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JAPAN
Feb 10, 2006

North's abduction charge irks NGOs

Members of nongovernmental organizations trying to help North Koreans who have fled their impoverished country find safe haven lashed out Thursday over Pyongyang's claim this week that they were kidnapping its people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 10, 2006

The man who couldn't quit

With "Hoop Dreams" having just been inducted into The National Film Registry (of the Library of Congress), Steve James is clearly one of America's most respected documentarians. And with good reason: The 43-year-old, Virginia-born filmmaker brings a sensitivity and sustained focus to his films that few...
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Feb 10, 2006

Napa vineyards survive deluges

Tremendous flooding in California's wine country over New Year's made for dramatic, televised scenes of almost completely submerged vineyards. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger added to the excitement, proclaiming, "Napa was 4 feet under water, creating tremendous damage."
EDITORIALS
Feb 9, 2006

Iran tests the United Nations

Iran seems intent on confronting the world. Remarkably, the international community has mustered a unified response to the Tehran government's seeming determination to build a nuclear weapon. But brinkmanship continues: Last weekend Tehran said it was ending its commitment to the Additional Protocol...
COMMENTARY
Feb 9, 2006

'British' identity in the EU

LONDON -- British Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister) Gordon Brown has been calling for a national debate on the subject of British identity and what he terms "Britishness."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 9, 2006

Burke Collection : An eye and taste for Japanese art

Among the major collections of Japanese art in the United States, the Mary Griggs Burke Collection of New York excels not only for its peerless quality but also for reflecting the eye of a connoisseuse with a deep love of Japan's traditional culture.
SOCCER
Feb 8, 2006

Hunger for Hoops success drives Nakamura

Japan international midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura has revealed that a hunger for winners medals was the chief reason behind his decision to join Scottish Premier League leaders Celtic in a high-profile move from Italy last summer.
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2006

Tokyo to hit Huser with condo sanctions

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government plans to impose sanctions against property developer Huser Ltd. for allegedly selling condominiums it knew to be structurally defective, sources said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 7, 2006

Centrair seeks to revive expo-style traffic

Nearly one year after opening, Central Japan International Airport outside Nagoya is struggling to attract more passengers.
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2006

Pinch of censorship vs. pile of trouble

There's a good reason why censorship sparks so many squabbles, as developments in both China and the Muslim world this past week have reminded us. It's a slippery concept. We who favor openness and transparency think we know exactly where we stand on censorship: We think it's bad. Right? Freedom of speech...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 5, 2006

How will Valentine, Hillman and Brown fare in 2006?

One-fourth of the 12 Japanese pro baseball teams in 2006 will be led by American managers. Their performances this season may dictate whether the recent trend for the Central and Pacific Leagues to hire foreign kantoku will continue or if the clubs will return to putting native Japanese in charge.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2006

The louse that halted an army in Russia

NEW YORK -- The disastrous effects of the Russian invasion on Napoleon Bonaparte's army is well known. Less widel known are the reasons for the defeat of the Grand Army. Although Russian resistance, brutal weather and the lack of food and water decimated the French army, new genetic evidence proves that...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2006

Birds recognize languages: study

An experiment by a group of scientists has shown that Java sparrows can be trained to distinguish between different human languages.
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2006

Pabco truck-scandal toll rises to 10,351 since 1986

Auto body maker Pabco Co. said Friday it illegally modified at least 10,351 trucks -- four times the number it announced in December -- by adding equipment that made them too heavy.
BUSINESS
Feb 3, 2006

Matsushita profits up 39% despite heater fiasco

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday robust sales of plasma display panel TVs and digital cameras boosted its earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2005, raising its net profit by 39 percent to 49.3 billion yen.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 3, 2006

Kuro-hitsuji: Ghengis Khan gets hip

Until recently, the distinctive style of cooking mutton known as jingisukan -- the Japanese transliteration of the name of a well known Mongolian butcher -- was thought far too uncouth to be considered seriously. So how did this coarse, blue-collar dish, so long a staple of smoky grills in the godless...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 2, 2006

PAULA MODERSOHN-BECKER: A Requiem, not a festival

The exhibition of Paula Modersohn-Becker's paintings, and of artists associated with her, at the Museum of Modern Art, Hayama, Kanagawa Prefecture, is titled, "A Short, Intensive Festival." The overall emotional atmosphere generated by these paintings, however, is closer to a wake or a funeral than a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 2, 2006

GERMAN PHOTOGRAPHY: Reconfiguring your pasts

It is mostly an unremarkable location, except for the fact that it is in a bit of a shambles. Something has obviously taken place here, but the smooth surfaces and sharp edges of the architectural detail simply do not offer up any artistic intention.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 1, 2006

Asada accepts top athlete award from FSAJ

Figure skater Mao Asada smiles after accepting the 2005 Japanese sportsman of the year award, given by the Foreign Sportswriters Association of Japan, from Japan Times sports editor and FSAJ president Jack Gallagher.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 31, 2006

Hospital death exposes 'tip of malpractice iceberg'

Loyd Cummings tried to ignore his headache when it began on Aug. 7, 2003. But the electronic technician, who was working in Japan on U.S. Navy radars, eventually collapsed from an aneurysm -- a bulge in a vein in his head.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 31, 2006

Rail passes, donor card, pawnshops

Rail pass wisdom Pam and Jacob's inquiry about the economic sense of buying a 7-day Japan Rail Pass (Lifelines; Jan. 9) when only moving around Kanto brought a flurry of useful information and advice from readers.
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2006

Settling labor disputes promptly

I n April, Japan will introduce an "industrial tribunal system" to settle individual labor disputes, such as those involving dismissals, working conditions and reassignments. The purpose of this system is to settle disputes expeditiously by limiting the number of trial sessions to no more than three....
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 30, 2006

Another side to Japanese-Korean history

NEW YORK -- Historian George Akita recently sent me a brief essay that appeared in the December issue of the monthly Nihon Rekishi (Japanese History). He had told me of a full-length article he'd written on alternative views of Japan's rule of Korea between 1910 and 1945. The essay, titled "New Currents...
BASKETBALL
Jan 29, 2006

Hopefuls flock to bj-league tryouts

FUNABASHI, Chiba Pref. -- Although the bj-league is brand new, it is looking for a blend of young talent and seasoned veterans on which to build its future.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2006

SESC probes Livedoor for shady trading in takeover

The securities watchdog has been probing the possibility of insider trading related to Livedoor Co.'s takeover of a used automobile dealer, sources said Saturday.
Japan Times
Features
Jan 29, 2006

Cultures combined in the mists of time

Adopt "a correct view of history," China and South Korea demand of Japan. Fair enough. We can all agree on the merits of a "correct view" of anything. The difficulty is to define "correct.''

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