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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 31, 2006

A time for every age group

Many pundits agree that the most important challenge Japan faces is how to deal with the problem of falling birthrates and an aging population. Among direct, specific proposals for solving the problem are measures to increase birthrates and reform the pension and medical-care systems.
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2006

Sympathy for a racehorse

The world's compassion is notoriously quirky. Just consider where it has been directed over the past couple of months, a period as replete with tragedy and disaster as any in recent memory. Another lethal tsunami struck Indonesia. The sectarian slaughter in Iraq worsened, with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2006

EU membership sharpens Central, East Europe's competitive edge

See related story Is bigger better for European Union?
CULTURE / Books
Jul 30, 2006

Strip down and soak up some Japanese culture

GETTING WET: Adventures in the Japanese Bath, by Eric Talmadge. Tokyo: Kodansha, 255 pp., 2,400 yen (cloth). In the last few years we have seen books about cod, salt and potatoes, and the authors of these tomes appear to have employed a roughly similar method. Settle on a topic, learn everything -- and...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 30, 2006

TBS rejoins the fighting family in "Triple Kitchen" and more

One of the enduring conflicts in Japanese TV dramas is the one that exists between a bride and her mother-in-law. This theme hit its peak 13 years ago in the series "Double Kitchen," which followed the daily boxing match between Kiriko and her husband's mother, who, as played by Yoko Nogiwa, was the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2006

'Koizumi's children' no longer

"Koizumi's children" are making their ways out of the nest and into the factionalized world of the Liberal Democratic Party.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2006

Carcinogen benzene in DHC drinks

Cancer-causing benzene has been found in amounts in excess of an international standard in a soft drink sold by cosmetics retailer DHC Corp., the health ministry said Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 29, 2006

When Crete meets NEET

An unholy union with an unholy result -- a monster!
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2006

Telescope sees gas clouds that dwarf the Milky Way

Japan's huge Subaru telescope in Hawaii has spotted and captured the images of huge masses of molecular gas, each larger than the Milky Way galaxy, the National Astronomic Observatory of Japan said Thursday.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 28, 2006

Breaking teeth on 'Hard Candy'

Thonggrrrl, 14, could just be the girl of Lensman's dreams. She's sexy, she's witty, she's currently reading the autobiography of Jean Seberg and making all kinds of intelligent comments. And she's all of 14 years old.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2006

Koizumi unveils Africa medical research award

The government has formally announced an award named after scientist Hideyo Noguchi to honor medical researchers and personnel working for Africa, with the first presentation scheduled for 2008.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2006

Ethanol latest bid to boost Okinawa

OSAKA -- In May, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met with Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga and trade minister Toshihiro Nikai to discuss Okinawa's future.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

All GSDF troops safely home from historic mission to Iraq

The last batch of Ground Self-Defense Force troops touched down on Japanese soil Tuesday, wrapping up the country's humanitarian mission in Iraq, its biggest and most dangerous overseas deployment since World War II.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Life spans decrease for first time in six years; women still top world

ranking due to the special factor (of influenza), but the long-term trend of Japanese people's average life span has not changed," a ministry official said. In 2004, life expectancy was 85.59 years for Japanese women and 78.64 years for men -- both record highs.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 26, 2006

Will commons sense dawn again in time?

These days we can be forgiven for wondering if Homo sapiens have gone completely mad. From just a glance at the headlines, it is easy to conclude that humans are hellbent on destroying themselves and their environment, with little concern for which goes first.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2006

Adolescent suicide: a serious problem in every country

NEW YORK -- It happens every day, and with alarming frequency. Adolescent suicide is a serious problem in every country, and Japan is no exception. An estimated 30,000 Japanese of all ages kill themselves each year.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jul 24, 2006

Kyushu showers let up long enough for All-Stars to play ball

MIYAZAKI -- Kyushu, what a boulevard of broken sweat.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2006

Tories need to do more than pick on EU

BRUSSELS -- All the focus groups in Britain demonstrate that people do not care about Europe. Or at least they certainly don't treat it as a priority. The economy, health and education, as well as quality of life and security issues, con- sistently rate higher. Yet David Cameron's Tories are still falling...
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2006

Honda plans hybrid-parts factory in Mie

Honda Motor Co. plans to build a new plant in Mie Prefecture to boost production capacity of key components for its hybrid cars, company officials said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2006

Downhill path from fear to proliferation

Why have some of Japan's leaders been talking about the need to acquire the ability to attack North Korean missiles on the launchpads? It's because they know that the United States, despite its overwhelming air and maritime power, cannot credibly threaten North Korea. That is because North Korea holds...
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2006

Retired Yasukuni official recounts turmoil over war criminal question

in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, in May 1981. KYODO FILE PHOTO
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 23, 2006

Democracy falters as underworld forces flourish

Kyrgyzstan is referred to as a faltering state, meaning that it is not quite failing.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2006

Funding scandal shakes ivory tower

It came as a shock last year when former Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo Suk's claims that he had created stem cells by cloning human embryos turned out to be fraudulent. A recent case at Waseda University in Tokyo is no less surprising, although it mainly concerns the irregular use of...
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2006

Nikai not optimistic on Doha talks

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai said Friday he is not optimistic about the prospects for successfully concluding the Doha Round of global free-trade talks by the end of this year as targeted by the World Trade Organization.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 22, 2006

All aboard! -- Jump on the super express train to English

The other day, a Japanese man came up to me in Starbucks and said, "Could you help me with this word?"

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly