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JAPAN
Jan 30, 2008

Lawsuits against Odakyu project from '94 rejected

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday rejected lawsuits filed by 21 Tokyo residents who demanded that a permit extension allowing Odakyu Railways Co. to finish building roads and elevated railways between Kitami and Setagaya-Daita stations in Setagaya Ward be canceled.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2008

French reform a la Sarkozy

GENEVA — Eight months into his presidency, is Nicolas Sarkozy delivering the "rupture" from 30 years of French immobility that he promised? Dubbed the "hyper-president" by bewildered media, he has launched a vast number of reforms, many of which were once considered political suicide.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2008

Hope for pacifying the strait

The following passage, which was not given wide press coverage, was included in a report that Chinese President Hu Jintao made to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last fall:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Jan 26, 2008

Stray cats captivated by couple's efforts to help

For anyone who has wandered the streets of Japan, the sight of a woman carrying her designer-clad lapdog will be a familiar one.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2008

Chocolate bugs a fright and delight

It will never be said that they look too good to eat. But that isn't stopping the stream of orders for edible chocolate creepy-crawlies made to look like real beetle larvae and caterpillars.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2008

Ambulance fiascoes become Osaka campaign issue

OSAKA — With just a few days to go until Osaka elects a new governor, the candidates are finding themselves facing an issue that is literally a life and death situation for all prefectural residents.
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2008

Insurers' unrealized profits slashed by Nikkei slide

Stock investors in Japan may be breathing a sigh of relief after the key Nikkei index regained the 13,000 line Thursday. But economists say it is still hard to see Japan's financial sector rebounding to a healthy state in the near future as heavy selling of Tokyo stocks earlier in the week largely dented...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / MY PLAYLIST
Jan 25, 2008

MY PLAYLIST: British Sea Power

"Originally we wanted to record it as a psychedelic jam session, but in the end we just couldn't help writing tunes," says British Sea Power vocalist Yan (born Scott Wilkinson) of the making of their third (and arguably best) album, "Do You Like Rock Music?"
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2008

A time for calm and patience

The U.S. Federal Reserve has moved quickly to avert a financial crisis. Earlier this week, the Fed slashed its key interest rate to calm international markets. The rush to provide liquidity is intended to head off a panic and the possibility of a global capital crunch. The Fed's action is only a first...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 25, 2008

Time for JBA to stop ignoring bj-league, act in best interests of game in Japan

SENDAI — Ninety minutes after Sunday's Sendai 89ers-Ryukyu Golden Kings game, a slew of players were still visiting with fans or conducting interviews.
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Addressing the doctor shortage

Why can't we prevent emergency patients from dying without medical treatment? Aren't there enough doctors available to treat patients? Actually, about 5,000 new doctors are coming out in Japan every year, but fewer new doctors want to be surgeons.
BUSINESS
Jan 23, 2008

Tokyo office rental growth set to slow with economy this year

Office rental growth in Tokyo may slip below 10 percent in 2008 for the first time in four years as the economy slows, cutting corporate spending, real estate brokers said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 22, 2008

Where corporate care gets it right

In a spacious sunlit room, an infant is dawdled by his smiling nurse. Two toddlers fidgeting quietly in their sleep are patted by their doting teacher. Shelves are lined with infant formula, puzzles and a picture library that includes "The Hungry Caterpillar."
EDITORIALS
Jan 22, 2008

The shrinking Chinese economy

Forget defense buildups. There are far easier ways to deal with the "China threat." Just crunch the numbers. A recent recalculation by the World Bank has shrunk the Chinese economy by some 40 percent. This should quiet the alarmists who maintain that China's dominance is just around the corner. China...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 20, 2008

People keep their eyes on the TV screen — well, at least one eye

When home-appliance manufacturer Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. announced earlier this month that it was renaming itself Panasonic Corp., the company said it was doing so in order to unify its various brand names, which, in addition to Panasonic, included Matsushita and National. This strategy would...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2008

Canadian garden of unity and reconciliation

"Hello," wrote an old Japan buddy back on her native British Columbian soil. "I've met a woman — Rumiko Kanesaka — who's helping build a Japanese garden on Salt Spring Island where I live. Would you like to talk with her?"
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2008

Obituary: Makoto Saito

Makoto Saito, a leading expert on the history of U.S. politics and foreign policy, died Thursday of chronic bronchitis in a Tokyo hospital, his family said. He was 86.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 18, 2008

Spoon tune in to Radio Ga Ga

Spoon always seemed to be on the verge of greatness. Each successive album from the indie-rock quartet since they formed in Austin, Texas, in 1994 has sold more than the one before. Critics, too, have been supportive — even in the '90s when they were the tiniest of blips on the radar.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 18, 2008

Boredoms "Live at Sun Flancisco"

Boredoms (or V ∞ redoms, as they're confusingly billed in their home country) preside over a haphazard patchwork of a discography. For every official album, there's a slew of EPs, remixes and side projects, chronicling in detail the Osaka group's evolution from schizoid noise punks to ecstatic tribal-drum...
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2008

Nikkei plunge may continue if foreign investors flee market

Market participants voiced concern Thursday that the Nikkei stock average may fall below the 13,000 line as foreign investors flee the Japanese market and shift their cash to more attractive emerging economies instead.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 18, 2008

Apache winning with balanced scoring

With 2 1/2 months of games already in the books, there are some new faces among the bj-league leaders.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2008

EU and Japan's demographic challenge

BRUSSELS — Although we may be far away geographically, the biggest challenges facing both Japan and Europe today are remarkably similar. That is to say, how do we adapt to the huge changes in our countries brought about by globalization and by an aging population?

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake