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EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2007

Iraq, four years later

This month marked the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. To the surprise of virtually all the war's supporters, coalition forces are still present in Iraq. They are working to stabilize a country that appears to be on the brink of civil war. The continuing chaos and ever-growing number of fatalities...
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2007

CPI down 0.1% on fall in fuel prices

Affected by a drop in fuel prices, Japan's nationwide core consumer price index fell 0.1 percent in February, marking the first decline in 10 months, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 29, 2007

Tamiflu decision too late?

The health ministry has banned in principle the prescription of the influenza drug Tamiflu to people aged 10 to 19 in the wake of a series of cases in which young patients exhibited abnormal and dangerous behavior after taking the drug. This represents a turnabout from the ministry's earlier negative...
EDITORIALS
Mar 28, 2007

Don't bet on a quake-free area

The major earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Sunday serves as a reminder that a large earthquake can happen anytime, anywhere in Japan. The magnitude-6.9 quake with a seismic intensity of up to 6-plus on the Japanese scale of 7 happened at 9:42 a.m., killing one person,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2007

Midtown -- Roppongi just got loftier

Move over, glitzy Roppongi Hills. There's a new kid on the block in Tokyo's Minato Ward -- an even taller landmark testament to the spoils of wealth.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2007

JAL off-duty moms raising kids awarded lost wages

The Tokyo District Court on Monday ordered Japan Airlines International Co. to pay a combined 14.9 million yen in lost wages to four female flight attendants who were compelled to take unpaid off-duty days while raising children.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 27, 2007

'Multicultural Japan' remains a pipe dream

In February, education minister Bunmei Ibuki called Japan "an extremely homogenous country." Eighteen months earlier, now Foreign Minister Taro Aso described Japan as having "one nation, one civilization, one language, one culture, and one race." What was notable about these comments is that they were...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2007

A showdown in Pakistan

The removal of the chief justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court may have triggered the biggest political crisis yet for President Pervez Musharraf. The government claims Justice Iftikhar Chaudry is corrupt. His supporters counter that his real offense is his independence and argue that Pakistan's democracy...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 25, 2007

NHK upholds freedom of the press so long as it doesn't annoy anyone with its content

It has been two months since the Tokyo High Court ruled in favor of the Violence Against Women in War Network in its lawsuit against NHK regarding coverage of a December 2000 international people's tribunal, and while the verdict did not receive much press when it was first announced, it continues to...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2007

Livedoor accountant first to do real time for fraud

The Tokyo District Court convicted two accountants Friday of knowingly certifying cooked Livedoor Co. financial reports, finding them negligent in their duty to provide accurate information to investors.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 23, 2007

Joubert claims gold

Brian Joubert validated that there is such a thing as a lucky charm. Daisuke Takahashi, meanwhile, gave the host nation another athlete named Daisuke to be passionately proud of -- someone who doesn't throw a wicked assortment of pitches.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 23, 2007

ISU honors Ito, Carroll

After Thursday afternoon's original dance competition concluded, Japanese skating legend Midori Ito and American coach Frank Carroll were honored by the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame during an on-ice ceremony at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2007

State's witness Miyauchi gets 20 months

The Tokyo District Court sentenced Ryoji Miyauchi, former Livedoor Co. chief financial officer, to 20 months in prison Thursday for falsifying financial statements at the Internet firm but let three other executives walk away with suspended terms.
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2007

February trade surplus up 7.7% on auto, steel exports

Japan's merchandise trade surplus in February expanded 7.7 percent to 979.6 billion yen from the same month a year ago, thanks to increased exports of automobiles and steel and a decline in crude oil prices, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2007

'Mushishi'

Katsuhiro Otomo once had a reputation as a genius anime auteur -- a younger, hipper version of Hayao Miyazaki. His 1988 SF hit "Akira" was unlike anything coming out of the Hollywood animation industry in its dark vision of an atomic-blasted Neo-Tokyo, with its multilayered story of lawless young bikers...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2007

Limits to security cooperation

WASHINGTON -- Australia and Japan have just signed an historic security agreement. This new pact formalizes the security cooperation that began in secret between the two nations in the 1970s, and which has been moving forward in leaps and bounds since the early 1990s. It specifies a number of areas for...

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