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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 2007

Need something to read in the new year?

SHADOW OF THE SILK ROAD, by Colin Thubron (HarperCollins)
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2007

Mourners for Bhutto visit envoy

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination has stunned people around the world, including in Tokyo, where scores have been visiting the Pakistani ambassador's residence to sign a book of condolence.
EDITORIALS
Dec 30, 2007

Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Like her father, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, a Pakistani prime minister who was executed by the military in 1979 after being ousted from power, Ms. Benazir Bhutto, the charismatic opposition leader died an unnatural death — shot to death by an assassin Thursday. Her death, which occurred only 12 days after...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 29, 2007

Wringing out the year

When I arrived in Japan in the 1970s, I was both young and stupid. Now, over three decades later, I can only make half that claim.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2007

Watami empire built on concept of family 'izakaya'

Until Miki Watanabe opened his first Watami "izakaya" pub in April 1992 in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, such eateries were considered places for business workers and college kids to have a cheap drink and a few side dishes.
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2007

Beijing embraces Fukuda

to take unilateral action to change the status quo" in cross-strait relations. Fukuda's visit follows the "ice-breaking trip" to China by his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, in October 2006 and Wen's "ice-thawing visit" to Japan in April.
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 29, 2007

Distance fails to dent couple's relationship

David Backof, a native of Miami, was a college student in New Orleans when his friend suggested they apply together for teaching jobs in Japan. Not knowing what he wanted to do after graduation, he agreed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Dec 28, 2007

I Am Legend

Director: Francis Lawrence
Japan Times
JAPAN / WITNESS TO WAR
Dec 28, 2007

Student nurse recalls horror of Okinawa fighting

Thirteenth in a series
BUSINESS
Dec 28, 2007

JSDA looks to sell Jasdaq stake to Osaka exchange

The Japan Securities Dealers Association, a securities industry group, announced Thursday it is in talks to sell its 73 percent stake in Jasdaq Securities Exchange Inc., the nation's biggest market for startups, to Osaka Securities Exchange Co.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 27, 2007

The flash of the unflashy

Although much fanfare, excited TV coverage and celebrity casts accompanied the opening of new theatrical venues in Tokyo this year, such as Akasaka Red Theater, Theater Creation in Hibiya and Owl Spot in Ikebukuro, many would be hard pressed to truly wax lyrical about Japan's drama world over the last...
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2007

Growth slowing: BOJ's Kamezaki

YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Economic growth has recently been slowing on sharp falls in domestic housing investment at a time when uncertainties surrounding the global economy are increasing, Bank of Japan Policy Board member Hidetoshi Kamezaki said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 27, 2007

Blockbusters and new momentum

This was another great year for art enthusiasts with breadth, depth and an audience for all kinds exhibitions and events.
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2007

Japan Post Bank profit rises 20%

Japan Post Bank Co. said Wednesday its first-half profit rose about 20 percent on increased returns from bond investments, including government debt.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 25, 2007

Who? Me? Otaku?

"Otaku" culture is spreading over the globe. Perhaps we are all otaku now? My wife tells me I'm an otaku — should I be worried? If you haven't encountered the word, here is Wikipedia's definition: "a derisive Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly 'anime' and...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2007

Japan's first ICC judge takes aim at 'culture of impunity'

governed by the rule of law," she said in a recent interview. Saiga, a career diplomat, has served as ambassador in charge of human rights and a member of the U.N. Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2007

Why not engage Iranian pragmatists?

BERLIN — The recent comprehensive assessment by America's spy agencies about Iran's nuclear program and ambitions — the "National Intelligence Estimate" — has opened the door to fresh strategic discussions among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany. Such...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2007

War without end on Congo's women

NEW YORK — The violence in Congo is unspeakable. But, if the horror of Congo's recent wars — which have killed more people than any war since World War II — is to end, the unspeakable must be spoken.
Reader Mail
Dec 23, 2007

Sinister nationalism holds sway

In the Dec. 18 letter, "Skaters should highlight Japan," Nozomi Mizuno bemoans an apparent lack of patriotism exhibited by Japanese figure skaters. That Japanese either lack or do not vociferously enough express patriotism in comparison to foreigners is a widely held opinion in Japan. It is also diametrically...
Reader Mail
Dec 23, 2007

Certification trumps graduate skills

While I do not disagree with professor Takamitsu Sawa's opinions in his Dec. 11 article, "The graduate school fiasco" -- on the low quality of graduate education in Japan -- I was taken aback at the following passage so blithely sandwiched in the middle of the article: "Since Japanese universities give...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight