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JAPAN
Sep 2, 2009

'Distorted' in translation?

An opinion piece by Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama published in The New York Times has drawn flak in America over its apparent antiglobalization bent, prompting the presumptive prime minister to argue portions of his essay were "distorted" in translation.
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2009

Bureaucrats jockey to face new management

The Liberal Democratic Party's crushing election defeat brings to an end its cozy relationship with the bureaucracy, which the victorious Democratic Party of Japan has promised to weaken.
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Aso's all-time greatest blooper

Regarding the Aug. 25 article "Poor men too lowly to wed: Aso": Prime Minister Taro Aso's comments that people with little money would be better off not getting married and that it is difficult for him to understand how someone without pay can be seen as worthy of a partner's respect are, to say the...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Significant Japanese contribution

Regarding the Aug. 25 opinion article "Japan ready for 'no nukes' ": In a country like Thailand, which is a party to the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Bangkok Treaty) of 1995, it is rewarding to learn that Japan is ready for "no nukes." If the antinuclear sentiment in Japan is sufficiently...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Aug 29, 2009

To instant noodles, we slurp-salute you

We hail instant noodles, which appeared on this earth, on Aug. 25, 1958, with a list of some slurpalicioius faves.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2009

Consumer prices fall record 2.2%

Consumer prices fell at a record pace in July, adding to signs deflation will hamper a rebound from the nation's worst postwar recession, the government said Friday.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 28, 2009

LDP heavyweight Koga running for his life

OMUTA, Fukuoka Pref. — For decades, voters in the Fukuoka No. 7 district, which encompasses the southern part of the prefecture, have always said, "Makoto ni arigato gozaimasu" come election time.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ELECTION 2009
Aug 28, 2009

Reduced pork would pit DPJ against builders

The opposition vows to slash public works spending if it wins the election. Keeping that promise may be tough in a nation where construction is the No. 5 employer and a political fundraiser.
Reader Mail
Aug 27, 2009

Bit too close to the mainstream

Regarding Grant Piper's Aug. 23 letter, "Letter from an alternate universe": While it is true we do not hear too much from "the far right" in Readers in Council, Piper's response to Satsuo Matsumoto's Aug. 20 letter ("Left keeps trying to disgrace Japan") has me wondering whether we live in the same...
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 27, 2009

Mindan fights for foreigners' local-level suffrage

Foreigners won't have the right to vote in Sunday's election but the national association of South Koreans, the largest ethnic group of permanent foreign residents, is waging a rare political campaign to win local-level suffrage because it believes there is too much at stake this time.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Aug 27, 2009

Publisher Yumiko Tsukuda

Yumiko Tsukuda, 45, is the founder of Anika Co. Ltd., a publishing house in Tokyo, that prints books about the town and residents of Tsukuda on Tsukishima Island. Originally from Chiba, Yumiko moved to Tsukuda in 1998, partly because the town shares her last name but also because she fell in love with...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 23, 2009

Sling some mud and have some election fun

Nothing I've read exemplifies the misdirection of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's campaign for the Aug. 19 Lower House elections better than a letter that appeared in last Tuesday's Asahi Shimbun from a reader who said he had to look up sekinin-ryoku after seeing it used in various LDP ads.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2009

Japan has plenty of work to do in transforming how it governs

The world is changing dramatically and political governance is at stake.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 22, 2009

The right word and the right to choose it

If you are a foreigner living in Japan, odds are high that language learning has played a key role in your residency.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 21, 2009

Decentralization picking up steam?

OSAKA — Imagine, if you will, Japan in 2018. Following the historic Lower House election in 2009, the country passed legislation that abolished the 47 prefectures and thousands of smaller local governments.
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2009

Roos gets to work, meets vice minister

New U.S. Ambassador John Roos began his official duties Thursday after presenting Emperor Akihito with his credentials.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2009

DPJ to shed light on secret pacts

Will the Democratic Party of Japan shine a light on the government's darkest security secrets if elected to power, and if so, how will this affect relations with the United States?
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2009

Roos arrives early, is sworn in as new U.S. ambassador

NARITA, Chiba Pref. — New U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos arrived in Tokyo Wednesday pledging to further strengthen bilateral ties and solidify the bond he called the cornerstone of Washington's Asia-Pacific policies.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2009

Suzuki sides with DPJ, sees dual polls in '10

SAPPORO — Muneo Suzuki, leader of Hokkaido's New Party Daichi, said elections for both chambers of the Diet could be held simultaneously next year if the opposition camp secures a huge win in the Aug. 30 House of Representatives poll.
Japan Times
JAPAN / PARTY POWERS
Aug 19, 2009

Down in polls, Aso says only LDP can provide security

The Liberal Democratic Party is the only political party that has the ability to protect the Japanese people, claimed Prime Minister Taro Aso, who is campaigning furiously ahead of the Aug. 30 election.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2009

Parties split on foreigner suffrage

Prime Minister Taro Aso and Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama displayed clear differences Monday in their parties' positions on whether to allow foreigners with permanent residency to vote in local races.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2009

Foreigners size up lay judge system

The launch of the lay judge system for criminal trials is being observed with great interest overseas, where public participation in court cases is well established, a prominent expert on the U.S. jury system said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2009

Higashikokubaru rues ultimatum

Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru said Friday he regretted the political turmoil that resulted from his wavering over whether to accept the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's offer to put his name on its ticket for the Aug. 30 Lower House election.

Longform

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