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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2009

Refugee hopefuls' ally speaks out

Tsuyoshi Amemiya, 74, a retired Aoyama Gakuin University professor, recalls the day he got a lesson on the status of refugees in Japan — and how shocked he was by his own ignorance of the issue.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2009

Departing Schieffer rues abductee issue

Departing U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer expressed regret Wednesday there was not more progress on the abduction issue during his stint but pledged to continue to support the effort to repatriate any Japanese kidnapped to North Korea regardless of his future post.
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2009

Goldman plans to acquire USJ

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will make a takeover bid to gain 100 percent control of USJ Co., operator of the Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka, a source said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2009

Matchmakers' 'marriage hunts' beating out fate to secure mate

Many singles may prefer to leave it up to fate to find their significant other, but experts are saying those who elect to wait for "the one" may never make it to the altar.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2009

Abuse of religious fervor paves way to doom

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The terrorist assault in Mumbai targeted not only India's economy and sense of security, but also the India-Pakistan detente that has taken shape since 2004.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 13, 2009

Bloated bureaucracy exposed

A common joke among some foreigners here is that everything makes sense once you realize Japan is a communist country. However, the role of privileged ruling Communist Party (or, if you have a literary bent, the pigs in George Orwell's socialist parable "Animal Farm") is played not by the perpetual opposition...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Jan 10, 2009

Irishman lets chips fall, finds love

Neither Frankie Lafferty nor Saika Kojima ever thought they would wed a foreigner. But nine months after their first encounter in 2004, the two registered for marriage in Sayama, Saitama Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2009

Emperor's spirit of peace

Twenty years ago on Jan. 7, 1989, the Emperor ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne immediately after the death of his father, the Emperor Showa. This year, the 20th anniversary of the Emperor's enthronement will be followed on April 10 by the 50th anniversary of his marriage with the Empress. We pray...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 9, 2009

Otaku star Shokotan offers a little fan service

"I really care about how much proof of my life I can leave behind; how many concerts I can give and how many photos I can have taken," admits Japanese celebrity Shoko Nakagawa, better known to her legion of fans worldwide as Shokotan. "I'm just afraid to have any free time and I'm scared of doing nothing."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 9, 2009

In the space

Synesthesia is a condition in which stimulation of one sense triggers sensation in another. While very few people have it, most of us are able to understand it at the level of analogy. Musicians, for example, use "chromatic" scales (derived from the Greek word for color), while visual artists routinely...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 9, 2009

Pianist Kawai seeks out the real Chopin

"I had the sense I was on a mission when I decided to do this project," recounts Poland-based Japanese pianist Yuko Kawai, who has been introducing authentic versions of the works of Chopin (1810-49) — as restored in musical scores published as the National Edition — through her Chopinissimo recital...
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2009

Tokyo office vacancies up again

Tokyo office vacancies rose in December for the 11th straight month and climbed to the highest level in more than three years, as companies cut spending amid the deepening recession, industry data showed Thursday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 7, 2009

Modern childhood holds many a lesson for adults

The reader is invited to accompany me on a trip (return, not one-way) to second childhood. Those of us who learned Japanese as adults missed out, after all, on a vast store of linguistic experience. Is it irretrievable? Maybe not. The child's world is laid out in children's books. Leave your adulthood...
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jan 6, 2009

Okubo equipped to make the most of his second chance

Yoshito Okubo's career may not have followed the course it seemed destined for when he burst onto the scene at the start of the decade, but a move to Wolfsburg gives the striker the perfect opportunity to make his belated mark on European soccer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jan 6, 2009

Academic career in Japan served as vital lesson in culture, says dean

Bruce Stronach, current dean of the Japan campus of Temple University, has a career in academia that spans two countries and over three decades. Sixteen of those years were spent with schools in Japan and have taught him much about Japanese society.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE MANY FACES OF CITIZENSHIP
Jan 5, 2009

A convenience in peace becomes matter of conflict in war

Last in a series
JAPAN / THE MANY FACES OF CITIZENSHIP
Jan 4, 2009

Multinationalism remains far from acceptance in Japan

Third in a series

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?