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JAPAN
Dec 6, 2008

Revised law removes barrier to nationality

The revised Nationality Law cleared the Diet Friday but only after lawmakers at the last minute managed to have a clause inserted to prevent what they claimed would be a surge in bogus paternal recognition cases.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 5, 2008

Determination brings Antlers to brink of J. League crown

This year's J. League title race has been so unpredictable that nothing can be ruled out until the final whistle, but it would take a mighty twist in the tale for Kashima Antlers to be denied the championship on Saturday.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2008

Sweden shows how to sell anti-protectionism

STOCKHOLM — The looming global recession has brought government intervention to save failing companies to the forefront of economic policy. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently warned U.S. President-elect Barack Obama against bailing out America's automakers, arguing that global competition...
COMMENTARY
Dec 3, 2008

Moving back to socialism?

The "ism" enthusiasts are out in force again. These are the analysts and commentators who see everything in strictly ideological terms of socialism versus capitalism, more state control versus less state control. Just now they are all convinced that the pendulum is swinging toward state control, that...
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2008

Ozawa showdown low-key as gaffe-prone Aso keeps comments to himself

Outspoken Prime Minister Taro Aso may have finally learned his lesson Friday about holding his tongue.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2008

SDF mission comes to 'successful' end

Government officials expressed satisfaction Friday over the successful conclusion of the Self-Defense Forces missions in and near Iraq, but some experts complained that the pullout was long overdue.
EDITORIALS
Nov 28, 2008

Confusing remarks about grants

The Cabinet of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in May decided to free up road-related tax revenues from fiscal 2009 for use in such fields as education and social welfare. At the same time, it decided that care should be taken so that road construction is not hampered and that local governments do...
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2008

Nationality Law tweak lacks DNA test: critics

With the revised Nationality Law expected to clear the Diet soon, some ruling party lawmakers are at the last minute claiming the amendment may spark problems, such as possibly creating a "black market" in false paternal recognition.
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2008

Tamp down the old ways

Sixty years ago on Nov. 12, 1948, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMT) handed down its verdict branding Japan an aggressor nation and leading to the execution of six military leaders and one politician for instigating the war. As if to substantiate the validity of this verdict,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2008

Increase peacekeeping efforts

Two officers of the Ground Self-Defense Force have been dispatched by the government to join the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) peace support operation in southern Sudan. The decision to dispatch them was made in early October on the basis of the 1992 international peace cooperation law. The...
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2008

Deciphering the oil puzzle

What happens when the demand for oil flattens out or falls and the supply of oil continues as before or actually increases? The answer is economics at its simplest — the price plummets. And that indeed is what has occurred.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2008

Aso to be LDP 'funeral director' for delaying poll?

Taro Aso was so confident that he would call a quick election after becoming prime minister in September that he postponed moving into the official residence.
EDITORIALS
Nov 20, 2008

Out of Iraq at last?

Ater months of delays, the United States and Iraq have agreed on a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Equally important, the accord sets limits on those forces' freedom of action, giving the Baghdad government more authority over them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2008

Japanning for southern barbarians

During the 16th-century age of exploration, Portuguese traders landed in Japan looking for exotic goods to sell in markets back in Europe and their newly founded colonies. Lacquerware was high on their list, not only for its decorative beauty but also for its more prosaic quality of being the only waterproof...
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2008

Aso likely to extend legislative session

The Democratic Party of Japan's reluctance to participate in Diet proceedings or vote on some bills increased the likelihood that the ruling bloc will extend the extra Diet session beyond its Nov. 30 close.
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2008

Further measures not ruled out if stimulus insufficient: Nakagawa

The government may consider further measures to jolt the economy out of a recession, Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2008

DPJ to boycott debate in Diet on key legislation

Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa decided Monday to boycott Diet discussions on key bills after an emergency meeting with Prime Minister Taro Aso failed to produce substantive results.
BUSINESS
Nov 18, 2008

Japan slides into recession

The economy shrank at an annualized pace of 0.4 percent in the three months through September, posting its second consecutive quarter of negative growth amid the global financial crisis and indicating Japan has entered a recession for the first time since 2001.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past