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Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Sep 23, 2007

Japanese: A language in a state of flux

Languages are never static. They change and evolve with people over time. They also interact with other languages, and through an endless cycle of loaning and borrowing of words, ideas and concepts are shared, exchanged and nurtured across national and cultural boundaries.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2007

Greater mobility for smaller wage gaps

PRAGUE — From its earliest days, the European Union has aimed for balanced economic development across its regions. The Maastricht Treaty contains the striking phrase "overall harmonious development." But however admirable this sentiment may be, there is no "scientific truth" about the "right" level...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 22, 2007

Battle with Abramovich one of the few Mourinho lost

LONDON — Jose Mourinho left Chelsea by mutual consent.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2007

Mob leaders found liable for botched hit

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered the two top executives of Japan's second-biggest crime syndicate, including its "Godfather" and three hit men, to pay a combined ¥59 million in damages to the family of a South Korean student killed in a botched revenge shooting in 2001.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 21, 2007

Don Quixote, Korean style

This "Man of La Mancha" has a lot to do with a man from South Korea: Cho Seung Woo, the film-star hero of such hits as "The Classic — Love Story" (2003) and "Marathon" (2005), and star of such musicals as "Rent" (2007), "Hedwig" (2006) and, most notably, "Jekyll and Hyde," whose massive success in...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2007

Worldwide bubble trouble

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — The future of the housing boom, and the possible financial repercussions of a substantial price decline in coming years, are a matter of mounting concern among governments around the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 20, 2007

Butoh flowers of life and decay

There is a muscular eloquence to Junichi Kakizaki's constructions. He describes himself as a floral artist — not an ikebana (flower arrangement) master — and has won awards for his interpretation of the traditional Japanese art form. He considers his works to be contemporary art — either installations...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 20, 2007

Faces of the screen queen

The screening of "I'm Not There" at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this month left many in the aisles whispering "Academy Award" in reference to just one member of the ensemble cast — Cate Blanchett.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 19, 2007

Takeda settles down, pitches big game

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters still aren't getting much run support, but as long as they keep winning they'll take what they can get.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 19, 2007

Tokyo sanctions an extended cull of Taiji dolphins

The photos accompanying this article were shot covertly despite escalating intimidation by members of the Isana Fishery Union in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, who appear to be increasingly fearful that continuing publicity in Japan and abroad will threaten their widely condemned but profitable annual dolphin...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Sep 18, 2007

'Fierce scowl' stickers

Dear Alice,
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 18, 2007

Typhoons more predictable but still deadly

Most years, the typhoon season peaks in September, as illustrated by the recent Typhoon No. 9, called Fitow, which killed two, and Typhoon No. 11, also known as Nari, which approached Okinawa last week.
EDITORIALS
Sep 18, 2007

Self-sufficiency amid diversity

Japan's food self-sufficiency rate for fiscal 2006 declined to 39 percent in terms of calories supplied. This is the first time the rate has dipped below 40 percent since fiscal 1993 when the rate fell to 37 percent due to a poor rice crop. Japan's food self-sufficiency rate is clearly low when compared...
BASKETBALL
Sep 17, 2007

'Samurai' spirit drives AND1's Morishita

Determined and fearless on the court, Yuichiro Morishita exhibits a work ethic that basketball coaches want every player to possess. And yet it's his nickname, "Samurai," that's made him a household name far, far away from his hometown of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2007

Hope found in submarine legacy

and Katja Boonstra (left), who lost their fathers during World War II, visit William King, the former skipper of the British submarine HMS Telemachus, at Oranmore Castle in Ireland in May 2004. PHOTO COURTESY OF AKIRA TSURUKAME
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 15, 2007

The fading pitter-patter of little feet

The flip-side of Japan's ever-aging population is that there are increasingly fewer kids. Record-low statistics from 2005 put the birthrate at 1.26 children per woman, a count that somehow sounds painful — but the real hurt is the one being put on Japanese society.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2007

Ever ambivalent APEC

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), once derided as "four adjectives in search of a noun," is a study in frustration. APEC's strongest asset is also its greatest weakness. The group is made up of 21 member economies that account for 41 percent of the world's output and 50 percent of world trade....
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 14, 2007

Concubines unite

In China, she is regarded as one of the four great beauties of world history; in Japan she is one of three similar icons — along with Cleopatra and the Heian Period poet Komachi Ono-no. Her name was Yang Guifei (719-756), and she was the favorite concubine of the emperor Xuanzong, revered not only...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 14, 2007

The guitar skeptic

For a guy who's routinely credited with revolutionizing the sound of jazz, Pat Metheny sounds surprisingly detached from his mode of musical expression.
BUSINESS
Sep 14, 2007

Guidelines on takeover defenses to be reworked

Spurred by a rancorous battle for control waged by Steel Partners' activist hedge fund and Bull-Dog Sauce Co., the government plans to revise guidelines on corporate defenses against hostile takeovers, an official said Thursday.

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