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JAPAN
Jul 4, 2007

Candidate Tojo seeks resolution against A-bombings

The granddaughter of wartime Prime Minister Gen. Hideki Tojo said Tuesday in Tokyo that if she wins a seat in this month's House of Councilors election, she will submit a resolution to the Diet slamming the United States for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2007

Ruling bloc poised to steamroller pension bills

The opposition parties made one final attempt Friday to stop the ruling bloc from ramming pension system-related bills through the Diet with motions to censure Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa.
COMMENTARY
Jun 19, 2007

Giving China the red hook

LOS ANGELES — U.S. Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer has a tiger by the tail. And since he hails from the mean streets of Brooklyn, you can count on the fact that he's not about to let go soon, no matter how loudly the tiger roars.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 18, 2007

Governance rules often spun by managers: expert

It is company managers, not politicians or institutional investors, who call the shots on corporate governance, an American scholar said at a recent seminar in Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / EAST ASIA SYMPOSIUM
Jun 4, 2007

U.S. presidential election casts long shadow

See related stories: Take your partners for economic integration Sustained economic growth is a question of balance for China
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2007

Leave 'patriotism' out of Constitution

In October 2005, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) approved draft proposals whose main thrust is to revise the Preamble and Article 9 of Japan's Constitution. The new preamble includes "the obligation to support ourselves . . . with love for the country and society to which we belong," a veiled...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 22, 2007

Seeing from the Korean side

In February this year over 300 people attended the performing arts festival at a junior high school in Okayama. It was much the same as any other arts festival at any other junior high school in Japan; the students sang, danced, played music and performed skits for an audience made up of family and friends....
EDITORIALS
May 20, 2007

Don't be shy about study abroad

A recent report has found that fewer Japanese students than ever are studying abroad. After a peak in the early 1990s, the numbers have declined to the lowest level in years. Remaining in Japan without experiencing life abroad will have repercussions that may last far into the future. More students should...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 18, 2007

Bryant: JABBA should end nonsense toward bj-league

Outsiders often have the best "inside" view. It enables them to see the big picture without having their perspective clouded by petty differences, politics or cliques.
JAPAN
May 8, 2007

Ishibashi's brief reign in '57 a key crossroads

is congratulated by Nobusuke Kishi after winning a runoff election for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidency on Dec. 14, 1956. KYODO PHOTO
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2007

Entente to balance China

International politics is always shifting, basically affected by changes in the balance of power. Of all the factors that can change a balance of power, one that is unique to modern international society (since the 19th century) is the economic growth of a single country.
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2007

A real choice for France

The first round of France's presidential election has left French voters with a clear choice for their future. The results pit conservative Nicolas Sarkozy against Socialist Segolene Royal in the May 6 runoff ballot. While both candidates promise great change for a country whose confidence has been shaken,...
Reader Mail
Apr 22, 2007

Peril in denying China's past

I hate to rain on everyone's parade, but Japan shouldn't be so readily taken in by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's recent speech in the Diet. This is because China, despite the flowery good language forwarded by Wen, is still a totalitarian regime willing to interfere in another country's domestic politics. ...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 15, 2007

It was 40 (very different) years ago today . . .

The re-election last Sunday of Shintaro Ishihara as Tokyo governor has demon- strated once again that the people of Japan's capital city remain attracted to the policies of this outspoken author-turned-politician.
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2007

Legacy of Asian liberation

Taiwanese politics appears to be "boiling." Scandals involving political leaders or their relatives have "heated" the political waters. Seen from the perspectives of democracy, freedom, human rights, the rule of law and justice -- rather than from that of what effects the turmoil might have on Japan-Taiwan...
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2007

More to crisis than meets the eye

A showdown between Iran and Britain was averted last weekend when Tehran announced the release of 15 British service personnel it had taken hostage. The personal intervention of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad resolved the crisis, but it is yet unclear how the incident will play out in the murky...
Reader Mail
Apr 1, 2007

Is Japan qualified to take offense?

In her March 21 letter, "Is U.S. qualified to throw stones?," Noriko Yoshimoto questions whether the "comfort women" issue is being used by the United States to put political pressure on Japan in an effort to pacify North Korea during current negotiations. She also (quite rightly) criticizes the...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2007

From out of the shadows steps France's 'third man'

WARSAW -- The French presidential election is a great "show" with all the ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster, including a surprising plot twist: the emergence of a "third man," Francois Bayrou.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 11, 2007

What made Japan join the fast-food nations?

Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power and National Identity, by Katarzyna J. Cwiertka. London: Reaktion Books, 2006, 240 pp., 89 b/w illustrations, £22.50 (cloth) While it is true that we are what we eat, it is equally true that we eat what we are -- that is, our cuisine often mirrors our condition....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 8, 2007

Top-selling author Atwood: sometimes caustic, never without cause

She enjoys immense popularity in Japan. Twelve of her books have been translated into Japanese and more are on the way. But internationally acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Atwood wasn't in Japan recently to promote a new book. She was here to look at birds.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2007

Rise and fall of France's Segolene Royal

WARSAW -- Two months ago, Paris' political insiders were unanimous: The presidential race was still open, but Segolene Royal was clearly the favorite. Today, the reverse seems true. While the race is not over, Nicolas Sarkozy has emerged as the consistent favorite in the polls, as well as of those who...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 23, 2007

A spiritual conversation

The foreign music press has a weakness for weird Japanese music.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2007

Moscow and the Middle East

PRAGUE -- Iran's influence in the Middle East is being strengthened not only because of the opportunities created by the frustration of U.S. power in Iraq, but because of the diplomatic protection it has been receiving from China, and most importantly, from Russia. With President Vladimir Putin now on...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 11, 2007

Mammon and myopia: Japan's governing '70s legacy

Over the past three weeks I have looked back in this column at the decades leading up to the 21st century, which has to date seen a marked shift in Japanese domestic and international policy back toward a not-so-new form of nationalism. In this last article I discuss the 1970s, when critical decisions...
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2007

More bad news for Mr. Abe

For the first time since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power in late September, more Japanese disapprove of his administration than approve of it. Although Mr. Abe's Liberal Democratic Party emerged victorious in the Aichi gubernatorial election Sunday, he will continue to experience difficulties...
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2007

Extra budget shoved through Lower House

The ruling bloc -- the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito -- rammed a supplementary budget through the Lower House on Friday after the opposition camp boycotted deliberations in protest of health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa.
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2007

Winner with 'no connections'

Election of TV entertainer Mr. Sonomanma Higashi on Sunday as governor of Miyazaki shows that voters are looking for a fresh politician -- someone who has no connections with traditional political forces or vested interests. Such a sentiment among Miyazaki voters should have been strong because the election...

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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