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Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2011

Libyans stage anti-Gadhafi Tokyo protest

Members of the Libyan community in Japan and others staged a demonstration Wednesday in Tokyo calling for the ouster of dictator Moammar Gadhafi and an end to his regime's bloody crackdown against protesters seeking an end to his 40-year rule.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2011

Fast Retailing partners with UNHCR to clothe refugees

Fast Retailing Co. and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees announced Wednesday they have established a partnership to assist refugees and displaced people around the world through the distribution of recycled Uniqlo clothing.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 23, 2011

How a fine sensei began my journey with language

You've probably heard the famous saying, 千里の道も一歩から (senri no michi mo ippo kara, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step), attributed to both 老子, Roshi, Laozi) and 孔子 (Kōshi, Confucius).
EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2011

Futenma issue revisited

Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's recent interview with Okinawan newspapers on his failed attempt to move U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma out of Okinawa Prefecture has caused strong reactions from Okinawa's people and its newspapers. But his interview sheds valuable light on how and why his...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2011

Yen to surge, boost M&As: Sakakibara

The yen will rise beyond its postwar high of 79.75 versus the dollar and stay stronger than 80 this year because of the structural weakness of the U.S. economy, according to Eisuke Sakakibara, who at one time was Japan's top currency official.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2011

Expanding the scope of the export sector

NEW YORK — Since the end of World War II, the global economy's trade and financial openness has increased, thanks to institutions like the International Monetary Fund and successive rounds of liberalization, starting with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Feb 20, 2011

Mystery author Isaka writes to control his fears

Novelists all have different motivations to write. For Kotaro Isaka, an award-winning mystery writer whose books always rank high on Japan's bestseller list, it's the constant "fear" of something calamitous happening — whether it be a North Korean missile attack or an outbreak of an unknown flu virus...
Reader Mail
Feb 20, 2011

Two congressmen hear Okinawans

Regarding the Feb. 17 article "U.S. Reps. Paul, Kucinich urge military pullout from Japan amid budget woes": Finally U.S. congressmen have begun to see the necessity for a U.S. pullout of military forces from Okinawa and the rest of Japan. It is an unnatural state to have foreign military in the streets,...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 19, 2011

Annals of cheap: Only Free Paper

Print publishers find success in the formula of 'make it free, and they will come.'
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2011

Tabloids feast on Imperial family foibles

Emperor Akihito is a quiet, studious type. The paragon of respectability. But, oh, what a family!
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2011

Guardsman fast-tracks book, calls video leak 'civic duty'

The decision to leak classified footage of the Japan Coast Guard's run-in last year with a Chinese trawler wasn't an easy one to make, but ended up being a matter of civic duty, former coast guardsman Masaharu Isshiki says in his new book on the Senkaku Islands clash, in which he wasn't a participant....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 18, 2011

'Gakko wo Tsukuro (Let's Create a School)'

The Japanese audience has long loved period dramas, including ones based on the lives of real people, generally men wearing topknots. And usually, at some point, the swords come out, as in the story of the 47 ronin (masterless samurai) who in 1703 attacked a shogunate official in revenge for his role...
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2011

Adults feed that 'shoganai' feeling

Regarding Kevin Rafferty's Feb. 9 article, " 'Shoganai' won't save Japan": I know Japan's economic situation is difficult. But I don't buy the Osaka endodontologist's claim, cited in the article, that this "shoganai" attitude is somehow connected with teenagers' taking to wearing flu masks. How many...
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2011

No substitute for authentic English

Regarding the Feb. 10 Kyodo article "Former JETs defend program": Japan must get away from the teaching-by-osmosis style that the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program seems to be part of. Other countries around the world are demanding a thorough English education, and so should Japan. Having a university...
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2011

Breaching of social problems

I would like to respond to the Jan. 30 letters "Cultural generalizations dangerous" by Gregory Hutchinson and "'Gender equality' not universal" by Bryan Hunt.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2011

Maehara steadfast on islands claim

The four Russian-held islands off Hokkaido are Japanese territory regardless of Russia's actions, Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara reiterated Wednesday, brushing off recent concerns Moscow is strengthening its control over the area.
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2011

Steel merger aims for survival

Nippon Steel Corp., Japan's biggest steel maker, and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., the nation's third-ranked steel maker, announced Feb. 3 a plan to merge in October 2012. The merger, if it materializes, will bring about the world's No. 2 steel maker after Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, which produces...
Reader Mail
Feb 17, 2011

Need for universities seems moot

Congratulations on the very timely Feb. 13 editorial "Job-hunting system needs workJ." It is high time that companies not only considered applicants with experience but also refrained from recruiting until students have their degree in hand. In Japan's universities, students are wasting their third and...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight