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LIFE / Language
Oct 2, 2007

Giving Japanese names as tricky as picking buns

When you see an obvious mistake, should you point it out or just keep silent? It was coming up to Christmas, and I was in the bakery beside the station getting a sandwich for my lunch, when I noticed something new on the shelves: hot cross buns.
Rugby
Oct 1, 2007

Small nations make most of World Cup

PARIS — The IRB has invested a large chunk of its income from the previous Rugby World Cup in the development of Tier Two nations, and it seems the efforts have been paying off.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 1, 2007

Hamilton masters conditions for victory

OYAMA, Shizuoka Pref. — McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won a rain-lashed Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday to move closer to clinching the world crown in his debut season in Formula One.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 1, 2007

Gay braves rain in convincing 100 win

YOKOAHAMA — Track and field is an all-weather sport. But with Sunday's conditions the competitors could be forgiven for failing to post any convincing outcomes in an event in which nearly all the contests were hit by a steady, chilly rain.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2007

'Doing something' may pose perils during a credit crunch

PRINCETON, New Jersey — Every financial crisis is inherently unknowable — before it occurs, and as it occurs. By contrast, we understand past crises very well. Accountants go over the books, the participants tell their tales to the newspapers (or sometimes before a judge), politicians explain why...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2007

Price of saving a tree in Latin America

PRAGUE — Latin America is blessed with more than its fair share of wildlife and lush forests. A third of the world's mammal species and more than a quarter of all known reptiles and bird species can be found there.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2007

Holding hands within the limits of decency

MADRAS, India — The perception of sex and morality is once again creating problems in India.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2007

Coping with the doctor shortage

As pregnant women, children and rural residents in Japan face a crisis in getting medical treatment, the government has decided to increase the quota for medical schools. This is a welcome move. It is urgent that the government take well-thought-out measures to deal with specific problems responsible...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 1, 2007

Fukuda and the 'Cabinet of the Walking Dead'

Atitle in the Financial Times' Lex Column caught my eye Wednesday. The item, "Japan's Zombies," turned out to be a very readable story about large Japanese electronics companies. But until I got down to actually reading the piece, I was totally convinced it was about Japan's latest Cabinet.
Reader Mail
Sep 30, 2007

Dilemma for America's left

Ted Rall's Sept. 24 article, "Ugly truth of antiwar lefties," makes some important points about the hypocrisy of the antiwar movement. What he fails to point out, however, is how rightwing, prowar interests have so strongly defined the debate that the left is now forced to sculpt their argument to be...
Reader Mail
Sep 30, 2007

Union accepts Nova teachers

Regarding the Sept. 25 article in the Community section "Advice for teachers": The statement that "The General Union and Nambu decided on a policy that we won't take new members if Nova goes bankrupt" is not an accurate reflection of the General Union's policy. The General Union has no special policy...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 30, 2007

Fighters clinch PL by routing Marines

Trey Hillman is sure making his last run memorable.
Reader Mail
Sep 30, 2007

Time to kill the dolphin cull

Kudos to Nigel Barker for his brutally honest photos, and to Boyd Harnell for his equally succinct commentary, for the Sept. 19 article "Tokyo sanctions an extended cull of Taiji dolphins." As a former resident of Japan, I know that in some corners there are those who not only will never see the cruelty...
Reader Mail
Sep 30, 2007

'Modern' Japanese harder to read

I found Tomoko Otake's Sept. 23 article, "Japanese: a language in a state of flux" -- about the invasion of modern Japanese by gairaigo (foreign loan words) -- very interesting. Fifteen years ago, as an education ministry scholarship student, I studied Japanese at the International Center of Keio University....

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40