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COMMENTARY
Jul 24, 2007

When democracy goes bad

LONDON — "We do not want to go back to an elective democracy where corruption becomes all pervasive," Lt. Gen. Moeen U Ahmed, chief of the Bangladesh army, told a conference in Dhaka in April.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jul 24, 2007

What's the difference between working in Japan and back home?

SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 24, 2007

Normal service resumed at the Nagoya Basho

Hakuko, Sumo's 69th yokozuna, overcame his first-ever official yokozuna bout with a convincing yorikiri win against fellow Mongolian Tokitenku of Tokitsukaze Beya. Following that impressive start, however, he flipped on the auto-pilot switch and glided out week one. Stumbling several times in the second...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2007

The trouble with Poland

WARSAW — "We are only demanding one thing, that we get back what was taken from us. If Poland had not had to live through the years 1939-1945, it would be a country of 66 million." Thus spoke Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski on the eve of the last European Union summit, when he sought to gain...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 22, 2007

Mobilizing the populace 'World War II-style' to judge their fellow citizens

Yoshikazu Ebisu seems an unlikely advocate for judicial reform. The 59-year-old illustrator first gained notoriety in the 1970s for his crude caricatures and moved on to variety shows in the late '80s, where his bumbling slob persona was the perfect target for insult comics. After he was arrested for...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jul 22, 2007

TETRAPODS

Ah, tetrapods!
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 21, 2007

Orix, Lotte stars become reluctant teammates

Watching the Central League battle its Pacific counterpart has long been the main attraction of the Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star Game. While interleague play has diluted the novelty of seeing the league's battle, the story this year revolved around a few likely reluctant teammates.
SPORTS / MULLY'S MISSIVES
Jul 21, 2007

Schwarzer gives kind assessment of Kawaguchi

HANOI — The Asian Cup quarterfinal between Australia and Japan may well come down to penalties — which would bring 'keepers Mark Schwarzer and Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi into the spotlight.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 21, 2007

The all-in-one conspiracy theory

"Life in Japan is like tofu," announces a friend over drinks at a late night eatery. "It's much too bland. What this country needs is a good dose of . . . evil."
SPORTS / MULLY'S MISSIVES
Jul 20, 2007

Nakamura's talent has Aussies on alert

HANOI — It's no surprise whom Australia 'keeper Mark Schwarzer singled out as Japan's danger man ahead of their Asian Cup quarterfinal match: Shunsuke Nakamura.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 20, 2007

Brian Lynch and Eddie Palmieri

Fresh from winning the 2007 Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy for "Simpatico," pianist Eddie Palmieri and trumpeter Brian Lynch are bringing their quartet to Japan. The group will play Blue Note Tokyo at its Roots Music Festival before continuing on to the Sapporo City Jazz festival.
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2007

A dash of insecurity from Moscow

Russia continues to up the ante in its relations with the West. Last week, Moscow announced that it will suspend its obligations under a key arms control treaty in Europe. The move underscores rising tensions with the United States and is another attempt to drive a wedge into the Atlantic Alliance. ...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 19, 2007

Sounds of smallness

Settling down into Yukio Fujimoto's "Ears with Chair" (1990) and adjusting the two long tubes on either side to your ears, the drone of the electronic organs on the surrounding walls both intensifies and hollows out. The hushed voices of mingling spectators magnify, as do passing footsteps. You cannot...
SOCCER
Jul 18, 2007

Osim says stamina key factor for Japan

HANOI — Japan coach Ivica Osim praised his players' powers of recovery after their come-from-behind 4-1 victory over cohost Vietnam on Monday sent the defending champions into the quarterfinals as winners of Group B with seven points.
Reader Mail
Jul 18, 2007

Welcome back 'Iwoto'

I share Philip J. Cunningham's concern in his July 2 article, "Goodbye Iwojima, Hello Iwoto," that stirrings of language police are a harbinger of oppressive nationalism. But there is more behind the move to call Hollywood's "Iwo Jima" Japan's "Iwoto" than meets the eye or ear.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2007

Comics defying taboos, ditching slapstick for political satire

listens to ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Yasuhide Nakayama during a taping of Ota's weekly "news" show at NTV in Tokyo in May. AP PHOTO
SOCCER
Jul 17, 2007

Man Utd arrive in Tokyo for tour

Manchester United arrived in Tokyo on Monday for the first leg of its Asian tour, boasting a roster packed with the biggest names in world soccer.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jul 17, 2007

Wide-bottomed noh costumes

Dear Alice,
COMMENTARY
Jul 16, 2007

Miyazawa knew economics

Obituaries for former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, who died recently at age 87, agreed that he was a statesman and a genuine internationalist. But some — those from Nikkei, Japan's leading economic media group, especially — also criticized him as a Keynesian economist responsible for Japan's economic...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 15, 2007

'Tasty science' puts mystery on the menu

Fed up with foie gras; tired of truffles; and simply sick of sturgeons' eggs? If you're one of those gourmets who's gagging for a new and taste-transporting experience, Tapas Molecular Bar at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo hotel may be the eatery of your dreams.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 15, 2007

Bulbous hair gives 'Brand King' a head start

People aligning themselves with a unique hairstyle is nothing new. But Tsutomu Morita is likely the first pitchman via pompadour. "Some people don't believe it is real," Morita says in a back room of his discount luxury-brands store, referring to the black bulbous bob that hangs over his eyes. "Others...
EDITORIALS
Jul 15, 2007

The wonder of wonders

The votes, 100 million of them, are all in. The most wondrous human constructions in the history of the world have been determined by an elaborate and multilingual online voting system. The results for these new Seven Wonders of the World, splashed across newspaper headlines worldwide, reveal a great...
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2007

Japan, U.S. press North to start denuclearization steps

U.S. and Japanese negotiators urged North Korea on Friday to quickly carry out agreed-upon initial steps toward denuclearization while playing down the urgency of a proposal from Pyongyang to create a separate forum for military talks with the United States.
JAPAN / UPPER HOUSE SHOWDOWN
Jul 14, 2007

Constitution pushed out of campaign

The pension records fiasco and concerns about a consumption tax hike have upstaged what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe most wanted to focus on during campaigning for the July 29 Upper House poll — revising the Constitution.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jul 14, 2007

Barbara Abbate

"Our latest trip, a return to Japan after 23 years, to see old friends and old places is especially exciting. We feel at home. The essential politeness, cleanliness, naivete, kindness and curiosity of the people have not changed. It is very comforting, and we are so glad to have come back," said Barbara...

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