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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 13, 2010

The secrets behind Japanese beauty

I now realize why the Japanese often don't smile for photos: They're hiding their wrinkles. And it works. I've even figured out that if I went around never smiling, I'd look 10 years younger. Unfortunately I can't, so I'll have to continue to look like the happy old hag that I am.
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2010

Dim future for bluefin tuna

Everybody in the business knows that the Atlantic population of bluefin tuna is in worse trouble than the Pacific population, but how much worse?
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.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 12, 2010

Painting the spirit that built great empires

As I write, the British pound is in sharp decline against a wide range of currencies, including even the Zimbabwean dollar! No, there hasn't been an editorial mishap and this is not the financial section of The Japan Times. I just mention these facts of economic decline to add some perspective to the...
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2010

A blueprint for China

In 2009, China succeeded in tiding over the impact of the worst global financial crisis in decades thanks to the government economic stimulus package, which included a 4 trillion yuan (¥52 trillion) two-year investment. But Premier Wen Jiabao's government work report to China's Parliament shows that...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 10, 2010

Wait long enough and daikon legs get fashionable

Bridget Jones said a woman starts to feel her age when the fashion of the times comes full circle and she witnesses the ghostly resurrection of all the stuff she wore in her youth.
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.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2010

'Cove' Oscar is Taiji's chagrin

"The Cove," a film showing the yearly slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, took the Oscar for best feature documentary in the annual Academy Awards ceremony Sunday in Los Angeles.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 9, 2010

More about going wireless on the move

In reply to a computer user seeking advice on "Going wireless on the move" (Lifelines, Jan. 5), M.H. wonders why Bic Camera ( www.biccamera.com ) and Emobile ( www.emobile.jp/en ) were mentioned, but not UQ WiMAX ( www.uqwimax.jp/service/trywimax/ ).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 9, 2010

Detainees allege abuse at Kansai holding center

The only way to see or speak to Moses Ssentamu is through a Plexiglas window at the West Japan Immigration Center in Ibaraki City, so there is no independent way to verify his claims of physical and psychological abuse. But if true, they raise serious concerns about Japan's treatment of visa overstayers...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 8, 2010

Japan Inc. testing the Twitter waters

As Twitter booms in Japan, big and small businesses are exploring the potential for PR, fostering customer loyalty and targeting new demographics.
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2010

A 'first step' in South Asia

India and Pakistan have resumed high-level diplomatic talks. The discussions were preliminary — a "first step" in the words of Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao — but relations between the two are so bad and the potential fallout from a crisis so high that any progress between the two is to be...
COMMENTARY
Mar 8, 2010

New device apt to kindle greater interest in reading

The first thing that catches your eye when you open the yousho (imported books) section of Amazon Japan's home page is an advertisement for the Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device. The Kindle DX ad, which first appeared last summer, claims that a reader can perform a wireless download of any of more than...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 8, 2010

Tax deductions and the myth of the "no-donation culture"

With few incentives to give to charities and few that qualify as NPOs, it no surprise that Japan has a bum rap as a 'no-donation' culture.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2010

Emotionalized debate blurs valuable functions of Futenma

CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa Pref. — In recent months, the issue of the relocation of Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Futenma has gotten a great deal of attention in the news — so much so that it has almost overshadowed the significance of this year being the 50th anniversary of the revision of the U.S.-Japan...
Reader Mail
Mar 7, 2010

Viewing older workers as an asset

Regarding Yosuke Kaneda's Feb. 21 letter, "Encourage foreign students to stay": Encouraging more foreigners to settle in Japan as a solution to the growing labor shortage — due to the declining and aging population — would be difficult to implement and would have various negative side effects.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 7, 2010

For humanity's sake, let's tie whaling in with animal welfare as a whole

Back in the early '90s, my wife, children and I lived in the picturesque and historical Sydney suburb of Mosman . . . well, historical by white-settler Australian standards.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 7, 2010

Olympic memories are priceless

It was only fitting that hockey's beloved icon lit the Olympic torch and Canada's top current star scored the gold medal-clinching goal — in overtime, the proverbial icing on the cake — on the final day of the Vancouver Winter Games.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2010

Sex offender rehab takes new tack

Since its introduction three years ago, Japan's correctional program for sex offenders, modeled after Canada's system, has made great strides, a leading expert on rehabilitation from Ontario says.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Mar 6, 2010

Dragons welcome next generation

After winning the Japan Series two seasons ago, Chunichi Dragons manager Hiromitsu Ochiai said he wanted to start looking for the successors to his current stars.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 6, 2010

The art of peripheral heating

In my Japanese house in the countryside, I don't have central heating. Just peripheral heating. In an era where just a simple word like "change" can get a president elected, I suggest that the next person running for prime minister in Japan use the slogan "central heat!"
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 5, 2010

Toyama faces tough road to playoff berth

For the Toyama Grouses, the next 10 games could define their season.

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan