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Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2009

Aso set to lead LDP's last stand?

In 2007 it was Shinzo Abe. In 2008 it was Yasuo Fukuda and in 2009 it is Taro Aso.
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2008

No sign of a 'peace agreement'

More than six months have passed since the presidential election in Taiwan. After a hiatus of eight years, the Kuomintang is in power. This actually represents the restoration of the mainland-lineage forces for the first time in 20 years — if you count the Lee Teng-hui era as rule by non-mainland-lineage...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 30, 2008

Foreign university faculty face annual round of 'musical jobs'

Universities in Japan force most of their foreign instructors to play an unnerving version of musical chairs. Every year the music starts and instructors with expiring contracts scramble for an opening at a new school. University administrators force teachers to play "musical jobs" by offering limited-term...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 29, 2008

Suppressing more than free speech

I recently read a book that, a decade ago, created a controversy in Japan about homosexuality. In it the prize-winning writer Jiro Fukushima described his sexual relationship with Yukio Mishima dating from 1951.
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2008

China destined to be America's best friend

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — When the holiday season ends and Barack Obama takes the U.S. presidential oath of office next month, will he notice that life has become less merry and more naughty and un-nice? This brilliant American politician will soon become aware that suddenly everyone wants to be his...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 28, 2008

ONE for ALL

Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 28, 2008

Ekiden pulls them in from around the world

Foreign athletes have been conspicuous in numerous ekiden long-distance relays since the 1980s.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 28, 2008

Longtime baseball writer will miss these people, places, things in '09

As we see the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, I have compiled a list of five people, places and things I will miss when the new Japanese baseball season rolls around in the spring. Here they are:
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2008

Aso failing to lead LDP to promised land

When Taro Aso became prime minister in September, he was chosen by his peers in the Liberal Democratic Party as the man who would reverse their declining ratings. But after three months of the extraordinary Diet session, which closes Thursday, Aso's Cabinet already seems to be in trouble.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2008

Originality and flair hits 2008

A year ago, I was sad to report on the sluggish condition of the Japanese contemporary theater world. Now, I am delighted to have had to struggle to select just five of the best of plays of 2008 from so many worthy contenders — many of them new and original works concerned with the current social situation...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 21, 2008

Japan threatened by social divide

POVERTY AND SOCIAL WELFARE IN JAPAN, edited by Masami Iwata and Akihiko Nishizawa. Melbourne: Trans Pacific Press, 2008, 323 pp., A$54.95 (paper) Recent commotions on financial markets have underscored the fact that neoliberal reforms and destatization have not brought us the advantages of competition,...
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2008

Komazawa University axes exec over losses

Komazawa University in Tokyo said Friday it dismissed its executive administrative director, Nobuo Miyamoto, on Thursday following a reported ¥15.4 billion loss from derivatives trading.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2008

'The Orphanage'/'The Edge of Heaven'

It's hard to say you're a fan of horror movies these days without people looking at you like you're some drooling feeb in need of institutional help. The genre is so degraded and depraved, it's hard to say what's worse: the numbing repetition of the slasher franchises, or the sick sadism of "Saw" et...
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2008

Central Europe and the bear

How are the ex-communist countries of Central Europe faring during the present global economic downturn? To judge by the glittering city of Budapest, the answer is that so far the forces of recession have made little impact. The restaurants are full, the shops crowded, the streets jammed with vehicles,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 18, 2008

NPOs try to support rising tide of asylum seekers

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EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2008

First three-way summit

While Japan, China and South Korea are neighbors in East Asia, Japan's ties with these nations have not been smooth because of such factors as Japan's wartime behavior in the 1930s and '40s and territorial rows over the Senkaku islets with China, and the Takeshima islets with South Korea. In a welcome...
JAPAN
Dec 17, 2008

LDP likely to break up before election: Eda

The Liberal Democratic Party might fall to pieces before the next general election because of Prime Minister Taro Aso's plunging popularity, according to an independent lawmaker.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 14, 2008

Aso the donkey plods on

Last week, when poll results showed public support for the current Cabinet at an all-time low, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party tried to move past the bad news by focusing attention on what it believes is really important. Chief Cabinent Secretary Takeo Kawamura told reporters that the LDP shouldn't...

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