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EDITORIALS
Feb 6, 2008

Going after Google

The high-technology world is abuzz following Microsoft Corporation's $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo! Inc. last week. The takeover is an assault on Google's dominance of the online world, and on paper the two companies make a good match. But there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the deal's eventual...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 6, 2008

Talking sense about deer

We were filming a television documentary in the mountains of Hokkaido. It was winter, and bitterly cold. Through the trees, bare of leaves, we could see floe ice, dotted with eagles, gulls, crows and a few ravens. Then a raucous gathering of crows ahead drew our attention and we trudged through the crisp...
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2008

View from newsstand on a clear day

Regarding the Jan. 30 Kyodo article "Wrapping comes off Japan's second-tallest condo complex": Don't you think that citing the tallest condo is important? Or was that not mentioned in the press release? The latest quake-resistant technology? Do tell.
EDITORIALS
Feb 2, 2008

Making an impact on tourism

The government plans to inaugurate a Tourism Agency in October as an extra-ministerial bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The new agency will be aimed at attracting overseas visitors to Japan as their tourist destination and to make tourism an important industry of the nation....
CULTURE / Film
Jan 31, 2008

Humanist harks back to cinema's golden age

How many directors make great movies after turning 70? John Huston did it with "The Dead," likewise Akira Kurosawa with "Ran" and Clint Eastwood with "Letters from Iwo Jima," but the numbers are few.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 31, 2008

Tilting the balance back to darkness

In the minds of casual observers, Japan is simple. Between lovers of tradition and those enraptured by Japan's quirky window into an urban future, it's either the former land of austere, honorable warriors or the current one of air-headed, emotionally overwrought manga characters.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 30, 2008

Bring open resource to textbooks, teaching

PRAGUE — As the founders of two of the world's largest open-source media platforms — Wikipedia and Connexions — we have both been accused of being dreamers. Independently, we became infected with the idea of creating a Web platform that would enable anyone to contribute their knowledge to free...
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2008

Toyota falls just short of passing GM's 2007 sales

Toyota said Thursday it sold 9.366 million vehicles last year globally, about 3,000 fewer than General Motors' tally, allowing the U.S. automaker to retain its crown as the world's No. 1 automaker.
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2008

A time for calm and patience

The U.S. Federal Reserve has moved quickly to avert a financial crisis. Earlier this week, the Fed slashed its key interest rate to calm international markets. The rush to provide liquidity is intended to head off a panic and the possibility of a global capital crunch. The Fed's action is only a first...
COMMENTARY
Jan 24, 2008

How Ma's 'three nos' policy could impact cross-strait ties

TAIPEI — Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou has proclaimed a "three nos" policy — no unification, no independence, no use of force — in outlining his planned approach to cross-strait relations should he win the March 22 Taiwan presidential election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 24, 2008

The girl in the corner

She's one of the most admired actresses in Hollywood, both for her talent and versatility.
CULTURE / Art / INSIDE ART
Jan 24, 2008

The parallel world of art associations

What are the most famous exhibitions of contemporary art in the world? The Venice Biennale? Art Basel Miami Beach?
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 20, 2008

Showa nostalgia documentary, baseball star interviewed, optical illusions

The Showa boom has yet to run its course. Appropriating the street address used in the title of the hit Showa Period movie series "Always: Sanchome no Yuhi," TV Tokyo pumps up the nostalgia on "Sanchome no Post: Natsukashii Rankingu SP (Sanchome Mailbox: Nostalgic Rankings Special)" (Monday, 7 p.m.)....
BASEBALL
Jan 20, 2008

Whiting pays tribute to Boyer, Halberstam

In an exclusive piece, best-selling author Robert Whiting reminisces about two men, Clete Boyer and David Halberstam, both of whom died in 2007, who had a profound impact on his distinguished career.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 19, 2008

Hiring of Keegan shows level of Newcastle's desperation

LONDON — When Kevin Keegan was asked in 1998 about managing Newcastle United,again his reply was: "No . . . I won't go back to managing Newcastle . . . that's 1,000 percent."
Reader Mail
Jan 17, 2008

Paying North Korea to be nice

A mendicant hones his knife busily on the roadside, testing its sharpness from time to time, when five passersby come along. They tell him to stop honing the knife because it's scary and dangerous. The mendicant agrees to do so if they leave chips for him to live on for the next 50 years. The five...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2008

Gilberto wavers from the family script

Her albums of sultry, sunny bossa nova and pop have beguiled and seduced millions of listeners. But, woken by The Japan Times after a meager few hours' sleep, Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto is struggling to put on a brave face.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2008

Burt Bacharach: Been there, wrote that

Let other musicians measure their success with applause and awards. Burt Bacharach's been there and done that.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2008

JAL may back out of plan to sell credit card unit

Japan Airlines Corp. may cancel a plan to sell a stake in its credit card unit as it raises cash by selling securities instead, according to sources.
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2008

Reviews of films set in Japan

In the Jan. 4 article "Once again, here comes the West to the Orient," writer Kaori Shoji labels the film "Silk" Orientalist, but fails to provide any convincing evidence for this pejorative. Her one relevant criticism is that a village lord speaking English in pre-Meiji Japan would have been "an impossible...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji