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COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2011

Egypt should worry China

BERKELEY, Calif. — A strictly economic interpretation of events in Tunisia and Egypt would be too simplistic — however tempting such an exercise is for an economist. That said, there is no question that the upheavals in both countries — and elsewhere in the Arab world — largely reflect their...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 12, 2011

How 'bout that sumo?

The March Grand Sumo Tournament has been canceled due to bout-rigging. The May tournament is now in doubt as well. Who knows, sumo may be the world's first canceled sport.
EDITORIALS
Feb 11, 2011

Trial of Mr. Ozawa's aides

The trial of three former aides of former Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa started Monday. The trio has been indicted on charges of falsifying 2004, 2005 and 2007 records for Mr. Ozawa's political funds management body Rikuzankai. At the outset of the trial at the Tokyo District Court, the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 10, 2011

Driving is believing: Don't trust manufacturers' mileage claims

What kind of mileage do you get in that hybrid? Depends on who you ask.
Reader Mail
Feb 10, 2011

When will the Japanese loosen up?

Regarding Philip Brasor's Jan. 30 Media Mix column, "Cultural insensitivity no laughing matter": Japan's hypersensitivity to "outsiders" laughing at something connected to Japan looks even more ridiculous and blind when lined up against the constant insensitive commercial TV "comedy shows" that grossly...
Reader Mail
Feb 10, 2011

'Rational' decline in population

After reading Michael Hoffman's Jan. 30 Timeout article, "The decline and fall of Japan and its sex drive," I'm not sure that I entirely agree with the opinion that Japanese are disinterested in sex. I think they are avoiding the possibility of what could happen if they have sex without having the fiscal...
EDITORIALS / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Feb 10, 2011

National sport on its knees

The Japan Sumo Association, rocked by a match-rigging scandal, has decided to cancel Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, which would have started March 13 in Osaka. This is the first time that a grand sumo tournament known as hon-basho has been canceled since the summer of 1946, when the summer tournament...
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Feb 10, 2011

J. League exodus a double-edged sword for Japanese game

With yet another raft of Japanese players currently making their European club debuts, J. League fans could be forgiven for wondering what is left for them when the season starts next month.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2011

Investment banks may slash 3,000 jobs by '14

Global investment banks in Japan may cut more than 3,000 positions in two or three years as risk-aversion and weak economic growth reduce earnings prospects in the country, Executive Search Partners Co. said Wednesday.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 9, 2011

Shut sumo down for the rest of 2011, put its future in private hands

Where will it all end?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 8, 2011

Tokyo: What do you make of the decision to publish the book by Tatsuya Ichihashi, prime suspect in Lindsay Ann Hawker's murder, about his years on the run?

Sri Wahyuni
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2011

National anthem debate

In September 2006, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the policy of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education to force school teachers to sing the national anthem Kimigayo ("Your Reign") during school ceremonies was illegal. The court ruled that the policy violated...
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2011

Lama drama and intrigue

NEW DELHI — The police seizure of large sums of Chinese currency from the Indian monastery of the China-anointed, but now India-based, Karmapa Lama — one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism — has revived old suspicions about his continuing links with China and forced him to deny that...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 6, 2011

The bitter pill of Japan's high-cost medical treatment

When NHK's in-depth news program, "Closeup Gendai," addresses a pressing social issue, it usually offers possible solutions articulated by experts. Two weeks ago, however, the show covered a problem that seems to have no solution. The subject of the opening segment was a middle-aged man who was diagnosed...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 5, 2011

Move for Torres sees Chelsea overpay again

LONDON — When you are a billionaire, you tend to get what you want.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2011

Three admit to throwing sumo bouts

Sports minister Yoshiaki Takaki told the Diet on Thursday that three people in the sumo world have admitted bout-fixing, further disgracing the Japan Sumo Association and jeopardizing its status as a certified public interest corporation.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 4, 2011

Lowly Grouses give coach Eto pink slip

The Toyama Grouses, mired in the midst of another miserable season, have fired head coach Kohei Eto. The move was announced by the bj-league on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2011

Hopes of 'South' Sudan

The public unrest across North Africa and the Middle East in recent weeks has overshadowed an extraordinary event in Sudan, where the country peacefully — and, by almost all accounts, fairly — held a referendum that backed independence for "South" Sudan. A new country looks set to be born.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2011

Kyoto plan to boost visitors with aquarium irks locals

KYOTO — The ancient capital of Kyoto, already a major tourist destination, is moving forward with plans to further boost the number of domestic and international visitors.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2011

Indictment of Mr. Ozawa

Former Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro Ozawa was indicted Monday over accounting irregularities linked to his political funds management body Rikuzankai.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Q&A
Feb 1, 2011

Ozawa saga moves to trial phase

Former Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa has been indicted and will stand trial over his role in a political funding scandal.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 1, 2011

Boosting the level of intra-Maghreb trade

RABAT, Morocco — Tunisia's "Jasmine Revolution" has thrown a spotlight on the consequences of stagnant economies and endemic youth unemployment for the region's authoritarian Arab governments.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2011

Ozawa charged over funds misreporting

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa was indicted Monday over a shady land purchase and accounting irregularities linked to his political funds management body, making him the first politician to face trial based on a decision by citizens on a prosecution inquest committee.
COMMENTARY
Jan 31, 2011

Food inflation threatens Congress coalition

CHENNAI, India — French Queen Marie Antoinette's sarcastic suggestion that her starving subjects eat cake instead of bread turned out to be the spark that ignited the French Revolution. In the end, the queen paid with her head.
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2011

Confrontation continues

Question-and-answer sessions have started in the Diet as Japan faces such serious problems as economic stagnation, deteriorating state finances and worries about the social welfare system's sustainability. But the mood of Diet is no closer to holding meaningful discussions. Opposition parties, especially...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 30, 2011

Cultural insensitivity no laughing matter

The tempest in a teapot whipped up by a segment on the British quiz-cum-comedy show "QI" has prompted debate on cross-cultural sensitivity. The BBC has apologized for the segment, which, contrary to a statement issued by Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, did not make fun of its subject, the late Tsutomu...

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