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COMMENTARY
May 31, 2009

Why isolate a global pariah even further?

LOS ANGELES — On the question of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, better known as (a) North Korea, (b) notorious charter member of former U.S. President George W. Bush's "axis of evil" and (c) pain-in-the-neck threat to world peace and stability, here are a few humble observations in light...
Reader Mail
May 31, 2009

Obama riding up the wrong track

The May 16 Kyodo article "U.S. wants to study Shinkansen technology" was another perfect example of the bread-and- circus pledges being fed to the American public by the new administration in Washington. This time officials are waving the image of bright new, high-speed rail lines spanning the continent....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 31, 2009

Don't blame me, but I did do my bit

Born a son of a Japanese trading- company executive, and exclusively educated in Britain, Tetsuya Ishikawa got his first taste of life in the financial industry in the summer of 1998. That was during his pre-university "gap year," when he worked on the foreign-exchange trading floor at the Tokyo branch...
JAPAN
May 30, 2009

Aso's plan to split health ministry in trouble

Prime Minister Taro Aso's plan to split the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry in two has apparently failed amid protests from members of his Liberal Democratic Party, drawing his leadership ability into question once again.
Japan Times
CULTURE
May 29, 2009

Looking for love, and an English teacher

Actress Kazue Fukiishi looked perplexed when I asked if she could see herself ever marrying a foreigner.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 29, 2009

Dissecting the cave on canvas

One of the greatest mysteries of art is what exactly the flat two-dimensional surface of the canvas is, and what it is for. The mundane answer, of course, is that it's a convenient rectangular surface on which to place and display aesthetically pleasing colors and lines. But this does not really explain...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
May 28, 2009

Keiko Aoki

Keiko Aoki, is the founder of Altesse, a New York consultancy firm, and the owner of an eponymous U.S. catering company that specializes in Japanese home cooking. Bitten by the business bug from the minute she flew to the Big Apple in 1985, Aoki's itch to succeed kept her working during most of the '80s...
Japan Times
JAPAN / YOKOHAMA AT 150
May 27, 2009

Newspapers opened eyes in Yokohama

Second in a series
BUSINESS
May 26, 2009

Extra budget plan said wasteful

The government's extra budget for fiscal 2009 worth a record ¥13.9 trillion to combat the economic crisis is likely to be approved by the Diet as early as this week.
COMMENTARY
May 26, 2009

Whither G7, G8 or G20?

Current worldwide economic and financial difficulties have triggered a debate over the need to strengthen the Group of 20, a forum of 20 major "economic" powers, including newly emerging countries such as China, India or Brazil, as well as some additional Western European countries.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2009

Shirakawa foresees mild recovery ahead

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Monday the economy is likely to experience a "mild recovery" as exports and production improve, though the outlook remains fraught with "considerable uncertainties."
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2009

A first encounter goes well

In retrospect, the first meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was destined to succeed. It was assumed that the two men were deeply divided on two key issues: Israel's relations with the Palestinian Authority, in particular Mr. Netanyahu's opposition...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 24, 2009

Students share hopes for nation's future environment

Each year on May 5, Japan celebrates Children's Day with waves of young families flooding local parks, playgrounds and amusement centers.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
May 23, 2009

BayStars need to end managerial carousel

Well somebody had to take the fall.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 22, 2009

Grand jury system comes to Japan

Eight years ago, Seiji Shimomura could only watch as his 2-year-old son Tomohito was crushed to death by crowds at a fireworks show in Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since, he has campaigned for high-ranking police officials to be indicted over their role in the matter.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 22, 2009

Tattoo you — Mika's call to arms

"I believe in my voice as a singer," declares Mika Nakashima, alluding to the three words tattooed in English around her right wrist. " 'Trust your voice,' in a broad sense, means we should accept everything and believe in many things. I learned this in New York and developed myself in many ways that...
Reader Mail
May 21, 2009

Tension between men and women

I found the May 10 Timeout feature, "Blurring the boundaries," very interesting as this is something I've been watching over the last several years. It was interesting that the natural question in response to men's change toward becoming "soushokukei (herbivorous)" was whether women should become "nikushokukei...
Reader Mail
May 21, 2009

Contriving a social trend in Japan

For the most part I enjoyed Tomoko Otake's well-researched story about "herbivorous" men. Overall, though, I felt that the topics of the related Timeout stories (May 10) were quite dubious as they were trying to pound a round peg into a square hole. For example, a survey by toilet-seat makers shows that...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
May 21, 2009

Wild orchids

Dear Alice, Can you please find out what the heck I saw on Mount Takao on the outskirts of Tokyo? Last spring, about this time of year, I was on a trail with a lot of other hikers lugging cameras and tripods. All of a sudden everyone got very excited. Not knowing Japanese, I had no idea what they were...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 19, 2009

IC you: bugging the alien

When the Japanese government first issued alien registration cards (aka gaijin cards) in 1952, it had one basic aim in mind: to track "foreigners" (at that time, mostly Korean and Taiwanese stripped of Japanese colonial citizenship) who decided to stay in postwar Japan.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2009

Panasonic joins list of makers in red

Panasonic Corp. said Friday it logged a ¥378.96 billion group net loss for the business year that ended in March, drowning in red ink for the first time in six years due to rapidly slowing worldwide demand and the yen's rise against other major currencies.
JAPAN
May 15, 2009

DPJ members slam rush poll

The Democratic Party of Japan's decision to hold the presidential election Saturday is prompting members to question why it must be held so soon and why the voting is being restricted to those with Diet seats.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CITIZEN JUSTICE
May 15, 2009

Media fret risk of biasing lay judges

Fourth in a series
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2009

'Angels & Demons'

How much work can you get done in five hours? That's the crucial question in "Angels & Demons," the sequel to the 2006 global megahit "The Da Vinci Code."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2009

Gauguin: 'I shall never do anything better'

Was he just a "Sunday painter" who abandoned his wife and five children for a bohemian life in a distant island paradise — where he died of syphilis and poverty in the arms of a teenage mistress?

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