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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 30, 2007

From start to sale in 15 secs

What looks like NASA's mission-control center is actually the world's biggest, most high-tech car auction.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 2007

Need something to read in the new year?

THE BLUE-EYED SALARYMAN: From World Traveler to Lifer at Mitsubishi, by Niall Murtagh (Profile Books)
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 27, 2007

A last hurrah at some of the year's political howlers

Inasmuch as newspapers routinely wrap up their year with top-10 news, sports and other stories, perhaps it would also be a good time to hark back on, say, roughly 10 memorable moments in blunder-speak, when political figures funded by the taxpayer blurt out nuggets guaranteed to show how not to earn...
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2007

Growth slowing: BOJ's Kamezaki

YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) Economic growth has recently been slowing on sharp falls in domestic housing investment at a time when uncertainties surrounding the global economy are increasing, Bank of Japan Policy Board member Hidetoshi Kamezaki said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2007

China puts muscle to policy

NEW DELHI — Rising economic and military power is emboldening Beijing to pursue a more muscular foreign policy. Having earlier preached the gospel of its "peaceful rise," China is now beginning to take the gloves off, confident of the muscle it has acquired.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 25, 2007

Who? Me? Otaku?

"Otaku" culture is spreading over the globe. Perhaps we are all otaku now? My wife tells me I'm an otaku — should I be worried? If you haven't encountered the word, here is Wikipedia's definition: "a derisive Japanese term used to refer to people with obsessive interests, particularly 'anime' and...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2007

Cabinet OKs slim budget hike for '08

The Cabinet on Monday approved a budget worth ¥83.06 trillion for fiscal 2008, featuring more tax grants and subsidies to rural areas to revive regional economies and cover higher social security costs, but some experts view the package as an attempt to woo voters at the expense of true fiscal reform....
Reader Mail
Dec 23, 2007

Sinister nationalism holds sway

In the Dec. 18 letter, "Skaters should highlight Japan," Nozomi Mizuno bemoans an apparent lack of patriotism exhibited by Japanese figure skaters. That Japanese either lack or do not vociferously enough express patriotism in comparison to foreigners is a widely held opinion in Japan. It is also diametrically...
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2007

Wall on climate change comes down

It is a start. That's the best assessment of the agreement produced by the 190-some governments at the United Nations climate change conference in Bali, Indonesia, earlier this month. After an abrupt U-turn by the United States, delegates reached consensus on a new framework for tackling global warming....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 23, 2007

The many faces of a complex city

TOKYO TOKYO TOKYO, photographs by Gorazd Vilhar, text by Charlotte Anderson. IBC Publishing Co., 2007, 144 pp., ¥3,300 (cloth) The very title of this new collection by Gorazd Vilhar and Charlotte Anderson suggests multiple Tokyos. It posits a city so multifaceted that only various versions of it can...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 22, 2007

Preparing for . . . the Christmas that never comes

You think Christmas celebrations start too early in your country? So that when Christmas finally comes, you've already had enough of it? Where do you think "Season's Greetings" comes from?
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2007

What every travel agent knows: 'Tis the season to splurge

Although the economy remains weak and the prices of oil and other commodities continue to rise, many Japanese consumers throw caution to the wind come holiday season.
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2007

'The Bulldozer' wins in Seoul

South Korea has a new president. As anticipated, former Hyundai CEO Lee Myung Bak won a landslide victory in Wednesday's election. A conservative, Mr. Lee has promised to re-examine many of the policies of his predecessors. His presidency offers Japan a chance to rebuild a crucial relationship that has...
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2007

Budget rise eyed for '08 seen as reform retreat

The Finance Ministry proposed Thursday raising the fiscal 2008 budget to ¥83.06 trillion in what may signal a retreat from the government's pursuit of fiscal reform.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2007

BOJ leaves interest rates alone, downgrades slowing economy

The economy is slowing due to weakness in housing investment and cautious corporate sentiment, the central bank chief said Thursday, hours after leaving its benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent.
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Dec 20, 2007

A long life of peace that sprung from war

Twelfth in a series
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Dec 18, 2007

Mistletoe

Dear Alice,
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2007

U.S. doesn't own blacklists

The Dec. 9 Kyodo article "Japan-U.S. alliance seen entering period of drift" spills a lot of ink over Japan's reaction to U.S. plans to remove North Korea from the U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism. That topic has caused considerable stir among Japanese people since such action by the United...
SOCCER
Dec 16, 2007

FSU's Yamaguchi finalist for top honor

Less than a week after helping to lead the Florida State University women's soccer team to the first national championship game in its history, Tokyo native Mami Yamaguchi was named a finalist for the 2007 MAC Hermann Trophy, presented to the United States' top collegiate player.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 16, 2007

Readers chime in about Giants 'jinx'

A couple of readers sent me their opinions about the subject of last week's column: the supposed "Giants jinx." It seemingly afflicts foreign players who play in Japan for one team, then cannot reach agreement on a new contract, so they move to the Yomiuri Giants, only to find bad luck, coincidental...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 16, 2007

'Kyoko' shines on as the true star she was

Tomorrow is the first anniversary of the death of a wonderful friend. Actress and author Kyoko Kishida passed away on Dec. 17, 2006, and Japan lost not only a fantastic stage presence but also an immense creative spirit and inspiration to its young actors.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 16, 2007

How to handle a mobster on the move

Status and fear can do a swift job of clearing a congested road ahead of you. It's a phenomenon I've seen twice on double-lane highways in Japan in the past six months. One time, crawling along at 15 kph in heavy traffic, I spotted a convoy of three black S-Class limos in my rearview mirror threading...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 14, 2007

A tycoon's field of dreams

On Oct. 16 a Japanese media tycoon was awarded the Newspaper Culture Prize by the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association (JNPEA) at its 60th general meeting in Nagano.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers