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COMMENTARY
Jan 30, 2009

Dreaming of a pound floor

LONDON — These are dark times, especially for Britain: The pound sterling is dropping like a stone; the huge British financial sector, a major part of the British economy, has shrunk dramatically; unemployment is rising; and the stock market is looking sicker by the day. Britain is now officially in...
COMMENTARY
Jan 29, 2009

Pakistan key to Afghan war

U.S. President Barack Obama is right to talk about "the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan" and the need to evolve an integrated U.S. strategy toward these two closely tied countries. But even as he has embarked on some major steps, his evolving strategy does not suggest a meaningful...
JAPAN
Jan 27, 2009

Dolphin slaughter film a hit at Sundance

Standing ovations greeted the judges' verdict Sunday that the documentary "The Cove" had won the prestigious U.S. Audience Award at the 25th annual Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 25, 2009

Larrikin notions of civilization

TRAVELS IN ATOMIC SUNSHINE: Australia and the Occupation of Japan, by Robin Gerster. Scribe Publications, 2008, 336 pp., $49.95 (cloth) Robin Gerster is a respected university- based researcher into recent Australian history. This, his latest book, is a very well-written and very detailed account of...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 25, 2009

Larrikin notions of civilization

Robin Gerster is a respected university- based researcher into recent Australian history. This, his latest book, is a very well-written and very detailed account of Australia's brief attempt (1946-1952) to occupy and "civilize" its large northern neighbor, Japan. The result, needless to say, was less...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 24, 2009

The language game — here's what not to do

Life is full of stupid moves.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2009

2channel founder ponders next step after forum's sale

A short message recently posted on Hiroyuki Nishimura's personal blog sent shock waves across the online community. In a single sentence dated Jan. 2, he announced that he had sold 2channel, his wildly popular Internet forum.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 24, 2009

Poor beginnings help nurture get-up-and-go

Natalia Roschina feels frustrated. Frustrated at complaints about a bad economy and frustrated at people not taking the initiative to better their situation. Instead of dwelling on the dismal state of economic affairs, the entrepreneur wants to lead by example, improving herself, growing her business,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2009

Magnetic speaker's words resonate with masses

When Tsutomu Toyama first read Barack Obama's November victory speech, he was deeply impressed, both by the choice of language and the message conveyed.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 18, 2009

Of orphans and granddaughters

When I was 10 years old, I found a book titled "Akage no An" ("Anne with Red Hair") in a library. It was a Japanese translation of "Anne of Green Gables" written by Canadian novelist Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) in 1908.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 18, 2009

Urban hogs dig Setagaya

From the outside Yukihiko Yoshioka's property could easily be mistaken for a traditional Japanese-style house with a small garden. After all, this is Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, a premier residential neighborhood in central Tokyo, and Yoshioka's property is only a few minutes' walk from the local shopping...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 10, 2009

NPO told to stop feeding homeless

The nonprofit organization Sanyukai, which aids the homeless in Tokyo's Sanya district, has been ordered by the metropolitan government to stop handing out its weekly free meals along the Sumida River because local residents are complaining, the volunteer group's chief said Friday.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 7, 2009

Barkley lives up to reputation as buffoon

NEW YORK — To Charles Barkley's credit, his capacity for audacity and proclivity for stupidity are unrivaled in NBA annals.
JAPAN / History
Jan 7, 2009

Ministry pulled protest to NYT over family mine POW claim: Aso

Prime Minister Taro Aso admitted Tuesday that the Foreign Ministry deleted a written protest to The New York Times from its Web site last month after finding evidence that a company run by his family during World War II used Allied POWs to work its coal mines.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 4, 2009

A nation adrift cries out for new visions fired by anger and sorrow

Every era in the life of a country begs for creators to define it and give it momentum for its society to progress. Politicians, economists and bureaucrats seem to believe that culture rides on the wave of the economy — but the opposite is true. It is on progressive waves of culture that economic achievement...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Jan 4, 2009

Kinjo's shooting sparks Ryukyu

Never underestimate the value of a consistent shooter.
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Jan 3, 2009

Recalling Nagasaki's fateful day

The city has long been rebuilt and moved on, but Hiroshi Ito still can't come to grips with Nagasaki's obliteration by the United States 63 years ago.
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2008

Premium burger sales sizzle in recession

Despite of, or maybe because of, the recession, hamburger chains are doing a brisk business as they introduce premium fare.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 30, 2008

Foreign university faculty face annual round of 'musical jobs'

Universities in Japan force most of their foreign instructors to play an unnerving version of musical chairs. Every year the music starts and instructors with expiring contracts scramble for an opening at a new school. University administrators force teachers to play "musical jobs" by offering limited-term...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 28, 2008

ONE for ALL

Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2008

Watanabe vies for change

A snap election is the most effective way to clear the "sense of stagnation" prevailing in Japan, Lower House reformist Yoshimi Watanabe of the Liberal Democratic Party told The Japan Times after voting Wednesday for an opposition resolution to this end.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2008

Aso failing to lead LDP to promised land

When Taro Aso became prime minister in September, he was chosen by his peers in the Liberal Democratic Party as the man who would reverse their declining ratings. But after three months of the extraordinary Diet session, which closes Thursday, Aso's Cabinet already seems to be in trouble.
Reader Mail
Dec 25, 2008

Madoff's greatest talent

Recent news articles covering the activities of Bernard Madoff, a brilliant financier for the times, make a compelling case that he be considered for the Nobel Prize in economics next year. His absolute great talent was to make people feel comfortable in turning their money over to him for great returns. ...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years