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JAPAN
Sep 1, 2006

Abe mulls school-year shift, forced volunteerism

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the front-runner in the prime minister's race, wants to make state universities start classes in September instead of April and demand six months of volunteer work as a prerequisite for enrollment, sources close to him said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2006

Courts refuse to hire lawyers on nationality

Three courts have refused to allow three Korean residents working as lawyers to assume commissioned jobs despite being nominated by their bar associations, because they are not Japanese, attorneys said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2006

Get with e-ticket program: IATA chief to airlines

The head of the International Air Transport Association on Thursday urged Japan to catch up with industry trends by speeding up implementation of e-ticketing and getting rid of its fuel tax on domestic flights.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 1, 2006

China's revolutionary myth

LONDON -- Arriving in Beijing on Aug. 23 for his third China visit in five years, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez praised the country's Communist leaders to the skies for having rescued China from a "practically feudal" situation and made it one of the world's largest economies in less than half a century....
BASKETBALL
Aug 31, 2006

Greece dunks France to reach World Championship semis

SAITAMA -- Lazaros Papadopoulos and Antonis Fotsis scored 14 points each as Greece posted a methodical 73-56 victory over France in their quarterfinal game at the FIBA World Championship on Wednesday at Saitama Super Arena.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2006

"Atsushi Kashiyama: My Specimen Box"

Galleria Grafica Bis Closes Saturday
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2006

Some LDP freshmen decide to support Abe

would like to entrust (the post of) party president to Abe, to be the leader of a new LDP, and a new Japan." Abe, who attended the meeting, expressed his appreciation for the support and said he looks forward to the election.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 30, 2006

Gene finds help to 'unroll' humanity

The English word "evolve" comes from a Latin word, used years before the familiar Darwinian connotation took over, meaning "unroll." As individuals, we don't evolve -- it's genes that evolve -- but as our lives unroll, we can see and feel the influence of natural selection at every stage, from birth...
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2006

Japan's infrastructure aid to Mideast is helping to build hope, rabbi says

KYOTO -- Chief Rabbi David Rosen, considered one of the world's leading experts in the field of interfaith dialogue, believes Japan, by providing infrastructure assistance, is playing a vital role in the Middle East despite the oft-leveled criticism its contributions are mainly financial and not military...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2006

The fat, the starving, and global warming

LONDON -- Being fat is the new normal, but it won't last. The global surge in overweight people is concentrated among lower-income city-dwellers, and some may choose to slim down as they climb further up the income scale. ("You can never be too rich or too slim.") But the real guarantee of a slimmer...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2006

Cultural insight past the twaddle

FULL METAL APACHE: Transactions Between Cyberpunk Japan and Avant-Pop America, by Takayuki Tatsumi, foreword by Larry McCaffery. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 272 pp., 2006, $22.95 (paper). Literary theorist and critic Takayuki Tatsumi's new book, "Full Metal Apache," is both good and bad....
Japan Times
LIFE / DISABILITY IN JAPAN
Aug 27, 2006

Is 'disability' still a dirty word in Japan?

Mainstream society is slowly, but slowly, opening up to the physically ormentally impaired, as officialdom appears happy with a 'steady' approach
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 27, 2006

Korean voices from Japan's colonial past

HIDDEN TREASURES: Lives of First-Generation Korean Women in Japan, by Jackie J. Kim, introduction by Sonia Ryang. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers Inc., 2005, 240 pp., with b/w photos, $32.95 (paper). Jackie Kim, an unaffiliated freelance writer, has here compiled the oral histories of 10 first-generation...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2006

Man's plunge into the Eros trap

ERO-SAMURAI by David D. Duff. iUniverse Inc., 138 pp., 2006, $14.95 (paper). Hearing several malicious comments about this book, I was eagerly predisposed toward it. Sub-titled "An Obsessed Man's Loving Tribute to Japanese Women," this is not the first politically incorrect work on Japan, but because...
BASKETBALL
Aug 26, 2006

Unbeaten Americans looking to improve

SAPPORO -- Team USA was a perfect 5-0 in group league action of the FIBA World Championship 2006.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Aug 26, 2006

Doreen Simmons

Quite simply, Doreen Simmons is unique.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 26, 2006

EmmazMarket: for instruments from Mideast

As part of July's weekend Zushi Festival, Minoru Fushimi took the live stage in front of the station and, after introducing his instrument, began to play.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / JAZZNICITY
Aug 25, 2006

Hot slabs of jazz

While summer rock festivals are as numerous as fireworks, outdoor jazz concerts have recently become as rare as a non-humid day. Just five years ago, Japan had so many jazz festivals all over the country that musicians had trouble making the tightly scheduled gigs. Then, sadly, economics caught up, distance...
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2006

Developmental-disabled kids get help

disorder, beginning next March, ministry sources said Wednesday. The ministry intends to request 1.2 billion yen under the fiscal 2007 state budget for measures to support children with developmental disabilities. The budget is 4.4 times the spending for the current fiscal year, the sources said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2006

Political internships gaining a foothold

They may not all be dreaming about making the big time as a politician, but an increasing number of students are working as interns for elected officials.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2006

U.S. beef ban over but it seems otherwise at stores

It's been weeks since Japan ditched its import ban on U.S. beef and the first shipment went on sale, but American beef is nowhere to be seen at supermarkets here -- except for the five Costco stores.
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2006

JAXA aims for supersonic passenger jet within six years

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans to develop a prototype supersonic jet that is quieter and more fuel efficient than the retired Concorde within the next six years, officials said Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 23, 2006

Bottled water and problems that flow

Having just spent several weeks in the United States, I can report with confidence that, more than ever before, Americans have their hands full.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2006

Child abuse crisis

Child abuse in this nation has reached a crisis level. Child welfare centers across the nation dealt with a record 34,451 cases of child abuse in fiscal 2005, a thousand more than in the previous year and a 31.3-fold increase since fiscal 1990.
EDITORIALS
Aug 22, 2006

The possibility of work at any age

Job opportunities for young people, women and elderly people are the main topic of this year's government white paper on people's lifestyles. Many young people can't seem to get the jobs they really want. Women are experiencing a hard time finding jobs after giving birth or after raising their children....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Aug 22, 2006

Hisanobu Tsujimura's Kan chair, the En bench, Muji's form-fitting sofa, Ken Watanabe's Linkage Stool

Due to a spate of out-of-town excursions and hiking expeditions, lately I've felt the need to just sit down and enjoy moments of lounging bliss. Here is a selection of chairs, benches and sofas that not only act as elegant interior additions to the home, but more importantly, will encourage you to take...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 22, 2006

Japan's fingerprinting law is dumb . . . (and that's just what the government thinks)

On May 18, 2006, a little discussed and little debated law passed the Diet.
BASKETBALL
Aug 21, 2006

Argentina cruises in romp of Lebanon

SENDAI -- Reserve forward Walter Hermann scored 23 points as Argentina grabbed the early lead in Group A on Sunday afternoon, scoring an easy 107-72 victory over Lebanon to improve to 2-0 in the first round of the FIBA World Championship.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’