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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 1, 2009

Japan's sea change should signal a new course for the media, too

The relationship between the government and the press in Japan has, during the past 50 years, been a volatile one of give and take: The government gives the press what it wants it to know, and the press gladly takes it. But this has not always been the case.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2009

DPJ wants Cabinet to call policy shots, not juniors

It all began with a single notice handed out last month to Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers.
Reader Mail
Oct 8, 2009

Silly ideas from a media-mogul

It is both surprising and annoying to read what media-mogul Rupert Murdoch is now promoting. Many in the capitalistic world would perhaps agree with his view that everything that goes on sale in the real world can also be sold over the Internet.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Sep 15, 2009

For TV anchor, learning the lingo is key

Gene Otani, a Japanese national who attended an international school in Kobe throughout his youth, had to take Japanese lessons as a salaried worker when he realized he needed more skill in reading and writing.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2009

Citizens find their place on the bench

As far as civic duties go, most Japanese would probably say voting is the most serious. But last month, a contender emerged with the first trial under the lay judge system.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 23, 2009

TV celeb wannabes, origins of noodle-making and mysteries of Azuchi Castle

Show business likes family dynasties even more than politics does, though you may wonder how new "stars" are introduced when they have nothing more to offer than their surnames. Eight "talked-about teen candidates" for show biz stardom are the guests on this week's installment of the variety show "The...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 10, 2009

Free java, no jive

Step back Starbucks. McDonald's is making a power move on the coffee market in Japan with free java.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 9, 2009

Channel surf

As the 64th anniversary of Japan's surrender approaches, the special memorial programs about World War II come faster and thicker. This week's big event is a docudrama called "Saigo no Akagami Haitatsunin" (The Last Red Letter Deliveryman; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.). "Red letter" refers to the draft notices...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 19, 2009

Questions over degree of child abuse remain in Japan

Last April, a 34-year-old woman and her 38-year-old live-in boyfriend were arrested for allegedly burying the corpse of the woman's 9-year-old daughter in a Nara graveyard. Osaka police believe that the child had been a victim of abuse at the hands of the boyfriend. School authorities had earlier suspected...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 28, 2009

Mythmaking and the Kamikaze 'volunteers'

NEW YORK — Lisa Hosokawa Garber, a fresh graduate of St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina, has sent me "Crosswind," her short, imaginative account of three months in the life of a youth training to be a Kamikaze pilot. It describes what its author calls a Shakespearean "twist of fate":...
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2009

Kawamura retracts skin color gaffe

Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura was quick to retract what could be considered a racist remark Friday over the color of late pop star Michael Jackson's skin.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Jun 10, 2009

Just Hungry, Just Bento

The kitchen has long been used as a portal to distant places and times, and Just Hungry and Just Bento are two blogs by Makiko Itoh that put all the wonders of Japanese cuisine within a cutting-board's reach. For Makiko, cooking has been a way to re-create comfort foods from Japan while living abroad...
JAPAN
May 22, 2009

Tokyo health centers swamped by callers

Worried callers are swamping phone lines at health centers near the school and homes of two Tokyo-area high school students confirmed to have swine flu.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 1, 2009

Sean Penn 'Milk' star is cream of the crop — again

'Y ou know, just to get one of them is something most actors don't get to do, and for a long time I didn't think I'd ever get one, let alone two."
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 20, 2009

Whispers of sanity in the frenzy of madness

LUCKNOW, India — It was refreshing to hear the views of Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, a Right Livelihood Award recipient, on the politics of terrorism. He rightly believes that terrorism is not born of any religion, but is the outcome of political situations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 14, 2009

So, you wanna be a Johnny?

What do the most popular male celebrity in Japan and a star of Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" have in common?
LIFE / CLOSE-UP
Apr 5, 2009

Hiroshi Mikitani: Retail revolutionary

On a bitterly cold mid-February day, in the midst of an even harsher economic climate, Hiroshi Mikitani — founder, president and CEO of one of Japan's largest online retailers, Rakuten Inc. — shook off a slight cold to announce at a concise news conference that in fiscal 2008 his company had achieved...
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2009

DPJ election win no longer a sure bet

Ichiro Ozawa's efforts to persuade voters to end the Liberal Democratic Party's almost-uninterrupted 50 years of rule and bring his party to power may be set back by reminders of his links to disgraced former LDP lawmakers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 3, 2009

Newspapers here soldiering on

Japan's newspaper industry caters to a nation of avid readers and has thus enjoyed a healthy business environment when compared with other developed countries — but times are changing.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2009

Kato bets on August election if Aso can hang on

Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Koichi Kato said Thursday that if Prime Minister Taro Aso retains power, the Lower House general election will likely be held in August after the Group of Eight summit in July.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight