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Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Mar 15, 2009

Sniffle, sneeze — and why's all that cedar pollen still in the air?

For more than 3 million Tokyo residents who seasonally suffer from sniffly, sneezy kafunsho (pollen allergy), the sight of Gov. Shintaro Ishihara applying an ax to the trunk of a pollen-producing cedar back in 2006 was enough to bring tears of joy to their already itchy eyes.
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2009

Antidrug program has its flaws

In his March 8 letter, "Middle way to drug policy reform," Robert Sharpe claims that Switzerland's heroin maintenance program is a big success. In fact, it's a failure because the drug addicts regularly take other drugs.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 15, 2009

Asian round of WBC produced some interesting notes

Japan and South Korea join Cuba and Mexico in Round 2, Pool 1, of the 2009 World Baseball Classic beginning Sunday in San Diego. As expected, the Asian rivals advanced after finishing as the winner (Korea) and runnerup (Japan) in the Asia Round completed at Tokyo Dome on March 9.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 15, 2009

Alaska photographer remembered, three decades of Doraemon, Kansai retro-drama remake

Photographer Michio Hoshino, who died 12 years ago, is profiled in the documentary "Hoshino Michio Inochi e no Manazashi" ("A Look at the Life of Michio Hoshino") (NHK-E, Tues., 10:25 p.m.)
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2009

Unnerving trip to stellar deficits

BALI, Indonesia — With stock markets around the world having beaten a hasty retreat recently, a cautionary tale might be found by looking at the United States, since it is ground zero for current economic and financial upheavals.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 15, 2009

Japan's 'silly couple' reunite despite domestic violence

For the past few weeks, America's showbiz media has lingered over the alleged beating that R&B star Rihanna received at the hands of her boyfriend, the equally popular singer Chris Brown. Below the titillating layer of scandal is the story's more sobering subtext of domestic violence (DV), a social problem...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

New Narita-Tokyo copter service targets rich, famous

For foreigners visiting Japan or Japanese returning from holidays abroad, it takes an hour or more to get from Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture to central Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

Calderon couple to exit in April; daughter to stay

A Filipino couple who lost their long fight against a deportation order have decided to leave their 13-year-old Japan-born daughter behind when they return to the Philippines in April, their lawyer said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2009

Fate of abductees

Ms. Yaeko Taguchi was abducted by North Korea in 1978 at the age of 22. Earlier this week Mr. Koichiro Iizuka, her son, and Mr. Shigeo Iizuka, her elder brother, met Ms. Kim Hyon Hui, a former North Korean agent, in Busan, South Korea. Ms. Kim told the Iizukas that she believed that Ms. Taguchi was alive....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2009

Aso calls for third stimulus plan

Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered a third spending plan aimed at easing what may be the nation's worst recession since World War II.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2009

Rural Hokkaido scandal trio's home

The eastern Hokkaido region of Tokachi has become scandal-central.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 13, 2009

Bourgeois cinema

Since the recent meltdown of the global capitalist system, it wouldn't be surprising if many people have flirted with the idea of Marxism. Perhaps not that they would go the whole hog and attempt to storm the bastions of corporate Japan, but they might be inclined to cast a few wistful glances at the...
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2009

Don't lose momentum, abductees' kin tell Tokyo

Following Wednesday's emotional meeting with former North Korean agent Kim Hyon Hui, relatives of abductee Yaeko Taguchi urged top government officials Thursday to build on the momentum and press to learn the fate of Japanese abducted by Pyongyang's agents in the 1970s and '80s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 13, 2009

'Baobab no Kioku'

Seiichi Motohashi's documentaries often take environmental destruction as their theme, starting with his first, "Nadja no Mura" ("Nadja's Village"), in 1998 and continuing with "Alexei to Izumi" ("Alexei's Spring," 2002) and his new film "Baobab no Kioku" ("A Thousand Year Song of Baobab").
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 13, 2009

A Riesling revival

Riesling, the sweet Germanic wine thought to have been consigned to the trash can of 1980s bad taste along with home perms and pastel-colored leg warmers, is making a comeback.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 13, 2009

'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'

As some readers may already know, my Tokyo alter-ego is that of an independent record label owner. If there's one thing I've learned over the years it's to never give my friends free CDs. It's not that I don't want to be generous, and in fact, I used to hand out a lot. But the reality is that people...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2009

Going where the grass is bluer

It's a story you could write a song about. It's sometime in the 1960s or '70s. A teenager in Tokyo slips a borrowed cassette into a player and is transfixed by what he hears: the sound of guitars, banjos and mandolins; the call of mountains far, far away. He saves his money and flies to the United States,...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

Bigger issues than kanji gaffes

Regarding the March 7 article "Aso's kanji conundrums spur self-reflection, textbook sales": It is true that Prime Minister Taro Aso sometimes misreads kanji. However, I wonder what opposition lawmaker Hajime Ishii's intention was last month when he held up a chart with a dozen difficult words and asked...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

'Market' needs to be controlled

In his March 2 article, "There's no deleveraging the illusions of politicians," Christopher Lingle argues that instead of trying to do something about the current economic turmoil, governments should get completely out of the way, and let the "market" decide wages. Lowering wages, he says, is the most...
Reader Mail
Mar 12, 2009

Illegal under the Constitution

Regarding Debito Arudou's March 3 article, " Of toadies, vultures and zombie debates": In his latest bout of calling anyone who disagrees with him everything but an "Uncle Tom," Arudou once again shows how he does not let facts get in the way of a good tirade. He writes: "Racial discrimination should...
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2009

Ozawa denies wrongdoing, vows to stay on

Despite rising public pressure to resign as president of the Democratic Party of Japan over the scandal involving alleged illicit donations from Nishimatsu Construction Co., Ichiro Ozawa said Tuesday he will stay at his post and denied any wrongdoing on his part.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2009

Building markets we need

VIENNA — The greatest challenge of the current global financial crisis is the seeming impossibility of comprehending and managing its diversity. Indeed, the way problems are proliferating appears almost uncontrollable. Plans to meet the crisis, in country after country, have been revamped and restructured...

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?