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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2009

Irish voters weigh the Lisbon Treaty again

MAYNOOTH, Ireland — On Oct. 2, Irish voters go to the polls for a second time to decide whether to adopt the European Union's Lisbon Treaty. The mood in EU capitals is one of nervousness as polling day looms, with the future of the EU in the hands of Ireland's unpredictable voters. On two of the last...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 30, 2009

Tokyo Game Show fails to impress

The theme for the 2009 Tokyo Game Show is "Game, it's so energetic!" Ironic, as the energy for this year's show was less palpable than for previous ones.
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2009

New fund bets on 'anime' character

Music Securities Inc., a music production and fund management firm, will start a fund investing in products from the animated series "Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro" featuring a one-eyed demon boy who lives in a graveyard.
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2009

Funding drama yet to play out

When an extraordinary session of the Diet opens in October, the issue of money in politics will be reignited. The Liberal Democratic Party, now in opposition, will surely assail Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa over dubious political donations....
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2009

Why not try a trade system that optimizes each nation's interest?

Many of us thought that the World Trade Organization (WTO) was dead when the world financial and economic crisis demolished the myth of the benefits of free trade regimes, and that the poor of the world could rejoice. But suddenly, by some kind of voodoo trickery, it is back.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 27, 2009

Still a plus for Seven-Eleven

Seven-Eleven has followed the lead of the postal office by opening its ATMs up to foreign bank cards. So why haven't convenience stores followed suit?
Reader Mail
Sep 27, 2009

Deregulation made us poorer

In his Sept. 18 article, "Japan's harmonious drift," Guy Sorman attributes the alleged low productivity of the Japanese service industry to the heavy regulation and protection of mom-and- pop shops, despite the fact that deregulation policies put into effect in the past two decades are what have forced...
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 27, 2009

Let's Bike!

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama could have made a stronger impact at the United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York last week had he trumpeted another environmentally laudable proposal in addition to his declared goal of Japan cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels...
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 27, 2009

Bike tours offer a new view of the city

Despite long-standing conflicts between cyclists and others with a stake in using Tokyo's streets, Japan's capital can be a great place to tour by bike — as I discovered last weekend while participating in the "Tokyo Great Cycling Tour," a one-day guided trip organized by Tokyo-based operator Alive...
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2009

Strong yen weighs on exporters

Exporters are in danger of being left behind by a global trade recovery as the nation's change in government ushers in a tolerance for exchange-rate gains that threaten to erode their profits.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Sep 25, 2009

Conrad holds wine master classes

The Conrad Tokyo will hold special wine events from Oct. 13 to 15 under the direction of the hotel's wine consultant Ron Georgiou, who holds the qualification of "Master of Wine."
BUSINESS
Sep 25, 2009

Nintendo reduces price of Wii in attempt to keep lead on rivals

Nintendo Co. has cut the price of the top-selling Wii for the first time since the game console's debut in 2006 to maintain its lead after Microsoft Corp. and Sony Corp. reduced the cost of their systems.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 25, 2009

The Giants give you an excuse to go shopping

Big hurray for the Giants big pennant win! Bigger hurray for the department-store sales!
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 24, 2009

Challenges for the Hatoyama government

HONOLULU, EAST-WEST WIRE — Japan entered a new political era last week after Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) head Yukio Hatoyama took over as prime minister. The long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is severely and possibly permanently crippled, and facing a leadership crisis.
COMMENTARY
Sep 23, 2009

Time to boost Japan-EU ties

CINDERFORD, England — Yukio Hatoyama and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) have finally taken up the reins of power after their stunning election victory Aug. 30. The promise of their manifesto is change. With politicians on top and bureaucrats on tap, Japan is to develop a proactive autonomous foreign...
LIFE / Digital
Sep 23, 2009

Can firms trust cloud computing?

This year's overhyped IT concept is cloud computing. Also called software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing is when you run software over the Internet and access it via a browser. Both Google Docs and salesforce.com's customer management software are examples of this.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 21, 2009

'Alien' prime minister, new-look Cabinet bring change to old politics

Politics is not the kind of stuff you normally stay up to watch on the telly long into the night. Not unless scandals, drunkenness and other juicy activities are involved, of course.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2009

New environment chief will have a difficult task crafting CO 2 plan

Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa said Sunday that Japan's new goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions will put the country in a strong position at international negotiations on climate change.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2009

Putin's preferred memory of World War II

CAMBRIDGE, England — Soviet ideology was always about the future. By contrast, today's official Russian ideology seems to be focused squarely on the past.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 20, 2009

Ramen memoir goes down easy

THE RAMEN KING AND I: How the Inventor of Instant Noodles Fixed My Love Life, by Andy Raskin. Gotham, 2009, 293 pp., $26 (hardcover) "The year I was a student at International Christian University . . . Japan's automated-teller machines were open only during regular bank hours — weekdays from nine...

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