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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 2, 2009

Supercomputers — infinity within reach?

From forecasting the weather to improving the earthquake resistance of architecture, supercomputers have become a vital tool in just the span of a few decades.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2009

The impossible idealist of Seoul

HONOLULU — The death of Roh Moo Hyun, the 16th president of the Republic of Korea (2003-2008), is a huge shock to South Korea's political world. A human rights lawyer with no college degree, Roh campaigned to revolutionize Korean politics and society by promoting clean politics, fighting corruption...
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2009

Wages decline for 11th straight month

Wages fell for the 11th month in a row in April, extending their longest losing streak in five years and indicating households will pare spending further in the coming months.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 31, 2009

Open mind key to Hillman's success

First excerpt in a two-part series of updated "You Gotta Have Wa"
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 29, 2009

Forget Michelin, it's a Pellegrino

This year's string of accolades hasn't affected the modesty of chef Yoshihiro Narisawa. After earning a star in the 2009 Michelin Guide, Les Creations de Narisawa debuted at no. 20 on San Pellegrino's list of best restaurants in the world. Selected by fellow chefs as well as food critics and other experts,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 29, 2009

Classical music lovers get set for Matsumoto

"Sending out high-quality Western classical music from Japan" was the goal for renowned cellist and conductor Hideo Saito (1902-74), who studied in Germany. In 1955, he cofounded the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, where he devoted the latter half of his life to music education and taught many...
JAPAN
May 29, 2009

Immigration bills threaten rights of foreigners: critics

Representatives of municipalities and human rights groups voiced their opposition Thursday to government-sponsored immigration bills they say will lead to violations of foreigners' rights and excessive control over them.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2009

What the Tigers taught al-Qaida

WASHINGTON, THE WASHINGTON POST — It took a pitched two-hour gun battle with Sri Lankan special forces. Then a rocket launched into his armor-plated ambulance. But on May 18, death finally came to Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Tamil Tigers separatist group.
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2009

Stunned by Mr. Roh's suicide

The suicide of former South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun has shocked the world. Mr. Roh leaped off a mountain cliff near his residence in Gimhae Saturday morning and suffered fatal head injuries. We offer our prayers for Mr. Roh, who as president created a new epoch for South Korea. It is regrettable...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 26, 2009

Ex-Israeli soldier to speak on Mideast problem

Noam Chayut, a former Israeli soldier and member of the organization Breaking the Silence, will speak in Tokyo this weekend in coordination with journalist Toshikuni Doi's documentary "Chinmoku wo Yaburu" ("Breaking the Silence"), a film that sheds light on the situation in Palestine through extensive...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 24, 2009

Explaining Oya's break for 'rest' and ban on balloons

Yokohama manager Tatsuhiko Oya took a "kyuyo" on Monday, the eve of opening day for Japan pro baseball's interleague season, replaced by Tomio Tashiro, previously manager of the BayStars farm club, the Shonan Searex.
JAPAN
May 24, 2009

MOX use opposed by Genkai's leery residents

GENKAI, Saga Pref. — Before a two-lane access road was built to connect it with other parts of the prefecture, the village of Genkai, nestled in high hills with deep ravines beside the Sea of Japan, was so remote that even locals called it the "Tibet of Saga Prefecture."
LIFE
May 24, 2009

City's new gateway to worlds apart

When I was walking to Osanbashi Pier, I noticed that the asphalt road changed to a wooden deck leading me up a slope to a grassy hilltop.
COMMENTARY
May 24, 2009

An offer Pyongyang can't refuse

Past U.S.-North Korea negotiations on nuclear issues can be roughly classified into two types.
SOCCER / J. League
May 24, 2009

Maki proves point, but JEF must settle for draw

CHIBA — JEF United Chiba striker Seiichiro Maki had a point to prove — and although he did so with a trademark goal against Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday night, it was not good enough to secure all three points as the visitors fought back to draw 1-1.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 22, 2009

Grand jury system comes to Japan

Eight years ago, Seiji Shimomura could only watch as his 2-year-old son Tomohito was crushed to death by crowds at a fireworks show in Hyogo Prefecture. Ever since, he has campaigned for high-ranking police officials to be indicted over their role in the matter.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 22, 2009

Renowned New Juilliard Ensemble set to make Japan debut

Suntory Hall will next month welcome students from New York's renowned Juilliard School of Music as part of the hall's Rainbow 21 educational program. Held annually since 2004, the program aims to provide Japanese students with a chance to experience the whole process of concert-making, from planning,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2009

'L'heure d'ete'

Moliere once wrote that the wonder of a French vacance lay in its "deep, profound dullness, those hours and hours of time, marked only by meals and interminable glasses of wine." A similar kind of wonder propels the intimate, endearingly smug "L'heure d'ete" (international title: "Summer Hours") —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 22, 2009

Tattoo you — Mika's call to arms

"I believe in my voice as a singer," declares Mika Nakashima, alluding to the three words tattooed in English around her right wrist. " 'Trust your voice,' in a broad sense, means we should accept everything and believe in many things. I learned this in New York and developed myself in many ways that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 22, 2009

Collector steps into the void

How a psychiatrist from Yamagata came to possess one of the world's most important collections of Japanese contemporary art — meaning art made in the last 15 years — is almost embarrassingly simple. Ryutaro Takahashi had the savings and liked the art, so he bought it. As far as the 62-year- old is...
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2009

Can India's Congress deliver?

LONDON — Yet again, India's voters confounded the pundits and comfortably returned the Congress party alliance to power. Now the question is whether leader Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and their colleagues can return the compliment and get to grips with the immense problems and the enormous...
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2009

Rising poverty in Japan

While many people enjoyed a trip abroad during Golden Week, some in Japan languished homeless and hungry. Poverty is becoming a major problem that is threatening the basic social fabric of this nation.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 17, 2009

NPB commissioner wanted to ban foreign players 25 years ago

There are 66 foreign players currently registered in Japanese pro baseball, along with two foreign managers, a farm team manager and three coaches. But, 25 years ago this month, the commissioner of Japanese baseball wanted to ban non-Japanese from playing in the Central and Pacific Leagues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
May 16, 2009

Diplomacy in love, life and work

Aiko Tanaka, 27, met Olegs Orlovs, 27, for the first time when she visited his home country, Latvia, as a tourist with her family in 2002. Olegs was her tour guide.
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2009

'Donju'

Kankuro Kudo was once hailed as the boy wonder of Japanese show business, first as a scriptwriter for hit TV shows ("Ikebukuro West Gate Park" in 2000, and "Kisarazu Cats Eye" in 2002) and then hit films ("Go," "Ping Pong," "Zebraman"). In 2005, he released his first film as a director: "Mayonaka no...
BUSINESS
May 13, 2009

Hitachi loss leads manufacturers

Electronics maker Hitachi Ltd. posted the worst annual loss for a Japanese manufacturer and doesn't expect the global economy to recover until next year at the earliest.
COMMENTARY
May 13, 2009

Going back to Mr. Keynes

James M. Buchanan, a renowned anti-Keynesian economist, has attributed the fall of the legendary city of Camelot associated with King Arthur to gross intellectual errors. Camelot is an ideal city that appears in a chivalric tale. But legend has it that it collapsed because the inherent nature of human...
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2009

Northern Territories dispute lives on self-righteous deadlock

Visits to Japan by Soviet and Russian leaders over the years have done little to break the Northern Territories deadlock — Moscow's refusal of Tokyo's demand for two large islands at the southern end of the Kuril Island chain occupied by Soviet troops in 1945, as a condition for a peace treaty with...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan