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Reader Mail
Nov 9, 2008

More of the same talking points

Regarding the Nov. 4 article "Axed ASDF chief hawk till the end; no apology": For those who have yet to read the entire essay written by former Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami, I wouldn't bother. With one exception, there are no new revelations. It seems Tamogami merely took the overused...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 8, 2008

Translating in the spirit of samurai

Iehiro Tokugawa arrives at the publishing house Kobunsha, for which he works on occasion as a translator, accompanied by his Vietnamese wife. He is all in black; she is in blue jeans with a waterfall of shining hair down her back, and very lovely too. Speaking in fluent English, he extends his hand to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2008

Canadian music execs schmooze up to Tokyo

The relatively small 33 million population of Canada, the world's second-largest country in terms of land mass, makes it nearly impossible for its musicians to maintain careers based on domestic support alone.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 7, 2008

Frosty reception greets Giants at Seibu Dome

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — At this time of year, particularly after sunset when the games are played, it feels almost like winter rather than fall at the area around the wood-surrounded Seibu Dome.
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2008

Bilateral ties will remain strong in all aspects: Schieffer

The alliance between Japan and the United States will remain strong regardless of the imminent change in U.S. administrations, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer said Thursday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2008

BOJ may be unable to halt yen's rising tide: traders

The Bank of Japan may be powerless to prevent the yen from rising to a 13-year high, according to the world's biggest foreign-exchange traders.
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2008

Teacher can't swim in a pool

I studied at Oita University as an exchange student. One thing that was very disappointing about my stay was that I visited many onsens only to be turned away. I couldn't even swim in the local pool. Why? Because I have tattoos. After getting a grant from Japan's government to study in Japan, I was still...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 6, 2008

The key to Joseon times

Known as pungsu in Korean, feng shui was transmitted from China into Korean culture during the Unified Silla Dynasty (668-935). The system of aesthetics taught that proper placement of the home in relation to natural elements would facilitate a flow of positive energy through space and ensure well-being...
Reader Mail
Nov 6, 2008

Pro-whaling case self-serving

I read with interest Dan Goodman's Nov. 2 letter, "Bogus arguments about whaling." The Institute of Cetacean Research, with which Goodman is affiliated, is a "unique organization in Japan specializing in the biological and social sciences related to whales . . . whose legal status is authorized by the...
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008

Aso lauds win, vows better ties

Prime Minister Taro Aso welcomed Democratic President-elect Barack Obama's victory and vowed Wednesday to work with him to strengthen Japanese-U.S. relations, stressing in a statement that the two nations will cooperate to find solutions to various problems related to the global economy, terrorism and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008

Mock vote lets youths speak out

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama won big Wednesday, and a mock poll held at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo indicates the senator is popular with young Japanese, too.
EDITORIALS
Nov 5, 2008

Dangerous ideas from on high

Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Oct. 31 dismissed Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami over his essay, which stated it is "false" to accuse Japan of having been an aggressor nation before and during World War II. The essay also implied that the Self-Defense Forces should be...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 5, 2008

Nakajima, Sakamoto possess similar skills

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — While the Yomiuri Giants and Seibu Lions were tied at one apiece entering Tuesday's game, and playing merciless, hard-nosed baseball in the ongoing Japan Series, there are two young men who appear to be enjoying this prestigious stage.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2008

Citizenship for kids still tall order

Many observers of the Nationality Law have welcomed the government's proposed revision approved Tuesday by the Cabinet that will soon allow hundreds of children born out of wedlock to Japanese men and foreign women to obtain Japanese nationality if the father recognizes paternity even after birth.
JAPAN
Nov 4, 2008

Axed ASDF chief hawk till the end; no apology

Sacked Air Self-Defense Force chief Gen. Toshio Tamogami defended his nationalist essay Monday, claiming his justification of the war Japan waged in the last century was intended to instill the country and its people with a sense of confidence.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Nov 4, 2008

Giants' unsung heroes revel in spotlight

As Game 2 starter Hisanori Takahashi left the mound in the middle of the sixth inning of a 2-2 contest on Sunday, things were looking bleak for the Yomiuri Giants.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 4, 2008

Nikkyoso: A 'cancer' of teachers?

Nariaki Nakayama of the Liberal Democratic Party resigned because of gaffes he made in front of the press only five days after being appointed transport minister in the Cabinet Prime Minister Taro Aso formed in late September.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 2, 2008

Wakui tosses gem for Lions in opener

If the Japan Series was supposed to be an offensive showcase, Seibu Lions pitcher Hideaki Wakui sure didn't get the memo.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 1, 2008

Bridging the China-India gap

DELHI — The sooner that India and China accept their inevitable strategic competitiveness but limit it through tactical cooperation, the better. Two tactical areas needing immediate Chinese and Indian intervention are a fix for the world economy and overcoming terrorism from Afghanistan and Pakistan....
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 1, 2008

Skippers Hara, Watanabe ready to match wits on diamond

It was a business-like atmosphere at Tokyo Dome on Friday afternoon as the Seibu Lions and Yomiuri Giants went through their final preparations for Game 1 of the Japan Series.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 1, 2008

Inside the Japanese pub

Mark Robinson, author of "Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook" (Kodansha International, May 2008) is recently back in Tokyo from New York, where he spent three weeks "signing books at stores like Barnes & Noble, meeting people and seeking inspiration."
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2008

Tokyo ready to help bankroll IMF bailouts

Japan is ready to provide some of its ample cash for any International Monetary Fund bailouts for struggling nations to help stabilize the growing global financial crisis, the finance minister said Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2008

Monoral feed on Halloween horror

'A lot of the companies we signed to disappeared, basically," says Ali Morizumi of pan-national rock duo Monoral, musing on the mysterious curse that has followed his band around.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 31, 2008

A time and a place for heroes

Marco Polo, the famous 13th-century Venetian explorer, wrote in his book "Il Milione (The Million)" that Japan was rich in gold, even though his travels only took him as far as China. It was the first time Japan was introduced to the Western world.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Oct 30, 2008

Hara makes right call with Giants

Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara cried last season after the Chunichi Dragons sent his team into a long offseason with a 3-0 sweep in the second stage of the Central League Climax Series.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic