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JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 8, 2009

Japan leads the way with quake-resistant technology

When a massive earthquake hit the western part of Japan more than a decade ago, a highway collapsed, railroads and telephone lines were partially cut, and many buildings were toppled.
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 8, 2009

L'Aquila to answer questions of G8 relevance

It's that time of year again when the richest nations in the world gather to discuss themes ranging from the slumping economy to global warming.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Jul 8, 2009

Lean, mean business machines

In the 1990s, few Japanese associated the term "coaching" with instructing and directing people toward achieving their goals in business.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2009

Nomura seeking partner in China

Nomura Holdings Inc. is seeking a partner in China to help it establish an equity underwriting business in the world's No. 2 stock market in terms of performance.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2009

Balanced news key for Yahoo Japan

While Yahoo Japan's news service has grown bigger and more powerful with the rise of the Internet, it has become tougher for the media to broadcast news with important value to its audience, said Michihiro Okumura, who leads a team that selects Yahoo Japan's news topics for its front page.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 7, 2009

Accommodation advice and visas

It's good to be able to report some positive experiences regarding finding accommodation in Japan. Here are a couple of letters we received.
COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2009

Rule of law eludes Guantanamo detainees despite Obama's cheerleading for rights

NEW YORK — The Obama administration should show resolve in releasing Guantanamo Bay inmates or trying them in a court of law, says Navanethem Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2009

Porn downloads strain mobile network

Takeshi says he pays ¥6,300 a month to NTT DoCoMo Inc. for unlimited Internet access, allowing him to download adult movies on his mobile phone.
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2009

Approach to a stable food supply

Regarding the June 27 article " 'Veggie factories' find fertile ground": I would like to add the perspective of a farmer from the lettuce-producing village in Nagano Prefecture mentioned in the article — Kawakami — which by the way was misspelled in the article. I first heard of "veggie factories"...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 5, 2009

Double standards fly high when it comes to bombing of civilians

Sad to say, every generation for the past century has known its own war — wars that have touched so many millions through the loss or traumatization of relatives, friends or fellow citizens.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jul 5, 2009

Mud, mud, marvelous mud

About 20 years ago I had a large pond dug in our Afan woods up here in the Nagano Prefecture hills. It was in a place that was always waterlogged when the snow melted, and in spring there were lots of puddles that became home to thousands of tadpoles. But then, as the weather warmed up, the puddles would...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 5, 2009

Takeda pleased OCA backs Tokyo 2016 bid

SINGAPORE — Japanese Olympic Committee president Tsunekazu Takeda left Singapore on Saturday convinced that the whole of the Asian sports movement was behind Tokyo's bid to stage the 2016 Olympic Games.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 5, 2009

The Shanxi trilogy: films that never made it back home

Sometimes called the most significant of the current generation of Chinese film directors, Jia Zhangke (b. 1970) enjoys the distinction of never having had some of his finest work commercially shown in his own country.
BUSINESS
Jul 4, 2009

SriLankan Air chief beats tourism drum

The end of a 30-year-old civil war will be an uplifting factor in attracting foreign tourists to Sri Lanka, the visiting chairman of the island nation's flagship airline said Friday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 3, 2009

Deliberately insignificant gestures

While walking through the courtyard of the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art and interviewing critic Midori Matsui, a frog hopped out of the darkness, stopped for a moment in the light and then slipped back into the night. Matsui, who curated the Hara's current exhibition, "Micropop," had just been explaining...
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2009

Panasonic cuts TV recycling time

KATO, Hyogo Pref. — Panasonic Corp. and its fully owned unit Panasonic Eco Technology Center Co. said Thursday they have developed new technology that makes it possible to recycle old-style TV sets three times faster and leaves less waste than previous methods.
Reader Mail
Jul 2, 2009

Suicide mirrors others' disinterest

In the June 18 article "The safety nets for would-be suicides," Yasuyuki Shimizu, director of the suicide-prevention organization Lifelink, is quoted as saying that most people have regarded suicide as a personal problem, not society's. In her June 25 letter, "Enjoying what surrounds us," Japan Times...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CONTROLS ON FOREIGNERS
Jul 2, 2009

Bills look to make refugee status more elusive

Last in a series
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2009

G8 still relevant but must lead, envoy says

Despite doubts cast on its influence over the global economy, the Group of Eight will remain a key framework to guide the world out of the economic downturn, one of Japan's top coordinators for the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 1, 2009

Key gripes converge in Tokyo poll

With the July 12 Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election drawing near, opposition parties are beginning to attack the contentious policies endorsed by the bureaucracy and Gov. Shintaro Ishihara.
EDITORIALS
Jun 30, 2009

A need to nurture scientists

Last year, four Japanese scientists, including one who became a naturalized American, received Nobel Prizes. Unfortunately, however, their achievements do not reflect the current state of science in Japan. The government's 2009 science and technology white paper shows that the foundation for basic science...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CONTROLS ON FOREIGNERS
Jun 30, 2009

Activist sees holes in bills to snare illegals

Third in a series
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 30, 2009

The slippery slope of shogakko

Although July's stickiness unglues most minds from study, it is at this time of year that mothers in Japan turn their thoughts toward school. Enrolling children in summer cram programs, visiting potential private schools, researching every possible option — all are occupations to fill the barefoot...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jun 30, 2009

Hard work, honesty, ability to adapt seen as fundament of success

Satbhag "Paul" Warraich, president of the Moti chain, is, like his restaurants, somewhat of a Tokyo icon.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 29, 2009

Two cheers from the grave punctuate the nationalization of GM

The automaker General Motors filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and there are surely two people rejoicing in their graves at the news. One of them is John DeLorean. The other is Clement Attlee.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2009

Reactive oil markets won't wait

HONG KONG — Economists are arguing whether they can see the green shoots of economic recovery or whether they are still only the yellow weeds of continuing recession. But global oil markets have been hyperactive and reacting as if the green shoots have already burst into flower on the way to a full-grown...
LIFE / Travel
Jun 28, 2009

Kandy, Sri Lanka: Highland jewel in an enchanted isle

The war is over, peace-building is under way, and Sri Lanka is one of the most enchanting islands you could ever imagine.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan