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JAPAN
Nov 14, 2009

Obama, Hatoyama prioritize alliance

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama vowed Friday to bolster the bilateral alliance and cooperate on pressing global issues, including climate change and nuclear disarmament.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Nov 14, 2009

Time for Albirex to consider replacing Hirose as coach

When should a team fire a head coach?
EDITORIALS
Nov 13, 2009

The end of a long manhunt

The arrest of Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, on suspicion of abandoning the body of Ms. Lindsay Ann Hawker, a 22-year-old Briton who taught English, brought immense relief to the Hawker family, who fought relentlessly for justice in the murder case for more than 2 1/2 years. As the father, Mr. Bill Hawker, put...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 11, 2009

A good time to remember the ANZUS alliance's fate

HONOLULU — The headlines associated with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' recent visit to Japan notwithstanding, relations between Washington and Tokyo are not as strained as they may appear . . . at least not yet. But there is no question that improper handling of a number of sensitive issues...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 10, 2009

From East Berlin to the Far East, and vice versa

On Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. The East German nation, for 28 years hidden from the world's eyes behind almost impassable walls, suddenly opened up.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 9, 2009

Can aliens buy music more cheaply?

While many industry types are convinced the Web is bad for the music business, they're actually are people who want to PAY for their songs.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2009

No alternative to a new world architecture

NEW YORK — Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of communism, the world faces another stark choice between two fundamentally different forms of organization: international capitalism and state capitalism.
Reader Mail
Nov 8, 2009

Manila lacks leverage with Burma

In his Oct. 29 letter, "ASEAN's act is far from together," Manuel J. Laserna Jr. claims that the Philippines has been reluctant to admonish the Myanmar regime (aka Burma) for its human rights abuses. This is not accurate.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 8, 2009

Japan's roundabout road issue

One of the most contentious components of the Democratic Party of Japan's manifesto is the pledge to make all expressways free. In media survey after media survey, the portion of respondents who don't support the proposal has been consistently between 60 and 65 percent. The Liberal Democratic Party has...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2009

Recalling a saint's legacy to leprosy victims

In early October, "Father Damien" was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. This religious and spiritual ceremony is an opportunity to reflect on Father Damien's life and the lives of those with whom he was most closely associated — people affected by leprosy.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2009

Dollar dying at the hands of a weak renminbi

WASHINGTON — Over the last several weeks, the dollar's depreciation against the euro and yen has grabbed global attention. In a normal world, the dollar's weakening would be welcome, as it would help the United States come to grips with its unsustainable trade deficit. But, in a world where China links...
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.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2009

Asians to see if Obama was worth the wait

SINGAPORE — Come the middle of this month, almost all the key players of Asia will meet in Singapore at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will include other Pacific leaders plus U.S. President Barack Obama.
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.
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...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 30, 2009

There's nothing like a local brew

Once upon a time, all sake was made with locally grown rice. Then came the rise of a particularly reliable strain called Yamada Nishiki, and the scene changed dramatically. Yamada Nishiki, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of Japan's sake rice, is resilient and easily shipped between prefectures....
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2009

'Mother'

Korean auteur Joon-ho Bong's latest, "Mother," combines the calculated suspense and sophisticated psychological thrills of his breakthrough work "Memories of Murder" (2003), with observations of East Asian motherhood gone over the edge.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 30, 2009

There's nothing like a local brew

Once upon a time, all sake was made with locally grown rice. Then came the rise of a particularly reliable strain called Yamada Nishiki, and the scene changed dramatically. Yamada Nishiki, which accounts for nearly 30 percent of Japan's sake rice, is resilient and easily shipped between prefectures....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 30, 2009

Bringing SecondLife into the real art world

Born in Guangzhou in 1978 and now based in Beijing, Cao Fei is one of China's most prominent young artists, known for photographs and videos that combine elements of fantasy and documentary to reflect on cultural shifts since the country's economic opening at the start of the 1980s.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2009

Hiroshima beckons Obama

KYOTO — For the past 64 years the name "Hiroshima" has conjured a nightmare vision for all humanity: the unthinkable specter of instantaneous atomic annihilation. Only by personally visiting Hiroshima or Nagasaki, the two cities that have experienced atomic bombing, can one begin to grasp the threat...
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.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 27, 2009

Mystery train

How do you increase commuters when train fares are too high? Ask the land/transportation ministry for a break.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 27, 2009

File-sharing: Handle Winny at your own risk

More than a decade since the heyday of Napster shareware, peer-to-peer file distribution remains a key tool for Internet users exchanging music and movie files online. The leading program in Japan is Winny, an application distributed free of charge since May 2002 by former University of Tokyo researcher...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 27, 2009

Immigration showing signs of ninjo

Last month, I was asked to take part in a public panel discussion on the recently released Harrison Ford blockbuster "Crossing Over." In the film, Ford plays an L.A. Immigration and Customs officer with a conscience, increasingly disturbed by the human consequences of his job.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo