as "the last of a dying breed." But that hardly seems appropriate any more, considering the Nihonbashi art space's ongoing evolution. Instead, the Bridgestone might be better described as "a survivor" -- and one of the best -- from a...
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2005

Low level of asbestos exposure proved fatal

Blue asbestos fibers identical to that lining the walls of a stationery shop were found in the lungs of its former manager, who died of an asbestos-linked illness after working there for more than 30 years, it was learned Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2005

Asian chance after Annan

The term of Kofi Annan as U.N. secretary general (SG) expires Dec. 31, 2006. Countries and individuals have begun to position themselves to succeed him. If Asians are to have a credible chance of filling what should rightfully be their turn at the job, their discussions and negotiations in the next six...
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2005

New quake measures call for three days of supplies

The government will try to ensure it can maintain key functions for three days following a powerful quake striking the Tokyo metropolitan area and ask each household to store enough food and beverages to last at least that long.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2005

Horie defies his own words to run for political office

Those who have read the book recently penned by Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie must be surprised by his intention to run in the upcoming general election.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Aug 21, 2005

Cartoon duo leads the way in a version of history that's no joke

The phrase "textbook row" has become a regular sighting in Japanese newspapers of late, as newly authorized history books for schools are accused, both at home and abroad, of "glossing over" the bloodier aspects of this country's warmongering, Imperialist past.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2005

The Steve Kimock Band: "Eudemonic"

After years of subsisting on commercial releases of live shows, The Steve Kimock Band has finally recorded a studio album. "Eudemonic," produced by the eclectic guitarist himself and his 13-Grammy-winning drummer Rodney Holmes, loses none of the band's live power and suppleness. The tracks have a wealth...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2005

Sufjan Stevens: "Illinois"

Sounding at times like The Moody Blues' "Days of Future Past" as interpreted by a roomful of high-school band geeks, "Illinois" is a 22-track concept album loosely based on the U.S. state of Illinois.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2005

Rallying round home-grown sounds

It's the final day of this year's Rock in Japan festival, which took place Aug. 5-7. Holding court in the HMV DJ booth is entertainer Yoshiaki Umegaki. He's a late fortysomething transvestite sporting a tall blue wig and playing with his plastic breasts under a fetching blue sequined number while pouring...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 21, 2005

All together now, as yesterday's no-no becomes the status quo

When I first arrived in Japan in the 1960s, I was friends with a Western sociologist who was genuinely frustrated. When he went around surveying public opinion, he said that he found Japanese people to be stubbornly reserved and conservative. Apparently, those who responded to his questions about social...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2005

Museum rises from passion for pachinko

Tetsuya Makino, 40, has devoted most of his life to a game that has fascinated him since he was 7 years old: pachinko.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2005

Revisiting capital punishment

NEW YORK -- Recent statements on capital punishment by John Paul Stevens, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, to the American Bar Association could reignite the debate on this important issue. His statements followed several exonerations of death-row inmates through scientific evidence. He said these exonerations...
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2005

Statements befitting future conduct

On Monday, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement apologizing for Japan's past colonialism and aggression. He also decided that day not to visit Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan's militarism in the 1930s and '40s. Instead, he visited and...

Longform

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