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CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 7, 2010

The secret story of Minako Honda; Japan vs. the world; CM of the week: Asahi's Wonda

Singer Minako Honda, who died in 2005 at the age of 38, was not your average idol singer. As a girl she dreamed of becoming an enka (Japanese ballad) star, but her agency didn't have any connection to enka. Since she was cute they sold her as a pop singer, and for a while she was successful as a saucy...
COMMENTARY
Nov 7, 2010

Erosion of Argentina's wealth and work ethic

BUENOS AIRES — Perhaps there is no better observation of the government of Argentine President Cristina Kirchner than the one given by Mario Vargas Llosa, the latest Nobel laureate in literature. Vargas Llosa said Kirchner was leading a corruption-riddled government.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 7, 2010

Freedom, friendship and love: a recipe for true happiness

The challenge to which this installment of "Big in Japan" seeks to rise is that of happiness. Is it possible, in these grim, sad, threatening times, to write a happy story without doing violence to journalistic relevance?
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 6, 2010

Zenit, CSKA advance from Europa groups

LONDON (AP) Zenit St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow were among four teams to clinch their places in the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday, continuing Russia's strong recent showings in Europe's second-tier club competition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 5, 2010

A journey inside the mind of Lafcadio Hearn

One hundred and twenty years ago, Greek-Irish writer Lafcadio Hearn first arrived in Japan; in Matsue, a provincial backwater in Shimane Prefecture, he became Koizumi Yakumo — his adopted Japanese name. Enamored with the city's ancient and enduring culture, he married into a local samurai family: No...
COMMENTARY
Nov 4, 2010

Biodiversity and small mercies

Sometimes we have to be grateful for small mercies. The deal on biodiversity that more than 190 countries agreed to in Nagoya last Friday was, as these things usually are, "a day late and a dollar short," but it's a lot better than nothing. It's even better than most people expected.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 2, 2010

Toilets: Japan power behind throne

Japan, the state-of-the-art high-tech powerhouse that gave the world manga and sushi, has also achieved prowess in a more fundamental feature of daily life: the toilet.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 31, 2010

Deal called biggest since '97 Kyoto pact

NAGOYA — Nearly two decades after its creation, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity has finally realized one of its main goals.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 31, 2010

Okinawan garden majesty

The world's first gardens may well have been made of coral, natural clusters of underwater beauty that could be glimpsed through the transparent water. Perfectly tone-coordinated, balanced and formed, they were refined by nature to a degree that may have suggested the divine.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Oct 28, 2010

Ryokan owner Kazushi Sato

Kazushi Sato, 63, is the owner of Tsurunoyu Onsen, a hot-spring ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Akita Prefecture. Nestled within beech woods deep in the mountains, Tsurunoyu is surrounded by natural beauty — bears wander freely, feasting on mountain grapes, and edible wild mushrooms grow in enough...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Oct 27, 2010

Surviving in Japan (without much Japanese)

Living in Japan without speaking the native language comes with its challenges. Ashley Thompson is tackling them one at a time, and blogging about her experiences at Surviving in Japan (without much Japanese) . Originally from Seattle, Wash., Thompson moved to Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Oct 26, 2010

Plans for public space need the public's input

Dear Prime Minister Naoto Kan,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 26, 2010

Foreigners victims, perpetrators of sekuhara

When "Tracy," an American then in her late 20s, started her career in Japan as a JET instructor at a high school in Kagoshima nearly 20 years ago, nothing in her training could have prepared her for what she witnessed.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 24, 2010

Flood control: Destroying neighborhoods to save them

If there was ever an example of government overspending, the long-term flood control project involving super-levees would be it.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2010

Stabilization of Afghanistan could serve as cornerstone of NATO-Russia foundation

BRUSSELS — When I gave my first public speech as NATO secretary general just over a year ago, I focused on the NATO-Russia relationship, because I believe it is crucial for global, not just European, security. At that time, I thought the relationship to be in urgent need of repair, and that the North...
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2010

Still a closed country?

At the end of September a first group of 18 refugees from Myanmar arrived in Japan as part of a commendable government initiative to take in roughly 90 such immigrants over the next three years. These members of the Karen ethnic group have been living for many years in a refugee camp in Thailand after...
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 24, 2010

Some participants' hopes for COP10

The Japan Times asked delegates and other COP10 participants what their top priorities are at the conference. Many mentioned an Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Protocol that is currently the subject of intense negotiations. This would determine how companies and researchers gain access to and distribute...
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 22, 2010

Anime fan pilgrimages help boost tourism

Fans paying tribute to their favorite anime and games are helping to boost tourism in both popular sightseeing spots and those off the beaten path.
JAPAN / LIVING IN LUXURY
Oct 22, 2010

Diplomat's House a Victorian original on Yamate bluff

Just a five-minute walk from JR Ishikawacho Station on the Keihin-Tohoku Line, an old Victorian-style building known as the Diplomat's House stands on a bluff overlooking Yokohama.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2010

On track to succeed Mr. Hu Jintao

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping was appointed vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission during the Fifth Plenary Session of the 17th CCP's Central Committee — a four-day event which ended on Monday. The appointment set the 57-year-old Mr. Xi, who now holds the No....
BUSINESS
Oct 19, 2010

Domestic production situation tough but here to stay: Toyoda

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda denied Monday the automaker is stepping up efforts to transfer production bases overseas even though the surging yen has made auto production costly at home.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 19, 2010

Gaba teachers challenge 'contractor' status

Long accustomed to being ignored, being forgotten proved too much to take for unionized teachers at Gaba language school. On Oct. 4, the General Union registered an official complaint and request for an investigation with the Ministry of Finance's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC)....
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2010

Measure of a healthy planet

Since their appearance on Earth, humans have developed by using plants and animals for food, clothing, residences, medicines and other purposes. Ecosystems are the basis of human existence. This basic fact does not change no matter how much industrial civilizations may progress. An important measure...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan