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COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2007

China can change Myanmar

HONG KONG — Buddhist monks, the most pacific of dedicated religious people, marched through the streets of Myanmar's main cities Yangon and Mandalay last week in protest against years of hardship, gross mismanagement and corruption inflicted on their long-suffering people.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Sep 25, 2007

Tokujin Yoshioka, Nosign Design etc.

A drop of light
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2007

Ishihara's new right-hand man settles in

All eyes were on Naoki Inose as his new career as a politician got into full swing Wednesday with the opening of the first session of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2007

Postmodern sports for all

One night last month, while I was lazily channel-surfing at home, I happened on shot-putters doing their thing at the IAAF's World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Sep 12, 2007

Burn CDs from old records; copy audiotapes to computer

They don't make 'em to last any more. Well, in truth, capitalism never intended any product to last forever; making things that never need replacing is after all a lousy business strategy. While that may be understandable, one of the more insidious tricks of capitalism is to get consumers to indulge...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 2, 2007

Danjuro Ichikawa: Destined to act wild

When Danjuro Ichikawa stomps around the stage in flamboyant costumes, his face painted in red-and-white makeup and his voice virtually bellowing, it is kabuki in its rawest, most dramatic form. This actor and his ancestors through 11 previous generations have been wreaking havoc in the elegant world...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 1, 2007

Amari looks to Africa to secure resources for Japan

Japan hopes to boost ties with African countries so it can secure supplies of much-needed rare metals and energy resources, amid heated competition with China and other emerging economies, trade minister Akira Amari said.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2007

A troubled cop off the beat

Guns possessed by yakuza gangsters pose a threat to society. But what happened early last week in Tokyo is serious as well. A "koban" (police box) duty officer of the Metropolitan Police Department assigned to the Tachikawa Police Station used a gun issued to him to shoot a woman to death in her apartment...
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 29, 2007

Save the planet: wind-powered toys and PC ways to catch insects

A nimal rights are as important to me as they are to the next Homo sapien. But I draw the line at in sects inflicting their unwanted presence on me, mosquitoes most especially spring to mind. Frankly, the first solution that comes to mind is finding use No. 1,001 for a newspaper. Those who prefer a less...
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 29, 2007

Japan plans research for network to replace Internet

Japan will start research on new network technology to replace the Internet to tackle growing quality and security problems, a government official said Tuesday.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 22, 2007

Multitasking watches and solar iPod rechargers

No craze is complete without its own gadgets. This new Sudoku aid looks just like another Japanese obsession — the "keitai" — with players using the number keypad to enter their sudoku answers. It costs ¥1,029, with more information available at item.rakuten.co.jp/wnd-minakuru/4582256_900052/. If...
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 21, 2007

Ten seconds to duck 'n' cover

With the annual Sept. 1 Disaster Prevention Day approaching, residents in Japan will be reminded of a simple fact: They are living in a country where earthquakes are a fact of life.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2007

Zooming in on public security

For some, the growing number of security cameras in public is a reassuring reminder that efforts are being made to make communities safer, but one expert claims Japan must still make better use of such surveillance technology to crack down on crime.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 8, 2007

Cell phones may turn into boomboxes

Batteries just don't generate the respect they deserve. Imagine how much poorer your lifestyle would be if all of the miniature power cells you use just up and disappeared. Panasonic, as one of the many companies whose profit margins very much rest on these humble gadgets, knows their value and often...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 1, 2007

E-cash silencing the jingle of change

Since major electronic money services emerged in 2001, it has become common in Tokyo for people to go through ticket gates by just touching a smart card to electronic readers at train stations and to make small purchases without pulling out their wallets at convenience stores. Japan's cash-based tradition...
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Jul 30, 2007

Foreign competition begins to overshadow Japan's solar industry

Japan is often seen as the motherland of the photovoltaic industry. Back in 1993, the government started its New Sunshine Project, a massive subsid program that helped to equip 300,000 Japanese houses with solar panels over the following decade. During that time Japan became the undisputed world market...
CULTURE / Books
Jul 29, 2007

Details from the British Museum

Japanese Art in Detail, by John Reeve. British Museum Press, 2005, 144 pp., £14.99 (cloth) FLOATING WORLD: JAPAN IN THE EDO PERIOD, by John Reeve. British Museum Press, 2006, 96 pp., £9.99 (cloth)
BUSINESS
Jul 28, 2007

DoCoMo profits suffer as price war escalates

NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Friday its operating profit in the April-June quarter dropped 25.2 percent from a year earlier to 203.9 billion yen amid an intensifying price war with its rivals.
BUSINESS
Jul 26, 2007

Sharp profit advances on LCD sales

Sharp Corp. reported Wednesday that its first-quarter profit rose 1.4 percent, driven by sales of LCD TVs and mobile phones.

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