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COMMENTARY
Jul 14, 2010

U.S. bidding Iraq goodbye and good luck

As the American withdrawal gains speed, there are fewer American troops in Iraq than in Afghanistan for the first time since 2003. By the end of August there will be no U.S. combat troops left in Iraq, though some tens of thousands of support troops will remain until next year. And still there is no...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 13, 2010

One more time — with Charisma

My first reaction on hearing that "Charisma Man" was attempting a comeback was to ask, "Can it even work today?" Would the strip come across as funny, or just endearingly nostalgic? Worse, could it be completely misinterpreted and considered amateurishly silly, a gross exaggeration aimed at getting a...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 13, 2010

One more time — with Charisma

Hide the booze and lock up your daughters: Charisma Man is back. The lovable loser who was constantly broke, dateless and swilling rotgut at home is back in Japan, with a pocket full of folding money, a girl on each arm and a chilled glass of first-class sake in his hand.
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2010

Russian games up north

The Russian military carried out a drill July 3-4 on Etorofu Island, off Hokkaido, ignoring a July 2 demand by Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada that it refrain from doing so there. Japan calls Etorofu and three other islands (including one islet group), northeast of Hokkaido, the Northern Territories,...
EDITORIALS
Jul 11, 2010

Motive for clean energy

Up to 9.5 million liters of oil continue to spew daily into the Gulf of Mexico since BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the coast of Louisiana exploded April 20, killing 11 workers. U.S. President Barack Obama has called the oil spill "the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced."
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 11, 2010

Hanshin's Brazell reminding many of legendary Bass

As Hanshin Tigers first baseman Craig Brazell continues his hot hitting and home run barrage, the Japanese media has begun to compare him to Randy Bass, another lefty-hitting Hanshin first baseman, from 25 years ago.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 11, 2010

SMAP bled for rotten tomatoes

Last week, the Asahi Shimbun published an article about the suicide of actor-singer Park Yong Ha. The pieceanalyzed South Korean show business to ascertain why so many stars have killed themselves in recent years, and concluded that their relationships with management agencies grind them down. Park has...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 11, 2010

Media fixated with China's new wealth

With the World Cup, sumo's baseball betting scandal and Sunday's Upper House election dominating the media's attention, some readers may have not noticed the extensive coverage also being devoted to China. And we're not just talking about crowds at the Shanghai Expo, but the crowds of visitors to Ginza,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 11, 2010

Viewing dolphins as Taiji could show them

We're not the only mammals to notice the oil tanker entering the Gulf of Amvrakikos.
CULTURE / Books
Jul 11, 2010

Everything you always wanted to know about Japanese schoolgirls (but were afraid to ask)

Don't be put off by the overly busy — and, yes, overly kawaii — cover of "Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential."
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2010

Itochu buys uranium explorer stake

Trading house Itochu Corp. said Friday it has agreed to buy a 10.3 percent stake in Australian uranium explorer Extract Resources Ltd. to benefit from global demand growth for the fuel.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 10, 2010

Architect wants to end nail-hammer cycle

Miwa Mori, president of Key Architects, thinks a lot about nails, both as part of her profession and as her philosophy about life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jul 9, 2010

KFC goes for finger-lickin' health-conscious goodness

Fast-food chains in Japan are trying to reinvent themselves with facelifts and health-conscious menus.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2010

In Nagano, campaign platitudes don't resonate amid dire economy

NAGANO — Walking the streets of Nagano, it is difficult to ignore the obvious halts in development.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 9, 2010

'The Bounty Hunter'

You know you're at the movies when the on-screen newsroom is full of vivacious, handsomely paid people busily moving to and fro. Also, when the supposedly ace reporter shows up for work every day in the highest heels and tightest miniskirt ever sold at Barneys, not to mention swinging her gorgeously...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Jul 9, 2010

Science exhibition / 'Sensor in the Life'

Sony ExploraScience
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2010

A losing battle against proliferation

Slowly but surely, the barriers preventing the spread of nuclear technology and materials that can be used to make weapons of mass destruction are being eroded.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2010

Tax hike gambit may end up hurting DPJ

Normally, proposing a tax hike is considered a sure way to lose an election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 8, 2010

The Dalai Lama

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 75, is respected by the Tibetan people as their temporal and spiritual leader. At age 2, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion...
JAPAN / OKINAWA'S HOSTAGE ECONOMY
Jul 7, 2010

Special burden, special economic benefit

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — On Aug. 4, 2005, then Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine was told by Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya that the United States had agreed to return all of the major military bases south of Kadena, central Okinawa Island, to Japan on condition that the Futenma air base be relocated...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 7, 2010

Nagoya Basho 2010 — a tournament that will live in infamy

For two months sumo has been rocked to its core by evidence of illegal gambling on baseball games, involvement with the Japanese underworld, and more recently claims by the man on the street that those in positions of power within the sumo association did precious little to stop this.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 7, 2010

Prius ranks as nation's top car for 14th month

The Prius ranked as the nation's top-selling car in June, clinching the No. 1 spot for the 14th straight month on the back of brisk demand for green vehicles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jul 6, 2010

Good news and bad news for manga lovers

Manga publishers vow to crack down on scanlation but hope comes from other quarters.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’