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Japan Times
LIFE / REFUGEES AND JAPAN
Jul 8, 2007

Diplomat rues Tokyo's 'lack of humanity' to asylum-seekers

Sadako Ogata was the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from 1991-2001, and has been President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) since 2003. Here, she talks frankly to The Japan Times about Japan's attitudes to those who flee their homelands and seek sanctuary on these shores.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 6, 2007

Japan's favorite violinist

Kyoko Takezawa, one of today's foremost violinists, celebrates 20 years since making her concert debut with a series of recitals featuring an all-romantic, modern program. Titled "A Trip Around the World on the Violin," the tour takes in Nagano, Osaka and Tokyo from July 8-13.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jul 5, 2007

NPB announces monthly awards

Chiba Lotte Marines outfielder Saburo Omura, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters right-hander Ryan Glynn and Yakult Swallows right-hander Seth Greisinger won monthly MVP awards for the first time on Wednesday. Omura, playing in his 13th year as a professional, was named the Pacific League MVP for June after...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 5, 2007

"Katsutoshi Yuasa: The World is Overflowing with Light"

Cibone Gallery Closes in 55 days
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jul 3, 2007

"Tunnels," "The Boy in the Biscuit Tin"

"Tunnels," By Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, Chicken House; 2007; 463 pp. Books that lead to sequels are good news and bad news bundled into one. Good news because a sequel means that there's more where this came from, and bad news because the author is not obligated to resolving the plot by the...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2007

For those needing home care, here's how the plan works

Following are answers to some common questions about the national nursing-care insurance plan and how it works:
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2007

A Japanese Grand Prix

The red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival could be graced by more Japanese if the government and the film industry were to cooperate in a more substantiative way, suggests director Naomi Kawase, this year's winner of the Grand Prix for her film "Mogari no Mori (The Mourning Forest)."
EDITORIALS
Jun 15, 2007

Worst student suicide rate yet

The National Police Agency says that suicides in Japan topped 30,000 for the ninth consecutive year in 2006. While the total number, 32,155, was down 1.2 percent from 2005, the number of suicides among students, 886 — up 25 (2.9 percent) from 2005 — was the worst since 1978 when the NPA started compiling...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2007

Escaping from the Kremlin

TALLINN — Communism's fall gave the nations of the former Soviet bloc a chance to turn toward democracy, a market economy, and the rule of law. Some countries cut ties decisively with the communist past; others were less successful, a few failed catastrophically.
Reader Mail
Jun 10, 2007

Japan had an ugly side, too

Regarding Paula Bame's June 3 letter, "Western values have made a mess": As a Canadian who lived in Japan, I was shocked and saddened as well to read about the recent tragedies in Japan concerning the decapitation of a mother, parents abandoning their babies, and so on.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2007

Health bureaucrats manage to trim some fat

and Noritoshi Ishida take waist measurements Monday at the ministry as part of a government health campaign. KYODO PHOTO
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2007

A rare internationalist off to the rescue

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Will newly anointed World Bank President Robert Zoellick be able to get the organization back on its feet after the catastrophic failed presidency of Paul Wolfowitz? Although hardly a megawatt star of the Bob Rubin category, he certainly brings some positive attributes to the job....
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 3, 2007

Yamasaki comes off the 'scrap heap' to lead Rakuten surge

Break up the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 31, 2007

Yukiko Motoya takes a satirical look at the 'Super No-Flat'

There's a new buzz in Japan's theaters these days — and she's called Yukiko Motoya. Hailing from Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan, the 27-year-old founder of an eponymous Tokyo-based theater company has quickly become a new source of freshness both in the drama world and other cultural fields....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2007

Photography now

The borderline between photojournalism and travel photography is hard to define.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2007

Revenues tumble at major life insurers

Premium revenues for the nation's major life insurers dropped in business 2006, reflecting fallout from revelations of an industrywide failure to properly pay out benefits, according to their earnings reports released Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 27, 2007

'Containment' time warp sours hopes that Yeltsin spawned

Nearly 60 years ago, in July 1947, American diplomat George Kennan published what was to become the single most influential article in modern American diplomatic history.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2007

Rules on U.S. beef stay: government

There are no immediate plans to relax the food-safety restrictions on imports of U.S. beef despite a decision by an international body that says some of them are not necessary, the government said Wednesday.
LIFE / Language
May 22, 2007

Buzzwords trying to find own linguistic niche

Buzzwords belong in the category of catchwords and catch phrases. Like cliches — though not always as long-lived as cliches — they capture the imagination of a nation and are used in many contexts. In Japanese, buzzwords are called hayarikotoba and, as such, often do hayarisutari (pop into, then...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 6, 2007

Karel Van Wolferen: Insights into the new world disorder

When Karel Van Wolferen released his seminal book "The Enigma of Japanese Power" in the dying months of the bubble economy, the normally staid monthly magazine Chuo Koron described its impact as akin to being struck by a bolt of lightning. For once, the hype was merited. Little before had matched the...
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2007

Can France get back on track?

MUNICH — The new president of France, be it Nicolas Sarkozy or Segolene Royal, will face a tough challenge when it comes to putting the French economy back on its feet. While the world economy is booming for the fourth consecutive year, with a historically unprecedented growth rate of about 5 percent,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
May 5, 2007

Katherine Cash

How is it possible for someone to follow two parallel, dissimilar, and successful careers? Katherine Cash, now of Tokyo, is a professional violinist in demand for concert tours, television appearances and recordings. She is also founder and president of her own company NeuRobotics in the service sector....

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji