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CULTURE / Books
Apr 29, 2007

The problem with Pan Asianism

PAN-ASIANISM IN MODERN JAPANESE HISTORY: Colonialism, Regionalism and Borders, edited by Sven Saaler and J Victor Koschmann. London: Routledge, 2007, 288 pp., £21.99 (paper) Pan Asianism, the notion of creating a fraternity of Asians, provides insights on how transnational perceptions and policies...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2007

Improving consumer lifestyle choices key to meeting CO2 goals

Consumer behavior holds the key to Japan's ability to fulfill its commitments under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to fight global warming, as rising greenhouse gas emissions in the household and transport sectors make it increasingly hard to achieve the nation's goals, said participants in a recent symposium...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 22, 2007

Mutual benefits as East meets East

Prior to the 1990s, most people in Japan probably knew little more about India than it was the home of curry, snake-charmers and the Taj Mahal.
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2007

Nuclear basics for the alliance

HONOLULU -- Nuclear strategy has become a core concern in the U.S.-Japan alliance. North Korea is the immediate trigger for Japanese anxiety, but similar uncertainties lie just beneath the surface when Japan contemplates China as well. U.S. assurances are needed -- both to Japan and to potential adversaries...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2007

Automakers turn attention to creating more jobs, plants here

At a time when Detroit's top automakers are closing plants and slashing jobs to revive themselves, their Japanese counterparts are busy opening plants in Japan for the first time in decades.
BASEBALL / MLB'S EFFECT ON JAPAN
Apr 14, 2007

NPB players in need of strong union like MLBPA

Last of four-part
BASEBALL / MLB'S EFFECT ON JAPAN
Apr 13, 2007

NPB needs major reform, vision to prosper like MLB

This is the third installment in a four-part series.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB'S EFFECT ON JAPAN
Apr 12, 2007

Foreign managers change face of Japanese game

This is the second installment in a four-part series.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2007

New postal giant raises competition fears as birth approaches

The planned privatization of the postal system, which doubles as the world's biggest savings bank, was hailed around the globe as a watershed free-market reform that would streamline the world's No. 2 economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2007

Abe needlessly fans the flames

WASHINGTON -- Barely half a year into his premiership, Shinzo Abe is provoking anger across Asia and mixed feelings in his country's key ally, the United States. But will the Bush administration use its influence to nudge Abe away from inflammatory behavior?
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2007

Strengthen U.S. trade ties

Japan is gearing up to conclude more free trade or economic partnership agreements with foreign governments. So far, Japan has been less enthusiastic about FTAs and EPAs than Western countries but is changing its tack due to difficulties expected in the new round of multilateral trade talks under the...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2007

Two-edged sword of values

WASHINGTON -- Japan's recent decision to develop a foreign policy based on support for universal values is a step forward in the development of a more coherent, strategic vision to pursue its national interests. The new policy is likely to make coordination with the United States easier and allow Tokyo...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2007

Limits to security cooperation

WASHINGTON -- Australia and Japan have just signed an historic security agreement. This new pact formalizes the security cooperation that began in secret between the two nations in the 1970s, and which has been moving forward in leaps and bounds since the early 1990s. It specifies a number of areas for...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 20, 2007

Demise of crime magazine historic

Making headlines worldwide last month was the publication of a magazine entitled "Kyogaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu ("Shocking Foreigner crime: the Underground File"). On sale at major Japanese bookstores and convenience stores nationwide, Gaijin Hanzai (GH) attributed criminality to nationality, and...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 11, 2007

J. League's Onitake optimistic about future

The Japan Times recently visited J. League chairman Kenji Onitake at his office to find out about his vision for the future of the league and soccer in Japan.
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2007

To move without U.S. cues

In their talks Feb. 21, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney reaffirmed the "unwavering" Japan-U.S. security alliance. This raises a question: Why did Abe have to reaffirm an alliance that is said to have already benefited from the long honeymoon between former Prime...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / SOUTH KOREAN JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Feb 22, 2007

China's rise may force Tokyo, Seoul to reassess business tie-ups

See related stories: Japan, South Korea can pull Asia together Rules change, but Japan, S. Korea game the same
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2007

Falling off the educational ladder

school or just a private cram school. I don't know what we are," said Saito, a second-generation Japanese-Brazilian. A change in immigration policy in 1990 enabled second- and third-generation Japanese-Brazilians to obtain long-term resident visas to work in Japan. That led to an influx of Japanese-Brazilian...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 17, 2007

Amy Katoh

Champion of Japan's disappearing traditional crafts, longtime Tokyo resident Amy Katoh is an author and businesswoman. Her famous shop Blue & White testifies to her vision and imagination.
COMMENTARY
Feb 8, 2007

Asia's transformation and the future of Japanese diplomacy

Prior to World War II, Japan's position in the international community was dependent on its power and status in Asia. From the time of the Meiji Restoration in 1868, it was essential for Japan to have considerable stature within Asia so that the country could associate on equal terms with Western nations...
COMMENTARY
Jan 25, 2007

Abe's aggressive agenda

HONOLULU -- There is no mistaking Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's determination to transform Japan's foreign and security policies, and reassert itself in the world. Yet while he must seize opportunities as he forges this new role, he must also reassure doubters both at home and abroad that Japan will act...
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2007

So much for Abe's reconciliation policy

Remember all that talk just a few months back about how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, unlike former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, was embarked on a policy of reconciliation with China?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2007

Defusing the dangers of nuclear proliferation

North Korea test-fired a series of ballistic missiles and carried out a nuclear test in 2006. If the policy goal of the Bush administration was to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, it has failed.
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 31, 2006

Daunting challenges face fast-graying nation

Robert Feldman is chief economist at Morgan Stanley Japan Securities, where, as cohead of Japan Equity Research, he is responsible for forecasting the direction of the Japanese economy.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 31, 2006

Make sure you read the best Asia books

The holiday season is upon us, and as we look toward 2007, why not make a resolution to read some of the best books about Asia? We introduce a few of our contributors to help you decide what not to miss Donald Richie's selections: RASHOMON AND SEVENTEEN OTHER STORIES by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2006

Mansfield Center eyes lay judge debut

A new system that gives ordinary citizens in Japan a role in deciding the outcome of criminal trials debuts in less than three years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Dec 28, 2006

A lifetime's observations

He saw Ginza when it was a blackened plain but for the bombed-out Mitsukoshi department store, the Hattori Building and a handful of other structures left standing. He observed the city as it was rebuilt, and its people. He observed, and then he wrote.
COMMENTARY
Dec 25, 2006

No rush to divide the north

In a recent appearance before the Diet, Foreign Minister Taro Aso floated the idea of settling the long-standing feud with Russia over the sovereignty of the Northern Territories (four islands off Hokkaido) by evenly dividing the total area of dispute. In September, Aso sug gested the possibility of...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2006

Postpone the full operation of Rokkasho

December 18 was the 50th anniversary of Japan's affiliation with the United Nations. At the ceremony Secretary General Koffi Annan called on Japan to stick to its ban on nuclear weapons. His message seems to have been prompted by the nuclear-arms argument in Japan that has emerged since North Korea's...
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2006

A natural partnership in Asia

Last week's visit to Japan by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is an important step forward in the long-delayed process of creating a durable and forward-looking relationship between two Asian powers. Japan and India are natural partners, whose relationship is based on shared interests, values and...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?