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EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2007

Holding off on a rate hike

The Bank of Japan's Policy Board has decided to maintain the overnight call rate, the key short-term interest rate, at 0.25 percent -- the rate it adopted last July when it scrapped its zero interest rate policy. The final conclusion of the Policy Board's discussions last week departs somewhat from BOJ...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2007

Abe keen to revive controversial conspiracy bill

parties so the bill can clear the Diet," Abe told reporters. In 2000, Japan signed the U.N. Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, which set guidelines for crime-fighting cooperation. The treaty obliges member countries to enact domestic legislation that establishes conspiracy as a crime....
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2007

'Yokohama Incident' appeals dismissed

The Tokyo High Court on Friday dismissed appeals brought by the relatives of five men convicted in the so-called Yokohama Incident, the nation's worst case of repression of journalistic freedom during the war.
JAPAN / Q&A
Jan 20, 2007

How safe is our food? -- Some answers

With the revelations last week that Fujiya Co. had been using expired ingredients in its products, concerns about food safety are growing. Below are answers to some questions about sanitation rules and the Fujiya scandal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2007

Ishihara defiant, teflon to scandal

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, an ex-transport minister, award-winning writer, Yasukuni Shrine pilgrim known for firing racist and sexist remarks from the lips, has recently drawn flak for taking pricey trips on taxpayer money and nepotism for choosing his son to work on an event he sponsored in Switzerland....
MORE SPORTS
Jan 19, 2007

U.S., Japan gymnasts benefit from exchange

They spin and tumble, twist and turn, and bend their bodies, whipping them into shapes that often look like caricatures of pretzels.
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2007

No new U.S. strategy in Iraq

LONDON -- Repeat after me: There is no new U.S. strategy in Iraq. The allies are the same, the enemies are the same, the tactics are the same, even the new American force strength lies within the range that has prevailed since 2003.
EDITORIALS
Jan 14, 2007

ETA's fatal miscalculations

When is a ceasefire not a ceasefire? When it is punctuated by bombings. Yet, even after taking responsibility for a blast that killed two people, the Basque separatist group ETA claims that it is adhering to a permanent ceasefire declared in March.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 14, 2007

Japan keen to keep up with the killing of prisoners

The fall of Saddam Hussein was supposed to lead to a bright new era of democracy for Iraqis, but so far all it's led to is anguish and bloodshed. Similarly, his trial at the hands of his own people was supposed to be an example of real justice, but it was little more than a sad piece of theater.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 14, 2007

It's high time for Japan to ride the space-tourism wave

The United States and Europe are finally, albeit slowly, paving the way for space tourism to become a revolutionary source of new business -- some economists even believe it could save the stagnating world economy.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 14, 2007

Bullet train straight to the heart of Japan

Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan, by Christopher P. Hood. Oxford: Routledge, 2006, 266 pp., $125 (cloth). The needle-nosed bullet train racing past the base of Mount Fuji is one of the most enduring images of Japan, a postcard mix of high-tech and traditional beauty. This retains...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 12, 2007

A collection of the semifamous

Purposely or not, bands tend to create personas along with their music. The persona is usually based on that of the lead singer or otherwise most conspicuous member, and musicians who find that their needs for self-expression don't jibe with their group's persona either quit for solo careers or set up...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2007

Russia's progress and regress

SANTA MONICA, California -- Fifteen years after the Soviet Union collapsed and split apart, Russia still fits British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's characterization of Josef Stalin's Soviet Union nearly seven decades ago: "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma."
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2007

Driving a train under pressure

On the morning of April 25, 2005, a "rapid service" (express) commuter train derailed along a curve between Tsukaguchi and Amagasaki stations on the West Japan Railway Co.'s Fukuchiyama Line in Hyogo Prefecture, slamming into a nine-story condominium building near the tracks. The accident killed 106...
COMMENTARY
Jan 9, 2007

Oil angst may fuel Iran's nuclear quest

NEW YORK -- Any analysis posing Iran as a potential threat to peace in the Middle East is generally based on the assumption that its aggressive pursuit of nuclear power can only have the most ominous consequences for the region.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2007

A world where no one rules

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- America and the world are focused on whether the Bush administration will adopt the Iraq Study Group's recommendations for an exit strategy from Iraq. That is the most pressing immediate question, but America's leaders should also be thinking ahead. America needs a post-occupation...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?