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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Nov 4, 2009

Gokai: The more I know Japan, the thicker the fog

What a strange dream! The city was engulfed in a wave of random murders (musabetsu satsujin, 無差別殺人), and when my doorbell rang it was not the murderer (satsujinhan, 殺人犯), as I'd feared, but a high police official come to coax me out of retirement (taishoku, 退職) and put my detective...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 4, 2009

Could be a long season for D'Antoni, Knicks

NEW YORK — The best feature about the end of Daylight Savings Time is it gave me an extra hour to overreact to the first few days of the season.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 3, 2009

Demography vs. demagoguery: when politics, science collide

Last June, I attended a symposium sponsored by the German Institute of Japanese Studies. Themed "Imploding Populations: Global and Local Challenges of Demographic Change," I took in presentations about health care, international and domestic migration, and life in a geriatric society.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2009

Freeing up local government

The government panel on devolution has submitted its third set of recommendations to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, calling for the relaxation or abolition of 892 items, most of them related to administrative service standards for local residents. These standards are imposed by the central government...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 3, 2009

Demography vs. demagoguery: when politics, science collide

Last June, I attended a symposium sponsored by the German Institute of Japanese Studies. Themed "Imploding Populations: Global and Local Challenges of Demographic Change," I took in presentations about health care, international and domestic migration, and life in a geriatric society.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 3, 2009

The fatally flawed math of risking it all in Japan

Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 2, 2009

Nashida keeps crowd guessing over starter

SAPPORO — Thanks to a Central League rule, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Masataka Nashida was able to play coy until the very end.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 1, 2009

Japan's sea change should signal a new course for the media, too

The relationship between the government and the press in Japan has, during the past 50 years, been a volatile one of give and take: The government gives the press what it wants it to know, and the press gladly takes it. But this has not always been the case.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 1, 2009

Ministry insider speaks out

Health ministry bureaucrat Moriyo Kimura made headlines in late May just after the H1N1 flu outbreak sparked a massive mask-buying spree across the nation. Appearing before a Diet committee as an expert witness, the 44-year-old quarantine officer sharply criticized her own ministry — and especially...
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2009

More doubts about Copenhagen

The prospects for success at the United Nations meeting in December in Copenhagen to devise a global accord to fight global warming appear to be receding. Ironically, one reason for the growing pessimism is the bilateral agreement struck by China and India, two of the world's leading producers of greenhouse...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 31, 2009

Putting a little bug in your ear

Sometimes beauty resides not to the eye of the beholder. Instead, it lives in the ear of the listener.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 31, 2009

Keane facing uphill battle with Ipswich Town

LONDON — Last April Ipswich Town sacked manager Jim Magilton and brought in Roy Keane for the last two games of the season. Ipswich's new owner Marcus Evans, who likes publicity as much as Superman enjoys kryptonite, wanted a big name. Instead, Ipswich is in a big mess.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2009

Nissan bet on raking in profits with Leaf name

After Nissan Motor Co. tackled technical restrictions on its first electric car involving range, battery life and temperature fluctuations, it still had to come up with a name. Choosing Leaf wasn't easy.
JAPAN
Oct 30, 2009

Japan-U.S. ties need revamp: Hatoyama

In light of next year marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday it's time the overall defense alliance is reviewed.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 30, 2009

Grouses get off to fast start after years of frustration

Triple overtime wins give a team a healthy dose of confidence — and plenty of exhaustion, too.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2009

Is Indian 'soft power' in Afghanistan working?

LONDON — In the second such strike in as many years, a suicide car-bombing outside the Indian Embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul recently left at least 17 dead (none of them embassy staff) and scores of others wounded. India has long been developing its "soft power" strategy in Afghanistan, sticking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2009

'Watashi Dasuwa'

"A fool and his money are soon parted" and all its many variations is a common theme in films, from the heist-of-a-lifetime that ruins so many lives in "Goodfellas" to Gary Cooper handing out his inherited fortune to total strangers in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" and then coming to regret it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 30, 2009

Rockers turn it up to 11

Metallica. Slayer. Anthrax. The Scorpions. Even a casual fan of rock music knows that these names make up the pantheon of modern heavy metal, the bands that rose to the top and never looked back when metal swept away all before it in the 1980s.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2009

Reports of the dollar's death are exaggerated

BERKELEY, Calif. — The blogosphere is abuzz with reports of the dollar's looming demise. The greenback has fallen against the euro by nearly 15 percent since the beginning of the summer. Central banks have reportedly slowed their accumulation of dollars in favor of other currencies. One sensational...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 29, 2009

Now's the time to celebrate design

Don't miss Design Week This year, Tokyo Designers Week conveniently kicks off on a Friday — previous years have always seen a Wednesday start — ensuring visitors can make the most of the weekend and the national holiday on Tuesday.
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Oct 28, 2009

Tarasova must go if Mao wants shot at Olympic glory

Sometimes you have to throw the game plan out the window.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2009

Free expression under fire

GUATEMALA CITY — Freedom of expression is one of the most important cornerstones of a free and open society. Guarantees of freedom of expression allow citizens to learn about mistakes of the powerful and help reveal corruption at all levels.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2009

A runoff in Afghanistan

Afghanistan will hold a runoff election after all. After weeks of intense speculation, fueled by allegations of fraud in the first round of the presidential ballot, election monitors have concluded that incumbent President Hamid Karzai did not win an outright majority.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 23, 2009

Tokyo theater scene gets kiss of life

The Edinburgh theater and street-performance festival in Scotland annually sends a buzz round the arts world; France's Avignon invariably features a cordon bleu international menu; and Adelaide and Singapore vie for the Asia-Pacific spotlight.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes