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JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 27, 2009

Political shift gives hope to gays

The possible power shift in Sunday's general election signals change for many, and one minority interest group is daring to hope it will bring about the biggest change yet.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2009

Scrutinizing the Chinese threat to Taiwan

LOS ANGELES — In the United States we refer to it as the Powell Doctrine. And it helps unravel a bit of mystery about what China is up to these days. Remember Colin Powell? Before Barack Obama rode into the U.S. scene on his white horse, Powell was America's most admired black public political figure....
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Aug 19, 2009

Driving you 'crazy for kanji' — in a good way

Here's an addiction that doesn't require a 12-step recovery program. For the past six years, Berkeley, Calif.-based freelance writer Eve Kushner has been a self-proclaimed, unapologetic "kanji-holic." Kushner details her passion for Sino-Japanese characters in a new textbook, "Crazy for Kanji: A Student's...
COMMENTARY
Aug 11, 2009

Seven topics for a summer day

LONDON — As Japanese lawmakers campaign for the Aug. 30 Lower House election, British members of Parliament are in recess and Prime Minister Gordon Brown is on holiday. Papers and weeklies are scraping the barrel for something to write about. Many fill their columns with so much sports that foreign...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Aug 4, 2009

Spontaneous Japanese TV keeps Dave Spector on his toes

Michael Jackson's death meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For Japanese television celebrity Dave Spector, it meant being woken on the morning of June 26 at 6 a.m. and spending most of the next two weeks either studying or commenting on the performer for the benefit of Japanese...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ALSO OUT THERE
Jul 31, 2009

The eyes have it — false lashes catch on big with Japan's women

Long, thick, perfectly curled eyelashes are pretty much the desire of every Japanese woman.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Jul 27, 2009

How to Japonese

The blog How To Japonese should appeal to anyone studying intermediate and advanced Japanese, but don't expect structured step-by-step courses. Launched in 2008 by Daniel Morales, a New Orleanian who first came to Japan in 2002 and currently works as a translation coordinator in Tokyo, the blog pretty...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 22, 2009

The world's best one-stop shop for Nihongo

"The number of people learning Japanese has increased and is currently estimated to be more than 3 million worldwide," says Nobuyuki Suzuki, deputy manager of a very special store in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 20, 2009

Two brothers competing on Japan's political ladder

One of the major topics of speculation among political observers nowadays is what course of action former internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama will take following his revolt against Prime Minister Taro Aso. He will have to make up his mind soon now that the date of the next general election has just...
Japan Times
JAPAN / ALSO OUT THERE
Jul 15, 2009

Fish-shaped 'taiyaki' is always evolving

"Taiyaki," a fish-shaped pancake of sorts made of flour and filled with "azuki" sweet bean paste, has been around for a century.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 14, 2009

'Discontinuous minds' and discrimination: some responses

Following are some readers' views on Dan O'Keeffe's June 16 Zeit Gist article " 'Discontinuous minds' block progress on discrimination":
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2009

Ishihara must face the opposition

The Democratic Party of Japan's rise to pre-eminence in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly may force Gov. Shintaro Ishihara to bend on some of his more controversial policies, notably the funding of troubled lender Shinginko Tokyo, according to observers.
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 8, 2009

L'Aquila to answer questions of G8 relevance

It's that time of year again when the richest nations in the world gather to discuss themes ranging from the slumping economy to global warming.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2009

Iraq oil minister may visit for investment talks

Iraq's oil minister may visit Tokyo next week and discuss the prospect of Japanese investment as the Middle Eastern nation plans to increase petroleum production.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2009

G8 still relevant but must lead, envoy says

Despite doubts cast on its influence over the global economy, the Group of Eight will remain a key framework to guide the world out of the economic downturn, one of Japan's top coordinators for the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 2, 2009

Whether to come out at the office

"Do you live on your own?"
Japan Times
JAPAN / ALSO OUT THERE
Jun 29, 2009

Fun and fashionable rubber boots help shake off rainy season gloom

Rainy days can be a downer, especially for women who want to look fashionable but don't want to get wet in soggy and gloomy weather.
EDITORIALS
Jun 28, 2009

Those maddening economists

For most mortals, economics is a dark and deeply confusing topic. The vocabulary is dense, the relationships contorted. Economists are notorious for offering two — contradictory — opinions on most topics. So forgive us if we are confused at the most recent forecasts of the global economic outlook....
EDITORIALS
Jun 7, 2009

One every 15 minutes

For the last 11 years, one Japanese person has committed suicide every 15 minutes. This suicide rate, compiled by the National Police Agency, means that more than 30,000 suicides occur every year, a third of a million people in a decade. This astonishingly high rate, by far the highest for all developed...
CULTURE / Books
Jun 7, 2009

Illuminating flashes of China's fictive light

Divided into thematic segments such as Portraits, Relationships, Family and Existential Moments, more than a hundred writers are represented in this stubby new collection from China.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jun 7, 2009

Kang Sang Jung: Born but not Bred

Kang Sang Jung is one of the most influential ethnically Korean residents of Japan (zainichi). A political science professor at the University of Tokyo, he also gives lectures around the country, is a regular television commentator and has a column in the prestigious weekly current affairs magazine Aera....
COMMUNITY
May 30, 2009

Writer answers ceaseless call for stimulation

Mark Schreiber was the first foreign writer in Japan to cover the wildly popular phenomenon of capsule hotels.
Reader Mail
May 21, 2009

Contriving a social trend in Japan

For the most part I enjoyed Tomoko Otake's well-researched story about "herbivorous" men. Overall, though, I felt that the topics of the related Timeout stories (May 10) were quite dubious as they were trying to pound a round peg into a square hole. For example, a survey by toilet-seat makers shows that...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 17, 2009

Lay-judge drama, exotic real estate, and Kimutaku's 'Mr. Brain'

The new lay judge system starts on May 21, so it's not surprising that somebody decided to make a two-hour suspense drama to mark the occasion. However, the subtitle of "Hotei Suspense" ("Trial Suspense"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.) sounds like this might not be the best way to promote the new system: "Do you...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2009

Being Nihontsū: Japanophiles in our own country

"Wakonyōsai (和魂洋才, the soul of a Japanese and the talents of a Westerner)" was a phrase once used to describe the ideal of the modern, enlightened Japanese. This perfect person supposedly combined the knowledge, logic and open-mindedness of the West with the principled restraint, sense of honor...
JAPAN / Q&A
May 12, 2009

Historic change puts justice in public hands

With the "saibanin" lay judge system set to take effect May 21, Japan is gearing up for an important transition in its judicial system, in which citizens begin serving as de facto jurors in district court trials involving serious crimes.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past