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BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2009

Aso orders new stimulus, extra budget

Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered the government Tuesday to come up with a new set of economic measures, including the drafting of an extra budget, aimed at digging the economy out of recession.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Apr 1, 2009

TomoToday can broaden your social-media circles

The Web has been praised for taking publishing to new heights, but it's also pioneered new ways for people to connect and reconnect. In Facebook, Mixi, MySpace and hundreds of other large and small online communities, we're learning new modes of socialization.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 31, 2009

Women, know your place

Every time I open a newspaper or click on the Internet, yet another article appears bemoaning the same tired trend in Japanese society: the falling birthrate. Citing everything from sexless marriages to inequality in the workplace for women, these articles all skirt the real problem — Japanese women...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Mar 31, 2009

Look overseas to address Japan's lag in English ability

Dear education ministry,
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2009

Hashimoto loses fight to move Osaka HQ

OSAKA — Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto suffered his first major political setback early Tuesday when a proposal to move the prefectural headquarters to the World Trade Center building in the harbor district was voted down.
COMMENTARY
Mar 25, 2009

Wrestling with job losses as the recession deepens

In Britain the number of unemployed has reached over 2 million (6.5 percent) and there are fears that the number will rise to over 3 million before the recession ends. In America the rate of unemployment is reported to have risen to 8.1 percent. In European countries that have adopted the euro as their...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Mar 24, 2009

Justice Ministry turned me into Russian hottie

Dear Ministry of Justice,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 24, 2009

Punishing foreigners, exonerating Japanese

Examine any justice system and patterns emerge. For example, consider how Japan's policing system treats non-Japanese. Zeit Gist has discussed numerous times (July 8, 2008; Feb. 20 and Nov. 13, 2007; May 24, 2005; Jan. 13, 2004; Oct. 7, 2003) how police target and racially profile foreigners under...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 24, 2009

Tatami care, and dust to dust

Spring cleaning Kate wonders if it is OK to wash tatami mats. "I'm spring-cleaning," she writes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 20, 2009

Bruschetta, beer — this must be northern Italy

Great news. Stefano Fastro, owner-patron- chef of one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Kagurazaka's inimitable Ristorante Stefano, has just opened a new place. Better news yet, it's not a spinoff or an attempt to duplicate his original operation. In fact, it's completely different in feel, although...
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2009

Patriot batteries may shift north

Japan may shift Patriot missile batteries to its northern coast to intercept debris that might be created if North Korea's rocket launch fails, the defense minister said Thursday as the prime minister warned of more sanctions against Pyongyang.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 20, 2009

Okinawan flavors of entertainment

Manabu Oshiro, the chief of the Research and Training Section of the National Theater, Okinawa since 2006, attributes the creation of kumiodori, a form of drama unique to Okinawa, to the friendly relationship that the Ryukyu Kingdom maintained with China for over 400 years spanning the 15th to the 19th...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2009

Quake-hit town split over reactor restart

Residents of a remote village in Niigata Prefecture must choose between jobs and safety as they weigh a request to restart the world's biggest nuclear plant, shut for more than a year after a deadly earthquake triggered a fire and radiation leaks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 20, 2009

Brusca: Bruschetta, beer — this must be northern Italy

Great news. Stefano Fastro, owner-patron- chef of one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Kagurazaka's inimitable Ristorante Stefano, has just opened a new place. Better news yet, it's not a spinoff or an attempt to duplicate his original operation. In fact, it's completely different in feel, although...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2009

Iran's muddled presidential politics

WASHINGTON — The decision by former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami not to seek the presidency again has revealed how muddled Iranian presidential politics now is. In trying to sort out this muddle, the most important thing to keep in mind is not so much who will be elected, but what that choice...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 17, 2009

Canucks abroad fret over new curbs on citizenship

Citizenship can mean the difference between "belonging" and being just a visitor. Some people endure years of waiting in line and filing applications in a bid to change citizenship; others, by virtue of their birthplace and familial ties, begin their lives with the opportunity to be citizens of two or...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Mar 17, 2009

I am not a Pakistani child bride (but the U.K. can't tell the difference)

A quondam lover of EnglandOsaka
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Mar 17, 2009

Headmaster studies layers of the Japan onion

When Timothy Carr arrived in Japan in 2003, the punctuality and caution he saw people investing in the maintenance of order immediately struck him as fascinating.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Mar 17, 2009

Students project art with passion

It seems anything is possible at The American School in Japan. Take the standard procedure of inviting a guest to talk to the students. Most schools would settle for a well-known alumni; ASIJ gets Colin Powell and George Bush Sr. Now they're trying something new: a residency program where scholars or...
BUSINESS
Mar 17, 2009

Game publishers to Sony: Cut PS3 price or lose out to Nintendo

Sony Corp. is under pressure from video game publishers to cut the price of the PlayStation 3 console or risk seeing more development funds shift to Nintendo Co.'s Wii.
COMMENTARY
Mar 16, 2009

Clinching a free trade accord with Beijing

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao recently offered to hold political and military talks with Taiwan in order to end the state of hostility between the two sides, which has existed for 60 years. Taiwan immediately rejected the offer, with President Ma Ying-jeou saying through a spokesman, "At this stage, we...
EDITORIALS
Mar 16, 2009

Support needy foreign workers

The downturn of the Japanese economy is severely affecting foreign workers in this nation, most of whom are temporary employees. The labor ministry says at least some 5,600 foreign workers have lost or will soon lose their jobs. But that estimate is likely low.
Japan Times
SPORTS / HIT AND RUN
Mar 15, 2009

Group linked to Valentine explored buying BayStars

Like a batter with three strikes, Bobby Valentine is promising to go down swinging.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WEEK 3
Mar 15, 2009

Slow Life ambassador tickets hasty hordes

At a busy crossing in front of Tokyo Station, Bruno Contigiani, president of L'Arte del Vivere con Lentezza (The Art of Slow Living), an organization he founded in his native Italy, approached office workers one after another urging "Yuru yuru, shiawase" ("Go slowly, be happy").
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2009

Same attacks against Israel likely

Regarding the March 10 editorial, "Durban II in danger": When I lived in Japan in 1984-1985, a popular foreign title was the fabricated conspiracy theory "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." So it is heartening to read an editorial on the critical issues that are already undermining the second Durban...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 15, 2009

Alaska photographer remembered, three decades of Doraemon, Kansai retro-drama remake

Photographer Michio Hoshino, who died 12 years ago, is profiled in the documentary "Hoshino Michio Inochi e no Manazashi" ("A Look at the Life of Michio Hoshino") (NHK-E, Tues., 10:25 p.m.)
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2009

Stabilizing Afghanistan

The Obama administration is working out a strategy to stabilize Afghanistan, where the level of violence has risen due to a resurgence of the Taliban. A high level of cooperation in the international community will be key to the successful reconstruction of the nation.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 14, 2009

Japan Cat Network seeks help in Tokyo expansion project

American Susan Roberts, of the Kansai-based Japan Cat Network, met with a dozen interested persons March 8 in Tokyo as part of the animal welfare group's expansion to the capital and its plans to open a cat rehoming center in west Tokyo's Hachioji.

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