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EDITORIALS
May 20, 2009

Guns fall silent in Sri Lanka

It's over. Asia's longest running civil war has ended. After a vicious offensive by the Sri Lankan government, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have laid down their weapons. This is a long-sought end to a savage and bloody conflict. The test now is whether the Sri Lankan government will address...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2009

With election looming, Hatoyama must act fast to win over public

Newly elected Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama has a maximum of four months to convince voters to oust the party his grandfather founded from five decades of government rule.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
May 19, 2009

Veteran Tokyo journalist convinced some things just never change

Having lived in Japan for 45 years, 70-year-old British journalist Henry Scott Stokes has seen Japan go through more changes than virtually any other foreign resident has.
COMMENTARY
May 19, 2009

Parliament under attack

LONDON — The Mother of Parliaments at Westminster is in deep trouble. Housed in its venerable Thames-side palace — an instantly recognized icon of democracy around the world — it is today filled with anxious legislators who feel a mixture of anger, apprehension and bewilderment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 19, 2009

Who would you like to see leading the opposition Democratic Party of Japan?

Keiichi Kamikawa Musician, 38 Katsuya Okada would make a great leader because he's serious and direct. I think he would be a good challenger for Taro Aso, who's not an effective leader.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 17, 2009

Hatoyama elected head of DPJ

Democratic Party of Japan chose Yukio Hatoyama as its new president Saturday by a relatively large margin over Katsuya Okada, who was the more popular candidate among the public in opinion polls.
JAPAN
May 17, 2009

Kinder, gentler society pledged

For newly elected Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama, it's all about the love.
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2009

Hurdles to a Japanese F-22

North Korea's return to saber-rattling has brought military affairs back to the top of the Japan-U.S. agenda. As many Japanese continue to have — unfounded — doubts about the commitment of the Obama administration to the bilateral alliance, they are pushing for Washington to allow Japan to purchase...
JAPAN
May 13, 2009

Okada, Hatoyama top picks in DPJ field

Former Democratic Party of Japan leaders Katsuya Okada and Yukio Hatoyama emerged Tuesday as the most likely replacements for President Ichiro Ozawa ahead of the pivotal general election later this year.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2009

Ozawa weighs next move

The attention of many political observers appears to be focused on when and how, rather than if, Ichiro Ozawa will step down as the leader of the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan before the next general election due to take place no later than September.
LIFE
May 10, 2009

Toilet trend gets political correctness down to a 'p'

Nothing reflects the balance of power between the sexes quite like toilet politics.
EDITORIALS
May 10, 2009

World press freedom

In the middle of the Golden Week Holidays, newspapers around the world recognized their own special day on May 3: World Press Freedom Day. Officially established in 1993 by the U.N. General Assembly and organized annually by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), the day offers an annual report on...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2009

'W.'

Some things don't require a lot of explanation. If I were to tell you I was planning a barbecue in my kitchen, filled my sink with kerosene and reached for a lighter, you wouldn't need to stick around to guess what happens.
JAPAN
May 6, 2009

Calls to revise organ law grow as lawmakers debate various plans

When Yasuto Katagiri asked New York's Columbia University in February to perform a heart transplant on Hoku, his 2-year-old son suffering from a rare form of heart disease called restrictive cardiomyopathy, the university had to turn him down because its 5 percent limit for accepting foreign transplant...
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2009

Cannes set to sparkle in a depressing year

The Cannes Film Festival will unreel May 13, although the global recession has damped business at the picturesque French seaside resort renowned for its rich playboys and beautiful women.
Reader Mail
Apr 30, 2009

Righteous indignation misplaced

I must say that I am astonished at the mean-spirited, not to say vindictive tone of some readers' letters applauding the expulsion of the Calderon family. What on earth happened to common sense and human decency? According to these smug finger-waggers, the Calderons were justly punished for committing...
BUSINESS
Apr 30, 2009

Rengo-staged May Day rally draws 36,000

Expressing solidarity at a time of employment crisis, nearly 36,000 regular and temporary workers turned out Wednesday for the 80th annual May Day rally organized by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo) in Tokyo's Yoyogi Park.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 27, 2009

Investigation into DJP aide raises many questions

Were the public prosecutors politically motivated when they arrested and indicted a top aide to the leader of the No. 1 opposition party for seemingly minor charges? Why were the actions taken at a time when Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, is said to have a fair chance of leading...
JAPAN
Apr 27, 2009

Hereditary politicians a fact of life

What does Prime Minister Taro Aso have in common with predecessors Yasuo Fukuda, Shinzo Abe, Junichiro Koizumi and Yoshiro Mori, and others who came before them?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2009

Why China will continue to back Pyongyang

BRUSSELS — In another move to raise the stakes, the dictator of Pyongyang has just decided to restart his nuclear program. And who is going to stop him, now that his long-range rocket can hit parts of the American West Coast? At least in theory. During the recent test, it took him days to prepare the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2009

JCP basks in discontent as faith in capitalism crumbles

Under a big red flag, the Japanese Communist Party's headquarters stand as the center of a vibrant grassroots movement.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 21, 2009

Japan's many roads to ruin

While there are many roads to democracy and prosperity, in Japan it is roads that may take the country in a different direction. In their latest book on construction in Japan, "Doro o do suru ka" ("What to do about the roads?"), lawyer Takayoshi Igarashi and journalist Akio Ogawa paint a bleak picture...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 19, 2009

Chiba's governor may soon be whisked away to his home planet

In the latest installment of Suntory's series of TV commericals for Boss canned coffee, the extraterrestrial Tommy Lee Jones, who has been sent to Earth to study the human race, runs for governor of an unnamed prefecture and wins by a landslide. The excitement is short-lived, though, as his inappropriate...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 17, 2009

Sparks plug away toward ultimate entertainment

Most successful pop musicians live in a strange world. Several years ago, Bono shocked conservative sensibilities and delighted antiestablishment types by uttering the F-word at the Grammys, but he was not being rebellious. The word slipped out because he was excited about receiving an award from the...
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2009

Human nature remains constant

Regarding the April 3 article "Lost & Found: Cache of mislaid Edo Period photos resurface in Berlin": It is interesting to see how the personal politics of 1861 are no different than today. People hired for political reasons, a jealous artist undermining new technology and historical documents closed...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2009

A sense of drift pervades Indian democracy

LONDON — As the largest democracy in the world enters into the campaign phase for its 15th parliamentary elections, it seems preoccupied with trivialities: Which Bollywood actor will contest? Which Nehru-Gandhi family scion will be the prime ministerial candidate? Will various regional satraps come...

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