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COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2009

EU set to build ties with eastern neighbors

STOCKHOLM — Pushing the "reset" button on diplomatic relations is a popular endeavor nowadays. President Barack Obama recently journeyed to Moscow in order to "reset" strained U.S.-Russian ties. The European Union, though not in need of a "reset" because of strained ties with its eastern neighbors,...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 28, 2009

My nursery nightmares: responses

Following are some readers' views on Jenny Holt's June 23 Zeit Gist article "My nursery nightmares":
EDITORIALS
Jul 28, 2009

The deadline to prosecute

A study panel of the Justice Ministry has issued a final report urging abolition of the statute of limitations for serious crimes such as murder. It will ask the ministry's Legislative Council to discuss revisions to the Code of Criminal Procedure and other laws. The statute of limitations was first...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jul 28, 2009

Pocket knife lands tourist, 74, in lockup

To the Japanese government and law enforcement authorities,
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2009

Better eating habits

In 2005, the Diet enacted the basic law on education on eating habits (shokuiku) to promote healthful eating habits. This move came against the backdrop of a deterioration in the country's dietary culture, which traditionally has been considered well-balanced and healthy.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 26, 2009

The quirky terrain of an otaku mind

"Otaku" is one of those Japanese words that has no precise equivalent in English. "Geek" translates the knowledgeability as well as the social ineptness of the stereotypical otaku, but not quite his (and, more rarely, her) intense interest in what so-called serious adults regard as trivial pursuits:...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 26, 2009

Myth-buster points the way to Japan's role as 'credit-crunch' pioneer

T here are five myths circulating the globe regarding the financial crisis that has it in its grip. This is the view of Pavel Minakir, director of the Institute of Applied Economic Research in Khabarovsk, Russia. His fascinating and sobering assessment of these myths appeared in a recent issue of the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2009

Pope's dream of heaven on Earth

HONG KONG — Of all the criticisms and critiques of the state of the world since the financial crisis that triggered global recession, the most devastating and yet the most profound and constructive came this month from such an unusual and unlikely source that many media ignored them. Yet the comments...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 26, 2009

'Groundhog Day' man realizes why solar fans love running backward

Events this month have brought home to me once again the enduring truth of that popular slogan, "Think globally, act locally."
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 26, 2009

China vets shock archivist with 'horrible things they did'

In 1999, Sinitirou Kumagai dropped out of university, got on his motorbike and set out to begin what he now calls his "life work" — traveling from one end of Japan to the other to record the testimonies of former soldiers stationed in China between the 1930s and the end of World War II in 1945.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jul 25, 2009

Why I fly the coop

There's this foreign fellow I know that when asked about his favorite place in Japan, always answers like this . . . "The departure lounge at Narita."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 25, 2009

Cool Biz said to undermine productivity

Takashi Kadokura used to strip down to his underwear when working late because of the heat.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 24, 2009

He can't seem to escape from the museum

Ben Stiller is back in the museum. Specifically, in "Night at the Museum — Battle of the Smithsonian."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 24, 2009

Dinosaurs to invade the nation

Makuhari Messe International Convention Complex in Chiba will be home to a replica of the world's largest dinosaur skeleton until Sept. 27. The Giant Mamenchisaurus, which is an impressive 35 meters long, is one of the main attractions of Dinosaur Expo 2009 — The Miracle of Deserts. While the mammoth...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 24, 2009

Taking out the kids might be a disaster

I don't know why, but children love disasters — or at least, simulating ones. So, of all disaster prevention centers in Tokyo, the Honjo Bosai-kan (Life Safety Learning Center), in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, is worth a visit, because the facility, operated by the Tokyo Fire Department, offers entertaining...
Reader Mail
Jul 23, 2009

Cynical stupidity on mountain tour

Regarding the July 18 article "10 climbers perish in Hokkaido": These were not "climbers," but weekend hikers usually found exploring gentle trails on minor peaks. Whoever organized the two casual tours into the Taisetsu mountain range sent these poor people to their deaths.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2009

Crisis management lacking: experts

Japan has a reputation abroad as a country whose government, corporations and citizens are fully prepared for natural and man-made catastrophes after the bitter lessons of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and the Kobe earthquake, both in 1995, as well as the regular occurrence of typhoons....
JAPAN
Jul 23, 2009

LDP cartoon ad attacks DPJ vows

The Liberal Democratic Party is running a cartoon attack ad in an attempt to discredit opposition pledges to improve child care and abolish road tolls.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 22, 2009

Wake up, hike out, tune in, move it

It's early on a summer morning and schoolchildren have gathered for some rhythmic exercise timed to music coming from the radio.
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2009

Protectionist trend on the rise

In the English language the word "Protection" sounds warm and friendly. Everyone needs protection against the storms of life and it is nice to give protection and be protected. But lift this innocent word into the international sphere and it becomes a sinister and ominous concept, a harbinger of narrow...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 19, 2009

To be human in today's Japan, is it best to be 'no longer human'?

On June 22, playwright and novelist Hisashi Inoue appeared on national broadcaster NHK's television program, "Close Up Gendai." The occasion was the centenary of the birth of the novelist Osamu Dazai.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 19, 2009

Latin passions come to town with Asia's top tangoistas

Tango, that intimate dance of sorrow and passion that has swept the world since it was first developed in Argentina around 130 years ago, has proved increasingly attractive to "social dancers" in Japan in recent years.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years