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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 8, 2009

In an 'Era of Decline,' let's look to youth to quell 'panic of the mind'

"We are living in extremely hard times. . . . I have been reading news- papers for 60 years, and I can't recall any era when the local news pages have appalled me more."
COMMENTARY
Feb 5, 2009

What's wrong with the way English is taught in Japan

The good news is that Japan's education bureaucrats realize that despite six years of middle and high school study many Japanese are still unable to speak English well. The bad news is that the bureaucrats plan to solve this problem by giving us more of what caused the problem.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2009

A whale of a shortsighted subsidy program

BEPPU, Oita Pref. — After stepping off the train and onto the platform at Ogata station, in the Tosa area of Kochi Prefecture, Shikoku, travelers are greeted by a sign with two whales: "Welcome to Ogata, where the whales also greet you."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2009

2channel founder ponders next step after forum's sale

A short message recently posted on Hiroyuki Nishimura's personal blog sent shock waves across the online community. In a single sentence dated Jan. 2, he announced that he had sold 2channel, his wildly popular Internet forum.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 24, 2009

Neumann analyzes Curry, recalls Pistol Pete

Every dozen years or so, a young athlete arrives on the scene — Cristiano Ronaldo, Usain Bolt or LeBron James, for instance — with the demeanor, athleticism and poise beyond their years to be the next standard-bearer of excellence in that sport.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2009

Aso's days said numbered

Now that Prime Minister Taro Aso managed Tuesday to force the second extra budget for fiscal 2008 through the Lower House, his next hurdle is the fiscal 2009 budget and related bills.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jan 15, 2009

Wildlife attendant Pat Kim

Pat Kim is a wildlife attendant at the Hyatt Regency Guam, where she takes care of the exotic birds in the hotel's gardens. Since the arrival of a flock of baby parrots in Guam 15 years ago, Kim's been a virtual mom to them, nursing eight little macaws and two cockatoos into the magnificent creatures...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 14, 2009

'Change' is for the better in year's kanji highlights

The most popular kanji in headlines, blurbs and slogans last year had to do with disasters. Hen (変, to change, or metamorphose) was the most used character, according to the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, beating out close second and third choices kin (金 gold) and raku (落, to drop, or...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2009

Ruling bloc steamrollers second extra budget

Overriding shouts of protest from the opposition parties, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito bloc rammed the second extra budget for fiscal 2008 through the Lower House on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2009

Ishihara urges Obama to act on abductees

A group of governors seeking the return of Japanese abducted by North Korea called the U.S. delisting of Pyongyang from its terrorism blacklist "incoherent" and urged President-elect Barack Obama to take prompt action on the matter.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2009

Drop cash-benefit measure

As Diet discussions shifts into top gear, the confrontation between the ruling and opposition is growing fierce over a ¥2 trillion household cash-benefit package that is included in a second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008. The opposition wants the ¥2 trillion plan dropped from the budget and...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 11, 2009

Orioles did homework before deciding on Uehara

So Koji Uehara is going to sink his forkball in the major leagues and his fork into a plate of crab cakes from Chesapeake Bay, having agreed, according to all reports, to a two-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
COMMENTARY
Jan 8, 2009

Outlook is mixed for 2009

Looking at 2009, the good news is that the global economy is likely to recover much faster than predicted. The bad news is that global politics are likely to deteriorate much more rapidly than most expected.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 6, 2009

Japan makes progress in 2009

As we start 2009, let's recharge the batteries by reviewing last year's good news. Here is my list of top human rights advancements for Japan in 2009, in ascending order:
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2009

Trying to brush away any doubts

Prime Minister Taro Aso, who over the past year drew criticism for repeatedly misreading kanji characters, may have showed Sunday he is a man of culture after all.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 4, 2009

Rounding up 2008's media

Media Figure of the Year: Tomohiro Kato
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 1, 2009

J-pop prepares an assault on the West in '09

I wouldn't want to shout about it (since it might upset your New Year's hangover), but 2009 might just be the year that J-pop goes global. Several heavy hitters have set their sights on Western domination this year, and more than ever, their chances seem good.
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2008

Good riddance to a bad year

If U.S. President-elect Barack Obama can walk on water, then change really is coming to the United States and the world. If there are no more big unexploded bombs buried in the world's financial systems, then this may be just an ordinary recession. But the most telling image of 2008 was Iraqi journalist...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 28, 2008

ONE for ALL

Reader Mail
Dec 25, 2008

Persistence of superstition

I read with great interest David Klinghoffer's Dec. 17 commentary (originally printed in the Los Angeles Times) "Appeal of the otherworldly remains strong." While I agree that a great interest in the otherworldly is pervasive in America and the world, I find that this hardly indicates the reality of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 24, 2008

Who says you can't buy a friend?

Your new chum: Gadgets are by definition small mechanical or electronic devices with a practical function that typically are thought of as novelties. Widgets, on the other hand, have until recently been merely hypothetical gadgets, handy for illustrating hypothetical examples.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 23, 2008

Gay scene: Tolerance, legal limbo

Some countries see homosexuality as a crime punishable by death, while others are open to diversity and make no judgment on the basis of one's sexual orientation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2008

Toy company CEOs dress up to play Santa

To help boost the sagging toy market, toy company executives transformed themselves into one-day Santa Clauses on Saturday to promote their products for Christmas.
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2008

Japan in worse shape than feared

The economy shrank much faster in the third quarter than the government initially estimated, after businesses cut spending and slashed inventories in anticipation of a prolonged recession, Cabinet Office data showed Tuesday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 7, 2008

Graduates' security goes to pot

Last week, a 25-year-old University of Tokyo graduate was arrested for allegedly posting death threats on his blog. The police say that the man, who has been unemployed since graduating from Japan's most prestigious university, had written that he would kill members of the education ministry for misleading...

Longform

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