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BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 20, 2009

Sojourner continues with charitable efforts

Grassroots efforts play a pivotal role in helping a sport grow and develop a vital presence in a society.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2009

Patriot batteries may shift north

Japan may shift Patriot missile batteries to its northern coast to intercept debris that might be created if North Korea's rocket launch fails, the defense minister said Thursday as the prime minister warned of more sanctions against Pyongyang.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2009

LDP calls for capital injections to avert crisis

The government may follow the U.S. lead and inject capital into large companies to help avert bankruptcies as the country grapples with recession, the ruling party's second in command said.
Reader Mail
Mar 19, 2009

Legal or not, discrimination exists

In his March 12 letter, "Illegal under the Constitution," Lance Braman had much to say regarding the fact that racial discrimination was illegal under the Japanese Constitution, contrary to what Debito Arudou wrote in his March 3 article, "Of toadies, vultures and zombie debates."
Reader Mail
Mar 19, 2009

Don't allow the missile flyover

Regarding the March 14 front-page article "Pending launch raises tension level in Tokyo": Considering the performance of North Korea's first attempt at launching a Taepodong 2 missile — which failed and blew up less than a minute after launch — and considering the high population density of Japan,...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Mar 19, 2009

Feral parakeets

Dear Alice, Please settle an argument. I play tennis on the public courts in Arisugawa Park in central Tokyo. On several occasions I have seen bright-green noisy birds flying free around the tall outdoor lights there. I'm convinced these gregarious dandies are wild parrots. My wife says I'm out of...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2009

China, tourism feature in huge 'anime' convention

The Tokyo International Anime Fair 2009 kicked off Wednesday to a cheerful start, featuring a mix of both domestic and overseas companies presenting their newest products and exploring new marketing methods ranging from "anime" tourism to online broadcasting.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2009

Hunt is on for husbands as slump deepens

When Yumiko Iwate's pay was cut last year, she and her female colleagues all agreed there was only one thing to do: Find a husband.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Mar 17, 2009

Velappan lifts the lid on Asian soccer's desert storm

KUWAIT CITY — Although he left the Asian Football Confederation two years ago after 30 years' service, former secretary general Peter Velappan is still a respected and influential voice in the Asian game. On a recent visit to Kuwait, the Malaysian sat down for an interview with Al Watan TV and told...
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2009

A maritime police action

Two Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers, each carrying two patrol helicopters and two speed boats, are steaming to the Gulf of Aden on an antipiracy mission off Somalia. The government has evoked Article 82 of the Self-Defense Forces Law, which allows the SDF to take "maritime police actions" in situations...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Mar 17, 2009

Feisty Johjima shoots from the hip

SAN DIEGO — We all know how outspoken Kenji Johjima can be. He never gives noncommittal, harmless words in front of the media. Instead, he replies with unexpected answers.
JAPAN
Mar 17, 2009

Calderon girl gets year stay

Minister Eisuke Mori granted a one-year special resident permit Monday to Noriko Calderon, 13, whose Filipino parents lost their fight against a deportation order.
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2009

Firms face call for outside directors

The government may require publicly traded companies to hire outside directors to enhance corporate governance standards as the Nikkei average trades near two-decade lows.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Mar 16, 2009

South Korea faces formidable foe

South Korea is back in San Diego looking to settle some unfinished business.
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2009

'Anime' needs new business model

The March 4 article "Future of 'anime' industry in doubt" highlighted many of my own growing frustrations. I moved to Japan from the United States as an English teacher a little more than two years ago. I was a casual anime fan who had just completed a degree in literature and film studies, including...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Mar 15, 2009

Sniffle, sneeze — and why's all that cedar pollen still in the air?

For more than 3 million Tokyo residents who seasonally suffer from sniffly, sneezy kafunsho (pollen allergy), the sight of Gov. Shintaro Ishihara applying an ax to the trunk of a pollen-producing cedar back in 2006 was enough to bring tears of joy to their already itchy eyes.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2009

Blossoms amid the gloom

The cherry blossom season will soon arrive, and with it the reflections and lessons that go with the yearly event. As Japan begins the season of enjoying the cherry blossoms, the differences from last year start to appear as well. Part of the excitement of spring comes from never quite knowing exactly...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 15, 2009

Icy white 'blossoms' and a flourish of deep pink

Each day last week I strapped on cross-country skis to patrol some trails quartering the primeval, 2,050-hectare Nopporo Forest adjoining Sapporo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2009

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough

It's sakura (cherry blossom) time again, and I've got three special spots to recommend beneath the pale, poetic petals in Tokyo. One will present you with a single starlit beauty, another will have you rolling around in an expansive venue of varied cherries, or if the spirit moves you there's a climb...
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2009

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough

It's sakura (cherry blossom) time again, and I've got three special spots to recommend beneath the pale, poetic petals in Tokyo. One will present you with a single starlit beauty, another will have you rolling around in an expansive venue of varied cherries, or if the spirit moves you there's a climb...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

Experts doubt MSDF's antipiracy mettle

The Maritime Self-Defense Force got the word Friday to send two destroyers to combat pirates in the Gulf of Aden, but experts quickly questioned whether the flotilla would be able to protect Japanese vessels — let alone themselves.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

New Narita-Tokyo copter service targets rich, famous

For foreigners visiting Japan or Japanese returning from holidays abroad, it takes an hour or more to get from Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture to central Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

10-year overstayer is granted new visa

MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. (Kyodo) The Justice Ministry granted a one-year residence status Thursday to an Iranian female college student who had illegally stayed in Japan for more than 10 years, ministry officials said.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2009

Issuance fears have bondholders favoring Aso

Prime Minister Taro Aso, whose approval rating has slumped, may still have the support of bondholders due to perceptions that the current administration is more reluctant to sell debt than a new government formed by the opposition might be.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2009

Aso calls for third stimulus plan

Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered a third spending plan aimed at easing what may be the nation's worst recession since World War II.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2009

AA=

While most young acts tend to start off in smaller venues and work their way up, AA= opted to do the opposite. The new solo project from Takeshi Ueda, bassist with apparently now-defunct tech-metal heroes The Mad Capsule Markets, played their first-ever concerts to thousands at the massive Intex Osaka...
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2009

DPJ election win no longer a sure bet

Ichiro Ozawa's efforts to persuade voters to end the Liberal Democratic Party's almost-uninterrupted 50 years of rule and bring his party to power may be set back by reminders of his links to disgraced former LDP lawmakers.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past