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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2009

Conflicting strategies Islamicizing Malaysia

SINGAPORE — In Malaysia's current political climate, it is no longer possible to distinguish Islamic radicals from Islamic moderates. Despite official boasting about the country's diverse population and commitment to pluralism, Islam and the government have essentially merged.
COMMENTARY
Oct 21, 2009

Fading trust in the political class

LONDON — The world is clearly passing through a crisis of political legitimacy. People in growing numbers do not trust their governments or their governing classes. In many cases they despise them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 20, 2009

Signing Hague treaty no cure-all for parental abduction scourge

The recent arrest of Christopher Savoie for attempting to "kidnap" his two children in Fukuoka has brought much-needed international media attention to one of Japan's dirty secrets — its status as the developed world's leading destination for international parental child abduction.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2009

Mistrust carries economic consequences

LONDON — Public trust in financial institutions, and in the authorities that are supposed to regulate them, was an early casualty of the financial crisis. That is hardly surprising, as previously revered firms revealed that they did not fully understand the very instruments they dealt in or the risks...
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2009

An important step forward

Armenia and Turkey took important steps toward overcoming a long bitter history this month. The two governments' agreement to establish diplomatic ties will help reduce the enmity that has dominated their relationship for nearly a century. It could also help transform relations in southeastern Europe...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 19, 2009

Kremlin cajoling Hatoyama

Russia seems to be stepping up efforts to build closer ties with Japan through cracks in Tokyo's alliance with the United States, even as it tries to resolve the thorny Northern Territories issue on terms favorable to Moscow.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 18, 2009

India shifts stand on carbon emission cuts after China announces a national program

LONDON — With a new U.N. climate treaty to be considered in Copenhagen in December, the developed world and the emerging economies are trying to bridge their differences on how to curb greenhouse-gas emissions that cause global warming. The United States wants developing countries like India and China...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2009

After fast start, it's crunch time for Cabinet

The Democratic Party of Japan-led Cabinet heads into its second month Friday, after coming out quickly to usher in a new political era in the wake of the Liberal Democratic Party's long domination.
Reader Mail
Oct 15, 2009

Lousy advice for critical thinkers

With reference to the Oct. 11 letter "Same access as Japanese citizens": I have no comment about the national health insurance issue, since my insurance is basically equivalent as long as it covers a comparable risk. What I find very annoying, however, is the tone used by the anonymous writer and a typical...
COMMENTARY
Oct 12, 2009

CO2 emission cuts doable

On Sept. 7 — shortly before taking over the premiership — Yukio Hatoyama met strong resistance from business circles and from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry when he said at the Asahi Global Environment Forum (sponsored by Asahi Shimbun) that his government would aim for a 25 percent...
EDITORIALS
Oct 11, 2009

Campaign against groping

Every year in Japan, some 1,800 men are arrested for groping women on trains. In a 2004 NHK survey of Tokyo women in their 20s and 30s, 64 percent said they had been groped on a train. Only 2 percent reported it to police. In 2008, the police in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama recognized 2,416 cases...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Oct 9, 2009

Coach Rowsom faces tough task in rebuilding HeatDevils

From humble beginnings growing up in a town of 900 people in North Carolina, Brian Rowsom defied the odds by making it to the NBA.
EDITORIALS
Oct 7, 2009

Ireland's second take on the EU

Irish voters have strongly backed the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. The endorsement will contribute to the further integration of some 500 million people in 27 countries and help put the EU project back on track. In the Oct. 2 referendum, an overwhelming 67.1 percent of the Irish voters voted "yes"...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Oct 6, 2009

Savoie case shines spotlight on Japan's 'disappeared dads'

M aking international (and to a lesser extent, national) news recently has been the Savoie child abduction case. Briefly: After a couple divorced in America, ex-wife Noriko Savoie absconded with their children to Japan. Then ex-husband Christopher, who had been awarded custody in the U.S., came to Japan...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 4, 2009

Mamoru Mohri: A spaceman speaks

When future historians document the story of Japanese space exploration, 2009 will likely figure as the year when the nation put two high-profile rocket launch failures, in 1999 and 2003, firmly behind it and, quite literally, took off.
COMMENTARY
Oct 3, 2009

Hopes and tasks for the DPJ

In a Yomiuri Shimbun opinion survey conducted just after the election, 72 percent of those polled had an optimistic view of the Democratic Party of Japan, reflecting a favorable popular response to the outcome of the Aug. 30 general election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2009

Bike-share project kicks off

Japan's first community bicycle program kicked off on an experimental basis in Tokyo's Marunouchi business district Thursday with 50 bikes at five locations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2009

Hawaiian sounds wash ashore

George Kahumoku Jr., apart from being a master slack-key guitar player, has a talent for storytelling.
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2009

China after 60 years

Sixty years ago on Oct. 1, 1949, the Chinese leader Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China at Beijing's Tiananmen Square. At the time, China was an impoverished country following years of military aggression by Japan and civil war between the Communist Party and Kuomintang...
Reader Mail
Oct 1, 2009

Consider using mix of languages

Regarding Yukari T.'s Sept. 24 letter, "Holes in six years of English": It's good that the number of foreign students in Japan is increasing every year. Those who learn the Japanese language are the future bridges to a truly international community — provided they get the right opportunities in Japan....
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2009

Irish voters weigh the Lisbon Treaty again

MAYNOOTH, Ireland — On Oct. 2, Irish voters go to the polls for a second time to decide whether to adopt the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. The mood in EU capitals is one of nervousness as polling day looms, with the future of the EU in the hands of Ireland's unpredictable voters. On two of the last...

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