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JAPAN
Oct 18, 2008

Filipino bar hostess visa scam snags top official

Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Masatoshi Kurata was embroiled in a scandal Friday over his alleged role in arranging visas for Filipino women to enter Japan and perform at "charity concerts," but who in fact ended up working as bar hostesses.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2008

Nakagawa has ministry hoist Hinomaru

Despite opposition from media organizations, the Finance Ministry displayed the Hinomaru flag in its press briefing room Friday under orders from Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 18, 2008

Taming lions with laughter

"I'll be OK," I reassured myself before walking into the lion cage. Textbook secured under one arm, I walked in with confidence and closed the door behind me. The door made that definitive "click." Just 50 minutes, I told myself. Fifty minutes of screaming commands at the top of my lungs, 50 minutes...
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2008

Demand for services falls 1.4%, adding to gloom

Demand for services fell in August, reinforcing the view that consumer spending is unlikely to support the ailing economy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2008

'Makiguri no Ana'

Japanese horror once struck a lot of fans in the West as fresh because it was less about fantastical creatures — say, flesh-eating zombies — than everyday dread. Instead of popping up out of nowhere, fear crept up like sinister fog from apparently mundane places and things — a moldy apartment,...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2008

Defining moment in history

Rising geopolitical risks have been underscored by today's multiple global crises — from a severe global credit crunch and financial tumult to serious energy and food challenges.
EDITORIALS
Oct 16, 2008

Swashbuckling in Somalia

'We just want the money." That is the honest sentiment of the pirates who hijacked a Ukrainian freighter loaded with weapons off the coast of Somalia. Were it so simple. What was intended to be the mere "ransoming" of a ship has become an international standoff between oceangoing bandits and the world's...
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2008

A pregnant woman's decision

Regarding Bob Austenfeld's Oct. 12 letter, "Abortion makes rape sadder": I knew Austenfeld wouldn't agree with my previous letter ("Out of Gloria Steinem's league," Oct. 5), but I'm surprised at how poorly he seemed to understand it.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2008

Guides help consumers pick 'sustainable sushi'

NEW YORK — Mackerel is in but octopus is out. And bluefin tuna, known as the king of sushi for its fatty belly meat, is a definite no-no.
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2008

Win the vote and lose a war?

Win the vote and lose a war?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 16, 2008

A selection of cultural others

We are our own most keenest observers, whether it be in the bathroom mirror or in the department store window. But while the face is humankind's most distinctive feature, we are also remarkably poor at getting ourselves in perspective. When asked what size their face appears on the mirror surface, the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2008

Japan shines at Asia's top film festival

Acknowledged as the most important annual film event in Asia, Korea's Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) opened its 13th edition on Oct. 2 under several clouds. The glittery opening ceremony, stuffed to the rafters with Korean celebrities, was more subdued this year owing to the same-day suicide...
BUSINESS
Oct 15, 2008

Steps set to keep TSE stable

The government announced a package of measures Tuesday to stabilize the volatile stock market, including suspending sales of government-held shares.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2008

Fighters find ways to get job done

OSAKA — Lately, it seems for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Oct 15, 2008

Headset lets you engage your inner Borg

Warp factor: "Star Trek" has done far more than just entertain us over the decades. It has also inspired technology creators to reach for the stars (quite literally, if we ever manage to invent warp drive for faster-than-light travel).
JAPAN
Oct 15, 2008

Moriya asks for leniency over bribes

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, on trial for bribery and perjury charges, made a final plea Tuesday for a suspended sentence and offered another apology for his deeds.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 15, 2008

LDP — a party defined by factions

Apart from one brief interval, the Liberal Democratic Party has been in power since it was formed in 1955, and every time it picks a new leader internal factions vie for power.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 15, 2008

Let them eat whales!

Whales once fueled the industrialized world. First there was wood, then coal fired its steam engines alongside seal oil and whale oil that powered and lit the age of "dark satanic mills."
COMMENTARY
Oct 13, 2008

Afghan war is unwinnable

The main purpose of British generals, it sometimes seems, is to say aloud the things that American generals (and British diplomats) think privately but dare not say in public. Things like: "We're not going to win this war."
COMMENTARY
Oct 12, 2008

More here than meets the Dow

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Should we even be listening to religious leaders when they opine on the financial crisis? Ted Sorensen, in his marvelous new book "Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History," is absolutely right to assert that in the United States, at least, "the wall between church and state...

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