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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Sep 27, 2006

Welcome to the new world of cities

Flying into Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, just after sunset last month, I could have sworn we'd overshot the airport and were heading for the distant, frigid waters of the South Atlantic.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 24, 2006

Japan's hordes of hoarders still look to their navel nest eggs

I have spent nearly 40 years writing about Japan, virtually all of the time trying to show how Japanese people are really no different from other nationalities. But, by God, there is one aspect of Japanese life that makes this country unique. I defy any reader to name a society that has a custom like...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 24, 2006

Monkey business can be serious literature

MONKEY by Wu Cheng-en, translated by Arthur Waley. London: Penguin Books, 2006, 352 pp., £9.99 (paper). After many years out of print, this famous translation, originally published in 1942, is this autumn back in the bookstores. It is a partial rendering of a 16th-century Chinese classic text, otherwise...
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2006

575 defense workers took unauthorized trips: agency

A total of 575 Defense Agency employees, including Self-Defense Forces personnel, have traveled abroad without informing their superiors, agency officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2006

Government 'concerned' by Thai coup

Japan on Wednesday called the coup d'etat in Thailand "regrettable" and expressed strong hope that a democratic political system will be quickly restored to the country.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 20, 2006

Nature's pulse at Asia's heart

It's September, autumn is around the corner, and here in Hokkaido where I live we have already had the first dusting of snow.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 15, 2006

Fishing around for a piece of history

"Enjoy it while you can," says Professor Theodore Bestor of Harvard University. He's referring partly to Tsukiji's famous fish market and partly to sushi and to the fact that "some species are at risk of becoming commercially extinct."
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2006

Poor would lose more in tax hike: economist

Although the government has little choice but to raise the consumption tax to reduce Japan's mountain of debt, any increase is likely to hit the poor the hardest, an economist at a major think tank warned Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Sep 15, 2006

Big-band education

On the sidewalk, in the parking lot and on the entrance stairs outside Fuchu Mori Art Theater Hall in western Tokyo last month, throngs of university students were fingering melody lines in the air, scrunching their faces trying to remember chord changes and counting out tempos in whispered voices. ...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 12, 2006

Permanent residency

As more foreigners choose to remain in Japan long-term, increasing numbers have sought a status change to reflect their commitment to the country and make it easier to build a stable life here.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 12, 2006

Style wise

Heart of Harajuku renewed Teeming teen shopping haven LaForet Harajuku opened in 1978 and has been a pivotal part of Japan's youth culture ever since. The complex has had a few subdued periods over the years but is currently experiencing a happier chapter in its history. Earlier this month it underwent...
BASEBALL / MLB
Sep 6, 2006

MLB-NPB series set for November

To win the World Baseball Classic, Team Japan had to cross the Pacific Ocean and play in major league parks. Now the major leaguers are going to return the favor.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Sep 6, 2006

Tree of the Baskervilles

I was in Britain from July 6 to July 13 this summer, and on the Saturday of July 8, my companions and I stayed at Baskerville Hall just outside Hay-on-Wye, a beautiful and very historic little town in the Welsh county of Powys on the border with England.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2006

Future of Japan securities reform at stake

As the trial of Japan's most famous dot-com entrepreneur opened Monday, a much wider issue was also before the court: the nation's tenuous shift toward a more freewheeling market economy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 2, 2006

Michael Gorman

A conventional way of life would never have suited Michael Gorman.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2006

Get with e-ticket program: IATA chief to airlines

The head of the International Air Transport Association on Thursday urged Japan to catch up with industry trends by speeding up implementation of e-ticketing and getting rid of its fuel tax on domestic flights.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2006

New tours with military theme score direct hit for Hato Bus

Travel agents are always looking for new ways to entice the fickle Japanese customer, and Hato Bus Co. has landed a direct hit with a set of new military-themed tours.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2006

Second Kansai runway no cure

OSAKA -- Kansai International Airport has earned international praise for its clean lavatories and other services, but its goal of being a major Asian hub appears to be sinking and the controversial, costly, hard-fought second runway set to open in less than a year appears unlikely to turn things around....
COMMENTARY
Aug 28, 2006

Slighting the air-raid victims

This summer I saw three Japanese movies -- two documentaries and a feature -- depicting the plight of World War II victims.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2006

Crown Prince and family fly off to Holland

Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, left for the Netherlands on Thursday for a two-week trip aimed at helping the Crown Princess recover from her stress-induced illness.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2006

JAL to increase fuel surcharges on overseas routes

Japan Airlines Corp., struggling to deal with soaring jet fuel prices, said Thursday it will raise fuel surcharges on international flights by 700 yen to 5,600 yen, depending on the route, starting Oct. 1.
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2006

10 cities will get light rail systems by fiscal 2016

Advanced light rail transit systems that use low-floor streetcars will be set up in about 10 cities across the country by fiscal 2016, sources at the transport ministry said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2006

Entrepreneur beats heavy odds to make comeback

When Katsumi Iizuka personally assumed in 2001 the 2.4 billion yen debt that his failed personal computer firm had accumulated, few would have expected him to make a comeback.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji