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COMMENTARY
Apr 22, 2009

Nuclear disarmament: too much, too soon?

There is no country on Earth more committed to global nuclear disarmament than Japan. Ever since experiencing firsthand the horrors of nuclear weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese government and people have been steadfast in calling for the total elimination of nuclear weapons from the planet....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 19, 2009

Finding the exotic, alien other

The subject of the exotic and alien other is a perennial. In Japanese literature the foreign influence is usually traced to its reappearance in a native product and the results are appraised.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Apr 19, 2009

Flying machines, dancing for defense, an Imperial wedding and a bark suppressor

100 YEARS AGO
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 19, 2009

North Korea's rocket test and the road ahead

WASHINGTON — North Korea's motives for its April 5 rocket launch are open to speculation: a demonstration of its ability to reach out and touch the United States; test-marketing to Iranians who are reported to have observed the launch; a "remember me" welcome to the new Obama administration; or some...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2009

Japan, EU agree wealth gaps must be closed

NIIGATA, Japan and Europe need to address a common problem: the gap between an overconcentration of wealth, and amenities, in large urban areas compared with their rural communities, experts and journalists agreed at a recent conference.
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2009

Pakistan's struggle

"Pakistan is in a struggle for its survival," acknowledges President Asif Ali Zardari. He is not exaggerating. Earlier this month, the country suffered three suicide bombings in 24 hours and the Pakistan Taliban has vowed to maintain that murderous pace if the government does not halt its support for...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2009

'Milk'

Director Gus Van Sant's recent forays into European-inflected art-minimalism have met with much critical acclaim, but there's something about those films that still bugs me. With movies like "Elephant," about the Columbine High massacre, or "Last Days," exploring the death of Nirvana singer/guitarist...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2009

'Slumdog' Boyle celebrates beating the odds

At first glance, you could hardly find a more unlikely candidate for a Best Picture Oscar than "Slumdog Millionaire." With no stars and a cast of mostly Indian unknowns, a director best known for a controversially hip film about junkies, and — God forbid — subtitles, that would normally be three...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2009

The war on women rages on in Afghanistan

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As the presidential election season arrived in Afghanistan, the incumbent Hamid Karzai sprang a nasty surprise on the country's Hazara Shiite women by signing on to a "rape law" that legitimizes non-consensual sex in wedlock. Designed to placate arch conservative Shiite clerics, the...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Apr 16, 2009

'No-wash rice' (musenmai)

Dear Alice,I recently returned to Japan after 12 years back in my home country. I knew a lot of things would be different after such a long time away, but I never expected the rice to have changed! My former home-stay mom was always a stickler about washing the rice thoroughly before cooking, but when...
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2009

Panel proposals fall short

People's trust in the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has fallen due to various problems such as a shortage of doctors, especially obstetricians, pediatrics and emergency specialists, irregularities related to pension premium payments records and confusion linked to the health insurance system for...
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2009

Hokkaido town auctions elementary schools on Net

Now that almost everything is available on the Internet, ranging from hard-to-buy tickets to popular rock concerts to one-night stands on murky Web sites for adult users, it takes something special to grab the attention of jaded Internet users.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 15, 2009

Moving forward with speed and quality

Driving forward: The line that divided solid-state drives (SSDs) from hard disks has always been that the former have speed and toughness, while the traditional disks boast much greater capacity. This distinction is beginning to disappear, and PhotoFast erases more of the barrier with its G-Monster eSATA....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 12, 2009

Entertainment as a fun family soap

Last weekend, actor Shunta Nakamura was arrested for possession of hashish while sitting in a parked car in Suginami Ward, Tokyo. The suspect's father, veteran actor Masatoshi Nakamura, quickly obliged the showbiz media by performing one of those tearful apologies that everyone looks forward to under...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 12, 2009

Veteran announcer Bickard calling NPB games on TV in English

Did you know there is English-language coverage (though very limited) of some Pacific League games in Japan?
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2009

Breathing easier at JR stations

Tokyo became just a little less smoky from April 1 this year. As new students and employees began their first days of school or work, East Japan Railway began its first day of a smoking ban at all JR stations within a 50 km radius from Tokyo station. The ban is a welcome one for non-smokers, a hassle...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-CHINA-U.S. SYMPOSIUM
Apr 11, 2009

Can Japan, U.S., China work together?

Japan, China and the United States — the world's three largest economies — all face long-term challenges even after they successfully emerge from the current global crisis, Chinese and Japanese scholars told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2009

Aso stimulus push juggles election window

Prime Minister Taro Aso embarked Friday on the new task of delivering on a ¥56.8 trillion economic stimulus package, again leaving the key question of when he might dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election up in the air.
EDITORIALS
Apr 10, 2009

Wanted: campaign platforms

The focus of Japanese politics is shifting to the question of when Prime Minister Taro Aso will dissolve the Lower House for a snap election. The Lower House members can retain their seats for slightly more than five months at most because their term expires Sept. 10. In addition, Mr. Aso, whose government...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

Mark Wahlberg:'You are what you are'

Before the telephone interview, I am advised by an assistant to the star not to mention the name Marky Mark, by which Boston-born Mark Wahlberg became famous as a rapper after achieving notoriety as a male underwear model for Calvin Klein. These days, I am informed, Wahlberg is trying to consolidate...
COMMENTARY
Apr 9, 2009

The lighter side of North Korea's launch

BEVERLY HILLS, California — Some things you just don't joke about. Certain developments in the course of human affairs are decidedly not funny. What's a perfect example, right off the top of my head? Oh, how about North Korea's missile launch over the weekend?
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2009

Nakasone unbending on launch

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone continued Tuesday to push for a forceful response to North Korea's launch of what it purports was a satellite, though the likelihood of a fresh U.N. resolution condemning the action is fading in the face of opposition from China and Russia.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Apr 5, 2009

Time for Mao to consider Morozov

She could have taken the easy way out, played it safe, and walked away with another medal at the world championships.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 5, 2009

Looking at history: the argument for facts over theory

Positivism in historiography means an emphasis on facts over theory, documentary evidence over deductions from premises. It may also be called "nitty-gritticism," George Akita suggests in "Evaluating Evidence," a book that recounts the author's dealing with primary sources and the problems he has come...
COMMENTARY
Apr 5, 2009

NATO at 60 faces growing pains that could threaten its survival

LONDON — The questions that nobody will ask out loud about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: How much is enough?
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / INSIDE LOOK
Apr 5, 2009

Dreaming of a hoop career back in Japan

NEW YORK — Editor's note: After appearing in 105 games for Columbia University and ending his college career third on the school's all-time 3-pointers made list (173), shooting guard K.J. Matsui took time away from his busy academic workload to reflect on his playing days and look ahead to the future....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 4, 2009

Making my dentist smile

My very first kiss was not from a girl but from a Rawlings baseball.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2009

Horie says he, Okubo both were railroaded

Livedoor Co. founder Takafumi Horie was back in the media spotlight Thursday, drawing a parallel between what he said was the unfair treatment he received from prosecutors and the recent indictment of a top aide to Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 3, 2009

Swords and slapstick

In Los Angeles last week, the showdown in the World Baseball Classic between Japan's "Samurai" and their South Korean rivals had TV audiences gripped. So, too, were those at Saitama Arts Theater, who witnessed an acting duel between 26-year-olds Tatsuya Fujiwara and Shun Oguri in "Musashi," a hilarious...

Longform

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