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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2006

Chavez and Bush on a collision course

NEW YORK -- Of one thing you can be sure with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: You won't be bored listening to him. Chavez's recent criticism of George W. Bush at the United Nations is only the latest in a war of words with the U.S. president. Chavez has accused the Bush administration of trying to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 28, 2006

An Asian woman becomes aware

Thirty-one year-old playwright, director and actor Keishi Nagatsuka has been turning heads since he staged his first productions while still a student at Waseda University. In 1996 in Tokyo, he founded the Asagaya Spiders company, which has received glowing critical acclaim and regularly plays to full...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 26, 2006

Foreigners make leap from classroom to club

While it appears that only the most basic of artistic demands are placed upon the "gaijin tarento" that pop up periodically on Japanese TV screens, it would be a mistake to assume that Japan fetishizes foreigners in the entertainment business.
MORE SPORTS
Sep 25, 2006

DQ robs Jamaica's Powell of chance to break record in 100M

YOKOHAMA -- World record-holder Asafa Powell was disqualified before the 100 meters at the Seiko Super Meet on Sunday and Japan's Shingo Suetsugu seized his opportunity to race to victory.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2006

Sustainable local government

On June 20, Mayor Kenji Goto of Yubari, Hokkaido, solemnly told the city assembly that his city would have to undergo compulsory financial reconstruction, the equivalent of recovering from the brink of bankruptcy. The city is the second local government to fall into this status in 14 years.
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2006

Sticky bureaucratic fingers

It used to be said that Japanese bureaucrats were first rate while politicians were third rate. That's no longer true, as evidenced by an appalling spate of scandals involving slush funds in the central and local governments.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 24, 2006

Paternity suits brought by moms symptoms of family registry law

If the celebration over the birth of Prince Hisahito has proved anything, it's that "Who's your daddy?" is one of the most important questions in Japan.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2006

575 defense workers took unauthorized trips: agency

A total of 575 Defense Agency employees, including Self-Defense Forces personnel, have traveled abroad without informing their superiors, agency officials said Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2006

Sato admits his involvement in Fukushima bid-rigging

The arrested chairman of Fukushima-based construction contractor Sato Kogyo Corp. has begun confessing his involvement in bid-rigging for a public sewage system project ordered by the Fukushima Prefectural Government, investigative sources have said.
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2006

506 teachers in '05 tagged incompetent

More than 500 teachers at public schools across Japan were branded as incompetent in the 2005 academic year, down about 10 percent from a year earlier but still the second-highest number since the teacher assessment system began in 2000, the education ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Sep 23, 2006

Anthony Millington

The British School in Tokyo, independent and coeducational, is the only British school in Japan, and the only school in Japan offering the English National Curriculum. It is a nonprofit organization, administered by a board of trustees representing the British and international community in Tokyo. The...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 22, 2006

Open-air sightseeing bus celebrates second anniversary

The Hinomaru Limousine Company this month celebrates the second anniversary of its "Sky Bus Tokyo" tours. The tours offer passengers a scenic 45-minute ride through Maranouchi and its surrounding area every day of the year, every hour, on the hour. The tour takes in a number of Tokyo landmarks, including...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 22, 2006

On a pathway to the divine

Since it acquired the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, more people have naturally felt inclined to see the temples and monasteries of Koyasan in Wakayama Prefecture for themselves. But more than a few visitors to the complex find that its heavy Buddhist religiosity and the funereal gloom...
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2006

Tougher financial sanctions on North being sought

have testified that billions of yen in cash have been sent to North Korea in this manner. One Japanese man living in Osaka, who worked for two decades at a North Korean-funded trading company in Japan, said Tuesday's ban will have only a short-term effect.
BUSINESS
Sep 22, 2006

Thai coup puts FTA, investment in doubt

Tuesday's bloodless coup in Thailand has left a free-trade agreement negotiated between Tokyo and Bangkok up in the air, a senior Japanese official said Thursday as businesses waited for the dust to settle.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2006

The next Palestinian struggle

LONDON -- An expert in international law and an old friend of the Palestinian people wrote me with utter distress a few days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh were reported to have reached an agreement Sept. 11 to form a national unity government. The content...
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2006

Political career of Shinzo Abe

Major events in Shinzo Abe's career:
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2006

Mr. Musharraf's dangerous deal

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf maintains a precarious balance. On one hand, he must tread carefully among the Muslims who make up 97 percent of his country's population. On the other, he must appease his international supporters, among them the United States, who demand that he crack down on Islamic...
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2006

Top Lexus model glides into showrooms

Toyota Motor Corp. unleashed the Lexus LS, its flagship model, on Japan on Tuesday in hopes of improving flagging sales of the internationally known brand, which has not lived up to expectations here since debuting in August 2005.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2006

Chronically hungry children of America

NEW YORK -- While it is normal to expect high levels of hunger and poverty in a developing country, it may come as a surprise to observe such conditions in one of the richest countries in the world. The Food Bank for New York City recently reported that nearly 20 percent of children in the city rely...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Sep 17, 2006

Japan's bid to host 2016 Olympic Games a pipe dream

"Yes means maybe. Maybe means difficult. Difficult means impossible."
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2006

Cult facilities raided across the nation

The Public Security Intelligence Agency inspected 25 Aum Shinrikyo facilities nationwide Saturday morning after the death sentence for its founder, Shoko Asahara, was finalized the day before.
JAPAN / LASTING IMPACT
Sep 17, 2006

Timeline of Asahara's court saga

Following is a chronology of events linked to the trial of Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara:
CULTURE / Books
Sep 17, 2006

Adding some passion to our plastic world

PLASTIC CULTURE: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World, by Woodrow Phoenix. Kodansha International, 2006, 112 pp., fully illustrated, 3,150 yen (cloth). Plastic toys were once considered cheap, disposable and replaceable -- bright and cheerful mass-manufactured dolls, model cars and trinkets that needed...

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