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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2008

Originality and flair hits 2008

A year ago, I was sad to report on the sluggish condition of the Japanese contemporary theater world. Now, I am delighted to have had to struggle to select just five of the best of plays of 2008 from so many worthy contenders — many of them new and original works concerned with the current social situation...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Dec 25, 2008

People Tree products pioneering fair trade in Japan

The hand-knit sweaters and scarves and hand-woven bags with an ethnic look are nothing like the products sold to the masses of consumers in most big shopping malls.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Dec 23, 2008

Handwriting expert Koshu Morioka

Koshu Morioka, 75, is the founder of the Japan Graphologist Association and the nation's foremost authority on the study and analysis of handwriting. Morioka started out as a psychologist, until his love of calligraphy eventually drew him to graphology. In his illustrious 30-year career, he has examined...
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2008

BOJ to focus on making funds available to firms

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Monday the central bank needs to focus on making funds available to companies since the benchmark interest rate is close to zero.
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2008

Walking the body electric

At long last, scientific researchers in Tokyo are looking into the city's greatest surplus — pedestrians. Panels installed at Tokyo station and in Shibuya have started to generate electricity from human steps, enough energy in its research phase to illuminate Christmas lights and display boards. These...
COMMENTARY
Dec 21, 2008

Nail a North Korea deal by going to the top

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — In a few months a former U.S. president — Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton — may be asked to travel to North Korea in pursuit of military denuclearization. Or it will be new President Barack Obama.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 21, 2008

The auto trade gears up for a revolution

The automotive world is under assault from two storms that will lead to a watershed in its century-old history.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / WEEK 3
Dec 21, 2008

30 Days in the Wilderness

What miracles will the incoming 44th President of the United States perform?
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2008

Budget won't spark growth, experts warn

The fiscal 2009 draft budget unveiled Saturday isn't likely to help Japan recover because the recession will probably accelerate the ongoing decline in tax revenues, economists warn.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Dec 21, 2008

Burning temples, busted black marketeers, golf boom and discriminatory bookshop

100 YEARS AGO
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 20, 2008

Blackburn makes smart decision by naming Allardyce new manager

LONDON — We will probably never know why Sunderland did not consider Sam Allardyce to be the right man to succeed Roy Keane, who resigned (by mobile phone text to chairman Niall Quinn) earlier this month.
BUSINESS
Dec 20, 2008

BOJ reduces key interest rate to 0.1%

The Bank of Japan cut its key interest rate to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent Friday in the face of pressure to take a bold step to check the yen's rise and provide more liquidity to cash-strapped firms amid the deepening recession.
EDITORIALS
Dec 19, 2008

An ex-president heads for trial

Taiwan's former president, Mr. Chen Shui-bian, was indicted on corruption charges last week. This is a shocking development in the career of a man who campaigned on a pledge to clean up Taiwan's politics. In the supercharged atmosphere of Taiwan politics, all sides will be tempted to intervene in or...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Dec 19, 2008

Let's pray to the Great Black One

In Tokyo, it's prudent to pray to the Great Black One if you want to improve your financial outlook for the coming year. Putting in a good word for U.S. President-elect Barack Obama wouldn't hurt as well, once you arrive at the Slope of the Great Black One, or Daikokuzaka, a back street minutes from...
Japan Times
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 18, 2008

NPOs try to support rising tide of asylum seekers

Last in a series
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 18, 2008

Never mind the mistletoe: the finest hits of the Festival of Lights

If you're sick of songs about reindeer with red noses and jolly, bearded fat guys coming to town, here are some Hanukkah albums worth digging for.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 17, 2008

E-mail back if the Earth moved for you too

Call me: Fixed-line telephones used to be a lot like refrigerators: dull but essential. These days they are more akin to microwave ovens: more buttons than dials, and still useful, but not a must-have item. Marketing the humble phone is similar to promoting any commodity that consumers can live without...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2008

Lessons from the tainted life of Guantanamo

NEW YORK — President-elect Barack Obama's promise to close the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will go a long way toward ending one of the most shameful episodes in U.S. legal history.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 16, 2008

In an ideal world, who would you like to see running Japan?

LIFE
Dec 14, 2008

Progress, and war, arrive

Terrified of death, having inflicted it on many, the Chinese ruler Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.) sent his court sage, Xu Fu, across the eastern seas in quest of the elixir of eternal life. Xu Fu's 60 ships, carrying (says one version) 3,000 virgin boys and girls, left port in 210 B.C., never to return....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / BEST OF BOOKS: 2008
Dec 14, 2008

Ready for a little Yuletide reading?

SAKHALIN ISLAND by Anton Chekhov, translated by Brian Reeve (Oneworld Classics)
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 13, 2008

A frosty reception

It's getting cold , a bit frosty, you might say. But I'm used to having frost on the windows of my house, even in the summer time. This is due to an amazing phenomenon in Japan called frosted glass.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2008

In-laws raise women's risk of heart disease

While husbands may not stress out their wives, a study in Japan has shown that kids, parents and in-laws do.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan