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JAPAN
Aug 6, 2010

Cities scrambling to find centenarians

It all began last week when a mummified corpse was found at a house in Adachi Ward, Tokyo. If the man, Sogen Kato, were still alive he would have been 111 years old.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Aug 6, 2010

Murry, Takeno give Fukuoka firepower

Since joining the Rizing Fukuoka during their first season, Michael Parker has been one of the league's premier players.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2010

Privacy law may face new scrutiny

The government may look into revising the Personal Information Protection Law if some of its provisions are stopping municipalities from ascertaining the status of "missing" centenarians and other pension recipients, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku hinted Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2010

China's economic pride

HONG KONG — In international business and finance, no less than in politics, diplomacy, defense and control of tiny strategic islands and islets in the seas around it, China is showing an increasingly assertive tendency with the clear message that it will not allow itself to be pushed around by anyone....
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 31, 2010

Aichi looking to host Flower Expo by 2020

Flower-growers in Aichi Prefecture have started campaigning to bring the International Garden and Horticulture Exposition, better known as the Flower Expo, to Aichi by around 2020.
BUSINESS
Jul 30, 2010

PlayStation, TVs put Sony back in black

Sony bounced back to profit last quarter and raised its full-year earnings forecast, fueled by stronger demand for its PlayStation 3 game consoles, personal computers and televisions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2010

'Jennifer's Body'/'Zombieland'

"Jennifer's Body" is pretty straightforward in its intentions: mix this season's hot teen genre, the vampire flick, with that old standby the high-school movie. Cast smoking hot Megan Fox as the bitchy bodacious queen bee, Amanda Seyfried as her nerdy best friend, and throw in some snarky teen-speak...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2010

'Nihon no Ichiban Nagai Natsu (Japan's Longest Summer)'/'Ishii Teruo: Eiga Tamashi (Teruo Ishii: The Soul of Film)'

August is the season in Japan for a never-ending stream of films and TV programs about World War II. Quite naturally, from the Japanese perspective, most of this outpouring examines the war's closing days, particularly the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some outsiders (including this one)...
BUSINESS
Jul 29, 2010

Reform delay may snap JGB cycle

Japanese government bond yields may surge if Prime Minister Naoto Kan fails to carry out financial reforms, prompting an exodus of foreign money that had been drawn to the safety of the nation's assets, Barclays Capital Japan Ltd. said.
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2010

Infrastructure abroad key focus

Building so-called social infrastructure has huge potential abroad, prompting Japanese companies to form broad corporate alliances, often with government support, to win contracts for overseas projects.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 28, 2010

A linguistic guide to the dog days of summer

With the exception of Hokkaido, Japan heralds the arrival of summer when the 気象庁 (Kishocho, or Japan Meteorological Agency) declares 梅雨明け (tsuyu ake, end of the rainy season).
BASEBALL / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 27, 2010

Nakajima, Wada stand out in PL

The 2010 All-Star Series is in the rearview mirror and the Pacific League returns to action with a full slate of games on Tuesday night. Meaning now is as good a time as any to stop and take stock of the first few months of the year.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 27, 2010

Ex-students don't want JET grounded

Since 1987, the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program has brought young Westerners — often straight out of college — to Japan to teach English at high schools. But now, Japan's massive public debt and the need to cut costs have put JET in the spotlight.
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."
COMMENTARY
Jul 26, 2010

Give Israeli 'traitor' unconditional freedom

NEW YORK — On May 23, Mordechai Vanunu, whom Amnesty International calls a "prisoner of conscience," was sent to prison for three months, accused of violating the terms of his 2004 release from prison. He has spent 18 years in prison, the first 11 years in solitary confinement.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 25, 2010

Death of 'The Boss' huge news in U.S., not in Japan

I'm just back from a summer trip to the United States with time in northern New Jersey, where the big news last week was the death of New York Yankees owner George "The Boss" Steinbrenner on July 13, and the press coverage was extensive.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 25, 2010

Wherefore art thou, corporate social responsibility?

As an American lawyer, I know a bit about working in a profession that has had serious image problems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 24, 2010

Seattle pair put sake on local map

Japan abounds with foreigners attracted by its cultural opportunities, who live in the country and eventually make a livelihood by specializing in attributes the country has to offer. Scattered across the world, their counterparts reside in towns in Europe or America, those who, after spending time in...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 23, 2010

Post office attempts to reverse non-regular employment trend

Japan Post bucks the trend toward non-regular employees by offering its workers a shot at regular employment.

Longform

It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?