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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.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2008

State of Korean democracy

Recent National Assembly elections laid bare both the strengths and weaknesses of South Korean democracy. South Korea proved once again to be one of most dynamic democracies in the world, but unless both lawmakers and citizens confront shortcomings in the election rules and political parties, South Korea's...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2008

A failure to influence Bush

HONG KONG — Five years after the toppling of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the United States has precious little to show for its $3 trillion war, except for more than 4,000 American military dead (1,000 more than perished in the World Trade Center attacks of 9/11), 150,000 Iraqis killed, 1.5 million...
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2008

Yamaha makes music fun for all

Yamaha Corp. is releasing a next-generation musical instrument, the Tenori-on, which the company claims allows people to intuitively create and play music by pressing 256 colorfully illuminated buttons.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 29, 2008

What are your plans for Golden Week?

BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 28, 2008

Closing of global mind bodes ill for future of globalization

"The Closing of the American Mind" is a book that no doubt many readers will be familiar with. As an indictment of higher education and the corrosion of the intellect in 1980s America, this book caused a sensation and earned well deserved acclaim. I am reminded of this title because we seem to be suffering...
Reader Mail
Apr 27, 2008

Autonomy won't work for Tibet

Is Tom Plate sure Tibet and Hong Kong can be viewed and treated in the same way? While "One country, two systems" works for Hong Kong, I don't see how it could function in Tibet. Hong Kong possesses the expertise to manage and grow its economy. But Tibet has only managed Tibetan Buddhism and the serfdom...
Reader Mail
Apr 27, 2008

Moral 'progress' is debatable

Professor Peter Singer's April 17 article, "Have we finally achieved moral progress?," is insightful and interesting. He is right in that we have made progress in the areas of racial and gender equality. Our Eastern societies need more gender equality. Nevertheless, Singer's views are Eurocentric in...

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