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EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2009

A nail in the cluster bomb coffin

The Diet has endorsed an international treaty to ban the use, development, production, procurement, stockpiling and transfer of cluster bombs. The Upper House unanimously voted to do so Wednesday. The Diet deserves praise for paving the way for Japan to approve at a fairly early date the Convention on...
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2009

Confusion in the Cabinet

The Aso Cabinet is in a state of confusion over the question of whether Mr. Yoshifumi Nishikawa should stay on as president of Japan Post Holding Co. While Prime Minister Taro Aso is believed to support the retention of Mr. Nishikawa, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kunio Hatoyama firmly...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2009

Bangladeshi minister pushes for investment

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hashina's special envoy, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, called on Japan Wednesday to increase direct investment in his country, which is aiming to emerge as a midlevel developed country by 2021.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2009

Aso pledges emissions cut of 15% by '20

Japan will try to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent from 2005 levels as its midterm target for 2020, Prime Minister Taro Aso announced Wednesday, claiming the goal is bolder than those put forward by Europe and the U.S.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2009

Assume North Korea won't give up nuclear weapons: Armitage

Japan should act on the assumption that North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Wednesday in Tokyo.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 11, 2009

Ongoing swimsuit issue creates awkward distraction for athletes

Exactly a year ago, in the midst of the chaos about swimsuit issues before the Beijing Olympics, Kosuke Kitajima appeared in an arena wearing a T-shirt that read: "It's me that swims."
BUSINESS
Jun 11, 2009

Producer price fall is fastest since '87

Japan's wholesale prices fell at the fastest pace in more than 22 years in May, adding to signs that deflation may again take root.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 9, 2009

Rumpus on campus

Illegal arrests, forced expulsions, "kidnappings" by security police and beatings by hired thugs. No, it's not another dispatch from a violent banana republic. Those accusations come from the leafy back-streets of Ichigaya, Tokyo, home to a branch campus of the prestigious Hosei University.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jun 9, 2009

Golf group puts spontaneous socializing back into game

Most Japanese golfers would probably agree with Tor Dahlstrom, a Norwegian diplomat and longtime Japan resident, when he says that "golf is a social game." They might disagree, however, on the way that golf is social.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jun 9, 2009

Silent spring in Tokyo

Dear Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito,
MORE SPORTS
Jun 8, 2009

Irie prepared to claim more glory at upcoming world championships

Despite leaving the pool with no new records, Japan's latest up-and-comer Ryosuke Irie still believes that he gained momentum before the upcoming FINA World Championships.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jun 8, 2009

Okada deserves credit for strong leadership in qualifying campaign

For a team so often looking threatened by stormy waters, Japan's qualification for a fourth successive World Cup has ultimately been plain sailing.
Reader Mail
Jun 7, 2009

Slogging to a license in Kanagawa

I can only construe the process of changing over to a Japanese driver's license from a foreign one in Kanagawa Prefecture as discriminatory. Holding a valid foreign driver's license plus an international driver's permit allows most people to drive legally in Japan when visiting this country. For foreigners...
Reader Mail
Jun 7, 2009

The way to attract foreign tourists

Regarding the May 30 article "Tourism looks for a boost": My wife and I have a long association with Japan, having hosted home-stay students and teachers in our home for many years. Our son has attended high school and university in Japan, but we had never been there. In 2008 we decided that our time...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2009

Occupation orphan traces roots

For New Yorker Demian Akhan, 60, his recent visit to Japan marked the end of a decades-long journey to discover his roots.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 6, 2009

Nepalese 'VIP' advocates investing in disability

Nepalese Kamal Lamichhane chuckles when he describes himself as a VIP. "As I told the audience at Manchester Metropolitan University last month, I really am a VIP — a visually impaired person. Unlike those people who become very important because of what they achieve in life, I have been a VIP since...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 5, 2009

Fermenting dregs of rock 'n' roll for the masses

"I just had a connection with the sound of the words," says singer and bass player Natsuko Miyamoto when she answers my question about the name of her band, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. Before I can pursue the question further: about the words, about where and when she first put them together, about...
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2009

Toyota to lease lithium-ion plug-in hybrids

Toyota said Wednesday it will start leasing plug-in hybrid cars that are even more efficient than its popular Prius by the end of the year in the United States, Japan and Europe.
SUMO
Jun 4, 2009

Ozeki Kaio says harsh treatment is integral

Sumo veteran Kaio said Tuesday that harsh treatment of wrestlers in training is an integral part of Japan's ancient sport and is partially responsible for his own success.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 3, 2009

Creative Commons fights for new copyright

On April 17, the district court of Stockholm issued its verdict in the copyright infringement case of the torrent tracking Web site The Pirate Bay, whose managers and another associate were accused of facilitating the illegal downloading of music, movie and video-game files. The four defendants were...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2009

Masks with ostrich antibodies aid swine flu fight

Researcher Yasuhiro Tsukamoto's flock of 500 ostriches is being enlisted into the global fight against swine flu by exploiting Japan's practice of wearing masks in public to ward off allergies and colds.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2009

Foreign residents call for local voting rights

Hundreds of foreign permanent residents, mostly Koreans who came to Japan before or during World War II and their descendants, urged the government Sunday to give them the right to vote in local elections so their voices can be heard.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years