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JAPAN / Q&A
May 15, 2007

What follows from passage of Constitution referendum bill?

The Diet on Monday passed a bill to establish procedures for a national referendum to revise the Constitution. The bill was a key agenda item for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a conservative who has repeatedly stressed his intention to revise the Constitution, which was drafted in 1947 under the Allied...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 15, 2007

What kind of news do you like to read/watch?

BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 13, 2007

5,000 victories, throwback uniforms and the oiribukuro

In commemoration of their 5,000th victory in the history of the franchise, the Yomiuri Giants will wear throwback uniforms during some interleague games next month.
Reader Mail
May 13, 2007

More America bashing?

David Howell's April 27 article "America the not so beautiful" was an interesting read, but his argument contained too many holes and became another example of the kind of America bashing that is becoming quite popular in today's British press.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2007

Strategic error poisoned Blair's legacy

LONDON — Tony Blair has a powerful claim to being one of the most successful British politicians of any recent generation, at least in domestic economic and social policy. But history will remember him mainly for his strategic error in going to war in Iraq.
Reader Mail
May 13, 2007

Obara ruling disgraceful

I was astonished and outraged at the acquittal of Joji Obara in the Lucy Blackman rape and murder case. If Blackman did not get the justice that she deserved, at least her case will open eyes and make people question the quality of police forensic work and, above all, the credibility of the entire judiciary...
JAPAN
May 12, 2007

Constitution referendum bill clears key committee

has been asked to cooperate (in the international community) and we ourselves need to protect the lives and assets of the people, and it is natural that we discuss what is (a suitable) new Constitution." The Constitution stipulates that any changes to the charter must be approved by a two-thirds majority...
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2007

Mr. Abe's Yasukuni offering

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has not visited Yasukuni Shrine since he came to power in September 2006 (although he visited it in April that year while he was chief Cabinet secretary). Now it has surfaced that he recently donated 50,000 yen to dedicate evergreen "sakaki" trees for the war shrine's annual...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 12, 2007

One sure way to build your Japanese vocabulary

I'll never forget the first time I went to city hall in Japan to talk about the national health insurance plan. The man behind the desk explained the whole scheme in perfect Japanese, which at that time was perfectly unintelligible to me.
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2007

Qualified sense of fair play

The high-school baseball spring and summer tournaments at Koshien Stadium in Hyogo Prefecture are national events. People love the games because of the young players' clean image and spirit of fair play. But findings by the Japan High School Baseball Federation show that most participating high schools...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2007

'Just for Kicks'

It's funny how sometimes a film will think it's one thing when actually it's something else entirely. Take, for example, "Just For Kicks." This MTV-affiliated documentary directed by Thibaut de Longeville is under the impression that it's about sneakers, sneaker mania and hip-hop. But anyone who watches...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 11, 2007

Peace is found in a historic town

Not since my Adidas-donning days in my hometown Croydon (famous as the breeding ground of chavs) in southeast London, have I ridden trams around town, and even then it was only to pick up a Chinese take-away and buy the odd large hoop earring. So, when I visited Nagasaki with a couple of friends, touring...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 10, 2007

KDDI winning number portability war

KDDI Corp., taking full advantage of the number portability system, said Wednesday that it added a net 249,400 new subscribers in April compared with only 65,800 for NTT DoCoMo Inc., the nation's largest mobile phone operator.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2007

France embarks on the right revolution

WARSAW — Is France about to exchange the fake revolution of May 1968 for a sham counter-revolution this year, or have the French given Nicolas Sarkozy a mandate for real change to modernize their country?
JAPAN
May 9, 2007

Abe made offering to Yasukuni Shrine instead of visiting

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe chose not to visit Yasukuni Shrine last month during its spring festival but did make a 50,000 yen private offering, a Yasukuni spokeswoman said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 9, 2007

Softbank profit jumps thanks to Vodafone buy

Softbank Corp. posted a record high operating profit of 271 billion yen in its business year to last March, up from 62.3 billion yen the year before thanks to its purchase of British cell phone giant Vodafone Group PLC's struggling Japan unit in April 2006.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 9, 2007

BYO cool air and pet stress patches

Climbing Mount Fuji is a right of passage that comes with a price tag. Just breathing at that elevated altitude is a challenge. Technology offers a solution, at a cost, with canned oxygen. An object of some ridicule during the climb's early stages, it is a blessed relief near the top. Now, strutting...
SUMO
May 8, 2007

Hakuho for yokozuna or Asashoryu to block his path?

In the days leading up to the May 5th Yokozuna Soken training session at the Ryogoku Kokugikan the Japanese media was abuzz with things sumo.
COMMENTARY
May 8, 2007

Groom Japan's gifted students

On April 11, the public broadcaster NHK's program "Close-up Gendai (Current Affairs)" took up the issue of the International Science Olympiads (ISOs) for middle- and high-school students. The competition tests knowledge in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, informatics, astronomy and other areas...

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