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EDITORIALS
May 9, 2009

Deadly surge in Baghdad

A surge in violence in Baghdad has prompted fears that Iraq may be on the verge of a new spasm of sectarian violence. Many think the attacks are intended to sew doubts about the wisdom of the upcoming withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. By this logic, the bombings are intended to force the U.S. to stay...
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2009

Let China launch its flattop

China's possession of aircraft carriers is not a matter of if but when. Last November, an official in China's Ministry of National Defense touched for the first time in a public venue on the possibility of his nation acquiring aircraft carriers.
JAPAN
May 9, 2009

Lawmakers urged to act now to revise organ transplant law

People in need of organ transplants and their supporters urged lawmakers Friday to revise the transplant law during the current Diet session, despite the World Health Organization's decision to delay until next year enacting a resolution to restrict overseas travel for transplants.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2009

No place left to go after exiting Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY — I write this from the U.S. Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay, where I have been held without charge for almost seven years.
COMMENTARY
May 8, 2009

'Mr. Democracy' fell short after 1919 demonstration

HONG KONG — Ninety years ago this week, thousands of students from Peking University and elsewhere gathered in the then much smaller Tiananmen Square before marching through the city in protest.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
May 8, 2009

Sledge flexing muscles for Fighters in 2nd year

CHIBA — Terrmel Sledge is getting used to playing baseball in Japan.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2009

Troubling signs in Nepal

A standoff between Nepal's prime minister and its president has brought the country to the brink of crisis. The resignation of Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda threatens the survival of a peace agreement between Maoist rebels and the government that ended a decade-long civil war. The Maoists say they...
BUSINESS
May 8, 2009

Hitachi hikes loss forecast by ¥88 billion

Hitachi Ltd. said Thursday it expects a record group net loss of ¥788 billion for the business year that ended in March, worse than its previous forecast of ¥700 billion.
CULTURE / Music
May 8, 2009

mi-gu "pulling from above"

While the sentence "I'm a fan of the solo albums by the drummer from left-field Japanese electronica artist Cornelius' live backing band" might come across as almost artfully pretentious, mi-gu's third album of unconventional studio-play is actually her most accessible to date.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2009

Cubism remixed at a European crossroads

Cubism, as it emerged from the experiments of the painters Pablo Picasso and George Braque, was for some a necessary but limited artistic investigation in the 20th century. For others, though, it offered a blueprint for a new language, as in that part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that became Czechoslovakia,...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 8, 2009

Tokyo International Singers to perform for cancer charity

The Tokyo International Singers (TIS) are fervently hoping they will be performing before a big audience on May 9. And for once, it won't be entirely about the music, as good as that promises to be. This time, the ensemble is hoping for a full house because its contribution to the Japan Foundation for...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 8, 2009

Pampering at the Cerulean, wine and dine at the Mandarin, and cycle tours in Kyoto

Treat yourself at the Cerulean The Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel has put together a special package that includes treatments at its aesthetic salon and lunch at its main restaurant, Coucagno.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
May 7, 2009

Natsu beckons as Hakuho and Asashoryu prepare to go head-to-head

In the fortnight ahead of the annual Natsu Summer Basho, there is always something of a lull in the sumo world.
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2009

Renewable energy needs a boost

U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Earth Day (April 22) that the United States will increase wind power generation to about 20 percent of the nation's total power generation by 2030. In view of the fact that alternative energy sources, including solar and wind power, now account for less than 3...
JAPAN
May 6, 2009

Calls to revise organ law grow as lawmakers debate various plans

When Yasuto Katagiri asked New York's Columbia University in February to perform a heart transplant on Hoku, his 2-year-old son suffering from a rare form of heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy, the university had to turn him down because its 5 percent limit for accepting foreign transplant...
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2009

Tuberculosis remains a threat

Tuberculosis (TB) was once dreaded in Japan, with fatalities reaching a peak of 171,474 in 1943. Recent news about new TB cases, including a midwife in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, and Ms. Haruka Minowa of the popular female comic duo Harisenbon, has reminded people and medical professionals that TB...
JAPAN
May 4, 2009

Both sides on constitutional change hold rallies

The pros and cons of changing the Constitution were on full display Sunday — the 62nd Constitution Day — with both opponents and proponents holding rallies to push their causes.
Reader Mail
May 3, 2009

Too expensive to get around

Regarding Steve Hesse's article "Ignorance of 'sustainability' is not an option": Has Hesse ever lived in the countryside in Japan? I have for 10 years, and am sick of being isolated by high train prices, high highway tolls and sky-high gasoline prices — still about $4 per gallon. For example the...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 3, 2009

It's tough times for type — but too soon to write off newspapers yet

Back in the early 1990s, my wife, children and I were visiting my in-laws when one of my daughters, then aged 6, pointed to something on the table and exclaimed, "Daddy, what's that?"

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji