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EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2010

JAL's layover in bankruptcy court

The government has decided to seek reconstruction of struggling Japan Airlines Corp. through filing for court-backed bankruptcy protection under the Corporate Rehabilitation Law. Divided opinion within the Hatoyama administration saw its position zigzag before reaching this conclusion. Opting for a reconstruction...
COMMENTARY
Jan 11, 2010

Incredible shrinking media

SEATTLE — As you flip through a range of channels on your TV or browse through a stack of newspapers and magazines at a newsstand, you may feel lucky to live in a world where such a plethora of viewpoints is available. It might also seem that the apparent increase in media choices also increases the...
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2010

New finance chief Kan faces fiscal test

Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan officially replaced Hirohisa Fujii as finance minister Thursday after the veteran financial expert resigned for health reasons.
COMMENTARY
Jan 8, 2010

Public hopes fade to fears over the DPJ's capabilities

The Hatoyama Cabinet's approval rating is falling rapidly. In the Lower House election last August, people in Japan rejected the Liberal Democratic Party's long years of reliance on vested interests in favor of the Democratic Party of Japan for a change of government.
Reader Mail
Dec 31, 2009

Convenient mental illness hedge

It is irritating that whenever there is an attack on a public figure or a violent public security incident — a man injuring the Italian prime minister, a woman rushing the pope, a school gunman on a killing spree, a foiled airplane bomber, an armed hostage taker, a suicide bomber, an intruder in the...
JAPAN
Dec 30, 2009

Will warmer ties burn Taiwan?

For many countries China is a key partner in international relations, whether in recovering from the financial crisis or tackling climate change. And this is no less true for Taiwan, whose government is sidelining long-term political disputes with the mainland for the sake of improving economic ties....
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 29, 2009

From two worlds apart they found one

American Leza Lowitz was ready to leave Japan when she met her future husband, Shogo Oketani, at a Yokohama jazz club.
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2009

Hatoyama's broken vow points to Ozawa pulling the strings

The Democratic Party of Japan-led administration revealed its true colors with its decision to renege on an election pledge and effectively keep the current gas tax, analysts said Tuesday, charging that DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa is calling the shots.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2009

Hatoyama support rate plummets

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Monday the sharp dip in the public support rate for his administration, as shown in opinion polls over the weekend, means he must work harder.
COMMENTARY
Dec 21, 2009

No such thing as classless

According to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the taxation policies of the Tory (Conservative) Party were decided on the playing field of Eton (one of Britain's top private schools). Thus, Gordon Brown, whose Labour government trails in the opinion polls behind the Conservative opposition, seemed from this...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2009

Renewed dialogue welcome, but talks alone won't win peace

LONDON — Speculation has been building up on the Subcontinent that dialogue between India and Pakistan is about to restart. Last month Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that if Pakistan showed "sincerity and good faith," India "will not be found...
JAPAN / Media
Dec 20, 2009

New Year's Eve party, anyone? Nah, put your feet up and enjoy a Japanese tradition on the TV

Sport, sex, thrills: It was back in 1945 that radio producer Tsumoru Kondo declared that these were the three essential ingredients for successful entertainment. He called them the "three S's," even though they were two S's and a T. The producer obviously knew more about entertainment than he did about...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 20, 2009

Foreign players likely to be in Meikyukai, Japanese Hall of Fame

How soon will it be before foreigners in Japanese baseball become members of the Meikyukai (Golden Players Club for batters accumulating 2,000 hits and pitchers racking up 200 career victories)?
COMMUNITY
Dec 19, 2009

Group mentality — dressing to belong?

Japan's group mentality stumbles with frequent kicks from the Western mind.
Reader Mail
Dec 13, 2009

Swiss vote was not anti-Muslim

In his Dec. 6 article, "The Swiss and Iranian agents of provocation," Gwynne Dyer commits at least two mistakes — sadly so for one claiming to be an expert in international politics: (1) He compares the referendum in which the Swiss people took responsibility to voice their opinion with the actions...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 12, 2009

Relations between players, managers can be tense

LONDON — Managers tell players to use their heads, but two bosses, it seems, have literally been practicing what they preach.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 12, 2009

The most annoying Japanese word

Several weeks ago a poll from the Marist Institute of Public Opinion — one that was slingshot quickly across the Internet — listed "whatever" as the most annoying of all English words.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 11, 2009

(Near) death of a salesman

Amit started downloading music when he was 16 years old in India.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 8, 2009

Can Tatsuya Ichihashi get a fair trial under the new lay-judge system?

Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Dec 6, 2009

Sendai guard Takahashi studies NBA to help improve his game

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. The league's fifth season began in October. Kenichi Takahashi of the Sendai 89ers is the subject of this week's profile.
Reader Mail
Dec 6, 2009

Scope of the trespassing ruling

According to the Dec. 1 article "Top court: Flier distributor trespassed," Japan's Supreme Court ruled that Buddhist monk Yosei Arakawa was guilty of trespassing when he distributed Japan Communist Party fliers at a condominium in Tokyo. Since the condominium complex, according to the article, had a...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 6, 2009

Rika Kayama: Finding satisfaction in being ourselves

Psychiatrist Rika Kayama is an outspoken doctor specializing in mental illness, a best-selling writer and a popular social commentator.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?