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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 6, 2011

Japanese players grow in bj-league, stagnate in JBL

The simplistic, elitist viewpoint that JBL squads would dominate against bj-league foes is a flawed argument because of the differences in the way the two leagues operate. The JBL's one-foreigner quota and the bj-league's three-imports-on-the-court rule present stark contrasts in their styles of play....
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2011

S&P downgrades Toyota's rating

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest carmaker, had its long-term debt rating cut by Standard & Poor's, which cited the company's "weak" profitability, five weeks after Japan's credit rating was lowered.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 4, 2011

Playoff battle intense in competitive West

A gripping drama is about to commence in March and April as the bj-league's top seven Western Conference teams vie for six playoff spots. What's more, the seven teams are within seven games of each other in the standings.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 2, 2011

Ono, Ghotbi confident S-Pulse will be contenders

Given the changes that have taken place at Shimizu S-Pulse over the winter, new manager Afshin Ghotbi could be forgiven for playing down expectations in Shizuoka ahead of the new season.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 1, 2011

Solving parental child abduction problem no piece of cake

The Way of Cake is mysterious and paradoxical. A master of the Way can make his neighbors feel they have filled themselves with tasty cake without ever cutting off a piece. The Way allows its disciple to step outside the boundaries of rational thought by partaking of cake while continuing to possess...
JAPAN / ELEMENTARY ENGLISH
Feb 26, 2011

Are schools ready for English?

Come April, English classes will become mandatory for fifth- and sixth-graders, but a 29-year-old elementary school teacher in Tokyo has heard the concerns of her overwhelmed colleagues, especially the older ones, who have neither taught the language nor studied it since their university years decades...
COMMENTARY
Feb 25, 2011

Deciphering Russian aims

The Russian prime minister's surprise visit to the Northern Territories and subsequent Russian hard position on the territorial issue have triggered a series of reactions in Japan, which in turn have hardened the Russian position and thereby spoiled Japan-Russia relations.
Reader Mail
Feb 24, 2011

Dogs have a rich emotional life

I must beg to differ with Grant Piper's views expressed in his Feb. 20 letter. From my own observations and those of a number of respected authors, it is safe to say that many animals have a very rich emotional life and are capable of higher emotions such as empathy, sadness and joy. I dare say some...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2011

Civil society must push nuke ban

Last year, important international conferences were held to tackle such pressing global challenges as climate change and nuclear disarmament. While these conferences saw the emergence of constructive new consensus, it is not enough simply to sound the alarm: The time has come for action and solidarity....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2011

ICRC operating between the lines

In July 2007, the Taliban took 23 South Korean missionaries hostage in Afghanistan and killed two of them.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2011

Top DPJ body agrees to suspend Ozawa

The top decision-making body of the Democratic Party of Japan decided Tuesday to accept a proposal to suspend Ichiro Ozawa's membership in the party, a participant in the meeting said.
EDITORIALS
Feb 15, 2011

Mr. Kan's dilemma

Prime Minister Naoto Kan held a one-on-one Diet debate with opposition party leaders last week — the first such debate since he came to power in June 2010. It showed that both the Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party share a view that a consumption tax raise is necessary. But...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Feb 13, 2011

Akita's Henry learning fine points from Hasegawa

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Sek Henry of the Akita Northern Happinets is the subject of this week's profile.
JAPAN
Feb 11, 2011

Medvedev trip wins over Kunashiri locals

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia (Kyodo) Just over three months ago, President Dmitry Medvedev paid a brief visit to Kunashiri Island, becoming the first Kremlin leader to visit one of four isles off Hokkaido controlled by Moscow and long claimed by Japan.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 10, 2011

Driving is believing: Don't trust manufacturers' mileage claims

What kind of mileage do you get in that hybrid? Depends on who you ask.
Reader Mail
Feb 10, 2011

'Rational' decline in population

After reading Michael Hoffman's Jan. 30 Timeout article, "The decline and fall of Japan and its sex drive," I'm not sure that I entirely agree with the opinion that Japanese are disinterested in sex. I think they are avoiding the possibility of what could happen if they have sex without having the fiscal...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Feb 8, 2011

Hooked on U.S., Japan risks going down with it: responses

Following are responses to "Hooked on U.S., Japan risks going down with it" by Brian Victoria (Hotline to Nagatacho, Jan. 4):
Reader Mail
Feb 6, 2011

Gun-control logic not so obvious

In his Jan. 27 letter, "Living with the fear of being shot," Ivor Paul affixes blame for murders on inanimate objects and not on murderers. Following this logic, we should address the problem of mothers drowning their own children by immediately banning bathtubs. Of course, most bathtub owners are not...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 5, 2011

Move for Torres sees Chelsea overpay again

LONDON — When you are a billionaire, you tend to get what you want.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 1, 2011

Naturalized Japanese: foreigners no more

In Dec. 28's Japan Times, Charles Lewis wrote a respectful Zeit Gist column asking three fellow wise men (sumo wrestler Konishiki, musicologist Peter Barakan and Diet member Marutei Tsurunen) about their successful lives as "foreigners" in Japan. Despite their combined century of experience here, the...
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Jan 30, 2011

Miyazaki's Shimizu enjoying leading new team in his hometown

The Japan Times features periodical interviews with players in the bj-league. Taishiro Shimizu of the Miyazaki Shining Suns is the subject of this week's profile.
Reader Mail
Jan 30, 2011

'Gender equality' not universal

James Hicks' Jan. 20 letter, "Speak out for 'universal' standards," implies that gender equality is a universal, fundamental and ethical standard, and that it is the duty of everyone to speak out about it in Japan.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 30, 2011

Pushing the U.S. Constitution to the brink

NEW YORK — On opening day of the 112th session of the U.S. Congress, the members of the House of Representatives recited the U.S. Constitution. The Republican Party, now the majority, instituted the unprecedented step. The tea party instigated it.
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2011

Kan defends being S&P-blindsided

Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday defended his remarks on the downgrade of Japan's sovereign credit rating by Standard & Poor's, saying he had yet to be informed of the news when he said he was "not familiar with the matter."
COMMENTARY
Jan 28, 2011

China, charmer and bully

LONDON — Hu Jintao, given a head-of-state welcome in Washington, tried to show a friendly face toward America. He brought gifts in the form of contracts to buy American products, although most of these contracts had been closed earlier and some at least involve the purchase of American technology that...
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jan 28, 2011

Japan's indie acts need to break domestic scene's 'glass ceiling'

There's a feeling in the air these days, not least on these pages, that Japan is becoming more culturally insular. Japanese video games are losing out to South Korea and the West in the race to explore the online frontier; animation, once the standard-bearer of "cool Japan," has retreated into a self-congratulatory...

Longform

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How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan