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COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 25, 2008

An Obama for Japan: Yes, we can?

On the long, unwinding railroad, on the sixth day — the day that, according to Christian texts, God created Man — a great dissatisfaction seeped into me as I continued to bask in the pride of seeing the majority of my fellow Americans transcend race in the selection of the next president of the United...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 25, 2008

¥100 shops — consumers' common denominator

With the economy in recession, it should be no surprise that ¥100 stores are thriving, wowing shoppers both local and from far afield with their variety of goods all set at one price, plus the ¥5 consumption tax.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2008

Connecting the solutions while there's time

WASHINGTON — The world does not need to be reminded of the urgency of this historical moment. We sense it every day in the news. One day a major bank, insurance company, or automaker announces a record loss. The next brings word of the impact on nations and peoples least able to cope with these blows...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2008

Tibetans weigh limited number of options

HONG KONG — The latest round of talks between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government predictably failed to make progress, and now hundreds of Tibetans are gathering in Dharamsala, India for a weeklong crisis meeting to discuss the way forward.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2008

Muscle cars giving 'otaku' new platforms to flex their fetishes

Masaya Taniguchi has a "heartache" plastered across the hood of his flaming red Audi TT Roadster.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 18, 2008

Escalator etiquette, TV tours

A couple of replies to the query about why people stand on escalators on the right in Osaka and on the left in Tokyo:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 18, 2008

Prejudice among obstacles facing non-Japanese tenants

With a falling population, a shrinking tax base and a shortage of carers for its increasing number of elderly, calls are growing for Japan to allow in a large influx of foreign workers to plug the gap. The question is: When they come, will they be able to find a place to stay?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2008

Seven-year journey to a safer life

KABUL — We began a journey in Afghanistan seven years ago with the war that ousted the Taliban from power. Much has been accomplished along the way, for Afghanistan and for the world.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 16, 2008

The expatriate whiner: fond of the homeland but lost abroad

E xpatriates can be the source of many positive things. They are contributors to the welfare of their host nation. They are often agents of trenchant criticism, perceiving things in their new nation that natives either do not, or refuse to, see. They educate and enrich.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2008

A doctor in the house? Do you feel lucky?

After being turned away by eight Tokyo hospitals last month, a 36-year-old woman died of brain hemorrhage after giving premature birth by Caesarian section. A month before, a 32-year-old pregnant stroke victim was bounced among six hospitals before one finally accepted her for treatment. She is currently...
EDITORIALS
Nov 13, 2008

Mr. Tamogami toes his line

Mr. Toshio Tamogami, who was sacked as Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff over a controversial essay, testified Tuesday before an Upper House committee. His statements show that he does not understand what civilian control of the Self-Defense Forces means and how his essay could damage the reputation...
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2008

Historic visit to Taiwan

The Taiwan Strait continues to narrow. Last week witnessed the highest-level contacts between Taiwan and mainland China since the 1949 civil war. The visit of Mr. Chen Yunlin to Taipei continues the bridge-building between the two sides and is a step forward in the eyes of all who seek peace and stability...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2008

Exec finds room to grow in NGO

Microsoft executive John Wood has made a name for himself as the founder of nongovernmental organization Room to Read, which has built more than 5,600 libraries in developing countries. Less well known is his right-hand woman, Erin Keown Ganju, who has been flying around, working closely with local staff...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 11, 2008

Nova refugees: Where are they now?

'All the schools are closed.'
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2008

Pro-whaling case self-serving

I read with interest Dan Goodman's Nov. 2 letter, "Bogus arguments about whaling." The Institute of Cetacean Research, with which Goodman is affiliated, is a "unique organization in Japan specializing in the biological and social sciences related to whales . . . whose legal status is authorized by the...
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008

Repeat of Clinton-era friction, concerns unlikely

Democrats in the United States and residents in the town of Obama, Fukui Prefecture, may be getting carried away Wednesday by news of Sen. Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election.
COMMENTARY
Nov 5, 2008

Beijing has enough of its own problems

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — It would be a mistake to overestimate how much China can or will do to pitch in to the world dilemma as the roiling and unnerving global financial world proceeds apace.
EDITORIALS
Nov 5, 2008

Dangerous ideas from on high

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Oct. 31 dismissed Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami over his essay, which stated it is "false" to accuse Japan of having been an aggressor nation before and during World War II. The essay also implied that the Self-Defense Forces should be...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2008

Nagoya family's temple reassembled on S.C. campus for classes

The former Buddhist temple sits opposite a waterfall on the campus of Furman University, with vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains when the trees are bare.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2008

Line of liquidity to confront fear

WASHINGTON — Even as the squeeze in interbank lending has started to ease after the rescue of financial systems across the advanced countries, falling economic indicators have sent stock markets tumbling. Pressures on emerging-market countries, which were once thought by many to have "decoupled" from...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2008

Ukraine's reversal of fortunes in health care

NEW YORK — Once called the breadbasket of the Soviet Union because of its rich soil and favorable climate, Ukraine is now experiencing a rapid increase in cases of tuberculosis (TB), a disease often associated with poor living conditions.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 4, 2008

Reappreciating Okinawa's languages, while there's still time

The saying "a language is a dialect with an army" is a bit worn out in linguistic circles. A change in how it is uttered might save it, though. How about "gengo ndi yyu shē guntai muchuru hōgen yaibin" (言語んでぃっゆしぇー軍隊むちゅる方言やいびん)? This is how you would say it...
Reader Mail
Nov 2, 2008

Taking a proven myth as fact

In his Oct. 23 article, "Remember the China lesson," Brahma Chellaney mentions four times the alleged Tiananmen Square "massacre" of June 1989. But there is now a wealth of eyewitness material -- much of it cited in my July 21 article, "Birth of a massacre myth" -- proving that there was no massacre,...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2008

Hopes for next president

LONDON — Around the world, America's presidential election campaign has attracted as much attention as domestic political controversies in each of our countries. The interest the world has taken in America's vote is the best example of America's soft power, and a lesson in democracy from the world's...

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