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JAPAN / Society
Feb 8, 2009

Burmese junta fuels influx

In 2008 there was a sharp spike in the number of people seeking asylum in Japan, and although only 6 percent of those processed were recognized by the government as refugees, they totalled 57 compared with 41 the year before.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 7, 2009

Float this stimulus package

For years Japan has struggled with the question of how to revive the countryside. With few jobs and an aging population, the countryside isn't much of a draw for anyone under the age of 80.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 7, 2009

Stripped of stereotypes

If you ever have the chance to meet Lu Nagata, you will never forget her style and determination.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Feb 4, 2009

Postal hotel 'fire sale' draws flak

Orix Corp.'s purchase of 70 Kampo no Yado hotels from Japan Post Holdings Co. for the fire sale price of ¥10.9 billion has been making headlines for the past month and drawing the scorn of internal affairs minister Kunio Hatoyama.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 3, 2009

What would the locals do?

In Japan, paper advertisements hang from the ceilings of train cars. In how many other countries would that be a viable advertising option? Certainly not in my hometown of Melbourne. Back in Australia, the majority of those ads would not survive any given Saturday night.
COMMENTARY
Feb 3, 2009

Aso deserves high praise

Allow me to cite from a private conversation held with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi around the summer of 2004, following the the Upper House election in July and ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle in September. I had made two requests of Koizumi: Revise the government's interpretation of the Constitution...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Feb 3, 2009

Finding the silver lining

The difficulties encountered as a foreigner can be sources of ideas for business opportunities. This belief is demonstrated by Park Tae Moon's 18 years in Japan — and his successful transition from a newspaper delivery worker to the owner of a 20-staff magazine publishing/consulting business.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 31, 2009

Car crazy and lovin' the fast lane

Simon Sproule appreciates the benefits of globalization. "The world has globalized so much since I left the U.K. in 1998 that I can get access to British media or Marmite on toast almost anywhere, anytime," he says, referring to the popular yeast extract spread.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2009

Brazilians in need of vocational training, language courses

The government should provide vocational training and language support to Brazilian workers who have lost their jobs as manufacturers streamline operations, Brazilian Ambassador Luiz Augusto De Castro Neves said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 29, 2009

Joint project with China

In June 2008, Japan and China agreed on gas development and production projects in the East China Sea by shelving differences over the demarcation of exclusive economic zones (EEZs). Although the agreement was supposed to contribute to building stable bilateral ties, friction has cropped up between the...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2009

NHK to launch global 24-hour news channel

NHK will launch Japan's first 24-hour international broadcasting service on Feb. 2.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2009

Tamogami out of ASDF, not out of range

Based on his controversial essay that blamed Franklin D. Roosevelt for Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, one would expect retired Gen. Toshio Tamogami to be a hardcore rightist unwilling to allow a counterargument in edgewise.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 25, 2009

Soft power beckons as time comes for academia to act sustainably

As I am for the most part an optimist, it seems only right to kick off 2009 with an upbeat column and, as an educator, one area I believe offers great promise is education.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 25, 2009

Larrikin notions of civilization

TRAVELS IN ATOMIC SUNSHINE: Australia and the Occupation of Japan, by Robin Gerster. Scribe Publications, 2008, 336 pp., $49.95 (cloth) Robin Gerster is a respected university- based researcher into recent Australian history. This, his latest book, is a very well-written and very detailed account of...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 25, 2009

Larrikin notions of civilization

Robin Gerster is a respected university- based researcher into recent Australian history. This, his latest book, is a very well-written and very detailed account of Australia's brief attempt (1946-1952) to occupy and "civilize" its large northern neighbor, Japan. The result, needless to say, was less...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2009

Broth in translation

Although she was born in 1977 (in Atlanta, Georgia), Brittany Murphy is a show-business veteran who grew up fast.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2009

Broth in translation

Although she was born in 1977 (in Atlanta, Georgia), Brittany Murphy is a show-business veteran who grew up fast.
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2009

Obama and the alliance

Under the Bush administration, the Japan-U.S. alliance has undergone a quiet but important transformation in the eyes of most Japanese people: It has become a global alliance instead of a regional or bilateral one.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2009

Strategist puts stock in future of women

Ranked tops in equity strategy by Institutional Investor magazine in 2000, 2001 and 2006, Kathy Matsui has a new challenge: empowering Asia's women.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2009

U.S. business envoy warns against protectionism amid economic woes

Japan should steer clear of protectionism and use its extraordinary wealth to stimulate its economy and become a much larger player in the global trading system, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said Friday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2009

Japanese wine: unadulterated and ready to go abroad

The image most people have of Japanese wine is of the ¥500 plonk sitting next to the synthetic beer and sickly sweet chu-hi cocktails on the shelves of their local convenience store; of the cheap and decidedly dismal stuff of lost weekends and discarded personal dignity.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2009

If you can't sell designer bags, rent them

Japanese consumers are renowned for their appetite for luxury brands, hence Georgio Armani and other high-end labels opened their largest outlets in the world in the glitzy Ginza district in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2009

Antiforeigner discrimination is a right for Japanese people

"Japan girai" — dislike of Japan — is an allergy that seems to afflict many Westerners here. If someone handing out Japanese-language flyers assumes they cannot read Japanese and ignores them, they cry racial discrimination. If they are left sitting alone in a train, they assume that is because the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2009

Refugee hopefuls' ally speaks out

Tsuyoshi Amemiya, 74, a retired Aoyama Gakuin University professor, recalls the day he got a lesson on the status of refugees in Japan — and how shocked he was by his own ignorance of the issue.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2009

Departing Schieffer rues abductee issue

Departing U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer expressed regret Wednesday there was not more progress on the abduction issue during his stint but pledged to continue to support the effort to repatriate any Japanese kidnapped to North Korea regardless of his future post.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2009

Chance for East Asian security cooperation

East Asian regional security cooperation has been a long sought-after but elusive goal for decades. Hindered by a lack of Chinese transparency, U.S. distrust and Japanese political uncertainty, options for serious dialogue and, more important, active participation in a long-term security regime for the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2009

Step up nonproliferation efforts

Every year, Japan submits a resolution on nuclear disarmament to the United Nations General Assembly. This year was no different; the 15th such resolution was submitted in October. As the only country in the world against which nuclear weapons have been used, Japan understands the horror and devastation...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji