Search - 2005

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2007

Poster boys for Soulsville USA

Call it coincidence, or call it destiny. Either way, Soulive are breathing new life into soul music — and a long-dormant soul label.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2007

Devendra Banhart "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon"

Much like 2005's "Cripple Crow," Devendra Banhart's latest album is probably best tackled in small doses. With 16 tracks spread over 70 minutes, it's an unfocused affair that finds the shaggy troubadour moving ever further from the acoustic folk of his breakout record, "Rejoicing in the Hands."
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2007

Aeon sees 55% rise in second-quarter profit

Aeon Co., Japan's second-biggest retailer, increased second-quarter profit 55 percent as net income rose to ¥15.8 billion in the three months to Aug. 20, from ¥10.2 billion a year earlier.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 5, 2007

A globalist rapper pauses for breath

Having delivered one of the defining albums of 2007, M.I.A is one of the most talked-about artists in pop today. Stuffed with politically informed dancefloor bangers, "Kala" is an album that simultaneously appeals to the cerebral and primal.
TENNIS
Oct 4, 2007

Venus shrugs off questions about health after beating King in straight sets

Maybe Venus Williams needs that vacation after all.
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2007

Flawed reliance on confessions

With the lay judge system scheduled to be introduced by May 2009, a system should be developed to ensure that investigators' records of suspects' oral statements are trustworthy. Recent cases involving false confessions highlight the urgent need for such a system.
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2007

DHL calls for change of views

Asked to name the largest German employers in Japan, names most likely to come to mind would be car makers, auto parts manufacturers, or pharmaceutical giants. The second-largest is, in fact, DHL, the world's leading international express and logistics company. In Japan, DHL aims to continue its double-digit...
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2007

Raise the bar at law schools

Results of the second national bar examination held under a new system were announced Sept. 13. Just 1,851 graduates of the law schools established under the system passed for a success ratio of 40 percent — down eight percentage points from last year. This suggests that the quality of law school students...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DECENTRALIZATION SYMPOSIUM
Oct 3, 2007

More government money won't close urban-rural divide

Any attempt to close the widening gap between urban and rural areas by increasing public-works spending and subsidies from the central government will only cover up the root cause of the problem, Yoshitsugu Hayashi, an economics professor at Kwansei Gakuin University told the Sept. 18 symposium.
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2007

'Otaku' fantasy businesses raising social worries

With her frilly green dress and white lace gloves and about to serve tea under a chandelier in a small Tokyo store, Naru Naruse looks the perfect French maid.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 2, 2007

When women wield the DS

Imagine your typical video gamer. Male, aged 18-35, right?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 30, 2007

Cancer may kill, but it can also revitalize a flagging media career

Right now there's a commercial on TV for the American insurance company AFLAC featuring veteran journalist Shuntaro Torigoe, who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. It shows the 67-year-old reporter in what looks like home videos undergoing tests, or about to be operated on, or clowning around with...
JAPAN / Q&A
Sep 29, 2007

All eyes on Japan Post as privatization begins

Japan Post will be reorganized Monday, paving the way for it to become a private company for the first time in its more than 130-year history. The following are questions and answers on how the privatization will affect Japan's postal services.
COMMENTARY
Sep 28, 2007

The politics of assassination

LONDON — The assassination of Lebanese politician Antoine Ghanem on Sept. 19 is likely to be used, predictably, to further U.S. and Israeli interests in the region. Most Western and some Arab media have argued that Syria is the greatest beneficiary from the death of Ghanem, a member of the Phalange...
Reader Mail
Sep 26, 2007

U.S. double standards on Taiwan

Brad Glosserman's Sept. 13 article, "Lashing out at U.S. won't help Taiwan" -- about the fallout between the United States and Taiwan over a planned referendum on U.N. entry -- misses some key points. The U.S. claims that it opposes any change in the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, yet it repeatedly...
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2007

Snap election becomes main issue

No sooner had Yasuo Fukuda formed his Cabinet on Tuesday than attention was being focused on how soon Japan's new leader will be forced to dissolve the House of Representatives for a snap general election.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2007

'Last samurai' still has support in thankful Japan

The stage may be set for former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori to be tried for human rights violations and corruption charges in Peru, but many Japanese still see him as a hero.
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2007

Rise of urban populations

The 2006 revision of U.N. population estimates and projections made public earlier this year showed that the world's population, now 6.67 billion, will reach 9.19 billion in 2050. Calling attention to the aging of the world population, the United Nations said that in the more developed regions, the percentage...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 25, 2007

Is it all over for Nova?

"The dark clouds that have been hanging heavily over us will be cast aside," reads the English translation of Nova Corp. CEO Nozomu Sahashi's memo faxed to staff Friday. "I said previously 'the darkest time is before the dawn,' and finally the first light of dawn can be seen."
SOCCER
Sep 24, 2007

Inamoto hoping to get career back on track in Frankfurt

FRANKFURT — It's fair to say that if Junichi Inamoto had begun his European adventure at Eintracht Frankfurt instead of Arsenal his star would probably be shining that much brighter now.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 24, 2007

Incoming prime minister's guide to closing 'winners-losers' gap

Yasuo Fukuda was elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday and is certain to become Japan's next prime minister this week to replace Shinzo Abe, who surprised the nation Sept. 12 by suddenly announcing his intention to step down.

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