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COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 26, 2010

Transforming the judiciary

An epoch-making event in the Japanese judiciary system took place Jan. 27, when, for the first time in Japanese legal history, the prosecution's decision not to indict a suspect was reversed by votes of a panel composed of citizens.
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2010

Taxation unconnected to suffrage

In the April 18 "Foreigner suffrage opponents rally," Atsuyuki Sassa is quoted as saying: "Our Constitution grants those with Japanese nationality voting rights in return for their obligation to pay taxes. Granting suffrage to those without Japanese nationality is clearly a mistake in national policy."...
JAPAN
Apr 25, 2010

Nara kicks off anniversary celebrations

NARA — Celebrations to mark the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of Nara's ancient capital of Heijokyo kicked off Saturday morning, the official start of an event officials hope will attract 2.5 million visitors to the historical site, especially restored for the event, and up to 12 million visitors...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 25, 2010

Results of carnal prohibition are no surprise

When the Vatican "scandal" erupted, I happened to be reading Kumagusu Minakata's writings on homosexuality — to be exact, his writings as selected, with comments, by Taruho Inagaki. I was doing so because Inagaki (1900-1977) won Japan's literary "grand prize" for his book, "The Aesthetic of the Love...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2010

Lights on, but who's home?

The first half of this book is told from the point of view of Kiwako, an office worker who kidnaps the baby of her married lover after being pressured into having an abortion herself. She passes through love hotels, bullet trains and ferries; she encounters crazy people and joins a religious cult; she...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 25, 2010

Cooking up a menu mixing local and Thai

Motoko Yamada, 27, the manager of a Thai restaurant named Rahotsu, has lived in Nara since 2002, when she moved to the prefecture to attend Nara Women's University. A welfare studies major who wanted to put her knowledge to work in local communities, after graduation it was a natural decision for her...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010

Masuzoe launches new party

Former health minister Yoichi Masuzoe and five other Diet lawmakers formed a new political party Friday, following three other new minor parties that hope to give voters an alternative choice in the Upper House election his summer.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010

Small parties looking for bigger say

With the approach of the summer Upper House election, several new parties are vying for voters disenchanted with the Democratic Party of Japan, which swept to power last year on the promise of change but became mired in money scandals and accusations of poor leadership.
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2010

Ishihara snubs SDP retraction request

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara on Friday rejected a request from Social Democratic Party chief Mizuho Fukushima to retract remarks suggesting she may be a naturalized Japanese or a descendant of one.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2010

Ex-Hatoyama fund manager found guilty

The Tokyo District Court on Thursday handed a suspended two-year prison term to a former government-paid secretary to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama for falsely reporting the sources of political donations made to the prime minister's fundraising body.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2010

Geos' fate sealed by failure to react quickly to rapid drop in demand

The failure of major language-school operator Geos Corp. occurred because the company didn't trim unprofitable branches fast enough at a time when the industry was facing a drastic drop in students, people in the industry said.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 23, 2010

Sendai, Hamamatsu poised for big battle

With three weeks left in the regular season, it's as good a time as any for the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix and the Sendai 89ers to renew their rivalry.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2010

Plenty of sites already considered, rejected

OSAKA — With possible new locations for the Futenma air base being suggested or reported on a seemingly daily basis, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama now has very few political options to propose to the U.S.
EDITORIALS
Apr 23, 2010

Going green with nuclear power

The Nuclear Safety Commission and the Atomic Energy Commission have issued their annual reports for 2009, in which they call for the promotion of nuclear energy as an important means of fighting global warming. Nuclear power plants do not emit carbon dioxide while operating.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2010

King Bhumipol's last play

HONG KONG — It is not easy to see any way out from the present impasse in Thailand, which has seen successive governments at the mercy of mob rule while the security forces have failed to do their duty.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2010

Technically Kagoshima but Ryukyu in its soul

TOKUNOSHIMA, Kagoshima Pref. — Astute readers will notice this story is datelined "Kagoshima Prefecture." But given that this island lies just southwest of Amami-Oshima and roughly 100 km from the northern tip of Okinawa, it's no surprise that Tokunoshima feels more like a part of the Ryukyu Islands...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 23, 2010

Petit Louvre stresses art education for kids, which is no small feat

Volcanic ash might have put the kibosh on the family trip to Europe, but a piece of Paris awaits you in Nagano Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Apr 23, 2010

Crossing

Director: Kim Tae Gyoon
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2010

A pig's breakfast in Europe

LONDON — The Greek debt problem has been poorly handled by Europe's decision-makers. European Union heads of government, and the European Central Bank, initially rejected the idea of involving the International Monetary Fund, but without a fall-back plan. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that part...
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2010

Helping post-conflict countries

On April 16, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada chaired a United Nations Security Council debate on peace building in post-conflict countries. The council adopted a presidential statement calling for long-term and comprehensive support for such countries.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2010

Wife presses for details in death of deportee

The Japanese wife of a Ghanaian who died last month while he was being deported for overstaying his visa called Tuesday on police and the Immigration Bureau to disclose exactly how he died.

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