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JAPAN
Nov 17, 2010

Media bent on derailing ruling DPJ: van Wolferen

The domestic media's penchant for focusing on political power games instead of policies is hampering the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's attempts to govern, veteran correspondent and Japan expert Karel van Wolferen said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2010

Kan ducks the rice problem

HONG KONG — Has Prime Minister Naoto Kan finally woken up to the fact that the world is changing rapidly and Japan risks being left behind? In recent days he has spoken of a fresh fleet of "black ships" off the coast of Japan, and has noted nostalgically that he comes from Choshu (now Yamaguchi Prefecture)...
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 17, 2010

Possibilities are endless as Japan's manga fans turn cell phones into libraries

In a development indicative of the growth of Japan's digital publishing industry, key player Celsys Inc. was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's second section on Nov. 4. This is in addition to being listed on startup market Centrex.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2010

Fixing the U.S. economy

NEW YORK — For many, if not most, Americans, the crisis that befell them in 2008 — leading to slow growth, rising unemployment and high anxiety among voters — appeared to spring from nowhere. Certainly, the vast majority of economists, investment analysts, financial firms and regulators failed...
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Nov 16, 2010

Shared goals may have found progress but nothing is binding

The APEC summit managed some commendable achievements, including pointing to a path toward establishing the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific and drafting a growth strategy for the region, but the 21 members are now facing political struggles in achieving the pact, experts said.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Nov 16, 2010

Nagano: Aside from Zenkoji Temple, what's so good about Nagano?

Byron SavillEngineer (retired), 54(U.S.)Compared to Tokyo, it's easy to learn Japanese in Nagano because hardly anyone will speak to you in English, even if they can! The people are friendly, though.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2010

TPP signals commitment to Asia: Obama

YOKOHAMA — The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement will give Washington a strong presence in Asia and an opportunity to increase trade, U.S. President Barack Obama said Saturday in Yokohama.
Reader Mail
Nov 14, 2010

Japan got off lucky after the war

Once again we have seen Japan stomping its feet and acting like a spoiled child over the four islands it claims off Hokkaido. The last time I looked, the islands had been occupied, governed and administered by Russia/Soviet Union for well over six decades. Japan has no business telling a Russian president...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 14, 2010

Revealing looks at a 'phantom chef' and city sparrows; CM of the Week: Lotte Xylitol gum

You've been thrilled by the skills of "Ryori no Tetsujin (The Iron Chef)" and impressed by the knowledge revealed by "Ryori no Meijin" ("The Master Chef"). Now you can enjoy the unique talents of "Ryori no Kaijin" ("The Phantom Chef"; TV Tokyo, Wed., 9 p.m.).
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2010

Obama appears to punch India's buttons

LONDON — Barack Obama's visit to India last week ended on a high note. After downplaying expectations for some months now, the U.S. president made all the right noises in his address to the Indian Parliament.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 14, 2010

The swashbuckling Scotsman who helped build modern Japan

A character in J. M. Coetzee's "Summertime" states, "Of course we are all fictioneers. I do not deny that. But which would you rather have: a set of independent reports from a range of independent perspectives, from which you can then try to synthesize a whole; or the massive, unitary self-projection...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2010

Imperial Hotel maintains its pride, 120 years on

Charles Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and Babe Ruth, and in recent years U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev are among the many celebrities who have lodged at the Imperial Hotel, Japan's first grand Western-style inn, which opened as a state guesthouse during...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 13, 2010

TPP could expedite farm reforms

The agriculture industry is in the spotlight as a result of the government's interest in a U.S.-backed trans-Pacific free-trade agreement that could scrap high tariffs on heavily protected products such as rice.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 13, 2010

Carroll selection sends out wrong message

LONDON — Andy Carroll, the Newcastle United striker, is Saturday set to be named in the England squad for next Wednesday's friendly against France at Wembley.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2010

Is America succumbing to the 'British disease'?

BERKELEY, Calif. — In the United States, the scent of decline is in the air. Imperial overreach, political polarization and a costly financial crisis are weighing on the economy. Some pundits now worry that America is about to succumb to the "British disease."
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2010

Ohata, Locke agree to diversify rare earth supply

YOKOHAMA — Trade minister Akihiro Ohata and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke concurred Thursday that Tokyo and Washington need to diversify their sources of rare earth minerals, a Japanese government official said.
COMMENTARY
Nov 12, 2010

Solar energy boom in the American desert

SINGAPORE — In the remote deserts of the United States, a clean energy boom is under way with potentially far-reaching implications for the way future electricity is generated in the sunbelts of Asia and other regions.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 12, 2010

'Ghost — Mo Ichido Dakishimetai (Ghost: In Your Arms Again)'/'Paranormal Activity Dainisho: Tokyo Night (Paranormal Activity 2: Tokyo Night)'

Hollywood has been remaking Japanese films for decades, but now Hollywood studios — as part of a worldwide strategy to boost box office in overseas markets — are starting to remake their own films for Japan, with Japanese talent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2010

Taiwan seizes chance to make regional statement

Taiwan has thrown its support behind a proposed Pacific Rim free-trade zone and considers APEC a key forum to achieve this, according to a senior Taipei official.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2010

China concerns pull U.S. and Australia closer

SYDNEY — A choice between Australia's biggest market, China, and its closest ally, the United States, was hardly a difficult one. The decision made, Canberra now has to reassure Beijing it's business as usual.
Reader Mail
Nov 11, 2010

U.S.-Latin America could prosper

In his Oct. 28 article, "Should the U.S. be worried as Latin America prospers?," Gregory Clark wrote that Mexico is unable to compete with highly mechanized U.S. corn production and that it makes up for that by exporting illegal workers and drugs.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 10, 2010

Six-mat chic: Small spaces suit us just fine

As the minimalism movement gains momentum in the United States, it's probably a good idea to re-examine the concept on our own shores. Minimalism is a Japanese birthright — what Western culture views as monkish habits, Zen aesthetics or the joys of simplicity, the Japanese have pretty much taken for...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past