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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 27, 2011

Japanese officials dress the part but fail to address the issues

During the March 19 broadcast of TBS' "Newscaster," comedian Beat Takeshi complained about the work clothes (sagyogi) that Japan's politicians changed into after the earthquake-tsunami of March 11, saying that instead of trying to give the impression that they were working they should go up to the afflicted...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 20, 2011

MLB family reaching out to help Japan

The relationship between Japan and Major League Baseball stretches back over a century with a number of highs and lows dotting the landscape along the way.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2011

Prospects for an integrated army in Nepal

BEPPU, Oita Prefecture — Be it the Nepali Congress Rebellion in 1950-51 and 1961-62 or the movement for democracy in the 1990s, such events have had profound impacts on the political and socio-economic condition of the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 15, 2011

HIV/AIDS awareness often too late

More than two decades after the first case of AIDS in a Japanese patient was officially reported by the health ministry's National AIDS Surveillance Committee in 1985, HIV/AIDS seems to have become a disease of the past. With much less media coverage, people have become complacent about the issue, experts...
COMMENTARY
Mar 7, 2011

U.S. foreign aid hinders more than it helps

SEATTLE — The United States will run up a record $1.65 trillion deficit in 2011. Yet Washington keeps subsidizing foreign governments. House Republicans have targeted foreign aid. This year the State Department would lose 16 percent of its budget; humanitarian aid would drop by 41 percent.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 25, 2011

Hill's strategic use of Eaton paying off

For Tokyo Apache coach Bob Hill, the decision to move point guard Byron Eaton to a reserve role may turn out to be the smartest move he'll make this season.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2011

DPJ suspends Ozawa; Kan hints at election

The Democratic Party of Japan's key executive body opted Tuesday to suspend Ichiro Ozawa's party membership pending the outcome of his trial, despite rising pressure from the indicted kingpin's allies to withhold punishment.
Reader Mail
Feb 6, 2011

Better ways of restricting manga

The Jan. 26 Kyodo article "Adult manga artist prepares to fight City Hall" mentions that a creator of adult manga was preparing to argue with the Tokyo vice governor about the recent toughening of restrictions on the sale of comic books and animation containing "extreme depictions of sexual acts." Adult...
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Jan 30, 2011

Kozuka striving to improve despite recent success

It is amazing how fast an athlete can go from being overshadowed to casting a shadow.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2011

Mogwai

Since making their first live appearances in Japan in 1999, Mogwai have returned to tour the country a dozen times. With this in mind, it is unsurprising that the Scottish postrock quintet played only two gigs last year, and one of them was in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2011

Global coordination task falls to French schmoozer

HONG KONG — Pity French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and be careful what you wish for. Sarkozy has taken over as the president of the once-cozy Group of Eight developed economic powers as well as the Group of 20 countries, which combines the club of old economic powers with the up and coming new ones....
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2011

Middle East peace, not process

RAMALLAH — The United States should stop pushing for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. Doing so might be the best way to achieve peace — a paradox that reflects the huge gap between a peace process and achieving genuine peace.
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Jan 11, 2011

Landlords have right of entry — the roaches don't

Back in summer, the owner of AB's rented apartment wanted to spray the property for cockroaches (gokiburi). AB was far from happy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2011

A plea to the prince for a practical way to Harmony

HONG KONG — Many years ago, on my second day working in London, I was invited to take tea with Prince Charles in Buckingham Palace. About half a dozen journalists met the young prince who was about to embark on his royal duties but who clearly hadn't a clue about how the rest of the world lived and...
EDITORIALS
Jan 7, 2011

Straits of local governments

Not only the central government but also the nation's local governments face financial difficulties. According to the former's local finance plan, the local governments' total revenue for fiscal 2011 will be ¥82.520 trillion, up 0.5 percent from fiscal 2010 or the first increase in three years.
COMMUNITY
Jan 4, 2011

Arudou's Alien Almanac: 2000-2010

No. 5: The Otaru onsen case ('99-2005)
JAPAN / AT JAPAN'S EXPENSE
Jan 3, 2011

Japan not alone in demographic conundrum

Second in a series
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2010

If U.S., China would listen

NEW YORK — In 2010, economic conflict between the United States and China became one of the most worrying global developments. The U.S. pressed China to revalue the renminbi, while China blamed the U.S. Federal Reserve policy of "quantitative easing" for currency market turmoil. The two sides are talking...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2010

Power struggle in Tehran

WASHINGTON — Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has never been happy about the status of the Iranian presidency — neither during his own tenure, from 1981-1989, nor during the terms of his three successors.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Dec 20, 2010

Small, Murakami offer opinions on MLB, NPB business strategies

Japanese baseball had trouble finding broadcast partners for the 2010 Japan Series between the Chiba Lotte Marines and Chunichi Dragons. That was a perplexing turn of events in a nation where the sport is king.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2010

Kan takes in Iwojima graves hunt

Making only the second trip ever by a serving prime minister to the site of the Battle of Iwojima, Naoto Kan paid his respects Tuesday to the more than 21,000 Japanese soldiers killed in one of World War II's bloodiest battlegrounds — and one that after 65 years is still giving up its dead.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 14, 2010

Rich kids set to inherit higher taxes

A new proposed inheritance law, which hasn't changed since 1958, is being aimed at the silver spooners who can afford a higher tax.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 19, 2010

Joan of Arc takes center stage

Though widely known in the West, St. Joan of Arc is an obscure historical figure for many people in Japan. Maki Horikita, who portrays the 15th-century French war heroine in the upcoming TBS stage production "Jeanne d'Arc," rises to the challenge of making Joan's tragic life story relevant for a Japanese...
JAPAN / Media
Nov 14, 2010

Documenting the art world's original odd couple

"No! You do it!" yells Dorothy across a small New York apartment to her husband, Herb. Megumi Sasaki, a Japanese film director, has just asked to take a peek at a priceless artwork from the 1960s that is covered in blankets.
JAPAN / ORGAN TRANSPLANTS
Nov 12, 2010

Transplants set to increase

Japan boasts highly skilled surgeons, universal health insurance coverage, well-equipped medical facilities — and few organ transplants.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2010

Indie breakout, 'kimchibilly' rockers bring Seoul to Japan

While K-pop continues to gain greater recognition worldwide, South Korea's prolific, small underground-music scene is still struggling to find audiences outside of Seoul.
COMMENTARY
Nov 10, 2010

Israelis destroying a symbol of peace and life

During the last few years, Palestinian olive trees — a universal symbol of life and peace — have been systematically destroyed by Israeli settlers. "It has reached a crescendo. What might look like ad hoc violence is actually a tool the settlers are using to push back Palestinian farmers from their...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji