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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 31, 2004

The buck for abuse once stopped at the top

NEW YORK -- One of the early explanations proffered for "Iraq prison abuse" was the U.S. military's failure to foresee the large numbers of Iraqis they would round up. This explanation (included in the May 9 New York Times article "In Abuse, a Picture of G.I.'s Ill Prepared and Overwhelmed") lost credibility...
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2004

Unsung heroism

The Abu Ghraib prison scandal, still far from over, has prompted a lot of reflection and a fair degree of consensus in the United States. Some, like U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, may quibble over whether the treatment meted out to Iraqi prisoners constituted "abuse" rather than "torture,"...
EDITORIALS
May 29, 2004

Reinstating a jury system

Japan is set to introduce a new criminal trial system by the end of this decade, in which professional and lay judges will deal with major cases on an equal footing. A judicial reform bill calling for the creation of the saiban-in (citizen judge) system passed the Upper House last week, making it certain...
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

Attack on journalists prompts chorus of 'responsibility' mantras

Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers again banged the drum of "self-responsibility" on Friday, following an overnight attack on a vehicle carrying two freelance Japanese journalists in Iraq.
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

Aum cultist to hang for role in sarin gas attack

The Tokyo High Court sentenced former senior Aum Shinrikyo member Yoshihiro Inoue to death on Friday, overturning a lower court ruling of life in prison.
JAPAN
May 29, 2004

British ambassador looks to deepen global partnership

Japan and Britain should deepen their partnership on global matters, including dispute settlements, British Ambassador to Japan Stephen Gomersall said in a recent speech in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY
May 29, 2004

Evolutionary astrologer charts your life and soul

Days that suggest difficulty can flow with ease, and those that appear simple and uncomplicated leave one spinning in puzzlement.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 28, 2004

World Sports Awards a great but flawed concept

Don't you hate it when you are presented with something that is sold as being all-encompassing, only to find out is it not?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 28, 2004

Rockin' till dawn in the heart of suburbia

Kichijoji is a good 20 minutes west of Shibuya on an express train, which places it smack dab in the middle of Tokyo's suburban belt. As such, it's the last place one would think of finding a bar dedicated to rock culture -- let alone one with a pedigree spanning a quarter of a century and with a provocative...
JAPAN
May 28, 2004

Diet cracks down on overstayers, widens door for refugees

The Diet on Thursday enacted a law that toughens penalties imposed on illegal aliens in Japan -- but expands the window of opportunity for prospective asylum-seekers.
JAPAN
May 28, 2004

Visiting Iraqis thank Japan, criticize Foreign Ministry

A group of Iraqis visiting from the southern Iraqi city of Samawah thanked Japan on Thursday for the reconstruction work carried out by the Ground Self-Defense Force troops.
COMMENTARY / World
May 28, 2004

New democracy masters coalition-building

HONG KONG -- Ironically, at a time when the United States is trying to bring instant democracy to the Middle East, Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world, is undergoing a complex, three-tiered democratic election virtually unnoticed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 27, 2004

Soaring soybean prices hurt tofu makers

A historic rise in soybean prices driven by soaring demand in China is dealing a heavy blow to Japanese makers of traditional staples such as tofu and soy sauce.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 27, 2004

Wood-boring beetle

* Japanese name: Ubatamamushi * Scientific name: Chalcophora japonica * Description: This beetle belongs to a group called the Buprestids. They are bullet-shaped and are often metallic-colored, though this species has brown and black stripes running the length of the body, which is flecked with gold....
JAPAN
May 27, 2004

Group sues over embryo diagnosis ban

Maternity clinic doctors and their clients on Wednesday sued the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology for curbing the controversial preimplantation diagnosis of embryos to prevent transmission of genetic diseases.
COMMENTARY
May 27, 2004

What Asians tend to think of America

LOS ANGELES -- Asia -- home to something like 60 percent of the earth's people -- is a vast multitude of ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultures.
JAPAN
May 27, 2004

Japan mayors protest U.S. nuke test

The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Wednesday protested an overnight U.S. subcritical nuclear test, while antinuclear organizations staged protest rallies in Tokyo.
JAPAN
May 26, 2004

Ministry releases work-related illness data

A total of 312 people became eligible for workers' compensation due to brain and heart illnesses induced by excessive work in fiscal 2003, according to labor ministry statistics released Tuesday.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2004

Japan Post reports 2003 net profit

Japan Post said Tuesday it posted a consolidated net profit of 2.3 trillion yen for its mail delivery, postal savings and "kampo" life insurance businesses for fiscal 2003.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2004

EU objects to Sony-BMG music merger

The European Commission has sent a statement to the music units of Japan's Sony Corp. and Germany's Bertelsmann AG, objecting to a proposed merger between the two units, a Sony official said Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 26, 2004

Ministry releases work-related illness data

A total of 312 people became eligible for workers' compensation due to brain and heart illnesses induced by excessive work in fiscal 2003, according to labor ministry statistics released Tuesday.
JAPAN
May 25, 2004

70% positive on Koizumi trip: poll

Nearly 70 percent of respondents to a latest Kyodo News poll gave a positive assessment of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's one-day visit to North Korea on Saturday, but as many as 83.9 percent said they think the abduction issue remains unresolved.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes