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LIFE / WEEK 3
Mar 21, 2010

Moves afoot to make Japanese holidays a pleasure not a pain

It's a seasonal phenomenon in Japan: lines of cars 40-km long and more clogging expressways; super- jammed shinkansen terminals and airports; and hot-spring resorts besieged by visitors crammed cheek to cheek in the steaming baths, imo-arai-style (literally, "washing potatoes in a bucket").
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2010

Nuke pact files may have been chucked

A former senior Foreign Ministry official testified Friday in the Diet that key documents related to the secret nuclear pacts between Japan and the U.S. that he had filed were missing, and suggested they were deliberately destroyed.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2010

Nago protests hit-and-run to U.S. ambassador

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) The Nago Municipal Assembly unanimously adopted Friday a resolution protesting a recent hit-and-run incident involving a U.S. military vehicle, which allegedly struck a car carrying a man and his two sons in the Okinawa city.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 20, 2010

Here comes the never-ending season

The season is here . . . again. As if it ever ended.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 19, 2010

'Hana no Ato (After the Flowers)'/'Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora'

Women have been wielding swords in Japanese period actioners for decades now, from the days when Junko Fuji and Meiko Kaji were slicing up bad guys, Fuji with stoic grace, Kaji with icy rage.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2010

LDP defection not likely to shift power balance

The Monday defection of Kunio Hatoyama from the Liberal Democratic Party has caused a stir in the former ruling party that for most of the postwar era was an electoral juggernaut. But experts and lawmakers say it is unlikely to create a fundamental power shift.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2010

Kan to BOJ: work with us to curb deflation

Finance Minister Naoto Kan repeated a plea for the Bank of Japan to work with the government on reversing a decline in prices that threatens the economic recovery.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 15, 2010

Running against the wind

In the gubernatorial election of Nagasaki Prefecture on Feb. 21, the candidate backed by the ruling Democratic Party of Japan was roundly defeated by his opponent, who was supported by the No. 1 opposition Liberal Democratic Party. The winner, former Vice Gov. Hodo Nakamura, garnered 44.9 percent of...
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2010

Sea Shepherd activist arrested

The Japan Coast Guard on Friday arrested a member of U.S.-based antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for trespassing in connection with his boarding of a whaling fleet vessel in the Antarctic Ocean last month.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2010

F-35 price tag may force fighter review

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Japan may think twice about selecting the U.S.-built F-35 as its new mainstay fighter, given the high cost of the aircraft, observers said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 13, 2010

Volleyball star finds meaning off court

As every top-level athlete knows, sacrifice underpins every training plan and for an Olympic athlete it becomes a way of life. For Sohn Jeong Wook, his goal of taking part in the Olympics was more important than country, but it didn't override family.
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2010

70 immigration detainees on hunger strike

OSAKA — At least 70 detainees at the West Japan Immigration Control Center, which has long been criticized by human rights groups and Diet members, have been on a hunger strike since Monday, center officials and volunteers helping them confirmed Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 11, 2010

Oh Museum to open in Fukuoka

Baseball legend Sadaharu Oh will soon have his own museum.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2010

Investors unconvinced by Fujitsu claims, TSE probe

Fujitsu Ltd. has drawn renewed calls from investors to shed more light on the departure of former President Kuniaki Nozoe after the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended a probe Tuesday into the conflicting reasons given by the firm.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2010

'Cove' Oscar won't end Taiji dolphin kill

TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. — The gala crowd in Los Angeles cheered as "The Cove" won the best documentary Oscar with its grisly portrayal of dolphin slaughter. But residents of this small port shown in the film abhorred the attention and said it will not end their centuries-old tradition.
OLYMPICS
Mar 9, 2010

Japan picks over bones of Vancouver medal tally

Was it success or under-achievement? The Japanese squad for the Vancouver Winter Olympics returned home with five medals and 26 top-eight finishes — both better feats than at the 2006 Turin Games.
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2010

Automaker's ads ditch apologies, get back to business

NEW YORK — New ads for troubled automaker Toyota Motor Corp. are skipping the apologies and easing back into sales pitches — too soon, some say.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 9, 2010

TV gets fickle fans flocking to fads to shed fat

Many people in Japan, especially young women, are keen to diet.

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