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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 27, 2009

Wendy's decision triggers memories of a unique pre-game tradition

A brief news article on Page 1 of the Dec. 12 edition of The Japan Times reminded me of former Yakult Swallows and Rakuten Eagles pitcher Kevin Hodges. "Wendy's pulling out of Japan by end of month," read the headline above the story about the U.S. hamburger chain ending its operations in this country....
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 27, 2009

COP15 farce: There's always more time, till there isn't

Post-conference analysis of the Copenhagen COP15 has ranged from despair and disgust to guarded optimism that 2010 will bring a new and better agreement.
Reader Mail
Dec 27, 2009

Civil rights and immigration issues

Regarding the Dec. 22 article "Level playing field for immigrants: responses": I am not surprised to see that the people who kindly told columnist Debito Arudou to mind his own business and let Japan do as it wishes have given up on Japan and left, will do so soon, or do not even live here. Maybe the...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 27, 2009

Decade's end abuzz and a-flutter with wist for a warm poetic past

At the end of the year — and, particularly, the end of a decade — an old man's fancy turns, involuntarily, to nostalgia.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2009

Mr. Ozawa is out of line

Ripples from the controversy over Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's exceptional audience with the Emperor on Dec. 15 have not died down. Statements on the relationship between the Cabinet and the Emperor made by Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa raise serious concerns.
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2009

Not a benchmark to celebrate

The 100th day of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's administration was marred by disgrace. On Thursday, two former secretaries to Mr. Hatoyama were indicted for falsifying political funds reports. The case is not linked to corruption, but it casts serious doubt over the transparency of the Hatoyama office's...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 26, 2009

Storyteller of implausible success

Imagine this: An Indian diplomat in London churns out his first novel during a two-month hiatus before his next posting. The novel becomes an international best-seller and is translated into 42 languages. Before the book is even printed it has been optioned for a film, which goes on to win eight Academy...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2009

Children's rights treaty turns 20

Acknowledging that children often require special care and protection, and pushing for the world to recognize that children have human rights, in 1989 world leaders moved to draw up a special convention for people under the age of 18. The resulting Convention of the Rights of the Child spelled out the...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 25, 2009

New Year's concerts held across Japan

If nightclubs aren't your thing, but you still want to hear live music over the New Year's holidays, classical music concerts might be just the ticket.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Dec 25, 2009

Japan's favorite hangover cures

Tis the season to be jolly. And when you've finished being jolly, tis the season to wake up with veisalgia, more popularly known as a hangover.
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2009

Holding steady on gasoline tax

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday decided to maintain the current rates on gasoline and other road-related taxes throughout fiscal 2010 even though the road-related tax system will be overhauled by April 2010. The abolition of surcharges on road-related taxes was a main campaign pledge of the...
Reader Mail
Dec 24, 2009

Flawed 'power structure thinking'

In his Dec. 20 article, "Wake up a friend about China at Christmas," Tom Plate recommends that readers give their friends a book about the Middle Kingdom for the holidays, specifically one with the scary title "When China Rules the World." Everyone, East and West, seems to agree that China is the emerging...
EDITORIALS
Dec 24, 2009

Japan pressed on Futenma

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Japanese Ambassador to the United States Ichiro Fujisaki to the State Department on Monday for an unscheduled meeting. She reportedly called for Japan to promptly implement the 2006 bilateral accord to move the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station...
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2009

Aftermath of Copenhagen

"The city of Copenhagen is a crime scene tonight, with the guilty men and women fleeing to the airport," said John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, on Friday night. "There are no targets for carbon cuts and no agreement on a legally binding treaty."
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2009

Cabinet to hike tax burden ¥980 billion

The Cabinet led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama adopted on Tuesday a set of tax reforms for fiscal 2010 that would increase the burden on taxpayers by a total of around ¥980 billion a year.
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2009

Battery boost

Electronics maker Panasonic Corp. has developed a rechargeable battery that can store 10 percent more power than a model it introduced last week, two people familiar with the product said.

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?