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EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2007

U.N. acts, at last, on Darfur

The United Nations Security Council at long last has agreed to send a peacekeeping force to Darfur. The decision to send "blue helmets" is a critical step in the attempt to bring peace to the troubled region. But peacekeepers are only a means to an end. Real peace depends on a political settlement and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 9, 2007

A sex trip that aims to ease our anxieties

The Japan Times gets up close and personal with director John Cameron Mitchell and actress Sook-Yin Lee about the sexiest film of 2007
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 9, 2007

The uncensored right to pursue intimacy

A tribute to Manhattan individuality as much as an affirmation of American-style life and personal freedom, "Shortbus" is a movie you want to hold close. It will most certainly pull you to its chest and deposit a loud kiss faster than you can define the term "orgasm." From the opening sequence, which...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2007

Eda takes helm of Upper House

For the first time in nearly half a century, the House of Councilors has an opposition lawmaker as its president.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 8, 2007

Mountain slug

* Japanese name: Yamanamekuji * Scientific name: Incilaria fruhstorferi * Description: Growing up to 20 cm long — bigger than a baby's arm — this is surely no slug, but a monster; a specter from a Hayao Miyazaki movie come to life. If you see one, be prepared to photograph it next to your hand,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2007

Don't play politics with lifesaving DDT

NEW DELHI — The specter of malaria, dengue fever and many other mosquito-borne diseases stalk the world. Despite its deserved reputation as being one of cleanest, pest-free countries in Asia, even Singapore is battling to cope with a rash of dengue cases.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 5, 2007

Keeping the horror of Hiroshima alive

Masako's Story: Surviving the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, by Kikuko Otake, edited by Dr. Jesse Glass. Tokyo/Toronto: Ahadada Books, 2007, 94 pp. with photos and maps, $15 (paper) The cenotaph for the Hiroshima victims reads "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil," but...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 5, 2007

Antiwar activist Steven L. Leeper

In a sense, it is the ultimate irony: The man appointed to oversee the memorial to victims of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945 by an American B-29 aircraft is . . . an American.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 4, 2007

Speech contest aims to pull nation together

Up until a few years ago, Tom Gerrard was an entrepreneur with an eye to mainstream business. He then underwent a radical shift of attitude and interest, changing the name of his company in 2004 from Comm Pro (Communication Professionals) to Global Learning.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 3, 2007

'Transformers'

A drinking bet made the other night involved me writing an entire review in verse. "Transformers" seemed a likely candidate, and while still nursing a good buzz, I plunged into it . . .
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Aug 3, 2007

Home to the outsider

Western Taito Ward is a paradise for nonconformists who stray off the beaten track. Throughout the incense-scented alleys of Yanaka, and across the parklands of Ueno, it's hard to miss the area's preponderance of "strays"; tourists, artists and the homeless who, with a surprising number of cats, all...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2007

Fresh off victory, Ozawa quick to go for Abe's jugular

Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa appeared before the media Tuesday for the first time since his party's sweeping victory in the Upper House election, slamming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for refusing to relinquish power despite the ruling bloc's crushing defeat.
JAPAN
Jul 31, 2007

DPJ opposed to extending SDF refuel operations

The Democratic Party of Japan said Monday it is against extending the Self-Defense Forces mission in support of NATO forces in Afghanistan, a day after it won a stunning election victory over Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition.
COMMENTARY
Jul 30, 2007

Ending the nuclear threat

UNITED NATIONS — Since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, security planners the world over have lost considerable sleep contemplating the prospect of terrorists armed with nuclear weapons.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2007

Focus on quake resistance

The July 16 earthquake off Niigata Prefecture pointed to the need to make homes quake-resistant. The quake flattened more than 300 houses, and most of the deaths occurred when people were pinned down by structures. School buildings, including gyms, also must be made quake-resistant, especially because...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 29, 2007

Keeping abreast of developments on the small screen

Arts and entertainment criticism of the sort practiced in the West is still relatively sublimated in Japan, where pop-culture hyoronka (critics) tend to be either pundits or PR flacks who rarely say anything overtly negative about the things they review.

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