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JAPAN
Jan 28, 2010

Ozawa's sway over DPJ remains absolute

Defying prosecutors and claiming his innocence over a shady 2004 land purchase, Ichiro Ozawa has shown no indications of giving up his status as the administration's kingpin.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2010

It doesn't pay to appease China

LONDON — When former Czech President Vaclav Havel knocked on the door of the Chinese Embassy in Prague to demand the release of the writer Liu Xiaobo, I had an eerie sense of deja vu. Thirty-three years ago, Havel helped initiate Charter 77, the landmark document that crystallized the ideals of all...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 24, 2010

'The wartime leaders of Japan were heroes'

General Toshio Tamogami, 61, was the chief of staff of Japan's Air Self-Defense Force between March 2007 and November 2008 despite having a history of lobbing verbal missiles at "leftists," China and Japan's so-called war-renouncing Constitution. In 2008, he pulled these and other themes together in...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2010

Stop the presses — foreign media pulling out of Japan

Major foreign media outlets are leaving Japan in droves, a sign of financial difficulties at home as the news industry struggles with falling advertising revenue. But observers note that Japan is also losing its appeal as the most newsworthy country in Asia, with China now the hot spot.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2010

Narrowed gap in Ukraine

LONDON — Yulia Tymoshenko, Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych were once called the "eternal triangle" of Ukrainian politics, but eternity is not what it used to be. One side of the triangle has disappeared.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2010

Hatoyama assailed in Diet

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was put on the defensive Wednesday over recent remarks appearing to encourage Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa to fight prosecutors over allegations of his involvement in a money scandal.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 20, 2010

'New' hope, anxiety in Japan's Kanji of the Year

As the first decade of the 21st century drew to a close, the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation conducted its 15th annual Kanji of the Year poll, inviting the nation to decide which single kanji best symbolized 2009.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2010

Treaty withstands strains of time, politics

OSAKA — A half century after it was signed, the 1960 Japan-U.S. security treaty remains the foundation for bilateral cooperation, even as the world it was forged in has changed drastically.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2010

Ozawa scandal dogs start of Diet session

The 150-day regular Diet session convened Monday with the money scandals embroiling Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa and Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expected to snarl efforts by the ruling bloc to pass budget and other bills.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2010

Ozawa vows to fight on as DPJ puts on brave face

Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa vowed Saturday to fight on despite the arrests of his key aides over a political funds scandal that could hurt voter support ahead of July's Upper House election.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2010

Ex-Ozawa secretary spills beans

Tension ratcheted up a few notches at Democratic Party of Japan headquarters this week when prosecutors raided DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa's office in connection with a shady Tokyo land purchase by the kingpin's fund management body.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2010

Funds scandals risk DPJ Diet plans

The Democratic Party of Japan-led government kicks off its first ordinary Diet session Monday focusing primarily on fighting the recession, but Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will also be forced to deal with DPJ money scandals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 15, 2010

'Blue Gold: World Water Wars'/'A Perfect Getaway'

In 1855, the Suquamish Chief Seattle was asked to sell his land to the United States government. The chief was puzzled by the request: "The president in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? The land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2010

Kremlin two-step: modernize or marginalize

MOSCOW — Westerners often see Russian politics in terms of a high-level struggle between liberals and conservatives: Ligachev and Yakovlev under Mikhail Gorbachev; reformers and nationalists under Boris Yeltsin; siloviki and economic liberals under Vladimir Putin.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 10, 2010

First Snow

"Tamaki-kun! It's you, isn't it?" Startled, the man looked up from the book he'd been perusing. He stared at the woman in bewilderment. "Yes, my name is Tamaki . . . "
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 10, 2010

Evessa star says merger best bet for hoops in Japan

Osaka Evessa power forward Lynn Washington brings a strong presence to the basketball court, using his full array of skills to consistently earn praise as one of the elite players in Japan.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2010

An expert and ally resigns

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii on Wednesday became the first member of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet to resign. Mr. Hatoyama picked Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan as his successor.
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2010

Okinawans frustrated by Futenma standoff

GINOWAN, Okinawa Pref. — When the U.S. took over the airfield here in the closing days of World War II, it was surrounded by sugar cane fields and the smoldering battlegrounds of Okinawa. It is now the focus of a deepening dispute that is testing Japan's security alliance with the United States and...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2010

Facing a time of many tests

LONDON — This is a tough time to be a decision-maker. We live in an era of low predictability. The world appears in constant flux. The challenges are immense. And most of all, there is in many instances a clash between the correct short-term politics and the correct long-term policy.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2010

Pipeline politics in Central Asia

The opening early last month of a new Central Asia-China gas pipeline is the latest demonstration of Beijing's growing influence over the natural resources of the region. China's voracious appetite for energy resources has led to intriguing developments in its relationship with Russia and its Central...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 3, 2010

Jake Adelstein: Insider reaching out

Author Joshua "Jake" Adelstein supposes that if he'd stayed home in rural Missouri and had never come to Japan, he'd probably have become a small-town lawyer or a very happy detective on the local police force.

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