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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 9, 2010

Detainees allege abuse at Kansai holding center

The only way to see or speak to Moses Ssentamu is through a Plexiglas window at the West Japan Immigration Center in Ibaraki City, so there is no independent way to verify his claims of physical and psychological abuse. But if true, they raise serious concerns about Japan's treatment of visa overstayers...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2010

Myth of Palestine's economic development

AL-BIREH, West Bank — A serious misconception is being propagated by the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah. Media, international organizations, foreign governments and Palestinians at large are being coaxed into believing that the flurry of economic activity in the West Bank is economic development...
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2010

Laying the foundation of an intellectual property bridge

The Internet may arguably be the pre-eminent example of how recent technological developments have made life more convenient.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 5, 2010

Bigelow sticks to her guns

HOLLYWOOD — Kathryn Bigelow is only the fourth woman ever to be nominated for the Best Director Academy Award — and only the second American female. The first two nominees were Italian Lina Wertmuller and Australian Jane Campion; the third was Sofia Coppola.
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2010

Battle lines drawn across Nagoya land

OSAKA — Home to a biologically diverse "satoyama" ecosystem, a Nagoya land tract is at the center of a struggle between the owners who want to develop it and local citizens who want it preserved to demonstrate environmental responsibility.
EDITORIALS
Mar 4, 2010

Decision time looms for Iran

Despite years of scrutiny, Iran's nuclear program is still surrounded by uncertainty. Tehran says it is merely seeking to diversify its energy supplies and apply nuclear technology to benign purposes such as the use of isotopes in medicine.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2010

'Toyota defense' might free inmate

LINO LAKES, Minn. — Ever since his 1996 Toyota Camry shot up an interstate ramp, plowing into the back of an Oldsmobile in a horrific crash that killed three people, Koua Fong Lee insisted he had done all he could to stop the car.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 2, 2010

Sumo body deserves mawashi wedgie for racist wrestler ruling

I've noticed how highly Japan regards sports. We love investing taxes in games and facilities, hosting international events and Olympics. Sports are even part of a government ministry, the one in charge of Japan's science, education and culture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 2, 2010

Attorney glut may hit foreign firms

COLIN P. A. JONES One of the interesting things about being part of Japan's new law school system and its role in greatly increasing the number of Japanese attorneys is this: Nobody seems to have bothered asking the Japanese people if they actually need more attorneys. The original target of increasing...
COMMENTARY
Feb 28, 2010

Why the oppressed must tell their own story

SEATTLE — When American historian Howard Zinn died recently, he left a legacy that redefined our relationship to history. Professor Zinn dared to challenge the way history was written. He defied the conventional construction of historical discourses by the pen of victors or elites.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 28, 2010

Australian forces, occupational hazards

The presence of Australian servicemen in the U.S.-dominated occupation of Japan (1945-52) is little known, an oversight that is overcome in this vivid and entertaining book. Some 20,000 Aussies served for over six years in Hiroshima and environs, doing their part in the demilitarization, democratization...
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 28, 2010

Japan's love affair with dogs and cats

Takako Toda welcomed her lively, 7-year-old English pointer into her home in the city of Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, when the puppy she named Woowo was just a month old.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 27, 2010

Teaching visitors traditional ways

Upon meeting Michi Ogawa, who is deftly aligning the collar of a kimono that she has tucked around her guest, a few adjectives might come to mind, like "graceful" and "soft-spoken," but "feminist" or "outspoken" probably wouldn't be among them. But speak with her about her concerns and some of your preconceptions...
EDITORIALS
Feb 26, 2010

Managing local budgets

The central government's fiscal 2010 financial program for local governments envisages total revenue declining for the second straight year to ¥82.12 trillion. Local governments may use ¥59.41 trillion, an increase of ¥331.7 billion, as they see fit. They must put the money to good use.
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2010

Playing down Dalai Lama drama

Much to China's displeasure, U.S. President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama last week. As anticipated, the Beijing government complained bitterly about the meeting and demanded that Washington take steps to put substance behind the U.S. call for a truly constructive and cooperative relationship...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2010

Needs of Haiti and the limits of generosity

MELBOURNE, Australia — All over the world, people have responded generously to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti. In just three days, more than a million Americans had donated $10 by sending text messages from their cell phones. People with very little themselves, like Maria Pacheco, an...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 23, 2010

Should tax-paying permanent residents be allowed to vote in local polls?

CULTURE / Books
Feb 21, 2010

Truly unique version of the foreigner's tale

Like a Yemenese bride-to-be who first sees the countenance of her fiance in a photo presented by relatives, Rebecca Otowa experienced a presentiment of her future in a black-and-white image of a building, a 350-year-old farmhouse in rural Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 16, 2010

What should sumo's disgraced yokozuna Asashoryu do next?

EDITORIALS
Feb 14, 2010

The LDP struggles on

A lthough the approval rating of the Hatoyama administration and the DPJ are both waning, the Liberal Democratic Party is having a difficult time capitalizing on the ruling party's misfortunes. The LDP has adopted a new party platform, but there are no signs that voters are embracing it and switching...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Feb 14, 2010

Morozov says Ando can rise to occasion in Vancouver

It's been said that life all comes down to a few moments.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 14, 2010

Traditional Tokyo explored in mystery and quiz show; CM of the week: Docomo-Fujitsu

Traditional Tokyo gets the two-hour mystery treatment in "Yorozuya Chobei no Sumidagawa Jiken Fairu Sono Ni" (Chobei Yorozuya's Sumidagawa Incident File No. 2; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.). The hero, Chobei Yorozuya (Kotaro Satomi), is a pawn shop owner in Tokyo's Asakusa district who has quit the police force...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Feb 13, 2010

Community rallies around Olympic skater Nagasu

The Indianapolis Colts were kicking off to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami. At the same time, 2,700 miles (4,350 km) away at Arcadia Presbyterian Church, there was a kickoff of another sort.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 13, 2010

Computer whiz turns 'strangeness' into asset

From his early days in Japan as a destitute student sleeping in train station stairwells to living in a 3-mat room that cost him ¥10,000 a month, Richard Northcott went on to head a mobile software company that now enjoys sales of $2 million a year.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji