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BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2008

India's Subbarao urges more direct investment

Visiting Indian Finance Secretary Duvvuri Subbarao called on Japanese firms Friday to boost investment in India, especially in the field of infrastructure, where the nation plans to spend $500 billion in the next five years.
BUSINESS
Jul 23, 2008

Cabinet cuts GDP forecast to 1.3%

The Cabinet Office on Tuesday lowered its forecast for real economic growth in fiscal 2008 from 2.0 percent to 1.3 percent, citing surging energy costs and weakening growth in the United States that has hurt corporate earnings and consumer spending here.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2008

Rights of rational beings who are not human

MELBOURNE — On June 25, in a historic vote, the Spanish parliament's Commission for the Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries declared its support for The Great Ape Project, a proposal to grant rights to life, liberty and protection from torture to our closest nonhuman relatives: chimpanzees, bonobos,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2008

Quiet changes in Japan's defense

OSAKA — Japan appears to be drifting aimlessly under a divided government, and its external policy seems equally disoriented under a Fukuda administration that has been up to its neck and largely unsuccessful in blazing new trails for the country. Surprisingly, though, bureaucratic autopilot does not...
COMMUNITY
Jul 22, 2008

Diet member Fujita responds to reader's criticisms on 9/11

L ast week the Community Page published a selection of readers' responses to to John Spiri's June 17 Zeit Gist article on Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Yukihisa Fujita. Following is Mr. Fujita's response to one reader's criticisms of the Diet member's stance on the Sept. 11 attacks.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 22, 2008

Professor Kunihiko Takeda

JUDIT KAWAGUCHI Professor Kunihiko Takeda, Ph.D., is vice-chancellor of the Institute of Science and Technology Research at Chubu University and one of the world's leading authorities on both uranium enrichment and recycling. The 65-year-old is also a bestselling author of books with titles such as “We...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 20, 2008

All this fuss over just a little drink at a . . . love hotel

The big tabloid scoop last week was snagged by the woman's weekly Josei Seven, which caught celebrity/announcer Mona Yamamoto and Yomiuri Giants shortstop Tomohiro Nioka in a love-hotel tryst. The reason the incident hit such a big nerve in the media is that the night the tryst took place was also the...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 20, 2008

Fly fanboys in the living room

Parents the world over would surely prefer their children not to throw things about. It's just plain bad manners, among other things. But Atsushi Kikuchi, a serious-looking father of two boys, positively encourages it. And, he evenmaintains, his sons' ballistic behavior has produced considerable benefits...
EDITORIALS
Jul 18, 2008

Inspiration for Japanese literature

Ms. Yang Yi, a Chinese resident in Japan, has won the 139th Akutagawa Prize, the prestigious literary prize launched in 1935. She became not only the first Chinese to receive the prize but also the first recipient who didn't start learning Japanese until after becoming an adult. We congratulate her on...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2008

Master tells public to draw on karate

Tadanori Nobetsu hands a letter to his karate students every month containing a warning of deteriorating Japanese morality and encouraging them to maintain their discipline. At his dojo, he requires "rei" (civility) and "aisatsu" (greeting.)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 17, 2008

Aoi Miyazaki: from TV princess to rescuer of trafficked children

Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2008

Are young people ready, willing to be adults at 18?

Kids just don't wanna grow up.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 15, 2008

Human rights — strictly personal, strictly Japanese?

Go figure. Just a few weeks after I wrote about how Japanese courts try to avoid doing anything dramatic, on June 4 the Supreme Court ruled that a section of the Nationality Law was unconstitutional. Such rulings being so rare, I steeled myself for a big helping of highfalutin' Japanese legalese and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 15, 2008

Famed electronics hub still sparks the curious, bizarre

Tokyo's Akihabara district draws throngs not only with its hundreds of electronics shops but also because it is the mecca for "otaku" computer geeks, and fans of "manga" and "anime" pop culture.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2008

Real cost of bottled water

Since the Group of Eight talks produced some agreement on the environment, Japanese can at least take time to reconsider their lifestyles. Recently, one of the hottest environmental issues abroad is bottled water. Not only does bottled water exact a heavy toll on the planet in energy and materials, it...
Reader Mail
Jul 13, 2008

Location symbolized a slogan

One would wonder, after reading John Cherin's questions raised in his July 10 letter, "G8 sequestered from the action," whether he was deliberately trying to be facetious.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 13, 2008

Tips from Japan that really work

URAWAZA: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks From Japan, by Lisa Katayama, with illustrations by Joel Holland. Chronicle Books, 2008, $14.95 (paper) Ever want to cure a stuffy nose, but nothing works? Try stuffing scallions up your nostrils. Your bedmate won't stop snoring? Tape a tennis ball to her back....
Japan Times
Features
Jul 13, 2008

Japan's culture policy lingers in limbo

It's a fact that has long puzzled devotees and plain old tourists alike. Japan's manga and anime arts have been wowing the world for more than a decade, and yet the national government still hasn't got around to setting up a proper museum for their enjoyment, preservation and study.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 12, 2008

Toyota to idle U.S. pickup, SUV lines

Facing surging gasoline prices and strong demand for fuel-efficient cars, Toyota Motor Corp. will suspend production of large pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in the United States from early August to November.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 10, 2008

Lack of concrete promises disappoints NGOs

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Various nongovernmental organizations expressed deep disappointment Wednesday over the G8 summit, which ended without any concrete goals or commitments and left much unfinished business for next year's meeting in Italy.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 10, 2008

Summit outcome belies high expectations

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — The drive for economic prosperity by the major nations still outweighs the urgent need to save an ailing planet.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 9, 2008

More nuclear power OK'd

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — The Group of Eight leaders gave the green light Tuesday to expanded development of nuclear power, saying it is a vital energy source in the fight against global warming.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2008

Lebanon's new status quo of contradictions

BEIRUT — Hezbollah's armed insurrection in May, which overran Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, has dealt a further blow to hopes of true state sovereignty in the country, strengthening Hezbollah and weakening the Western-backed government.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 6, 2008

Peace follows turbulent times

"It was a nightmare," laughs Tokyo-based author David Peace of a recent trip to Paris to promote the French version of his most successful novel, "The Damned Utd."

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat