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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 14, 2007

Once in keeping with some of the best company

In the Company of Men: Representations of Male-Male Sexuality in Meiji Literature, by Jim Reichert. Stanford University Press, 2006, 282 pp., illustrations XI, $60.00 (cloth). The search for modernity in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) involved not only the discovery of some new subject matter but also the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 12, 2007

Afrirampo

'We get our influences from food -- cucumbers, carrots and spring onions and rosemary." If Afrirampo's supposed musical inspiration seems a bit bland, their tracks certainly are not.
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2007

Defense Agency given ministry status

functions," said Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma, who was the agency director general. According to a set of laws on the transition enacted in December, the defense minister will now be allowed to make budget requests or policy suggestions at Cabinet meetings and make overseas operations a primary mission...
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2007

Toyota as No. 1

Fifty years ago, Toyota Motor Co., a virtually unknown upstart, entered the U.S. market. Last month, Toyota predicted that it would become the world's largest automaker in 2007, overtaking General Motors. In U.S. auto sales for 2006, Toyota passed Chrysler Group and became No. 3. That is a remarkable...
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2007

Solidarity to reproduce

A new forecast says Japan's population will drop by about 40 million from 2005 to about 89 million by 2055 and about 40 percent of the population will be at least 65 years old. The forecast by the health ministry's National Institute of Population and Social Security Statistics clearly shows that a population...
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2007

Asia beckons for some skilled retirees

in Taiwan, as many people of the same generation speak Japanese, and Taiwan is generally friendly toward Japan," he said. The shortage of skilled engineers comes at a time when Asian economies are pouring vast sums into research and development in response to growing global competition.
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2007

Unwise gantlet for teachers

Certain professionals must pass state examinations to obtain licenses for their jobs. They include medical doctors, dentists, jurists, certified public accountants, architects, pharmacists and registered nurses, as well as primary, middle and high school teachers. Amid the severe employment situation,...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 31, 2006

Make sure you read the best Asia books

The holiday season is upon us, and as we look toward 2007, why not make a resolution to read some of the best books about Asia? We introduce a few of our contributors to help you decide what not to miss Donald Richie's selections: RASHOMON AND SEVENTEEN OTHER STORIES by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2006

Cultural attitudes in Japan spell few adoptions

Couples looking to start a family naturally want their own children. But amid the recent debate over whether to legalize surrogate births in Japan, one question has largely been overlooked: What about adoption?
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 27, 2006

Our family festivities run foul of hard facts

Christmas has become a modest affair in our family. Our son gets a few presents and the adults get a day of peace and quiet.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 25, 2006

How Japan's economy fared in 2006 and its prospects for 2007

There were two major developments in the Japanese economy in 2006.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2006

Honda speeds up engine plant plan, projects record '06 sales

Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it plans to build a new engine plant in Ogawa, Saitama Prefecture, to accelerate efforts to meet rapidly growing demand for fuel-efficient cars.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 19, 2006

Take note: You needn't always think straight

'How-to" business books are stacked knee-high in bookstores and advertisements for motivational seminars continue to multiply through commuter trains.
COMMENTARY
Dec 19, 2006

Warming to carbon rations

LONDON -- Here's the plan. Everybody in the country will get the same allowance for how much carbon dioxide they can emit each year, and every time they buy some product that involves carbon dioxide emissions -- filling their car, paying their utility bills, buying an airline ticket -- carbon points...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 19, 2006

ECB tools for assessing price risks work

STRASBOURG, France -- In October 1998, just before the start of the European Monetary Union, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) adopted a stability-oriented monetary policy strategy comprising three elements. The first was a commitment to the primary goal of the ECB -- safeguarding...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 16, 2006

Focusing on the elusive imagery of identity

Why would a young photographer from Venezuela studying in Japan choose to spend valuable time recording the lives of Japanese-Brazilians in Brazil?
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2006

Japan-India partnership key to bolstering stability in Asia

NEW DELHI -- Japan and India are natural allies because they have no conflict of strategic interests and actually share common goals to build stability, power equilibrium and institutionalized multilateral cooperation in Asia. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo this week offers an...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CONSUMER LOAN CRACKDOWN
Dec 14, 2006

Lending legislation reforms spell industry shakeout

It was early last month at moneylender Aiful Corp.'s midterm earnings news conference, and the mood at the Tokyo venue was grim.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 14, 2006

Artists go global in Sendai

The 2006 Australia-Japan Year of Exchange has featured more than 800 events in the two countries.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 13, 2006

Randolph's rep tarnished by mistakes

NEW YORK -- Last time Zach Randolph checked in with me late in his rookie year was also the only time . . . until we spoke by phone a few weeks ago.
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2006

Nissan developing its own hybrid lineup

Nissan Motor Co. said Monday it plans to launch its own hybrid vehicles in North America and Japan in fiscal 2010 as part of a five-year environmental plan.

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