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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 28, 2006

Living the slow life -- at warp speed

Autumn on Shiraishi island -- the tourists are gone and weekends are for cycling, sailing and holding impromptu beer parties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Oct 26, 2006

Slow-motion revelations

A group of people who do not know one another, but are united in a common purpose -- possibly waiting for a bus -- stand together in a tightly cropped long shot. One is reading a book, another is listening to music through headphones. There are the young and old; whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians;...
EDITORIALS
Oct 23, 2006

Britons bridle over veil

The phrase "straw poll" has acquired some nuance in Britain this month. It used to mean asking people what they think about an issue -- any issue. Suddenly it seems to mean asking people what they think about Straw -- Jack Straw, that is, the former British foreign secretary -- and in particular his...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 22, 2006

Plea to a TV comic: Take on the big boys and take on politics

To Hikari Ota, c/o Titan Talent Agency.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 22, 2006

It would be a crime to underestimate the gardener

This past summer I was delighted to discover a new "ethnic detective" character named Masuo "Mas" Arai, an elderly Japanese-American gardener whose credentials include a green thumb and a nose for sniffing out criminals. The creation of Los Angeles-based journalist and author Naomi Hirahara, Arai made...
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2006

Afghanistan at the tipping point

The top NATO military commander in Afghanistan, British Gen. David Richards, has warned that Afghanistan is at a crucial juncture. If the lives of ordinary Afghans do not improve soon, there is the very real danger that they will switch their allegiance back to the Taliban. Loss of the support of the...
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2006

Change the tune on climate

LONDON -- There can be no doubt that the film "An Inconvenient Truth," compiled by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, has struck a chord worldwide. Checking potential climate chaos and saving the planet from destruction are causes that have gripped the minds of people, especially young people, everywhere....
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 19, 2006

America's double standard fuels crises

LONDON -- The U.S. government's double standard in dealing with the intensifying nuclear crisis in North Korea further strengthens the argument that President George W. Bush's colonial designs are either exasperated by the vulnerability of his foes or deterred by their lethal preparedness.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 15, 2006

Things a lot different for 2006 Fighters heading into Japan Series

Congratulations to manager Trey Hillman and everyone connected with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on winning the franchise's first Pacific League pennant in a quarter century. The organization has come a long way since the last championship 25 years ago and should make a much better showing than last...
BUSINESS
Oct 14, 2006

JAL takes on communication woes in struggle to win back customers

How does a company recover from a sullied reputation?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 13, 2006

School's out for Oreskaband teens

'I don't think being high-school girls is an important part of our band," says 18-year-old Tae-san, drummer with Osaka ska band Oreskaband. And with mere months until their graduation, we're about to find out if she's right.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2006

Telling another side of the story

James Bradley wrote the book "Flags of Our Fathers," on which one of Clint Eastwood's new films is based. "Flags" tells the true story of what is arguably the most famous photo in warfare, taken as his father and five other marines raised the Stars and Stripes on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima in 1945.
COMMENTARY
Oct 9, 2006

Easier way to emissions cuts

Generally speaking, innovation is driven by constraints and shortages. When Japan faced the first international oil crisis in 1973, it looked like the end of the world for the nation, since it depended on imports for 99 percent of its oil. However, Japan survived the oil crunch and used it as a springboard...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2006

Royal challenge to the French rightwing

PARIS -- Segolene Royal has surged to the front of the pack of Socialists who aim to succeed Jacques Chirac as president of France. Nobody would have bet a single euro on such a prospect a few months ago.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2006

Abe makes reform pitch

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Friday in his first Diet policy speech that the government will step up structural reforms, promote technological innovation to foster growth in the economy, and instill a nationalist mind-set.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 30, 2006

Frances Fister-Stoga

The Linguapax Institute, located in Barcelona, Spain, is a nongovernmental organization affiliated with UNESCO. Linguapax Asia, associate of the Linguapax Institute, carries out the objectives of the institute and of UNESCO's Linguapax Project, with a special focus on Asia and the Pacific Rim. The objectives...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 29, 2006

Omi defends shelving sales tax hike talk

The new finance minister's statement Wednesday that discussion to raise the consumption tax will only begin next fall has sparked speculation that he will not carry out the last administration's long-term plans to cut the debt and that it's a ploy for his party to fare well in next summer's Upper House...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 29, 2006

Street spirits plug in and out

In Japan these days, music and politics don't generally sit well together. On the face of it, a group who seem to have bucked the system is Osaka's Soul Flower Union, who released a new best of album on Sept. 20 and are now on a nationwide tour.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2006

Abe made prime minister

Newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe named his Cabinet on Tuesday, giving most of the posts to his close aides and the people who actively supported him during the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2006

Saraba, Mr. Koizumi

Mr. Junichiro Koizumi leaves the center stage of Japanese politics Tuesday, after five years and five months in power. He can claim some major accomplishments under the banner of structural reform. He also has created problems that must be overcome by the new administration in the years to come.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 26, 2006

Latin America struts into the fashion spotlight

Ever since Gisele Bundchen attained supermodel status, Brazil has been going catwalk crazy. Now the country is hoping that the fashion world will recognize it as not only an exporter of top models but also as a center for the creation of designer clothing.
LIFE / Language
Sep 26, 2006

Be warned: we're talking rather rude Japanese

In a society like Japan's, where civility in public requires a high degree of decorous formality, crude language rarely rears its ugly head.
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2006

Maglev crash in Germany won't affect JR's version

The experimental maglev train project in Japan won't be affected by an accident in Germany that killed 23 people, a company official said Saturday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 23, 2006

Award-winning docudrama 'From a Silk Cocoon'

It is 1986, the year that the U.S. government passes the Civil Liberties Act for providing financial reparation and an apology to all Japanese-Americans incarcerated in internment camps during World War II.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 22, 2006

Accolades for Afrobeat originator

Producer Brian Eno has been variously quoted as saying Nigerian drummer and songwriter Tony Allen is "the most important musician," or "the best drummer" of the last 50 years. Whatever Eno actually said there is no doubt of the high regard Allen is held in, not only for his rhythms, so tight and complex...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Sep 20, 2006

Nature's pulse at Asia's heart

It's September, autumn is around the corner, and here in Hokkaido where I live we have already had the first dusting of snow.
JAPAN / LASTING IMPACT
Sep 17, 2006

Timeline of Asahara's court saga

Following is a chronology of events linked to the trial of Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara:
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 17, 2006

Self-censorship conjures ominous echoes of the past

These days a simple but potent Japanese word is appearing in the media with inordinate frequency. It is hannichi, which means "anti-Japanese." An incident last month brought to mind an earlier era, when the word hannichi was also in common currency. Some words skip decades, returning to haunt the national...
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2006

Sarin gas victims greet execution news with relief, sadness

The news that Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara would be executed, was met Friday with relief and sadness from victims of the sarin gas attacks and their families Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2006

Abe holds tongue on Japan's war deeds

has sent signals" they want to improve the Japan-China relationship, he said. Abe's strategy has been to keep his opinions to himself about Japan's actions in the 1930s and 1940s.

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’