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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2010

Recalls nonissue in lifeline growth markets

Toyota Motor Corp. is stricken by massive recalls in the U.S. and stalled sales at home, but it is not without a lifeline — big, fast-growing markets like China and Southeast Asia, where drivers seem unfazed by what is troubling consumers in the West.
COMMENTARY
Feb 19, 2010

Japan, China, past, present

China's recent economic progress coupled with its growing assertiveness in international politics has, in Asia, Europe and the U.S., given rise to some concern and a number of commentaries about the role of China in international politics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2010

Delving deep beyond the merely decorative

In a vast room with white walls and wooden floors, a lone man crouches in the corner holding a spouted container that releases tiny white crystals onto the floor in a carefully controlled flow. Making sure not to disturb the meticulously crafted lines around him, he works steadily and with great resolve....
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2010

Hatoyama spars with opposition

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, during his first one-on-one debate against opposition party leaders, was forced Wednesday to fend off criticism over the money scandals dogging his administration.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2010

Tokyo job fair draws throng

About 2,400 university students who graduate next month attended a job fair put on Tuesday by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, hoping for luck in what could be their final opportunity in the tough career market before getting their diplomas.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2010

TV rivals boldly bet on 3-D

Television viewers will be carried into a new dimension this year when they shed their old sets and go 3-D.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2010

Perilous U.S.-China games

BEIJING — Beijing is increasingly playing hardball on every issue that brings it into contact and potential conflict with the rest of the world: democracy in Hong Kong; U.S. arms sales to Taiwan; the visit of the Dalai Lama to the White House; sanctions against Iran; the value of the renminbi; the...
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2010

Japan may charge activist on whaler

The government may press charges under domestic law against a New Zealand activist who secretly boarded a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Tuesday.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Feb 16, 2010

Where were the Japanese voices when the overseas fans declared Asa innocent?

In the last issue of Sumo Scribblings following the Hatsu Basho, mention was made of Asashoryu's self-destructive mindset in relation to the then recent allegations that he had up and punched somebody following a night on the beer in a plush neighborhood of Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 16, 2010

Help for Haiti from half a world away

A plain black bow adorns the coat of arms on the door of the Haitian Embassy in Tokyo, a poignant reminder to visitors of the hundreds of thousands who have died in the country since the devastating earthquake of Jan 12. It is a small gesture that belies the scale of the destruction wrought by the quake:...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 15, 2010

LDP flailing for relevance

The once dominant Liberal Democratic Party is said to be trying to re-establish its identity as a genuine conservative force, but the LDP leadership appears to be doing nothing more than working desperately to maintain the status quo.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 14, 2010

Today's complex society in Japan spawns a new 'foreigner complex'

Among the many Japanese words and phrases that have fallen by the wayside of late and become shigo (obsolete), gaijin komupurekkusu (foreigner complex) is certainly among the least missed.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 14, 2010

Strange bird Sanshiro

From Oct. 28, 1900, until Dec. 5, 1902, Natsume Soseki lived in Clapham, a district of South London. Ordered to England by the Meiji government, Soseki, without sufficient funds to study formally and with little else to do apart from the occasional cycle ride or part-time tutoring, spent most of this...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Feb 12, 2010

QR code breaking out of the box

Companies and municipalities are still finding new ways to unlock the potential of QR codes in Japan.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 10, 2010

Apache find fighting spirit to outlast 89ers at home

Can home-court advantage help a terrible home team? That question has come up again and again for the Tokyo Apache this season.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2010

Iran's revolutionary echoes

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Iran's continued unrest, now extending through the 30th anniversary of the revolution that toppled the shah, raises the question of whether the Islamic Republic is about to fall. As in 1979, millions of Iranians have taken to the streets, this time to protest electoral fraud in...
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2010

In search of a big, new idea

Governments everywhere are nowadays being overpowered by the problems and tasks they face.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2010

Hatoyama says Ozawa can stay

Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa on Monday was given the go sign to remain as the party's secretary general by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama despite mounting public calls that he step down over his fund management body's involvement in a shady Tokyo land purchase.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 9, 2010

Watson to whalers: We will never surrender

Despite speaking on a bad line from somewhere off Antarctica, the message from Paul Watson was loud and clear:
Reader Mail
Feb 7, 2010

French fight against climate hype

Regarding Gwynne Dyer's Feb. 1 article, "Heated politics of disbelief": How many more inconvenient "climate-gates" will be needed before journalists start doing their job, i.e. questioning? Sorry to disappoint, but climate skepticism exists beyond the "Anglosphere."
COMMENTARY
Feb 7, 2010

U.S. Afpak path comes full circle

NEW DELHI — What U.S. President Barack Obama's administration has been pursuing in Afghanistan for the past one year has now received international imprimatur, thanks to the well-scripted London conference. Four words sum up that strategy: Surge, bribe and run.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Feb 7, 2010

Taeko Tomiyama: Brushing with authority

I will never forget the day I went to a show titled "Embracing Asia: Taeko Tomiyama Retrospective 1950-2009," which was one of 370 art exhibits by creators from 40 countries comprising the fourth Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial staged over 50 days last autumn at locations across a huge area of rural Niigata...
COMMENTARY
Feb 5, 2010

India wonders where Aussie welcome went

CHENNAI, India — Melbourne was the nicest city during my visit to Australia a couple of years ago. The people were very friendly, smiled often — even at strangers like me — and made me feel comfortable. Since then, Melbourne and the state of Victoria seem to have turned ugly — at least for Indians,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 5, 2010

'Surveillance'/'Paranormal Activity'

You've got to hand it to Jennifer Chambers Lynch: The daughter of cinematic visionary David Lynch is nothing if not persistent.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan