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COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2005

Helping Africa to help itself

Systemic risks are factors that threaten not only individual countries themselves but also the whole global system. Africa is the scene of numerous systemic risks that must be overcome for the sake of both Africa's own development, and global security and prosperity. Infectious diseases like AIDS, disputes...
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2005

Death, disease not linked to smoking: high court

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by former smokers, some now deceased, who were each demanding 10 million yen in compensation from Japan Tobacco Inc. and the government for tobacco-induced illnesses.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 22, 2005

Breathing the life into the dance

"I had a hard time finding the title," Pina Bausch tells me during an interview about her most recent work, "Nefes." The Turkish for "Breath" is the title of the latest in a series of works which the choreographer, who will turn 65 in July this year, has created in collaboration with theaters around...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2005

25,000 facilities switch off to save energy

Some 25,000 facilities nationwide, including Tokyo Tower, turned off their lights Sunday evening in an event to help preserve energy.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2005

NPA goes online to curb Net crime

The National Police Agency launched a Web site Thursday that will offer automatic answers to questions about Internet-related crimes, including online auction fraud, fraudulent online billing and so-called phishing.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2005

General anxiety disorder may be affecting 3% of population

About 3 percent of Japanese are probably suffering from generalized anxiety disorder, which leads to depression and seriously affects not only those who have it, but also those around them.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2005

Authorities given power to close abusive pet shops

The Diet passed a bill Wednesday allowing authorities to close down pet shops that mistreat their animals.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2005

Radioactive soil may be shipped to U.S.

A governmental nuclear research and development organization is considering shipping soil contaminated with uranium from Yurihama, Tottori Prefecture, to the United States for disposal.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2005

Japan's beneficent potential

During my 7 1/2 years of service in the 1990s as deputy secretary general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, I initiated a research project that produced, in 1997, a report titled "The World in 2020: Toward a New Global Age." In the course of this research I assumed that the...
Japan Times
Features
Jun 12, 2005

Shotengai

When sumo elder Futagoyama, the father of former grand champions Takanohana and Wakanohana, died of cancer two weeks ago, many sumo fans were deeply saddened at the loss of the charismatic, 55-year-old former ozeki. Many people prominent in varied walks of life expressed their sadness, as did members...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 12, 2005

Japan's leaders try to be 'cool' to take heat off themselves

Some people are hard to please. Though he was a member of the committee that chose the term "Cool Biz" for the campaign launched last week to bring government dress more in line with seasonal realities, fashion designer and critic Don Konishi is very disappointed with the sartorial choices made by Diet...
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2005

Tie makers fret economic knot over 'Cool Biz' hoopla

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Friday his ministry would look into the possible negative effects the government's "Cool Biz" campaign is having on the necktie industry.
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2005

Wisdom for an aging world

In the 21st century, the world faces a dual demographic problem. First, the world population will continue to grow, increasing from about 6 billion in 2005 to more than 9 billion in 2050. Second, by around that time, the waves of an aging society now enveloping the developed countries as a result of...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2005

Tojo a scapegoat, granddaughter charges

The Tojo family had kept silent for a long time. But not any longer.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2005

Sex crime recidivism

In view of recent crime trends, measures to prevent the repetition of crimes have become an issue. What especially needs to be addressed is how to prevent the same people from repeating sex crimes. In November, the public was alarmed by the kidnapping and murder of a 7-year-old girl in the city of Nara....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 3, 2005

Jakarta leader backs FTA talks but balks on UNSC bid

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed Thursday to launch talks for a free-trade accord as part of a comprehensive bilateral economic partnership.
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2005

Japan's paradox of wealth

On his first visit to Japan in 1995, French sociologist Jean Baudrillard came up with a paradoxical hypothesis that Japan was affluent because Japanese were poor. Acknowledging that he was not an expert on Japanese affairs, Baudrillard made the suggestion in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun after...
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2005

Halting Internet-assisted suicide

The number of cases in which people solicit others on the Internet to commit group suicide is on the rise. To deal with this, a panel of learned people set up by the National Police Agency has called on Internet providers to disclose the names, addresses and birth dates of people sending such messages....
BUSINESS
May 28, 2005

Japan still No. 1 in terms of net external assets

The balance of Japan's net external assets totaled a record 185.797 trillion yen as of March 31, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2005

Tamagotchi's rebirth sparking new sales binge

Every day for more than a year, phones at Hakuhinkan Toy Park have been ringing off the hook when the store opens at 11 a.m.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
May 26, 2005

Parenting book gets princely praise

Parenting expert Dorothy Law Nolte enjoys a huge following worldwide; her 1998 book, "Children Learn What They Live," sold over 700,000 copies in her native U.S. and has been translated into 36 languages. The Japanese version was a steady seller -- until February this year, when the father of a certain...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 25, 2005

Designs to refresh the spirit

Some Westerners, when faced with Oriental creativity, have a tendency to gush. Instead of taking a calm, rational, inquisitive point of view, they tend to ascribe the aesthetic effect of what they see to some mysterious, spiritual force -- whether they call it Zen, Tao, yin and yang -- something they...
BUSINESS
May 18, 2005

M&A, antitakeover bills cleared by Lower House

The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday to update the corporate legal system to facilitate mergers and acquisitions and strengthen measures to stop hostile takeovers.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 16, 2005

Climbing up the down escalator: Inflation still out of Japan's reach

Inflation is not about to return to Japan just yet. According to the Bank of Japan's latest "Outlook for Economic Activity and Prices" released at the end of last month, the BOJ Policy Board members' median forecast for consumer prices in fiscal year 2005 is a 0.1 percent decline over FY 2004. Their...
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2005

Standing up to the death industry

Maple trees are famous for the gaudy show they put on each fall as their leaves change color. But they put on a spring show, too, as you may have noticed lately. In their anxiety to propagate, maples have evolved a stunningly efficient method of seed distribution. Winged pairs of seeds are released en...
BUSINESS
May 14, 2005

'Indoor dogs' on rise as small pets become part of the family

"Beware of Dog" signs are becoming increasingly rare as a growing number of people choose to keep their pets inside with them and not outside to guard the house.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 11, 2005

Dolls' surreal influence

Kachina dolls, embodying the beliefs, social structure and moral values of the Native American Hopi have fascinated and inspired artists for a century.

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