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EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2007

A devastating defeat for Mr. Abe

In Sunday's Upper House election, Japanese voters expressed their dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party, which has been embroiled in a pension-records fiasco, political-funds scandals and gaffes by Cabinet ministers. The votes have made the opposition Democratic...
COMMENTARY
Jul 31, 2007

Asians a boon to American prosperity

LOS ANGELES — For once, let's look at the other side of the coin regarding the constant drumbeat that Asia is causing American workers to lose jobs.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 31, 2007

'Eikaiwa' vets look beyond Big Four

Globalization, the Internet and increased mobility have made the planet a smaller place. The world is now often referred to as a global community, and its lingua franca is undoubtedly English. It is the official language of air traffic control and the de facto language of both international business...
JAPAN / UPPER HOUSE SHOWDOWN
Jul 30, 2007

Kansai weighs pensions, wealth gap

OSAKA — Voters in the Kansai region went to the polls Sunday with not only the pension scandal on their minds but also the growing disparity between rich and poor.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jul 30, 2007

Getting bills through Diet will be a lot tougher for the LDP

The clear message of dissatisfaction that voters sent Sunday to the Liberal Democratic Party will lead to a lengthy period of political instability and legislative gridlock, analysts say.
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2007

Let the punishment fit the spam

Among life's many hassles, the most recently invented is e-mail spam. Nowadays every single e-mail arrives sandwiched between garbage that must be cleared away before getting to friends, family and business. Even those few foolish people who follow up on spam probably hate spam. However, restricting...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 27, 2007

'Inland Empire'

A man and a woman are glimpsed, in murky black-and-white images, in a Polish hotel room, their faces mosaiced out. "You want to f*** me?" she asks. "Shut up and take off your clothes," he answers. "I'm frightened." she says. Cut to full color and a girl wrapped in a red sheet, crying, and watching TV....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 27, 2007

'The Flock'

Richard Gere stars as a creased, rumpled, work-obsessed monitor of sexual offenders in "The Flock" (released in Japan as "Kieta Tenshi)," a vehicle in which he seems to derive absolute pleasure from shattering his own, Desirable Male No. 1 stereotype.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2007

Turkey arrives at a political crossroads

HERZLIYA, Israel — In what may be Turkey's most important political event since the republic was founded in the 1920s, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won a landslide parliamentary election victory, with around 47 percent of the vote. Only two other parties — the Republican People's Party...
JAPAN / UPPER HOUSE SHOWDOWN
Jul 25, 2007

Shimane voters: Has Tokyo helped us?

National polls may show that voter outrage over the pension records fiasco is the primary issue in Sunday's Upper House election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jul 24, 2007

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

Reader Mail
Jul 22, 2007

Cool it for a good night's sleep

It was interesting to see the following comment in Tomoko Otake's July 17 article, "How to survive summer fatigue," about natsubate (summer fatigue): "Turning air conditioning on throughout the night is often a cause of natsubate."
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2007

That hazy, crazy bubbly feel of liquidity

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — We increasingly hear that "the world is awash with liquidity," and that this justifies expecting asset prices to continue rising. But what does such liquidity mean, and is there really reason to expect that it will sustain further increases in stock and real estate prices?...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 20, 2007

Capoeira connects Japan, Brazil

Experience martial arts with a twist — but probably neither a shimmy nor a waltz — at the two-day Axe Brasil Bahia festival, taking place in Tokyo's Asakusa on July 21-22.
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...
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 2007

Breaking point of China's Communists

LOS ANGELES — It's not always easy to do right by China. Should you choose the path of unthinking flattery, you will eventually lose self-respect.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 13, 2007

Taking a stroll back through time

TAKAYAMA, Gifu Pref. — In a country that deems houses well past their best-by date after 20 or 30 years, and fit only for destruction and reform, it is a minor miracle of sorts that wooden private houses built in the Edo Period (1603-1867) remain almost intact here, and that most of them are still...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 13, 2007

Step into her world

For more than a decade, DJ Mary Anne Hobbs has built a reputation at BBC Radio 1 for having musical tastes that are as cutting edge as they are eclectic.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2007

Are SIA workers the pension scapegoat?

Naoyuki Haga, chief secretary of the Social Insurance Agency employee union, fears he and many of his coworkers will lose their jobs when a new government-backed corporation begins handling pension payments in 2010 and the SIA is closed down.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jul 10, 2007

What are your favorite summer hot spots in Japan?

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’