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EDITORIALS
Apr 7, 2009

Making the Internet safer

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has made public a program to promote a safe Internet environment. It lists measures the central and local governments and enterprises must carry out by the end of fiscal 2011. Among other things, they must effectively cope with information on the Internet...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 7, 2009

Prosecutors boast clout, success

Prosecutors are legal professionals who work for the state and represent the public interest. They have the authority to investigate any crime and indict and try alleged offenders.
COMMENTARY
Apr 6, 2009

Infrastructure shortcomings throttling India

CHENNAI, India — India's infrastructure presents a frightening scenario, and some feel it is at the breaking point. One reason for this is that the world's cheapest car is about to hit Indian roads. The Nano's most basic model is pegged at $2,600 — only a little more expensive than a motorcycle....
CULTURE / Books
Apr 5, 2009

Looking at history: the argument for facts over theory

Positivism in historiography means an emphasis on facts over theory, documentary evidence over deductions from premises. It may also be called "nitty-gritticism," George Akita suggests in "Evaluating Evidence," a book that recounts the author's dealing with primary sources and the problems he has come...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 5, 2009

Swapping snow for a rain forest

Although there was very little snow this winter here where I live in the Nagano Prefecture hills, it was still good to have an excuse to get away from the cold, and the excuse this time was to present a prize for the writer and illustrator of a book for little children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Apr 5, 2009

The hostess club with the mostest AV stars

The job of a typical club hostess is to jovially engage in simple chat, pour cocktails and attend to any unlit cigarettes for her male patron. Yet it will not be long before his topics of conversation drift from simple pleasantries to more intimate inquiries — an uncomfortable yet obligatory duty for...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2009

'The Bank'

"The Bank" is not only sleek and terrific to look at, it's an action film with a heart. It cares about things like the global economy, rages over the evil-doings of corrupt conglomerates and sheds tears over the collapse of Third World governments. No wonder the lead character, Interpol agent Louis Salinger...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2009

'The Duchess'

I'm not sure if "The Duchess" was as good a film as my enjoyment of it would indicate, but after a mere five minutes of trailers for "Monsters vs. Aliens" and (shudder) "Transformers 2," I was ready to embrace any film that offered actual dialogue and acting, not head-splitting volume and an endless...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2009

Cocobat "Searching for Change"

Compared early in their career by U.K. rock rag Kerrang! with U.S. metal heavyweights Pantera, Tokyo quartet Cocobat attempt to once again ascend the ranks of the local aggressive-music scene with the release of "Searching For Change," their first album in five years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2009

Managers beware: Herren hits Japan

"That's always been their therapy: to bring it together, at least for themselves, in their own environment and their own space. You know, like flowers and rainbows, beautiful people everywhere, and everything's nice."
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / 2009 PACIFIC LEAGUE PREVIEW
Apr 3, 2009

Lions poised to continue reign in Pacific League

The following is last of a two-part preview for the upcoming Nippon Professional Baseball season. Team-by-team previews of the six Pacific League clubs are listed in order of predicted finish.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2009

Busting boundaries with a pioneer of magical music

Hearing Ryuichi Sakamoto talk softly about his 30 years in music, which have elevated him to the status of an officially designated National Treasure, is to witness a perfect exercise in Japanese modesty.
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2009

Women should lead Russia

Do not underestimate Russia. That is just what many commentators are doing these days as they look at its declining population, its collapsing stock market, its dangerous reliance on oil and gas exports, the dismal style of its political leadership, its docile parliament, its aggressive foreign policy,...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / 2009 CENTRAL LEAGUE PREVIEW
Apr 2, 2009

Giants aiming for third straight Central League title

The following is first of a two-part preview for the upcoming Nippon Professional Baseball season. Team-by-team previews of the six Central League clubs are listed in order of predicted finish.
Reader Mail
Apr 2, 2009

China prefers dollar transactions

Regarding the March 30 editorial, "Taking aim at the dollar": The Chinese government may complain about the dollar as the international reserve currency, but up to now it has actively encouraged (transactions in dollars). When I buy things from China, I'm asked to pay in dollars. When I object and ask...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2009

Group of 20 too diverse to succeed

HONG KONG — Amid great fanfare, pestered by a rainbow alliance of protesters, and protected by almost blanket security costing $30 million for a mere seven hours of meetings and making London a virtual no-go area, the leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) countries meet this week, promising to restore hope...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2009

Water, water everywhere but . . .

ISTANBUL, CITIZEN NEWS SERVICE — Water constitutes about three-fourths of Earth's surface, but only less than 1 percent of it can be used by its inhabitants. Most of it consists of saltwater oceans (about 97 percent), and 2 percent of that is contained in glaciers. With every country seeking to satisfy...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 31, 2009

Women, know your place

Every time I open a newspaper or click on the Internet, yet another article appears bemoaning the same tired trend in Japanese society: the falling birthrate. Citing everything from sexless marriages to inequality in the workplace for women, these articles all skirt the real problem — Japanese women...
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 29, 2009

Bodies beautiful

At 2 a.m. on a spring morning in 2002, photographer Mitsuhiro Mouri received a phone call from the most famous actress in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2009

'Moshi-moshi' recession

You know times are hard when Japanese start giving up their cell phones! The number of cell-phone shipments in Japan have dropped by nearly half since last year, according to a recent industry report. That is no small drop since Japanese cell-phone users are estimated to be over 110 million, or about...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Mar 29, 2009

The Japanese way carried the day in World Baseball Classic

Baseball may have been invented in the United States, but it's being perfected in Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Between modernism and modanizumu

When reading William J. Tyler's anthology, "Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938," one realizes that "modanizumu" (modernism) is a very broad term. It seems to mean, for Tyler anyway, any work produced during the years he designates that is not absolutely reactionary in its style or concerns....
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Between modernism and modanizumu

MODANIZUMU: Modernist Fiction From Japan, 1913-1938, compiled and edited by William J. Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 605 pp., $47 (cloth). When reading William J. Tyler's anthology, "Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938," one realizes that "modanizumu" (modernism)...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2009

Aside from U.N., Japan has few options against launch

Second of two parts
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 28, 2009

Practicing for the Olympics

My grandmother used to reminisce about spending the first five minutes of Spanish class practicing rolling her r's. My grandmother would be proud — the ESL classroom doesn't just spend five minutes on English pronunciation, we spend an entire class on it.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2009

Asakusa Jinta "Setsuna"

"Setsuna" is the third album proper from Asakusa Jinta, the self-dubbed "Asianican Hard Marching Band." Having performed under the moniker since 2004, the Tokyo sextet first refined their mix of modern Western-inspired sounds and vintage Japanese pop and enka at tiny local live houses and makeshift concerts...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2009

Duffy savors fruits of success

"Half of my quarter of a century belongs to music, so I never belonged to anything else," says Welsh songstress Duffy. "I feel very able and ready!"

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