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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 24, 2009

Standing army still the prize peace-breaker

NEW YORK — The news that President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize immediately brought to mind comparisons with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who received the same prize back in 1973. In the outpourings of sharply divided reactions that ensued, a great many, it turned...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 23, 2009

Bento packaged for the global spotlight

Boxed lunches have been around for centuries in Japan, but now the rest of the world is seeing the beauty and economic good sense of bento.
JAPAN / Q&A
Oct 23, 2009

Lowdown on H1N1 vaccinations

With swine flu inoculations now under way for medical workers, other people may be anxious about when it will be their turn. As cooler weather sets in, and with it higher risks of contracting the new H1N1 virus, the government is administering vaccinations on a priority basis, with healthy working-age...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 23, 2009

Pusan fest revels in all films Asian

South Korea's biggest box-office hit of the year is the disaster movie "Haeundae," which has been seen by 11.3 million Koreans. The title refers to the beach-resort area of Pusan, where from Oct. 8-16 the 14th annual Pusan International Film Festival took place. In fact, most of the festival is held...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 23, 2009

Asagaya Jazz Streets

Asagaya Jazz Streets, one of the best-loved jazz festivals in Tokyo, turns 15 this year. For two days, Oct. 23-24, neighborhood venues and concert halls are commandeered to host a who's who of Tokyo jazz players. The event began as humble neighborhood promotion, but now 20 local clubs are in on the festivities,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 23, 2009

A detour through the artist's mind

A scarlet fish head, the silhouette of a tree and a burned-out hole surrounded by scribbled thoughts may at first sight appear to inhabit different worlds.
EDITORIALS
Oct 23, 2009

A base Okinawans can live with

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa in Tokyo this week. The two sides failed to resolve differences over the relocation of a U.S. military base on Okinawa Island. Under a 2006 bilateral agreement,...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 23, 2009

Kiwis take promotional punt over to Tokyo Tower

A giant inflatable rugby ball will appear at the foot of Tokyo Tower for one week from Oct. 28 to advertise the next Rugby World Cup to be held across New Zealand in 2011, also coinciding with the first-ever Bledisloe Cup to be held in Japan — New Zealand's All Blacks vs. Australia's Qantas Wallabies...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 23, 2009

'Shizumanu Taiyo'

"I am big. It's the pictures that got small," Gloria Swanson declaimed in "Sunset Boulevard." In the Japan film industry, though, the pictures are getting bigger — gargantuan, in fact. Examples include the "Death Note" duology, the "20-seiki Shonen" ("20th Century Boys") trilogy, and "Ai no Mukidashi"...
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 22, 2009

Rich harvest of autumn anime

From fantasy adventures to high-school romance, this autumn's crop of anime has it all.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Oct 22, 2009

Japanese agency projects their message well

Nikon COOLPIX S100pj projects its features loud and clearly with the Helicopter Boyz promo.
Reader Mail
Oct 22, 2009

Avoiding an all-around nightmare

(As a worker in a Japanese hospital for almost 20 years) I can't speak for the government on why there is a penalty for latecomers to the national health insurance program, but the penalty is the same for Japanese citizens as well. Those failing to contribute, or who return from living abroad and do...
Reader Mail
Oct 22, 2009

Trashing a sacred relationship

Regarding the Oct. 16 article "Fukuoka cops free American who tried to get kids back": I am glad to see coverage of this and at least the mention of Japan's refusal to sign the Hague Convention. Japan refuses to recognize the family law of other foreign countries and allows the abduction of children...
Reader Mail
Oct 22, 2009

Kids should relish both cultures

As foreign countries join together to urge Japan to recognize the rights of the child and the separated parent in international dispute cases, I need to add my voice and those of my family and friends. These sad situations cause ongoing pain and deep distress not only to the parent but also to the grandparents,...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2009

Conflicting strategies Islamicizing Malaysia

SINGAPORE — In Malaysia's current political climate, it is no longer possible to distinguish Islamic radicals from Islamic moderates. Despite official boasting about the country's diverse population and commitment to pluralism, Islam and the government have essentially merged.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 21, 2009

Fighters ready to face Eagles in second stage

SAPPORO — The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters are facing some serious issues as their Climax Series gets underway on Wednesday at Sapporo Dome.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2009

A question of accountability

Any report on alleged war crimes is going to be controversial. An investigation that focuses on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians will be even more sensitive. Thus the uproar surrounding the Goldstone report, an investigation into the behavior of the Israeli Army and Hamas militants during...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2009

PlayStation 3 outsells Wii for first time in U.S.

Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 outsold Nintendo Co.'s Wii console for the first time following a $100 price cut, helping the U.S. video game market end six consecutive months of declining revenue.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 20, 2009

Abortion still key birth control

People may be surprised to know abortion has been legal in Japan since 1949, more than a decade earlier than in other industrialized countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 20, 2009

Signing Hague treaty no cure-all for parental abduction scourge

The recent arrest of Christopher Savoie for attempting to "kidnap" his two children in Fukuoka has brought much-needed international media attention to one of Japan's dirty secrets — its status as the developed world's leading destination for international parental child abduction.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2009

Mistrust carries economic consequences

LONDON — Public trust in financial institutions, and in the authorities that are supposed to regulate them, was an early casualty of the financial crisis. That is hardly surprising, as previously revered firms revealed that they did not fully understand the very instruments they dealt in or the risks...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Oct 19, 2009

Twitter swoops into the Japanese market again

Twitter stepping up its operations in Japan with a new mobile site and video capability. Will this be enough to make Japanese users start tweeting?
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 19, 2009

Mighty dollar's demise won't be quick despite depreciation woes

The G20 summit in Pittsburg reaffirmed the need for a common set of policies to correct global imbalances, and the G7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs, meeting later on in Istanbul, agreed that wild fluctuations in exchange rates harm global economic and financial stability.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2009

China too reliant on exports, fixed-asset investments: expert

China can probably achieve its goal of 8 percent growth this year, but it won't be sustainable in the long term if the economy's overreliance on exports and fixed-asset investments doesn't end, a prominent Chinese economist recently said at a seminar in Tokyo.

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’