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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Feb 9, 2007

Avoiding a vinferno

Midway through our life's journey as wine collectors, we found our wine refrigerator almost lost, its engine straining desperately against the summer heat. Delving into the dark wood of the cabinet to remove all the bottles would provide a chance to catalog and glorify years of strategic acquisitions...
Reader Mail
Feb 7, 2007

Bloggers should share, not sell

Regarding The Washington Post article published in The Japan Times on Jan. 16, "Advertising tieups allow bloggers to turn their hobbies into dollars": I disapprove of bloggers being paid money each time someone clicks on an image or product. One possible result of this practice is that bloggers will...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2007

U.S. man on quest to find cause of brother's death

OSAKA -- Charles Lacey's brother died mysteriously 2 1/2 years ago in Fukuoka and he's still trying to learn the cause.
EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2007

Getting heard in court

The Legislative Council, an advisory body for the justice minister, has proposed allowing victims of crime and members of their family to question defendants and witnesses as participants in trials for serious crimes such as murder, rape and kidnapping. The proposal was made in response to long-standing...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 4, 2007

Upson saga illustrates how much power today's players have on transfers

LONDON -- West Ham United should beware after signing Matthew Upson from Birmingham City.
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Feb 3, 2007

Evessa coach Tennichi influenced by Westhead

The Japan Times will feature periodic interviews with players in the bj-league -- Japan's first professional basketball circuit -- which is in its second season. Head coach Kensaku Tennichi of the Osaka Evessa is the subject of this week's profile. He led the Osaka Evessa to the bj-league's first championship...
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2007

A farce with or without a draft

Robert Lezzi's contribution to the letters' page Jan. 10 was of particular interest to me. I served two tours of duty in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, carrying out search and rescue assignments for downed pilots in the North Tonkin Gulf. While I somewhat appreciate Lezzi's seemingly cynical (perhaps...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 31, 2007

Nets likely to move Carter, maybe Kidd

NEW YORK -- Unlike the meaningful conversation the Bulls and Grizzlies are engaged in regarding Pau Gasol, nothing of any substance occurred recently when the Nets and Clippers threw out numerous names in two trade discussions.
Reader Mail
Jan 28, 2007

What passes for attractiveness

Recent moves by Spain to rein in eating disorders in the high-fashion industry by sanctioning a healthy body mass index and thereby curbing excessive skinniness among supermodels have spread to Italy and show signs of spreading to other countries as well. This is a good thing and only partly...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 26, 2007

Signing of big name like Beckham long overdue by MLS

Here we go again.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 26, 2007

'An Inconvenient Truth'

Is the world getting warmer? All sorts of anecdotal and empirical evidence, as well as what our own senses tell us, would suggest "yes." The most advanced climatological research comes up with the same answer, and places the blame primarily with the burning of fossil fuels. Against this stand a few skeptics...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 26, 2007

Jewel of the north country

At its northern tip, Japan's main island of Honshu sprouts what looks like a massive pair of pincers that reach up into the Tsugaru Strait toward Hokkaido. The point at the southern end of Hokkaido that the twin peninsulas seem to be homing in on is the port of Hakodate.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2007

Kyuma: U.S. invasion of Iraq a mistake

The U.S. invasion of Iraq was a mistake based on a faulty assumption, Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma said Wednesday in a rare criticism from Washington's closest Asian ally.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 25, 2007

Dairakudakan dancers play with Josef Nadj

Speaking in Tokyo a year ago, Josef Nadj, one of the most respected choreographers in the contemporary dance world, said that for his next project in Japan he wanted to create something playful for the audiences in collaboration with Japanese dancers and Japanese culture. The 49-year-old Yugoslav-born...
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2007

Holding off on a rate hike

The Bank of Japan's Policy Board has decided to maintain the overnight call rate, the key short-term interest rate, at 0.25 percent -- the rate it adopted last July when it scrapped its zero interest rate policy. The final conclusion of the Policy Board's discussions last week departs somewhat from BOJ...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2007

Ishihara defiant, teflon to scandal

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, an ex-transport minister, award-winning writer, Yasukuni Shrine pilgrim known for firing racist and sexist remarks from the lips, has recently drawn flak for taking pricey trips on taxpayer money and nepotism for choosing his son to work on an event he sponsored in Switzerland....
COMMENTARY
Jan 18, 2007

So much for Abe's reconciliation policy

Remember all that talk just a few months back about how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, unlike former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, was embarked on a policy of reconciliation with China?
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2007

Success for the EAS?

The second East Asian Summit (EAS) was held a month after it was originally scheduled to convene. Delay may have served the EAS well: The leaders in attendance appear to have listened to criticism that being a talk shop is not enough, that their meetings must produce tangible results. Their new mindset...
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2007

Mr. Abe's bold security agenda

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office determined to transform Japan's role in the world. That goal topped the agenda of his four-nation tour of Europe last week. Mr. Abe is ambitious but he must be cautious when considering Japanese participation in multilateral security operations.
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2007

No new U.S. strategy in Iraq

LONDON -- Repeat after me: There is no new U.S. strategy in Iraq. The allies are the same, the enemies are the same, the tactics are the same, even the new American force strength lies within the range that has prevailed since 2003.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2007

Aceh peace pays off for election victor

BRUSSELS -- After the second anniversary of Aceh's tragic tsunami, peace seems to have finally come to the troubled province. Official results of the Dec. 11 provincial elections came with the new year. They confirmed a landslide victory for one faction of the former rebels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 11, 2007

Big mouth strikes again ... and again

Is Lily Allen an outspoken genius or an unwarranted meanie? To help you decide, here are 10 of her top tongue-lashings.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 10, 2007

New light cast on capital-punishment issues

It's not especially pleasing to write about death in the first column of the New Year, but there's a lot of it about.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2007

Deja vu in 2007

Readers should be prepared for a recurring sense of deja vu in the year ahead. Few of the problems that dominated international affairs in 2006 were resolved. The headline issues that absorbed decision makers will continue to demand time and attention in 2007. There is little hope for resolution as neither...
COMMENTARY
Jan 1, 2007

Unwise gantlet for teachers

Certain professionals must pass state examinations to obtain licenses for their jobs. They include medical doctors, dentists, jurists, certified public accountants, architects, pharmacists and registered nurses, as well as primary, middle and high school teachers. Amid the severe employment situation,...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2006

First lady blog talks of Christmas with Abe, Bush bulb

The latest addition to a collection of Christmas ornaments at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's home this year came from American first lady Laura Bush, and the Abes enjoyed a cozy Christmas dinner at a singer friend's house, according to a blog recently started by Japan's first lady.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2006

First lady blog talks of Christmas with Abe, Bush bulb

The latest addition to a collection of Christmas ornaments at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's home this year came from American first lady Laura Bush, and the Abes enjoyed a cozy Christmas dinner at a singer friend's house, according to a blog recently started by Japan's first lady.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?