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BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 4, 2010

Neu takes over reins in Apache front office

Conor Neu, a former Princeton University basketball player, is the Tokyo Apache's new general manager.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 1, 2010

Gunma city does battle with beards

I would like to draw readers' attention to the outstanding work of the municipal government of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. After receiving complaints that citizens find bearded men unpleasant, Isesaki — just as all levels of Japanese government often do — took decisive action to address an important...
COMMENTARY
May 31, 2010

Internet leveling the news field

SEATTLE — The debate is no longer confined to a few academics in distant universities. It is now a mainstream topic of discussion: How will the news of the future be distributed?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 29, 2010

Kiwi won't chicken out on farming in Japan

"Red eggs," says Andrew Hitchings, using the Japanese term for brown eggs, "are better quality than white."
Japan Times
LIFE
May 23, 2010

Ibaraki's hidden lure

Whether tourist or resident, anyone looking for a short trip out of Tokyo, but still within the surrounding Kanto region, has plenty of varied options.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 23, 2010

Experts fear Taiji mercury tests are fatally flawed

On May 10, in a front-page lead story headlined "Taiji locals test high for mercury," The Japan Times reported the results of tests by the National Institute of Minamata Disease (NIMD) that found "extremely high methyl-mercury (MeHg) concentrations in the hair of some residents of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture,...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 16, 2010

'Pig Meat' journeys from cute to cutlets

A series of food-safety scandals in the early and mid 2000s — involving, among other scares, bacteria-infected milk and poisonous Chinese dumplings — have made many more people in Japan aware of the need to know — and the danger of not knowing — the origins of their daily fare.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 15, 2010

Tough to root for either F.A. Cup finalist

LONDON — Under normal circumstances Portsmouth would enjoy the neutral backing in Saturday's F.A. Cup final against Chelsea.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 13, 2010

Eight teams set for playoff party

The Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix made a habit of winning this season — 41 times in 52 games to be precise.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
May 13, 2010

Pierce prepares for playoffs

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with individuals in the bj-league. The league's fifth season began in October. Head coach Bob Pierce of the Shiga Lakestars is the subject of this week's profile.
JAPAN
May 10, 2010

Most Taiji residents rest easy, refuse to change diet

TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. — Residents of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, appeared relieved Sunday after health specialists found no symptoms of mercury poisoning in their bodies, even though the hair samples of some residents contained high levels of methyl mercury.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 9, 2010

One time zone, shinkansen help NPB clubs on travel

Have you wondered how teams in Japanese baseball move from one city to another and how it differs from the hectic, rat race travel schedule endured by their cousins in the major leagues?
COMMENTARY
May 9, 2010

Beijing projects power in South China Sea

SINGAPORE — Is China becoming more assertive in enforcing its claims to control as much as 80 percent of the South China Sea, a claim that includes sovereignty over dozens of islands disputed with several Southeast Asian states?
JAPAN
May 5, 2010

Secondhand market grows

When Chie Matsumoto buys anything — from a DVD player to golf goods to a telephone — she now chooses secondhand goods because brand-new items aren't necessarily what she needs.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2010

Greece's crisis, Europe's test

The Greek economy continues to slide. The promise of an aid package from the European Union a few weeks ago briefly stanched speculation against Athens, but relief proved fleeting. Acknowledging that the Greek economy was "a sinking ship," Prime Minister George Papandreou last week formally called for...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 21, 2010

Rera Kamuy close to deal with Kobe Bryant

Joe Bryant is poised for a return to Japan.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 18, 2010

Brace yourself — I did say 'cute'!

When did you last go out into the woods at night? In this age of media-induced fears, and with far more than half the world's population now being urban- dwellers, fewer of us brave the outdoors even during daylight hours, let alone at night.
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.
COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 2010

U.K. searching for the center

When national elections are called, the major political parties — while of course emphasizing their differences through their propaganda — in practice all veer toward the center ground and claim it as their own. We are the ones, each leader proclaims, who can unite the nation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 9, 2010

Up from the underground: Womb turns 10

Since opening its doors in April 2000 with a live set from New York house legend Junior Vasquez, Tokyo's club Womb has been credited with doing more than other local venues to bring dance-music culture into the mainstream.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 6, 2010

Japan, U.N. share blind spot on 'migrants'

On March 23, I gave a speech to Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, for NGO FRANCA regarding racial discrimination in Japan. Text follows:
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 20, 2010

Let the clean water flow

LONDON — The 18th annual World Water Day (March 22) offers the same old problems and rejects the practical solutions. On Monday, 1 billion people will, as usual, spend the day without clean water and a third of humanity without adequate sanitation. As usual, some 3.5 million men, women and children...
JAPAN / GOVERNMENT DEBT CRISIS
Mar 19, 2010

Bubble prophet fears new disaster

Prominent economist Yukio Noguchi is one of the few who correctly predicted the collapse of Japan's bubble economy in 1987, warning the preceding euphoria was based on a major distortion in land prices.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 12, 2010

Sendai looking good as stretch run begins

Ten games represent nearly one-fifth of the bj-league season. It's a significant chunk of games, and at this stage of the season a fair measuring stick of a team's title potential.
COMMENTARY
Mar 1, 2010

Woods' apology whips up media incapable of behaving with class

LOS ANGELES — At times my loyalty to my chosen profession of journalism cannot be taken as a given. This is one of those times.
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 28, 2010

Focusing on the dark side

When the documentary filmmaker Motoharu Iida was asked by an animal-loving elderly woman to make a film to save the lives of abandoned cats and dogs, he was not sure what he could do.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2010

A-bomb book's source proves false

The publisher of a disputed book about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima has confirmed a key source misrepresented himself and promises any errors will be fixed soon.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Feb 20, 2010

Proposed new league will have major obstacles to overcome

To accurately describe what's been going on for several years now in this nation's pro hoop scene, I submit the following analogy:

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight