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COMMENTARY
Apr 21, 2010

Hong Kong treads the democracy tightrope

The Hong Kong government announced earlier this month that it had nominated a leading jurist, Justice Geoffrey Ma, to be the next head of the judiciary, succeeding Chief Justice Andrew Li, who served in that post since the former British colony became a special administrative region of China in 1997....
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 16, 2010

Rowsom's role in Oita's turnaround worthy of honors

Brian Rowsom deserves to be on the short list of candidates for the bj-league's coach of the year honors.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 13, 2010

Screeners set to take on costly public-funded entities

With a sagging approval rating, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Democratic Party of Japan may be hoping for a turnaround with the second round of screening of costly government-backed entities that starts April 23.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 11, 2010

Aya Ueto as police detective, 'mystery assessments' variety show; CM of the week: McDonald's

If you want to guarantee sponsors for your drama series, hire actress Aya Ueto. At the moment she's appearing in a record-breaking 19 TV commercials, which is probably why she manages to star in more than one series a year.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 9, 2010

Kings face uphill fight to retain title

The Ryukyu Golden Kings have faced plenty of adversity this season. Losing shooting guard Shigeyuki Kinjo and big man Jeff Newton, the league's regular-season and playoff MVP last season, for significant chunks of time, has tested the team's resilience and competitive spirit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 9, 2010

'Alice in Wonderland'

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small, but the ones that Tim Burton gives you don't do anything at all. Go see "Alice."
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2010

Deportation rule troubles U.N. official

A recent government decision to deport only the parents of families without residency status, thus separating children from their mothers and fathers, flies in the face of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Jorge Bustamante, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Mar 28, 2010

Thatched spring in Setagaya

To slough off winter sluggishness and get into step with spring, I set a course from Seijo Gakuen-mae on the Odakyu Line to Jidayubori Minkaen — a compound of late-Edo Period (1860s) thatched farmhouses in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward — and ending at Futako Tamagawa Station, about 4 km away as the crow...
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2010

Tabloid tracks security chief's Diet dorm 'trysts'

Drained by a chain of political money scandals, the Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition came under a fresh attack Thursday by a weekly magazine that accused the chairman of the National Public Safety Commission of shirking his duties by having an "inappropriate tryst" with a woman he is dating.
BUSINESS / U.K. JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Mar 26, 2010

Voter behavior holds key to political system change

Six months have passed since the Democratic Party of Japan ousted the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party from power. But whether there will be a fundamental change to the nation's political system will depend not just on the lawmakers but on the behavior of voters.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 20, 2010

Mourinho proves Abramovich made wrong move

LONDON — When you are a billionaire I guess it's hard to admit you are wrong.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 19, 2010

Roberts says Broncos have underachieved

Three teams are in the hunt for the Eastern Conference's fourth and final playoff berth. But in a month a clearer picture should emerge as to which team will be the favorite.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 19, 2010

French-flavored rooms for kids

Oriental Hotel Tokyo Bay, a Tokyo Disney Resort partner hotel, opened its Kiddy Sweet concept rooms on its top floor on March 18, targeting families with children from ages 4 through 6.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2010

DPJ rule raises Hague treaty-signing hope

It has been over five years since Murray Wood's two children left their home in Canada with his Japanese ex-wife for a supposed visit with their ill grandfather in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2010

'Cove' mind-set harms Japan

HONG KONG — The ballyhoo, glitz and glamour of the annual Oscars awards had many people in the world waiting with baited breath to see if they could make even a tangential claim to knowing one of the winners. Newspapers cleared their front pages if someone from their town, sometimes even their country,...
JAPAN
Mar 16, 2010

Half-year on, Hatoyama struggling

It's been six months since Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his Cabinet strutted the red-carpet for an inaugural photo session, staging a perfect Hollywood ending to a summer blockbuster election that knocked the Liberal Democratic Party out of almost 50 years of unbroken rule.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 7, 2010

Olympic memories are priceless

It was only fitting that hockey's beloved icon lit the Olympic torch and Canada's top current star scored the gold medal-clinching goal — in overtime, the proverbial icing on the cake — on the final day of the Vancouver Winter Games.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 28, 2010

Three LatAm capitals and the Tokyo of 1964

NEW YORK — While visiting three capitals in Latin America on a lecture tour earlier this month, I wondered if Tokyo looked or felt like any of these cities to someone visiting it from New York or a large European city half a century ago.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 28, 2010

Feeling revulsion may signal you're finally home away from home

There is a curious and very telling phrase in Japanese to describe the feeling of hatred that people can have for family. It is kinshin-zoo, or "close-relative abhorrence."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 23, 2010

No one-size-fits-all for foreign suffrage

Support has been surprisingly muted for the Hatoyama administration's push toward suffrage for foreign permanent residents, even among the constituencies such a law would enfranchise. The debate is definitely a hot one, sparking a number of protests against the plan around Tokyo, with opposition logic...
EDITORIALS
Feb 18, 2010

Justice finally served

The Yokohama District Court on Feb. 4 ruled that five now-deceased men, three of them journalists, were falsely charged in a case known as the Yokohama Incident, which is regarded as the worst example of wartime free-speech suppression, and ordered the government to pay compensation to six relatives...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Feb 17, 2010

3-D TV provides solo viewing fun; Canon camera hits at Nikon

Gotta wear shades: As 3-D entertainment conjures up images of goofy glasses from the 1950s, Panasonic hopes to remedy the style with its 3-D TV sets. It is touting its upcoming Viera VT2 series as the world's first full high-definition sets with 3-D ability. The series is expected to consist of a set...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 14, 2010

Traditional Tokyo explored in mystery and quiz show; CM of the week: Docomo-Fujitsu

Traditional Tokyo gets the two-hour mystery treatment in "Yorozuya Chobei no Sumidagawa Jiken Fairu Sono Ni" (Chobei Yorozuya's Sumidagawa Incident File No. 2; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.). The hero, Chobei Yorozuya (Kotaro Satomi), is a pawn shop owner in Tokyo's Asakusa district who has quit the police force...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 14, 2010

Today's complex society in Japan spawns a new 'foreigner complex'

Among the many Japanese words and phrases that have fallen by the wayside of late and become shigo (obsolete), gaijin komupurekkusu (foreigner complex) is certainly among the least missed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Feb 12, 2010

Four Seasons Chinzan-so maiko show

Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so's Japanese restaurant Miyuki will offer a Kyoto-themed meal and entertainment event on Feb. 28, inviting maiko from the ancient capital.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell