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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2007

Watami empire built on concept of family 'izakaya'

Until Miki Watanabe opened his first Watami "izakaya" pub in April 1992 in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, such eateries were considered places for business workers and college kids to have a cheap drink and a few side dishes.
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2007

JSDA looks to sell Jasdaq stake to Osaka exchange

The Japan Securities Dealers Association, a securities industry group, announced Thursday it is in talks to sell its 73 percent stake in Jasdaq Securities Exchange Inc., the nation's biggest market for startups, to Osaka Securities Exchange Co.
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2007

Japan sizes up 'nonnuclear' Iran

OSAKA — A recent report by 16 U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in 2003 is likely to present new opportunities and challenges to Japan, whose relations with Tehran have blown hot and cold over the past decade.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 26, 2007

Wrapping up the year with dollops of whale and tuna

With Christmas behind us and New Year's less than a week away, this month's column combines a bit of yearend desk clearing with some suggestions for belated stocking stuffers.
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2007

Japan's first ICC judge takes aim at 'culture of impunity'

governed by the rule of law," she said in a recent interview. Saiga, a career diplomat, has served as ambassador in charge of human rights and a member of the U.N. Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
COMMENTARY
Dec 24, 2007

Article 9 fan club quickens

Momentum for constitutional amendments, which grew under the administrations of former Prime Ministers Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe, has diminished following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's drubbing in the July 29 Upper House election and pro-amendment Abe's surprise resignation in September....
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 23, 2007

When World Series ball becomes chew toy, there's lesson to be learned

Leave it to a pooch to put things in perspective.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2007

MSDF exit elated al-Qaida, Taliban: Afghan ambassador

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Afghanistan has been the battleground for the global war on terrorism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 21, 2007

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Don't expect any seasonal cheer from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. For almost a decade, the Los Angeles-based three-piece's dark brand of bluesy garage rock has been burning a trail across the music scene. The demons that fuel the band's successes are the same ones that have, in the past, caused them...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 21, 2007

'I carry The Who brand with pride'

I first met The Who's Pete Townshend 10 years ago at a hotel near his home in London for an interview. He entered the first-floor suite energetically. When he sat down, his crossed legs bounced with barely contained passion in response to each question.
Reader Mail
Dec 20, 2007

Remember the monks of Myanmar

I am disappointedly surprised at the comments of Nyunt Shwe in his Dec. 16 letter, "Monk deserves punishment." His arguments in support of the Tokyo High Court's judgment against a Buddhist monk who had been prosecuted for passing out Japanese Communist Party fliers' in a Tokyo Katsushika Ward condominium...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 20, 2007

The case for compelling people to vote

PRINCETON, New Jersey — As an Australian citizen, I voted in the recent federal election there. So did about 95 percent of registered Australian voters. That figure contrasts markedly with elections in the United States, where the turnout in the 2004 presidential election barely exceeded 60 percent....
MORE SPORTS
Dec 19, 2007

Impulse claim X Bowl

Some football coaches believe defense wins the games. Others say turnovers cost a game. Both turned out true as the Matsushita Denko Impulse defeated the Fujitsu Frontiers 33-13 on Monday in the Japan X Bowl.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 18, 2007

Taking time for younger children

Every morning I trundle my daughter onto my bicycle and up the hill to her public day-care center in central Tokyo before heading off to work.
Reader Mail
Dec 16, 2007

Monk deserves punishment

Regarding the Dec. 12 article "Canvassing monk found guilty of trespassing": I agree with the Tokyo High Court that the Buddhist monk should be punished (for distributing Japanese Communist Party fliers in a Tokyo Katsushika Ward condominium complex in December 2004). Politics and religion must be...

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