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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 18, 2011

Russian-held isles: So near, so far

On the morning of Nov. 1, Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to set foot on one of the four islands off Hokkaido seized by the Soviets at the end of World War II that Japan has long wanted returned.
BASKETBALL
Jan 16, 2011

Steady Satterfield leads Broncos past Evessa

KASUKABE, Saitama Pref. — There's no doubt that Kenny Satterfield has had a stabilizing presence for the Saitama Broncos this season.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 16, 2011

Almost time for Japan to break out the bubbly for bubble 2.0

Remember the bubble? In case you don't, Shukan Gendai (Dec. 20) reminds us that the economic bubble of the late 1980s was an era of rocketing salaries, stock prices and property values, yet accompanied by little inflation. Wealth was seen everywhere. Catching a cab downtown at night required flashing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / WEEK 3
Jan 16, 2011

Calligraphy writ large takes in choreography, too

Japanese calligraphy is a challenge at the best of times. So why go to the trouble of using a piece of paper as large as the side of a bus, and a brush that's almost two meters long and weighs 50 kg?
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 16, 2011

Back to the future of a 'hotel for 2001'

The year was 1979. His Imperial Majesty Emperor Hirohito was in the 54th year of his reign. Japan's prime minister was Masayoshi Ohira. In 1979, people still paid for goods with ¥500 bills. There was no consumption tax or Internet, there were no cell phones and no Japanese were playing in the U.S. major...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2011

Israel's nuclear option in Iran

LOS ANGELES — Revelations in former U.S. President George W. Bush's recently published memoirs show that he declined an Israeli request to destroy Syria's secret nuclear reactor in the spring of 2007. While the revelation may appear merely to be a historical footnote, more profoundly it raises new...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 15, 2011

After 20 years . . . and more

Japan is a revolving door when it comes to foreign residents. They come and they go. And when they go, most never come back.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2011

Yosano exits party, seen angling for ruling bloc

Former Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano tendered his resignation Thursday to Tachiagare Nippon (Sunrise Party of Japan), fueling speculation he will join the Democratic Party of Japan-led Cabinet being reshuffled Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 14, 2011

Following Monet to the country

The charm of Impressionism was that it allowed a great deal of artistic freedom and expressiveness without losing touch with realism. A good Impressionist painting allows us to recognize a scene, while encouraging us to see it in new ways. This quality of blending the real with something more ethereal...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 14, 2011

'Yoyochu: Sex to Yoyogi Tadashi no Sekai (Yoyochu in the Land of the Rising Sex)'

Japan's sex industry is huge, diverse and different. One oddity, at least to Western eyes, is the pinku eiga (pink film), a genre of soft porn made according to certain rules (the most important being the inclusion of a simulated sex scene every 10 minutes or so) and shown in specialized theaters. Pink...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2011

The chaotic birth of South Sudan

MADRID — The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was reached in 2005 between mostly Christian southern Sudan and the country's Muslim North ended one of the bloodiest civil wars in modern times. Lasting 22 years, the war left more than 2 million dead. Now the CPA is facing its most vital test:...
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2011

'Boring cars' worst of Toyota problems

DETROIT — It would be easy to think Toyota's biggest problem is its damaged reputation caused by sudden acceleration recalls, millions in government fines and massive lawsuits and settlements. But what's hurting the company most is an aging lineup of boring cars.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 13, 2011

Ground control, we have a fashionable lift-off

Jean-Paul Gaultier's space
Reader Mail
Jan 13, 2011

Aussie fisheries strictly managed

Regarding Hillel Wright's Jan. 9 Timeout article, "Are Japan's fish lovers eating tuna to extinction?": How utterly laughable it is for Hiroyuki Kuroda of Japan's Fisheries Research Agency to say that regulatory agencies believe that stock assessments of southern bluefin tuna (SBT), which are fished...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jan 13, 2011

Cooking teacher Kaori Baba

Kaori Baba, 56, is a cooking teacher in Tokyo. An advocate of eating local foods, Baba bases her lifework around protecting Japan's near-extinct traditional vegetables and popularizing their consumption. Whether she's cooking long, green pumpkins that only grow in one village in Gifu Prefecture or pureeing...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2011

Middle East peace, not process

RAMALLAH — The United States should stop pushing for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Doing so might be the best way to achieve peace — a paradox that reflects the huge gap between a peace process and achieving genuine peace.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 12, 2011

Kobe Bryant speaks out about his condition, Lakers

NEW YORK — Kobe Bryant "does phone interviews about as often as Osama bin Laden strolls through Central Park," John Black, Lakers VP of public relations, responded by e-mail to my request for an interview. "But I will ask him if he wants to call you."
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 12, 2011

Aoki's game, guts impress Hill, Tyler

There are a number of new faces on this season's Tokyo Apache squad — players, coaches, front office personnel and even a new owner.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jan 11, 2011

Dual citizens, tokenism, Futenma, the case against rants: responses

A right to dual citizenship Re: "Japan loses, rest of the world gains from 'one citizenship fits all' policy" by Glenn Newman (Hotline to Nagatacho, Dec. 9):
COMMENTARY
Jan 11, 2011

China's tiger-rabbit heart

NEW DELHI — By roaring at its neighbors and picking territorial fights with them, China lived up to the year of the tiger that 2010 represented in its astrology. An increasingly assertive China also strained its relations with the United States and Europe, while its resource extraction-centered outreach...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 11, 2011

Smart grid pursuit slow off mark

The term "smart grid" is coming up a lot as the United States prepares to replace its aging electricity infrastructure. While President Barack Obama pledged $3.4 billion in 2009 to spur an early transition to the new distribution grid, Japan isn't expected to follow anytime soon.
Rugby
Jan 10, 2011

Record-breaker Ohata quits rugby

Japan winger Daisuke Ohata, the leading try scorer in international rugby, has played the final game of his career after sustaining a right knee injury.
Reader Mail
Jan 9, 2011

Celebrating a respectful sentiment

Regarding Usman Makhdoom's Dec. 30 letter, "Overbearing demand on Christmas" (which criticized Kevin Rafferty's Dec. 24 article, "A thought for the holy day"): Rafferty's article is not the "irrelevant, bitter rant" that Makhdoom says it is. The Japan Times should be commended for printing Rafferty's...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb