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EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2007

Volunteers must consider risks

The ordeal of 19 South Korean Christians held hostage in Afghanistan by the Taliban finally ended over the weekend as they reunited with family members back home. Seoul's strenuous negotiations with the Taliban made possible their liberation. Two other hostages had been released Aug. 13. We again extend...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ATOMIC POWER AT ANY COST
Sep 4, 2007

Nuclear plants rural Japan's economic fix

Part I: Nuclear doubts spread in wake of Niigata Part III: All cost bets off if Big One hits nuke plant
LIFE / Language
Sep 4, 2007

Garnish your Japanese with some 'humble pie'

Second of two parts
BUSINESS
Sep 4, 2007

Honda, Mazda lead drop in August domestic vehicle sales

Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp. led a drop in domestic regular vehicle sales in August, the 26th straight monthly decline, as a less stable labor market continued to discourage people from buying new cars.
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2007

The truth about Myanmar

Myanmar's democrats continue to struggle to be heard. After a series of protests around the country, the military junta has deployed street toughs to rough up anyone who dares take to the streets to demonstrate. The military's over-reaction indicates how brittle its rule is, how fearful it is of any...
Reader Mail
Sep 2, 2007

Danger in monetary tightening

Unlike the International Monetary Fund, William Schrade (in his Aug. 22 letter, "Japan exporting unemployment") believes that a stronger yen and higher interest rates would boost economic growth and inflation in Japan while giving a break to besieged U.S. and European industries. In his view, current...
Reader Mail
Sep 2, 2007

Internment-era comparison misses

Regarding the Aug. 25 Kyodo article "Internment-era parallels seen in today's mind-set": Japanese American Citizens League director Floyd Mori seems to be missing one very important yet simple point: Although the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II will always be a black mark on the...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 2, 2007

Environmental celebrity special, celebrity comeback special, Kurosawa classic adaptation

On Monday, TBS does its part in publicizing serious global issues with the 2-hour special "Mirai no Kodomotachi e Chikyu no Kiki wo Sukuu Okane no Tsukai-kata (How to Use Money to Solve Global Crises for Children of the Future)" at 9 p.m.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 2, 2007

Cultural affinity bodes well for growing ties with India

Legend has it that in ancient times a mask made its way from India to Japan. One look at today's Noh mask called Beshimi would confirm this legend: Its tea-colored complexion, large eyes and ample nostrils certainly make it look nothing like a Japanese, but like a native of India.
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2007

Credible anti-warming tieup

In their meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to cooperate in creating an effective, post-Kyoto Protocol framework to fight global warming, in which all major greenhouse gas-emitting nations participate.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 2, 2007

Transcending boundaries with writer Yoko Tawada

Facing the Bridge by Yoko Tawada, translated by Margaret Mitsutani. New York: New Directions, 2007, 186 pp., $14.95 (paper) WHERE EUROPE BEGINS by Yoko Tawada, translated by Susan Bernofsky and Yumi Selden, preface by Wim Wenders. New York: New Directions, 2007, 208 pp., $14.95 (paper)
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2007

Nukaga exchange views with Paulson

New Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said Friday that he and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, shepherds of the world's two largest economies, have agreed to stay in close touch on developments in the global economy and the financial woes linked to the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 1, 2007

Amari looks to Africa to secure resources for Japan

Japan hopes to boost ties with African countries so it can secure supplies of much-needed rare metals and energy resources, amid heated competition with China and other emerging economies, trade minister Akira Amari said.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2007

Lower House might be dissolved if MSDF duty isn't extended: Ishihara

bin Laden and al-Qaida (are located), and the antiterrorism law is enabling activities to prevent narcotics from Afghanistan to be sold around the world and the money used for international terrorism," Ishihara told reporters in a group interview. "I think that the decision by the Diet (whether to extend...
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2007

Toyota announces goal of 10 million units in '09

Toyota Motor Corp. announced Friday that it plans to become the first carmaker worldwide to sell more than 10 million vehicles in 2009 thanks to vigorous sales in emerging economies, including China.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2007

Gogol Bordello "Super Taranta!"

The previous album by this motley crew of Brooklyn-resident immigrants was called "Gypsy Punks." It's a good description of the music, but the generic-sounding title may have also fooled people into thinking it was some kind of anthropological exercise.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2007

BOJ's Mizuno says loan crisis shows why rates need to rise

The Bank of Japan needs to raise interest rates to prevent excess borrowing that helped trigger the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent financial-market turmoil, central bank Policy Board member Atsushi Mizuno said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2007

Mono find fan in Steve Albini

While big-name music acts look to foreign markets to continue fattening their already oversize bank accounts, for Tokyo quartet Mono, it's a simple matter of survival.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2007

Indonesia to slash future LNG sales

Indonesia's natural gas sales to Japan's utilities may tumble 75 percent under a 10-year, 25 million metric ton contract that reflects the Southeast Asian nation's dwindling reserves of the fuel. State oil company PT Pertamina will propose slashing the supply when existing contracts with Japanese utilities...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Aug 31, 2007

Offside

Director: Jafar Panahi Language: Persian
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2007

Common cause in Central Asia

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its annual summit in mid-August, providing the occasion for another round of hand-wringing over whether an anti-Western bloc has emerged. Those dark speculations are exaggerated. Indeed, the rest of the world should support efforts to increase counterterrorism...
COMMENTARY
Aug 30, 2007

Happiness can't be legislated

LONDON — The question is topical because economists and other experts are increasingly doubting whether existing policies, such as steps to increase economic growth, really add to people's welfare and contentment.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo