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Reader Mail
May 4, 2008

High Japanese suicide rate mystifies

Web pages with instructions on how to commit suicide should be illegal. Japan is already one of the countries with the worst suicide rate on the face of the Earth (more than 30,000 suicides a year). Allowing Internet sites, books, magazines etc. to show home kits on making hydrogen sulfide gas to commit...
CULTURE / Books
May 4, 2008

Japan as a land of many religions

PROPHET MOTIVE: Deguchi Onisaburo, Oomoto, and the Rise of New Religions in Imperial Japan, by Nancy K. Stalker. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2007, 265 pp., $49 (cloth) Reviewed by Florian Coulmas Japan has sometimes been called an irreligious country, but students of religion know that this...
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2008

A chance for Beijing to take a stand on health

LOS ANGELES — As matters now stand, accredited, professional journalists from Taiwan are once again being denied press passes by U.N. authorities to cover the annual World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization. This year's event takes place in Geneva on May 19. The topic is "A Safer Future:...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
May 4, 2008

Take a royal ride on the Yamaha Majesty

If scooters could talk, they'd probably spout the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield's line about not getting any respect. No one casts admiring glances their way. In fact, some bikers even seem to sneer at them, but that hasn't stopped sales from rocketing through the roof.
Reader Mail
May 4, 2008

Improve content, including letters

I have been a loyal reader of The Japan Times for the 12 years I have been here. This is my first time to write, but I am driven to address two key points. First, I agree with recent letters that the latest changes of format in this paper were ill-advised and poorly thought out. It seems to be following...
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2008

African Union has a role to play in Zimbabwe

JOHANNESBURG — Although the Chinese ship that was carrying arms to Zimbabwe, the An Yue Jiang, has reportedly turned back, we don't know where else President Robert Mugabe's military and paramilitary forces may be acquiring weapons.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 3, 2008

English clubs continue to flex muscles in Europe

LONDON — England's national team may not be traveling anywhere in Europe this summer, but the two best teams in the Premier League will meet in an English derby in the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21.
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2008

Rule of law comes under fire

The government's reactions to the Nagoya High Court's April 17 decision that Japanese operations in Iraq are unconstitutional, raise profoundly disturbing questions about the rule of law and the democratic separation of powers in Japan.
JAPAN
May 2, 2008

Bill ties visa to language skills

Looking to encourage Japanese language learning among foreigners, the government is set to submit a bill to the Diet next year designed to make it easier for those who demonstrate a certain level of language proficiency to get visas of up to five years, a government study group said Thursday in an interim...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2008

JT expects loss from 'gyoza' aftermath

Japan Tobacco Inc. said Thursday it expects group operating profit for the business year to March 2009 to fall 27.8 percent from a year earlier to ¥311 billion because of the lingering impact of the tainted Chinese dumplings scare.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 2, 2008

Mother-and-baby massage, gourmet Africa and a diplomatic feast

A break for mom and baby For those women seeking a well-deserved break from looking after their newborn, the Hilton Tokyo in Shinjuku has put together a luxury treatment plan for mothers and their babies.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / GRAND OLD HOTELS
May 2, 2008

High in the Mampei

In mid-April, Karuizawa is quiet but for the buzz of saws and taps of hammers readying shops for the tourist season. Many shops, few of which rise higher than two stories, remain shuttered until then, and the streetscape surprises after the lofty skylines of Tokyo. But Karuizawa, in eastern Nagano Prefecture,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2008

New trade deal would boost world economy

PARIS — Governments around the world face weakening economies and soaring food prices. Amid the hand-wringing, an important and immediate step they can take to help would be to agree on a new multilateral trade deal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 1, 2008

EC to G8: Match our ambitious carbon goals

The European Commission will push members of the Group of Eight industrialized countries to equal the European Union's commitment to fighting global warming when the G8 summit opens in July in the hot-spring resort of Toyako, Hokkaido, a senior EC official said.
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

More smoking regulations, please

I applaud Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa for his efforts to ban smoking in public places in the prefecture ("Kanagawa eyes wide-reaching smoking ban," April 16). This is a necessary measure that the central government should have put in place a long time ago. I hope that other governors will follow...
JAPAN
May 1, 2008

Gas tax bill is rammed through Diet

If you forgot to fill up your gas tank last night, you're out of luck.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2008

Food crisis endangering millions

BRUSSELS — The World Trade Organization (WTO) is in the last throes of its Doha Development Round negotiations, the European Union is currently undertaking a "health check" on its Common Agricultural Policy and the whole world is opening biofuel plants as a technological fix to curb CO2 emissions and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2008

Halls of light in a city of horses

Something for everyone — that seems to be the motto for the new Towada Art Center in Aomori Prefecture. With cash in hand and a desire to see their town turn around, Towada has banked on art as a way to bring back vitality to an area that has lacked it of late.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2008

Painting a hazy shade of ego

One of the words most often associated with the art of Kaii Higashiyama is spiritual.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji