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ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 24, 2009

Students share hopes for nation's future environment

Each year on May 5, Japan celebrates Children's Day with waves of young families flooding local parks, playgrounds and amusement centers.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2009

Life of coalition extended

DELHI, OPINION ASIA — The outcome of the just-concluded 2009 national poll in India reflect continuity because the verdict was clearly in favor of an incumbent coalition government that presages political stability. Equally, the results are indicative of change because voters rejected regional parties,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
May 22, 2009

A purist at work behind the bar

"A bar is no place for a woman. The important characters are always men."
COMMENTARY
May 21, 2009

The way forward in Afghanistan

So far, 157 British troops have died in Afghanistan and many more have been injured. These are significant and worrying losses. How long will British public opinion accept these losses when it is not clear whether the war in Afghanistan can be won?
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 20, 2009

Launch of DPJ executive lineup draws flak for Ozawa role

New Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama officially launched his executive lineup Tuesday, with Katsuya Okada, his rival in the party leadership race, as secretary general and former DPJ boss Ichiro Ozawa as deputy party chief in charge of election strategy.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 20, 2009

News and notes from the bj-league's Final Four

Nobody likes to lose back-to-back championship games.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 20, 2009

Nuggets look poised for first trip to NBA Finals

NEW YORK — Undersized market. Unsightly tattoos. Unadulterated threat to come out of the West and reach the Supreme Court for the first time since the sphere of influence was red, white and blue (1976) and their coach was known simply as Twin Town Brown.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2009

Parliament under attack

LONDON — The Mother of Parliaments at Westminster is in deep trouble. Housed in its venerable Thames-side palace — an instantly recognized icon of democracy around the world — it is today filled with anxious legislators who feel a mixture of anger, apprehension and bewilderment.
Reader Mail
May 17, 2009

Dehumanizing influence on all

Regarding Satsuo Matsumoto's May 10 letter, "Torture necessary in some cases": Any reader inclined to endorse the opinion of Matsumoto concerning the morality and practical benefits of torture need look no further than the excellent article by Tzvetan Todorov, "Petty torture rules played on sense of...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 17, 2009

NPB commissioner wanted to ban foreign players 25 years ago

There are 66 foreign players currently registered in Japanese pro baseball, along with two foreign managers, a farm team manager and three coaches. But, 25 years ago this month, the commissioner of Japanese baseball wanted to ban non-Japanese from playing in the Central and Pacific Leagues.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2009

Lack of fireworks as DPJ rivals' debate ends in a tie

Yukio Hatoyama and Katsuya Okada, the two candidates in the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election Saturday, both stuck to the party line in a public debate in which the only way they seemed to differentiate themselves from each other was in their choice of ties.
JAPAN
May 16, 2009

Bill would allow organ harvesting from children with parental OK

As pressure mounts to revise the controversial organ transplant law, lawmakers across party lines submitted a fresh bill Friday to the Diet on top of the three bills that are already being deliberated.
JAPAN
May 15, 2009

Ozawa to still play key role, rivals vow

Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama and deputy chief Katsuya Okada, the two candidates running in Saturday's DPJ presidential race, said Thursday resigning President Ichiro Ozawa will still serve in a key post.
Reader Mail
May 14, 2009

Business of keeping us safe

Professor Yoshi Tsurumi's criticism of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Taro Aso for not prosecuting or apologizing for "war crimes" (May 3 article, "U.S. imitating Japan's denial of responsibility") strikes me as one of the the more convoluted and, frankly, ludicrous opinion pieces I have encountered. ...
COMMENTARY
May 13, 2009

The dead weight of a stubborn politician

"Never apologize, never admit mistakes" is a maxim that many politicians seem to regard as necessary to demonstrate that they are firm in pursuit of their policies. They do not recognize that obstinacy is usually a sign of weakness, not strength.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2009

Ozawa declares resignation

Bowing to pressure from within the Democratic Party of Japan, Ichiro Ozawa surprised the political world Monday by announcing his resignation as DPJ president to take responsibility for the political fundraising scandal involving his chief aide.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2009

Ozawa weighs next move

The attention of many political observers appears to be focused on when and how, rather than if, Ichiro Ozawa will step down as the leader of the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan before the next general election due to take place no later than September.
Reader Mail
May 10, 2009

Obama should not visit Hiroshima

Regarding Hiroshi Noro's April 26 letter, "Coexisting or co-perishing": While I fully agree with the writer that world leaders should take all necessary steps to ban nuclear weapons to save Earth, I do not believe that U.S. President Barack Obama should visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki as the leader of the...
COMMENTARY / World
May 6, 2009

Nuclear spin in Indian polls

DELHI OPINION ASIA — As elections progress, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Congress party are in more trouble over the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal than they will readily acknowledge, with the distinct possibility of losing power.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
May 5, 2009

Fujimori gets his; Japan left shamed

News item: Alberto Fujimori, former president of Peru, was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison by a Peruvian court for connections to death squads.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2009

Indonesian Islamic politics sees changing of the guard

SINGAPORE, OPINION ASIA — The current spotlight is on the search for a future coalition in Indonesia, but attention should also be given to the fact that the polls have led to a historical change of guard among the ranks of Islamist parties. This change concerns not only the Unity Development Party...
Reader Mail
May 3, 2009

Calderons' conduct disappointing

In response to Ivor Paul's April 30 letter, "Righteous indignation misplaced," which protested the recent "mean-spirited" letters about the Calderon family, I think the issue here is how the Calderon family conducted themselves after being told that they would be deported.
JAPAN
May 2, 2009

Power struggle rages in North over Kim's heir

As succession speculation abounds amid reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's deteriorating health, a recently obtained confidential report has shed new light on a power struggle taking place in the reclusive state.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2009

Shape of Sri Lanka's future

LONDON — One of the world's longest running insurgencies might be coming to an end with the Sri Lankan government close to overrunning the last remaining holdouts of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forces. The Sri Lankan military says that only 500 fighters remain in a narrow patch...
Reader Mail
Apr 30, 2009

Vote-buying is the problem

Regarding the April 22 article "A violent warning for Thailand's urban elites": I would like the author to do more research on the opinion of the rich and the poor, the urbanites and the rural residents. The problem is not that the elites are looking down on the poor but that the poor and politically...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Apr 29, 2009

Is sumo truly the Japanese national sport?

For the 140 or so years non-Japanese have known of the existence of sumo, many have referred to it as Japan's national sport. But are they correct about the status of this ancient form of wrestling found only in these islands, misinformed entirely, or just partly right?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 28, 2009

Berlitz blitz against union bogs down

After the second court hearing on April 20 in Berlitz Japan's lawsuit against unionized teachers, the legal fight seems bogged down in a form of trench warfare.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Apr 26, 2009

Lost in construction

If you ever have a hankering for nikka-zubon and jika-tabi, the outre puffy pants and split-toed booties rocked by Japanese carpenters, construction dudes and painters, supply store Mannenya in 3-chome (district 3) of Nishi Shinjuku has got you covered. The building is hard to miss: it's acid yellow,...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?