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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 7, 2005

Mao was closer to seventy percent bad

An elegant Georgian terrace house in London's Notting Hill Gate, perhaps the most upmarket area for Britain's chattering classes now that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his friends have deserted Islington, may seem an unlikely venue for a counter-revolution against Mao Zedong's revolutionary claims. Yet...
Features
Jun 26, 2005

Learning to fly

He had been looking for someone to commit suicide with for a long time. Now that he had found the right person, Ken had traveled half the way around the world in order to carry out his plan. He was nevertheless surprised to find himself standing on a familiar-looking train platform with his hands tucked...
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2005

A new Constitution by the people

Fifty-eight years ago, on May 3, 1947, the postwar Constitution of Japan came into effect. Today this new national charter, underscored by its pacifist principles, is broadly accepted by the Japanese public. Yet, strange as it may seem, this is a constitution enacted by Imperial order, not by popular...
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2005

Mr. Koizumi's privatization battle

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration, which has just completed a skeleton draft bill to privatize postal services, is trying hard to iron out the remaining differences with the Liberal Democratic Party -- a crucial process that will largely determine the nature and direction of postal privatization....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 5, 2005

Get! Strunk & White's punctuation soup

The Japanese have some unique ways of learning English. Did you know, for example, that you can learn English from animal crackers? Yes, animal crackers in Japan have English names on them, presumably to provide an educational aspect to snacks. Talk about forcing the language down our throats! Perhaps...
EDITORIALS
Jan 31, 2005

Clarifying a whale of an impact

The Diet has begun debating postal services reform, the most important issue of its current regular session. The question at stake is how best to privatize the mammoth system that provides savings, insurance and mail services. It is a question that will deeply affect financial markets in Japan as well...
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2004

Putting off unpalatable choices

It is axiomatic to say that the taxes people pay represent the most basic cost of maintaining autonomy and democracy. That's why the tax code should be written by national legislators, not government bureaucrats. But tax reform is almost always controversial, as evidenced by the fiscal 2005 tax reform...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2004

Last resort to protect privacy

Over the past two weeks Japanese media have made much of a privacy issue involving the eldest daughter of former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka. It all started with an article in a popular weekly describing the daughter's private life. Responding to a request from her lawyer, the Tokyo District Court...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 17, 2004

Fans should decide if Japan pro ball has interleague play

A couple of interesting articles appeared in The Japan Times during the first week of this month, both mentioning interleague play, and it would appear Japanese baseball may finally be moving toward the scheduling of regular-season games between Central and Pacific League teams.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2003

EBRD must rethink its role

LONDON -- When people hear the word "globalization" they differ in how they react. Some think about how globalization has spread around the world raising incomes and the quality of life wherever it goes. Others think about how the capitalist forces of the West extend their exploitative tentacles to grab...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2003

Only recourse is to negotiate

Will Myanmar (also known as Burma) be banned from the summit meeting of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations next week? That's not likely, but Myanmar's new prime minister, Gen. Khin Nyunt, could utterly lose face unless the regime frees prodemocracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi before the...
COMMENTARY
Sep 7, 2003

Exams fail to rock the boat

LONDON -- Summer is examination season in Britain with results posted in mid-August. These are important for young people as entry to university, especially a more prestigious one, depends on the results they achieve.
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2003

A crucial contingency package

How should Japan deal with a military attack from abroad? This question has acquired greater urgency amid heightened regional security concerns. However, military contingency legislation now before the Diet should be debated from a long-term perspective. At stake is the fundamental question of how to...
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2003

North Korea policy hijacked

Tokyo's never-ending capacity for emotional overreaction, irrational group-think and back-to-front foreign policies has reached new heights over North Korea. Somehow Pyongyang's remarkable willingness to admit and apologize for former abductions of Japanese citizens has been turned around 180 degrees...
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2003

Japan's role in rebuilding Iraq

With the collapse of the Iraqi regime of President Saddam Hussein, the focus of international attention has shifted to the issues of postwar governance and reconstruction. The question for Japan is specifically what it should and can do in the rebuilding process -- a question that depends crucially on...
BUSINESS / ON MANAGEMENT
Apr 8, 2003

Who's minding the store? Keeping an eye on partnered projects

The multimillionaire developer had a long track record with a number of large resort properties. He figured that when he hired a Fortune 500 hotel chain to manage his latest development he would be freeing himself up to do what he did best -- building and creating -- while they did what they did best:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 18, 2002

Asia, in a nutshell

In Douglas Adams' future dystopia novel "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," a giant computer finally determines the answer to the meaning of life: 42. The joke was that nobody knew the question.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2002

NATO mission remains foggy

LONDON -- The invitations issued at the recent Prague conference to seven former Eastern Bloc states to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are a dramatic demonstration of how the world has changed in just a few short years.
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2002

How to address nuclear safety

Oct. 26 is designated as Nuclear Energy Day to mark the startup of Japan's first experimental nuclear-power reactor 39 years ago. Since then the nation's nuclear energy development program has made spectacular advances. This year's anniversary, however, is marred by a series of shocking revelations that...
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2002

Crucial issue in Nagano poll

Nagano Prefecture, whose assembly early this month passed a no-confidence motion against Gov. Yasuo Tanaka, is bracing for the election of a new governor. The key candidate will be Mr. Tanaka himself, who on Monday automatically lost his job but vowed to seek a fresh mandate. The key question for voters...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 20, 2002

How life began: redux

What was the force driving the evolution of life on earth? This question, the answer to which has profound implications for our world view, was neglected for most of the 20th century, not because it was outside science, but because scientists didn't have the technical means to address it. Since the advent...
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2002

Make it a blessing in disguise

At long last, the Shenyang saga of the five North Korean asylum seekers came to an end on Wednesday when they were allowed to leave China for South Korea via the Philippines. On May 8, the defectors were seized by Chinese police guards as they rushed into the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern...
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2002

A return to sanity in France

The re-election of French President Jacques Chirac on Sunday was no surprise; the only question was what margin of victory he would secure over extreme rightwing challenger Mr. Jean-Marie Le Pen. Mr. Chirac's 80 percent of the vote was, therefore, reassuring to all outside Le Pen's National Front as...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 24, 2002

Moral absolutism on trial

ONE MAN'S JUSTICE, by Akira Yoshimura, translated by Mark Ealey. New York, San Diego and London: Harcourt, 2001, 276 pp., $23 (cloth) In every society, even the most apparently open-minded, there are times when some questions become taboo. In the United States right now, such questions include anything...
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2001

Economies face up to world after Sept. 11

The events of Sept. 11 in New York and Washington were a watershed that has forced the world's traditional economic powerhouses to come to grips with a new danger that affects every aspect of political, economic and social life, according to participants in the Brookings Institution-Keizai Koho Center...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 30, 2001

Is yellow journalism in vogue again?

Why do so many foreign commentators feel they can get away with anything they say about Japan?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 5, 2001

The trial of Unit 731

KHABAROVSK, Russia -- Late in December 1949, Soviet Communist Party leaders began distributing tickets in factories and institutes for an upcoming trial. Twelve Japanese physicians and military officers -- former researchers at a secret facility near Harbin, China known as Unit 731 -- stood accused of...
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2001

Direct elections are not the cure

The view that the prime minister should be elected by popular vote is gaining ground. Ironically, it is Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori himself -- one of the most unpopular prime ministers in memory -- that is contributing to this groundswell of opinion. It is not just ordinary citizens, academics and business...
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2001

LDP exec rejects calls for sworn Diet testimony

The acting secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday rejected calls to its members testify under oath about ties to KSD, a scandal-ridden mutual-aid foundation already responsible for the downfall of three LDP legislators.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2001

LDP exec rejects calls for sworn Diet testimony

The acting secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday rejected calls to its members testify under oath about ties to KSD, a scandal-ridden mutual-aid foundation already responsible for the downfall of three LDP legislators.

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