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COMMENTARY / World
Nov 10, 2010

Building the India-United States partnership

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama's first presidential visit to India offers a unique opportunity to cement a global partnership with a rapidly emerging power. Set to become the world's third- or fourth-largest economy by 2030, India could become America's most important strategic partner.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 10, 2010

Imae played major role in Japan Series

NAGOYA — What a big-time player Toshiaki Imae is.
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...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 9, 2010

Pachinko parlors pulling in pensioners

Bored? Need to get out the house but nothing too strenuous? How bout a friendly game of pachinko, gramps?
EDITORIALS
Nov 9, 2010

Making the skies safe for air travel

The First Petit Bench of the Supreme Court in a 4-1 decision on Oct. 26 upheld a Tokyo High Court ruling that had found two air traffic controllers guilty of professional negligence in connection with a near hit in 2001, which injured some 100 passengers and crew members aboard a jetliner. The two were...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 9, 2010

Japan's long love affair with 'matsutake'

When it comes to status — and exorbitant prices — "matsutake" mushrooms may be in the same league as caviar and truffles.
COMMUNITY
Nov 9, 2010

Building a 'Little Yangon' in Tokyo

With its proximity to the Waseda and Gakushuin universities and crisscross of train lines, Takadanobaba is known to most Tokyoites as either a college town or a commuting hub. It's a cheap place to go for a drink, a place to grab a quick bite on the way home from work, or perhaps to pick up some used...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Nov 8, 2010

Batting center hit hard by recession

TOYOYAMA, Aichi Pref. — On a mild Sunday morning, a throng of enthusiastic baseball-playing youngsters were waiting for their turn, while some casual adults tried to have some fun hitting the ball at one local batting cage just outside Nagoya.
SOCCER / J. League
Nov 8, 2010

Antlers revive slim title hopes with win over Grampus

KASHIMA, Ibaraki Pref. — Defending champions Kashima Antlers reined in Nagoya Grampus' march toward the J. League title and revived their own championship ambitions with a gritty 1-0 win over the league leaders on Sunday.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2010

Chinese, Russian finance chiefs snub APEC meeting in Kyoto

KYOTO — Just days before the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum gather in Yokohama, Japan's worsening relations with two of the bloc's members threatened to overshadow the APEC finance ministers' summit in Kyoto on Friday and Saturday.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 7, 2010

Remaining in Nanking and chronicling the horrors

The history of missionary work in Asia and the Pacific region has not always been exemplary, as we know from the eradication by religious zealots of entire micro-cultures in the name of Christ.
EDITORIALS
Nov 7, 2010

The cash-strapped arts

Japan has long taken pains to preserve its outstanding cultural heritage, as is fully evident in the annual Shoso-in exhibition, held this year from Oct. 23 through Nov. 11.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 7, 2010

Freedom, friendship and love: a recipe for true happiness

The challenge to which this installment of "Big in Japan" seeks to rise is that of happiness. Is it possible, in these grim, sad, threatening times, to write a happy story without doing violence to journalistic relevance?
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 6, 2010

Zenit, CSKA advance from Europa groups

LONDON (AP) Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow were among four teams to clinch their places in the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday, continuing Russia's strong recent showings in Europe's second-tier club competition.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 6, 2010

An index finger pointing . . . where?

My wife cannot tell a story.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2010

Senkaku collisions video leak riles China

A video apparently taken by the Japan Coast Guard of the Sept. 7 collisions between a Chinese trawler and patrol vessels off the Senkaku Islands has shown up on YouTube, prompting China to express "concern" over already strained bilateral relations.
COMMUNITY
Nov 6, 2010

Canadian loves keeping Fukuoka informed

Nick Szasz, a native of Toronto, has published the free bilingual magazine Fukuoka Now since 1998. He says he launched the publication out of love for the biggest city in Kyushu and his sense of mission to provide information for non-Japanese living in the area.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 6, 2010

Japan's pension program

Today I'd like to explain to you Japan's pension program, where you put in ¥14,660 per month in the hopes that later when you retire, you will receive monthly payments of around ¥60,000 until the day you die. Or so the theory goes. Remember the chain letters that say if everyone sends a dollar to Joe,...
MULTIMEDIA
Nov 6, 2010

BOJ targets J-REITs rated AA or higher

The Bank of Japan said it will buy Japanese real estate investment trusts with credit ratings of AA or higher, providing more details on how it will invest money in a new fund that aims to stimulate demand and defeat deflation.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 5, 2010

Blackwell making smooth transition to management

Ryan Blackwell has successfully guided the Osaka Evessa during his first month as the team's new head coach.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2010

Thailand after the protests

BANGKOK — Only a few months ago, governments of the West were warning their citizens not to visit Thailand. The heart of the capital was a no-go area with battle lines drawn and blood shed between security forces and protesters. Shops and hotels were shuttered, but that did not prevent one of Asia'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