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COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 27, 2007

Re-entry for PRs; rent-a-gran

New 'Yokoso' measures Robert inquires about the changes that started Nov. 20.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2007

Myth of U.S.-EU economic decoupling

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The fact that America's economy is slowing is bad news for Europeans, regardless of claims that Europe's economy has successfully decoupled itself from the United States. Decoupling is an idea that is based on bad economics — and on some Europeans' reluctance to accept the fact...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 20, 2007

Watching them watching us

A s many non-Japanese are well aware, today is "G Day," or "F Day," or whatever cute name you'd like to assign to it: The day that the government begins fingerprinting virtually all foreigners — or "gaijin," or more appropriately "gaikokujin" — entering Japan. And those of us who will be subjected...
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2007

New wine in old bottles

Seasons change in Japan in two ways, according to nature and according to marketing. This last week started the season for Beaujolais Nouveau, the freshly harvested wine that has become an annual worldwide phenomenon. Marketing and traditional values, the two major forces on Japanese consumer behavior,...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 17, 2007

Hospitals — just no place for prudery

Two weeks ago I would have said that very few people in this world had ever seen my private parts. Now, I can say plenty have — mostly doctors and nurses.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 16, 2007

Let's talk about sax

After almost three decades in the music business, jazz saxophonist Kirk Whalum says his sound has remained the same.
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2007

SPRs have suffered enough

Regarding Donald Seekins' Nov 11 letter: Ignorance leads to arrogant notions that one rule should apply to all. The term "Special Permanent Resident" denotes special circumstances regarding how the status was giveNorth Koreans in Japan are descendants of men and women who suffered greatly under Japanese...
SOCCER
Nov 15, 2007

Urawa triumphs in Champions League

SAITAMA — Urawa Reds coach Holger Osieck said his players had little time to savor last night's AFC Champions League victory over Sepahan as the Saitama giants look to wrap up their second successive J. League title on Sunday.
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2007

Exemptions not based on nationality

In his Nov 11 letter, Donald Seekins wonders "Why exempt Korean residents (from biometric screening at ports of entry)?" The short answer is that "Korean residents" are not< /I> exempt. There is no such category in Japanese law, and Special Permanent Residents (SPRs) are not defined by nationality. ...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2007

Fukuda carries political baggage to Washington

With Tuesday's passage of a new special antiterrorism bill by the Lower House, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda can breathe a sigh of relief before he meets Friday with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington in their first bilateral summit.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 10, 2007

Bowled over by one very, happy day

If National Toilet Day is not a happy day for you, perhaps you need a new toilet.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2007

Will entry checks cross the line?

Despite government claims it is necessary to counter terrorism, a new immigration procedure obliging most foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry to Japan has come under fire as an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 4, 2007

It's where you live, and not where you're at, for those bureaucrats

Last week, the Cabinet rejected a recommendation from the National Personnel Authority to raise bonuses and special allowances for some government employees, believing that the public, disillusioned by a constant stream of money scandals involving politicians and bureaucrats, wouldn't stand for it. But...
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2007

DPJ nixes Fukuda's coalition offer to Ozawa

shares a laugh with Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa prior to their talks Friday at the Diet. AP PHOTO
EDITORIALS
Nov 1, 2007

Mr. Moriya's testimony

Testifying as a sworn witness in the Diet, former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya admitted that an extraordinarily close relationship existed between him and a former executive of defense equipment trader Yamada Corp. But he denied any wrongdoing that may bring a criminal charge against him. Mr....
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2007

MSDF duty over, Ozawa tells Fukuda

supplies fuel to a Pakistani destroyer in the Indian Ocean on Monday. It was the last refueling Japan will perform under the antiterrorism law that expires Thursday. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MARITIME SELF-DEFENSE FORCE/KYODO
COMMENTARY
Oct 22, 2007

Let MSDF refueling law die

Late last month a gathering in Yokohama remembered the victims of a U.S. military jet crash in a residential area 30 years ago. I was stunned to learn that a Japanese Self-Defense Force helicopter that had rushed to the scene of the crash flew away with two slightly injured U.S. servicemen without looking...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Oct 21, 2007

The not-so-secret market potential of bubble-wrap bubbles

Ask your friends what handy fun items they carry around and most of them will mention their Nintendo DS or their mobile phone, on which they can watch TV, play games and read a novel. But more and more these days, they may also grin and say, "puchipuchi" — referring to the pleasure — and the sound...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Oct 17, 2007

Florist brings affordable flowers to the masses

Hideaki Inoue, president of the company that runs the Aoyama Flower Market chain, earlier in life had no particular interest in flowers. But today, the former accountant cannot live without them.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Oct 16, 2007

Sake barrels at shrines

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 11, 2007

Mother of all comebacks

Hollywood's hardest-working movie star, John Travolta dons a fat suit and breasts to play a housewife in his latest role, the all-singing, all-dancing musical 'Hairspray.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 4, 2007

The camera and the truth

With his fake documentary purporting to show serving President George W. Bush's assassination, director Gabriel Range has made this year's most controversial movie
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2007

In need of legal help? Just dial the center

From marital woes to financial crises, people often require legal assistance for the problems they face in life.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat