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Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2007

Revolution was good for Cuba

Cuban leader Fidel Castro is ailing and increasingly absent from Cuban government and Communist Party functions such as the recent National Assembly session in Havana. At the age of 80, let's face it, he's not coming back. And I feel sad, because I look on Castro as a great leader. The persistence of...
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 3, 2007

'Lucky' Guido leaves as winner

Guido Buchwald admitted Lady Luck was smiling down upon him in his last match as Urawa coach after the Reds stole the Emperor's Cup from under the noses of a dominant Gamba Osaka on New Year's Day.
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2007

Callous timing of 'justice'

Regarding the Dec. 26 front-page article "Four sent to the gallows": By having four death row inmates hanged on Christmas Day, Jinen Nagase, the current "justice" minister in Shinzo Abe's Cabinet, has shown utter contempt for all those Japanese citizens opposed to capital punishment.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2007

Principal draws on his business savvy to run school

First of three parts Kazuhiro Fujihara had a long career at major publisher Recruit Co. launching businesses, including setting up a firm that makes trading cards for the popular cartoon character Pokemon and launching a magazine in 1995 aimed at buyers and sellers of used goods.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2007

Obituary: Yoshimi Tanaka

Yoshimi Tanaka, one of the nine Japanese Red Army members who hijacked a Japan Airlines jet to Pyongyang in 1970, died Monday of liver cancer at a hospital in Chiba Prefecture, sources said.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 3, 2007

Kobe's getting cooked like stew by all foes

NEW YORK -- No matter whom Kobe Bryant guards this season the opposing coach goes right at him.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2007

Foreign permanent residents on rise, filling gaps

Japan's population started declining in 2005, but in contrast, registered foreigners soared to a record high 2.01 million, a leap from 1.36 million a decade ago and accounting for 1.57 percent of the nation's total population.
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2007

Wasteful outlays on 'research'

Regarding the Dec. 14 article "Research outlays soar to record 17.85 trillion yen (for fiscal 2005)": The story doesn't tell how all the expenditures for scientific and technological research by companies, universities and government-backed research institutes are really allocated.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2007

Wages of brute force

Saddam Hussein is dead. The former Iraqi dictator went to the gallows before sunrise Saturday morning in Baghdad, with a Quran in one hand, crying for justice. In death as in life, he divided his country: Shiites danced in the streets and fired guns in the air, while Sunnis mourned the passing of a martyr...
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2007

History, North Korea set to test Japan-China ties

will be a crucial year for Sino-Japanese ties as the two nations will see if their relations can really be on a good track and determine if they can indeed elevate their ties into a relationship of shared strategic interest," said China expert Tomoyuki Kojima. "The situation however is volatile and depends...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jan 3, 2007

Pied piping for the parsnip

Thanks to the great Roman naturalist and writer Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79), we know that parsnips were brought to Rome each year from imperial provinces across the Rhine, and that they were destined for the Emperor's table.
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2007

Make it easier to call for help

The Oct. 28 editorial, "Bullying still a school problem," suggested that teachers should reduce the tasks that overload them and prevent them from paying attention to their students, and "open their eyes and search for bullying in places and situations where it may not be obvious at first glance." But...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 3, 2007

'Superavians' scrape a high life in the suburbs

BRISBANE, Australia -- Summer has arrived in the leafy Brisbane suburb of St. Lucia. The only things falling from the trees are exquisitely scented frangipani flowers and the odd possum. Not much to rake up, but somebody next door has been at it half the day by the sound of it.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2007

Asia beckons for some skilled retirees

in Taiwan, as many people of the same generation speak Japanese, and Taiwan is generally friendly toward Japan," he said. The shortage of skilled engineers comes at a time when Asian economies are pouring vast sums into research and development in response to growing global competition.
SUMO
Jan 1, 2007

Great expectations

For many sumo fans, the January Hatsu Basho at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan is the most important tournament in a given year.
SOCCER
Jan 1, 2007

Goat head sent to Palermo GM

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) Palermo general manager Rino Foschi received a surprise in the mail for Christmas -- the severed head of a young goat, covered in blood.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 1, 2007

Dreaming of a Japan of United States

A time to dream impossible dreams. The New Year holiday season is surely such a time. And one such dream might be a Japan of United States.
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2007

A political showdown year

Mr. Shinzo Abe's administration at first seemed to have smooth sailing. By visiting China and South Korea and holding summits with their leaders, the prime minister managed to improve Japan's relations with the two neighbors. The relations had soured as a result of his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi's...
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2007

Unwise gantlet for teachers

Certain professionals must pass state examinations to obtain licenses for their jobs. They include medical doctors, dentists, jurists, certified public accountants, architects, pharmacists and registered nurses, as well as primary, middle and high school teachers. Amid the severe employment situation,...
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.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 1, 2007

Blackwell, Marshall should be All-Stars

Twenty players were chosen to appear in the first-ever bj-league All-Star Game on Jan. 27, and for each of them the day will be special.
BASKETBALL
Dec 31, 2006

Minatoya powers Rakunan to title

Kyoto's powerhouse Rakunan High School crushed Hokuriku High School of Fukui Prefecture 104-82 in the final of the 37th All Japan High School Basketball Tournament (the Winter Cup) at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on Saturday.
BASKETBALL
Dec 31, 2006

Haraguchi joins Albirex BB

The Niigata Albirex BB have signed shooting guard Masahide Haraguchi, the bj-league announced Saturday.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2006

Poaching fine paid; Russia frees boat

A Japanese fishing boat seized two months ago by Russian authorities near disputed waters off Hokkaido was released Friday after its owners paid a 10.47 million yen fine, the Foreign Ministry said.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo