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BASKETBALL
Jun 2, 2007

Planells prepared for life in Okinawa with Golden Kings

The NBA Finals is about to begin in a few days. The Spurs' Tim "The Big Fundamental" Duncan will be shooting for his fourth championship ring. His legacy is already set. He is one of the greatest big men to ever play the game.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
May 23, 2007

Can 'organic' feed us all?

Having experienced firsthand the waste, power abuse and nepotism that malign the United Nations from within, I am not usually a fan of its conferences.
SUMO
Apr 17, 2007

Springtime sumo: giving it back to the people

Sumo in late March and throughout April each year is about pressing the flesh -- literally.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2007

Challenging Russia's energy dominance

WASHINGTON -- When Gazprom, Russia's natural-gas monopoly, cut off supplies to Ukraine and Georgia in January 2006, the move was widely seen as a clear warning of the Kremlin's willingness to use its energy resources to exert political influence over Europe.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2007

It's official: Whale hunt over for year

The government Wednesday confirmed earlier reports by saying this year's whale hunt has ended early and the fleet off the coast of Antarctica was heading home, after weeks of struggling to recover from a deadly fire on board the mother ship.
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2007

China's courtship of Africa

Chinese President Hu Jintao is near the end of an eight-nation tour of Africa, which has renewed anxieties associated with "China's rise." Yes, the trip is proof of Beijing's expanding interests and its global reach. And yes, China's readiness to ignore misbehavior by its African friends and trade partners...
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2006

Faint signs of hope

After a 13-month lapse, a fresh round of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear-arms programs is likely to start Monday in Beijing. It may face hitches before picking up from the Sept. 19, 2005, joint statement -- in which Pyongyang agreed to abandon its nuclear program in exchange for security...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2006

Islamic extremism threatens Bangladesh

MADRAS, India -- Bangladesh is the latest South Asian flash point where democracy stands threatened. Bloody street battles between two rival political parties -- led by two women who hate each other -- and other violence have swept the small country northwest of India in recent weeks. The military is...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2006

Climate change to test our adaptability

NEW YORK -- If there was any remaining doubt about the urgent need to combat climate change, two reports issued last week should make the world sit up and take notice.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2006

Threat to confidentiality

As part of international efforts to stop money laundering by criminal organizations and money transfers by terrorist groups, the government is preparing a new bill that it hopes to submit to a regular Diet session next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2006

Pioneer for women seeks home for peace dolls

One of the nation's first female lawmakers is working on what she says will be her last project: a museum for dolls sent to Japan from over 50 countries in support of world peace.
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2006

Pursue cautious defense policy

This year's government white paper on defense touches on North Korea's missile tests, closer security cooperation between Japan and the United States, and proposals to upgrade the Defense Agency to ministry status and expand the Self-Defense Forces' overseas activities, among other things.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2006

Funding scandal shakes ivory tower

It came as a shock last year when former Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo Suk's claims that he had created stem cells by cloning human embryos turned out to be fraudulent. A recent case at Waseda University in Tokyo is no less surprising, although it mainly concerns the irregular use of...
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2006

India rapped for test-firing a long-range missile

Japan notified India on Monday it was disappointed over the test-firing of a long-range missile the day before while calling on the nuclear power to support global efforts to deal with North Korea.
BUSINESS
Jul 6, 2006

JBF chief slams launches as brinkmanship, 'intolerable'

Japan Business Federation Chairman Fujio Mitarai expressed strong regret Wednesday about the launch North Korean missiles that came down in the Sea of Japan.
JAPAN
Jul 4, 2006

Isle tensions flare up again

Tensions between Tokyo and Seoul flared again Monday when South Korea began maritime research in waters around islets under its control that are also claimed by Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2006

Nukaga calls mission to Iraq a success

Japan's 2 1/2-year military deployment in Iraq was a success that will serve as a lesson for future missions as the country moves to assume a bigger role in regional and global security, Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga said in an interview Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2006

Australia's dirty little secret

SYDNEY -- A dirty little secret in Australian society has been exposed, and federal and state governments are maneuvering to clean up the mess or face international condemnation for allegedly allowing the violation of human rights.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 14, 2006

Bewitching tales of when a foreign woman takes a Japanese man

Though it boasts one of the highest living standards in the world and a crime rate that is low compared to other developed countries, many of its citizens believe that Japan is a very difficult place to live for non-Japanese. The most commonly held reason for this belief is that the language and social...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 7, 2006

So what did Yokota's trip to the United States really achieve?

National interest is in the eye of the beholder. For example, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi traveled to Ethiopia and Ghana last week to offer aid, but also to reinvigorate the African Union's support for reform of the U.N. Security Council, of which Japan still hopes to become a permanent member....
EDITORIALS
Apr 19, 2006

An unhealthy blast from the past

The ruling coalition has agreed to include a clause on patriotism in a bill that will revise the Fundamental Law of Education for the first time, although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has not decided when to send the bill to the Diet. The 1947 law, although drafted under the leadership of the Occupation...
COMMENTARY
Apr 15, 2006

2006 is all about democracy

HONOLULU -- The 2006 National Security Strategy (NSS) document has just been released. News coverage has focused on one word: preemption. Largely overlooked has been the much greater emphasis on the promotion of democracy as the primary objective of American foreign policy in the second administration...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 11, 2006

Sick, desperate Japanese turn to booming Chinese organ trade

When Kenichiro Hokamura's kidneys failed, he spent four years on dialysis before going online to check out rumors of organs for sale.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2006

Canberra-Jakarta ties sink

SYDNEY -- Fragile relations between Indonesia and Australia have taken a nosedive, again, and Canberra is concerned that any sudden venting of anger in Jakarta may wreck years of painstaking efforts at building up mutual good will. The Indonesian ambassador has been recalled from Canberra "for consultations."...
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2006

No more tax money to U.S.

The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has played down Japanese public sentiment against the U.S. military presence, believing that most people approve of it in general but object when their own community is affected.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 2, 2006

U.S. Navy puts maritime pirates on notice

HONOLULU -- In ordering a U.S. Navy destroyer to capture and board a suspected pirate ship on the high seas in the Indian Ocean, the United States has fired a warning shot across the bow of would-be terrorists who might lash up with pirates in the Asia-Pacific region.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2006

Tokyo-Beijing fire rages on over diplomat's suicide in 2004

A spat between Japan and China over the 2004 suicide of a diplomat at the Japanese Consulate General in Shanghai continued Thursday as Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe urged Beijing to give a "sincere response" over what has been reported as an attempt to extort intelligence.
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2005

A year of battered dreams

The year 2005 is likely to be remembered as a bitter one in which many dreams were battered and many cherished ideals tarnished. For sure, there were high points, but they were overshadowed by the many disappointments.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?