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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 10, 2009

The monster that was made of fear

What's a nue? A sobbing thrush? A splendid monster? Or the shattered souls of those excluded from society?
COMMENTARY
Jul 10, 2009

Wisdom of an Asia rising

SEOUL — According to conventional wisdom, the global economic crisis is accelerating the transfer of power and influence from the West to Asia. The United States has been particularly hard hit by the downturn and America's loss is China's gain.
Reader Mail
Jul 9, 2009

Foreigners viewed as nuisance

If there is anything that makes me more determined to improve my Japanese, it is to fight racist claptrap like that (reported in the article "Visa overstayers given too many breaks: rightist"). Instead of being considered a benefit to the country, foreigners are seen as nothing short of a nuisance that...
EDITORIALS
Jul 9, 2009

McNamara's tragedy and triumph

Mr. Robert McNamara, the 1961-68 Pentagon chief who died on Monday, will be largely remembered as a tragic figure. He led the United States into a military quagmire in Vietnam that not only took the lives of more than 58,000 U.S. soldiers and an estimated 4 million Vietnamese but also weakened America's...
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jul 9, 2009

Indecision over Chamusca can only worsen Oita's plight

After winning the Nabisco Cup and guiding his club to a fourth-place league finish last season, few jobs in the J. League looked as secure as Oita Trinita manager Pericles Chamusca's.
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 8, 2009

Japan leads the way with quake-resistant technology

When a massive earthquake hit the western part of Japan more than a decade ago, a highway collapsed, railroads and telephone lines were partially cut, and many buildings were toppled.
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 8, 2009

Climate unity a cloud on G8 horizon

This year's annual Group of Eight summit, hosted by Italy, is expected to focus on complex political and economic issues of immediate concern, ranging from North Korea and Iran to international economic and financial recovery.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 8, 2009

Nagoya the testing stage once more — just as in 2008

As the long hot summer descends on Japan, and the people of Nagoya prepare for the annual visit of the Japanese Sumo Association, this year's basho, like that held last year, looks like being make-or-break basho for at least one rikishi in terms of reaching a career high.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jul 8, 2009

Ecological lights, clear sound and a way to digitize cassettes

Let there be light: Sanyo's latest addition to its Eneloop world is a lamp that looks like a flower vase and does double duty as a flashlight. The ENL-Y1S runs on a pair of the company's AA-size Eneloop rechargeable batteries, which are acclaimed for being environmentally friendly. In lamp mode, it sits...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Jul 8, 2009

Lean, mean business machines

In the 1990s, few Japanese associated the term "coaching" with instructing and directing people toward achieving their goals in business.
COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2009

Rule of law eludes Guantanamo detainees despite Obama's cheerleading for rights

NEW YORK — The Obama administration should show resolve in releasing Guantanamo Bay inmates or trying them in a court of law, says Navanethem Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 6, 2009

Price of centralized power

MOSCOW — The emergence of a Kremlin leader, President Dmitry Medvedev, without a KGB background, combined with the economic crisis, has inspired talk that when Barack Obama visits Moscow this week, America's president will be seeing a country on the verge of a new political thaw, a revived perestroika....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 5, 2009

Double standards fly high when it comes to bombing of civilians

Sad to say, every generation for the past century has known its own war — wars that have touched so many millions through the loss or traumatization of relatives, friends or fellow citizens.
COMMENTARY
Jul 5, 2009

Old killer press still admired if not emulated

SINGAPORE — Everyone knows the American news media is proud as papa of its reputation as the storied giant-killer of politicians and as the watchdog of government. Aggressive journalism decades ago by The Washington Post and other major media institutions actually dethroned an elected president, Richard...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 5, 2009

The Shanxi trilogy: films that never made it back home

Sometimes called the most significant of the current generation of Chinese film directors, Jia Zhangke (b. 1970) enjoys the distinction of never having had some of his finest work commercially shown in his own country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 3, 2009

'Monsters vs. Aliens'

The ultimate tribute to cheesy 1950s science fiction — with its flying saucers, ray-guns and little green men — already exists and it's called "Mars Attacks." Tim Burton's homage to a duff genre was so wonderfully over-the-top, it's pretty hard to imagine anyone topping it, but Dreamworks Animation...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Jul 3, 2009

Chikujo Seyo!

Director: Yo Kohatsu
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 3, 2009

Coolie's Creek: Up in the Paradise down by the creek

Coolie's Creek: What a great name for a Chinese restaurant. OK, it may not be the most politically correct moniker, but when you get there you know it feels absolutely right.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2009

Move reveals Aso's lack of power

Prime Minister Taro Aso's decision to bolster his depleted Cabinet appeared to be strategy as usual and his apparent inability to change the Liberal Democratic Party leadership is a sign party bigwigs still hold sway, but neither may matter in the looming general election, pundits said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 2, 2009

Gender-free spirit lagging

Ten years have passed since the Diet enacted the Basic Law for a Gender-free Society. The law says that in view of a graying population and low birthrate, it is urgent to realize a society in which men and women respect each other's rights and share responsibilities while giving full play to each person's...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2009

Single moms fight for kids' futures

For single mothers, no government financial assistance means no higher education for their children — and probably no future.
Reader Mail
Jul 2, 2009

Suicide mirrors others' disinterest

In the June 18 article "The safety nets for would-be suicides," Yasuyuki Shimizu, director of the suicide-prevention organization Lifelink, is quoted as saying that most people have regarded suicide as a personal problem, not society's. In her June 25 letter, "Enjoying what surrounds us," Japan Times...
COMMENTARY
Jul 2, 2009

Don't bait the Russian bear

U.S. President Barack Obama's Moscow visit offers a historic opportunity to avert a new Cold War by establishing a more stable and cooperative relationship between the West and Russia.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Jul 1, 2009

Is boorish behavior a symptom of swine flu?

"Where's grandmother?" The little girl, just home from school, flings off her randoseru (ランドセル, school bag).

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