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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 26, 2010

Home truths: To buy or not to buy?

During a recent sojourn in the United States, I talked with friends and relatives about the housing situation, specifically the value of their homes in the wake of the subprime fiasco of 2007-08. Those who bought high just before the bubble burst are feeling queasy now that property values have descended...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 24, 2010

'Jusannin no Shikaku (13 Assassins)'

Takashi Miike's rise is complete: This one-time director of cheapo shock pics — which he churned out like sausages and were beloved by foreign Asian Extreme fans — is now a proven hit-maker and recognized auteur, with his new samurai swashbuckler "Jusannin no Shikaku (13 Assassins)" screening in...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 16, 2010

Gillard has her work cut out

SYDNEY — With the Labor Party back in power by the skin of its teeth and with the Greens holding the whip, countries buying essentials from Australia should expect to negotiate more carefully with suppliers of coal, iron ore, uranium and foodstuffs.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2010

Indictment under unjust scenario

The Osaka District Court on Sept. 10 declared Ms. Atsuko Muraki, a former head of the welfare ministry's Equal Employment, Children and Families Bureau, innocent of a charge that she issued a fabricated certificate to recognize an organization as a group for the disabled, thus enabling it to use a postage...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 12, 2010

Could public polls sway DPJ vote?

According to major media opinion polls, if the choice of who will lead the country was up to the populace, Prime Minister Naoto Kan would retain his position against fellow Democratic Party of Japan member Ichiro Ozawa's challenge to the party presidency and the premiership.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2010

Will nationalistic pursuits doom European Union?

WASHINGTON, THE WASHINGTON POST — The European Union is dying — not a dramatic or sudden death, but one so slow and steady that we may look across the Atlantic one day soon and realize that the project of European integration that we've taken for granted over the past half-century is no more.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2010

Greenpeace pair guilty; no prison

The Aomori District Court sentenced two Greenpeace Japan activists Monday to suspended one-year prison terms for trespassing and stealing whale meat from a transport company branch in Aomori Prefecture in April 2008.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2010

Judgment draws near in whale-meat trial

In 2008, two officials of Greenpeace Japan presented to prosecutors what they described as evidence of a Japanese whaler's embezzlement of whale meat and asked them to investigate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 31, 2010

Does Japan's affair with tuna mean loving it to extinction?

Japan is known as the biggest consumer of tuna. Be it raw for sushi or sashimi or fried, broiled or canned, tuna is an important element of the food culture.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2010

Vote of no confidence in Australia

There is little for Australian politicians to be proud of as they contemplate the results of last month's parliamentary elections. The vote was almost perfectly divided, resulting in the first hung Parliament since 1940. At this point, the two major parties are courting the four independents to see who...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 29, 2010

Anyone for tennis?

If you've ever had a tennis lesson, your coach likely told you to block, rather than swing at your volleys. That knowledge makes it all the more thrilling to watch someone like the athletic 16-year-old Sanae Ota rush in from the back of the court, leap up to a high, floating ball — before it bounces...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 29, 2010

Tightened credit rules threaten to spawn 'loan refugees'

Japan may be in the midst of a silent epidemic of kinketsu-byo ("lack of money disease"). The source of the infection is a new statute that bans many borrowers from obtaining unsecured loans.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2010

Foreigners can vote for DPJ leader

As the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election nears, an interesting fact has surfaced regarding internal regulations on who gets to vote for the ruling party's leader — and effectively the prime minister.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 27, 2010

'About Elly'

"About Elly" is the kind of ensemble film that recalls Robert Altman ("Pret a Porter," "Gosford Park") or an early Kenneth Branagh ("Peter's Friends"). A group of characters come together on screen, casual conversation is tossed about, relationships are forged or renewed or become strained — and with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 19, 2010

Problems getting off the ground

In this age of perpetual "War on Terror," we have gotten somewhat accustomed to "disrobing" ourselves at airports. Taking off our watches, necklaces, belts or sometimes even shoes, has become routine when we go through security gates.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2010

Budget cutters target JET

Every year for the past two decades, legions of young Americans have descended on Japan to teach English. This government-sponsored charm offensive was launched to counter anti-Japan sentiment in the United States and has since grown into one of the country's most successful displays of soft power.
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2010

Accelerate nuclear disarmament

This year Hiroshima and Nagasaki hold their peace memorial services to mark the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of them as the world feels the "global momentum toward a nuclear weapons-free world," as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon observes. It is important that every nation and citizens...
EDITORIALS
Aug 3, 2010

Facing criticism from within

The divided Diet is the biggest hurdle for Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the Democratic Party of Japan. Mr. Kan and the DPJ leadership also face criticism from DPJ Diet members for the party's defeat in the July 11 Upper House election. The leaders face a tough job solidifying the party.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2010

Muskoka declaration of health highlights abandoned promises

WATERLOO, Canada — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper — who is the 2010 president of the Group of Eight industrialized nations — has summarized the "Muskoka Initiative: Maternal, Newborn and Under-5 Child Health" by exclaiming "We have been successful."

Longform

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