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BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2008

Atlantic LNG imports see big surge

Japan increased imports of liquefied natural gas from the Atlantic Ocean area ninefold in January after a nuclear power plant was shut last year for safety checks after a deadly earthquake.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 29, 2008

Calligraphy: brushes with text, ecstasy

Japanese audiences are well acquainted with the films of British director Peter Greenaway. Several have included Japanese characters or been shot in this country, the most prominent of which was "The Pillow Book" (1996) — a very modern interpretation of early 10th-century Japanese diarist Sei Shonagon's...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2008

Why's Japan grown so ugly?

YUNOMINE, Wakayama Pref. — My brother wanted to create a new room in the loft of his house in an English provincial city, actually Kingston upon Hull (population 250,000), a place of passing interest to Japanese because two centuries ago it was one of the world's biggest whaling ports. Today, the whales...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Inspiration for a working man

Regarding Judit Kawaguchi's Feb. 19 article, "Words to live by": I was greatly moved by this seemingly insignificant report of an individual's quest for reasoning and affirmation. I am a Canadian living close to Yokohama as an English teacher (unfortunately), questioning my own self-worth and trying...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Progenitor of the next war

Regarding Ramesh Thakur's Feb. 22 article, "Beware Kosovo's offspring": For the sake of maintaining an indefinite NATO presence in Kosovo to act against a resurgent Russia, Western leaders have destroyed the foundations of international law, including respect for sovereign nations, by illegally recognizing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 28, 2008

Human reeds swaying in a museum maze

It's dangerous to talk to an artist. Whatever you think of their art, after a conversation with them, you are bound to walk away intrigued, enchanted — maybe even disgusted (which isn't necessarily bad) — but mostly, hopefully, enlightened by a new understanding of their work.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2008

Israel's Olmert lauds Japan for peace-building initiatives

Israel is in the middle of negotiating a peace agreement with the Palestinians that could be concluded by the end of the year, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Wednesday.
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Do residents really hate the bases?

Regarding Kiroku Hanai's Feb. 25 article, "Fuel to fire in Okinawa": Has Hanai ever visited a U.S. military base in mainland Japan or Okinawa? Rather than repeat stories on alleged crimes, why doesn't someone in the Japanese press bother to interview Japanese people who live in the communities around...
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2008

New occupant in the Blue House

South Korea has a new president. Mr. Lee Myung Bak has vowed to take the same "bulldozing" approach to running his country as he did when he was the head of a construction company and the mayor of Seoul. His first priority is economic revival, but he also hopes to forge new relationships with his neighbors,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2008

JR Tokai generates friction with costly maglev train

Concerns about huge estimated costs and future profitability are casting a shadow over Central Japan Railway Co.'s long-term project to build a magnetically levitating train system.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2008

Building a stronger alliance

Japanese and U.S. military professionals are building upon their partnership to collaboratively respond to unpredictable security challenges that can lead to instability in Asia and the world. U.S. forces remain deeply committed to the Japan-U.S. Security Alliance and being sincere, credible partners...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 26, 2008

Japan needs imports to keep itself fed

After a spate of food mislabeling frauds and the recent scare over pesticide-laced "gyoza" dumplings imported from China, consumers are perhaps more conscious than ever of the origin of what they eat. Many routinely check the origins of the foods they buy, especially imported products, which Japan relies...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA / STYLE WISE
Feb 26, 2008

Harajuku's "Style Deficit Disorder," model Irina Lazareanu gets wicked and more

Cure for disorder The popular fashion hub Harajuku is the subject of a fascinating new book by Tokyo-based editor and creative consultant Tiffany Godoy. Rich in detail and accompanied by some remarkable images, her book, "Style Deficit Disorder" (Chronicle Books), documents the history of the area from...
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2008

New models seen giving a boost to '08 vehicle sales

Domestic vehicle sales may rise this year as carmakers introduce new models, the country's automobile dealers group said.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2008

Think tank pushes stronger stand on Russian-held islands

Japan should never compromise in negotiations with Russia over the return of the four islands off Hokkaido, a private think tank has proposed.
Japan Times
LIFE / THE SKY'S THE LIMIT
Feb 24, 2008

Mum fights nuke power

Yurika Ayukawa, the special adviser on climate change to the environmental organization World Wide Fund for Nature Japan (WWF Japan), believes the key to combating global warming lies in changing humans' means of generating energy.
Reader Mail
Feb 24, 2008

Try dispensing real justice

Despite declarations from high-level Japanese government officials to the contrary, it is no secret that the Japanese no longer want U.S. military forces here. Who can really blame them? If my country had to play host to foreign military troops for 60 years, I would want to see these troops leave too....
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 24, 2008

Will rookie slugger Nakata live up to hype in Hokkaido?

One guy getting a lot of attention these days, including gaudy front-page coverage in Japan's daily sports newspapers and on TV "Camp Report" segments, is Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters rookie phenom Sho Nakata.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 24, 2008

Asian art for art's sake

WHAT'S THE USE OF ART? — Asian Visual and Material Culture in Context, edited by Jan Mrazek and Morgan Pitelka. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 314 pp., with illustrations, $58 (cloth) The question is rhetorical, that is, uttered for effect, to make a statement rather than to obtain an...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 24, 2008

New rules for cyclists go round in circles

Putting the brakes on the country's bicycle chaos requires more than just imposing bans on headphones, cell phones and umbrellas.
Japan Times
LIFE / THE SKY'S THE LIMIT
Feb 24, 2008

Top techie programs change

When Kayoko Sugahara started working as a systems engineer 25 years ago, she sometimes stayed in her office late into the night running performance tests on computers, and often went there on weekends to use the computers there.
Reader Mail
Feb 24, 2008

Positive look at Bangladesh

Thanks a lot for publishing Eric Prideaux's Feb. 15 article, "Bangladesh ready to rival Asia's mighty manufacturing hubs." Being a Bangladeshi, I appreciate Prideaux's bringing the success story of Bangladesh to the surface. There is no doubt that business conditions in Bangladesh have improved remarkably,...

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell