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EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2009

Credibility of policy

A bill to implement the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008 has been enacted with a second vote in the Lower House — where the ruling bloc has a two-thirds majority — after the opposition-controlled Upper House voted it down. Thus the ¥2 trillion cash handouts for all households and other...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 8, 2009

Father-son poverty showdown, phone-promo office drama, remembering Koki Hirota

The recession has prompted a resurgence in reality shows where people attempt to survive on very little for a fixed length of time. TV personality and mixed martial arts fighter Bobby Ologun once lived a full month on ¥10,000 in front of TV cameras. Bobby will repeat this challenge under different circumstances...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 8, 2009

Looking forward to a 200-year-old human

If you believe everything you read about the health-giving properties of the traditional Japanese diet — and if you were to eat traditionally every day — you might expect to live to at least 150, in rude health.
LIFE
Mar 8, 2009

U.S. shows way to medical apologies

So you think apologizing is the norm in Japan? Well, think again — especially with regard to its venerable medical profession.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 8, 2009

Luck, trickery and treasure in Koka City

What do underground treasure troves, ninja lairs and drunken raccoon dogs have in common? Shiga Prefecture's Koka City, that's what.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2009

LDP members to return Nishimatsu cash

Two ruling party lawmakers who received political funds from scandal-tainted Nishimatsu Construction Co. denied any wrongdoing Friday but said they have decided to return the money for ethical reasons.
EDITORIALS
Mar 7, 2009

China's growth challenge

As the annual session of China's National People's Congress has started, achieving sufficiently high economic growth will be indispensable for helping to stabilize Chinese society. It is also something other countries want to see as the world economy is rapidly cooling down due to the financial crisis...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 7, 2009

Tradition, family serve up a hearty fare

T he band members are dressed in traditional German costumes, and your smiling hostess leads you out in a traditional dance. A modest buffet serves up a bounty of simple, home-cooked German fare: cabbage and sauerkraut, potatoes and sausage. And don't forget the German beer. Just say "Mahlzeit," and...
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2009

Battery deal sought with EU

Japan will seek an agreement with the European Union to jointly develop solar cells and new ultralight batteries for electric cars that can deliver three times the power of current technology, a Japanese official said Thursday, prior to a meeting that began Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2009

Japanese tots doze less than global counterparts: expert

Infants and toddlers in Japan have shorter sleeping hours than those in the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia, a sleep psychologist said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2009

Human rights in recession

LONDON — "It's the economy, stupid!" declared Bill Clinton during his U.S. presidential election campaign. He was right then as well as now in emphasizing that economic issues are paramount with voters.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2009

Three in Cabinet tied to Nishimatsu

Three members of the Cabinet, including Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai, decided Thursday to return money donated to them by two political groups linked to scandal-tainted Nishimatsu Construction Co., the government's top spokesman said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2009

'Doubt'

A parish priest stands in front of his flock, sets his features sternly, and then launches into his weekly sermon. He tells of a woman who goes to confession, and asks her priest if gossip was a sin. Of course, replies the priest, and for penance, he instructs the woman to go onto the roof of her house...
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2009

Genteel pastime reaches end of innocence

WATERLOO, Ontario — In recent years, Australia, England and New Zealand have canceled cricketing tours of Pakistan because of concern for the physical safety of their teams. At best, Australia agreed to play Pakistan in the neutral venue of Abu Dhabi next month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2009

The explorers' cargo

Before the age of discovery, Europe had been separated for hundreds of years from the Indian Ocean by an impenetrable crescent of territories largely hostile to Christians. The Venetians — always more interested in commerce than proselytizing — controlled whatever trade there was with Asia through...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 6, 2009

Hashidaya and Kushiwakamaru: One bird in the pot is worth two on the stick

It's awfully damp and chilly in winter alongside Meguro-gawa, the deep, concrete-lined creek that runs through Naka-Meguro. In summer, the cherry trees that line each bank provide blissful dappled shade, but at this time of year their boughs are bare.
Reader Mail
Mar 5, 2009

Japanese should not be ashamed

The Feb. 20 article "Aso accepts blame for Nakagawa" mentions that Prime Minister Taro Aso apologized for appointing Shoichi Nakagawa as finance minister. Although Aso should be held accountable for Nakagawa's slurred words and groggy appearance during a news conference in Rome, the Japanese government...
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2009

Saving our sinking economies

At first glance the grim economic and political situation now confronting Japan sounds remarkably similar to the British scene. There is the same slump in national production, the same factory closures and rising unemployment, and the same highly unpopular prime ministers and weak governments that seem,...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Mar 5, 2009

Japan ready to defend title

When the second World Baseball Classic begins on Thursday, all eyes will be on Japan.
Reader Mail
Mar 5, 2009

Relative reality of feeling 'safe'

Regarding Amit Chaturvedi's Feb. 26 letter: The perception of safety is one that is personal. If you are comfortable in a place, you have the perception of safety and security. The unfamiliar can seem frightening and stressful. Therefore, to say that a place is "safe" states only that this is one's...

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell