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COMMENTARY
Nov 26, 2007

Upbeat band of moderates keep the faith

BALI, Indonesia — A bad idea can sometimes illuminate the darkest landscape of truth with brilliant flair in a way that mere fact cannot. Consider, for example, the idea that Islam is incompatible with democracy. It's a really bad idea, but it can serve a very good purpose.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Nov 25, 2007

An insider detects desperation

Tokyo Motor Show is one of the world's most important biennial automotive exhibitions, and I get to see them all. It attracts everyone who's anyone in the motoring industry, drawing phenomenal crowds — 1,4525,800 people over 17 days from Oct. 26 to Nov. 11. And more than any other car show in the world,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 25, 2007

Oh mother, I can feel the soil falling over your head

As shown by the media frenzy sparked by lapses in decorum on the part of women like Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, the value of a person's sins increases exponentially in direct proportion to her fame. Women celebrities are subject to closer scrutiny for their mistakes than are men,...
BUSINESS / ASIA-JAPAN-U.S. SYMPOSIUM
Nov 24, 2007

Common issues disarm U.S.-China strategic rivalry

Ten years from now, China will likely be a predominant military power in Asia, but it apparently does not intend to engage in an arms race with the United States nor to seek to become a global power, said Adam Segal, a senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2007

Evidence on Iran doesn't seem to matter

LONDON — Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli defense minister, is not a fan of Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In fact, he wants him fired. "The policies followed by ElBaradei endanger world peace. His irresponsible attitude of sticking his head in the sand over Iran's...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2007

It's Taiwan's referendum

For China, the launch of the Fukuda Cabinet in late September was good news, so it must expect many things from the new administration. What concerns me now in this respect is Taiwan's move to hold a national referendum on whether to seek U.N. membership in the name of "Taiwan."
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2007

New expression of xenophobia

Responding to Susan Menadue-Chun's Nov. 15 letter, "SPRs have suffered enough," I wish to emphasize that, in my Nov. 11 letter, I was posing a rhetorical question rather than advocating that "Special Permanent Residents," including those with ties to pro-North Korea groups, be subject to the new...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 21, 2007

No market for malcontent Marbury

NEW YORK — It's pathetically entertaining to read speculation regarding which teams might take Stephon Marbury and what toxic waste may possibly be dumped in New York.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Nov 20, 2007

Moles

Dear Alice,
Reader Mail
Nov 18, 2007

Alone at a time of danger

One thing that really struck me about the recent murder of a young woman in Kawaguchi City, Saitama, is how her neighbors seemed happy to go on TV and talk about it. One man said he heard a loud banging, and a woman screaming for help, which begs the question: What did he do?
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2007

New wine in old bottles

Seasons change in Japan in two ways, according to nature and according to marketing. This last week started the season for Beaujolais Nouveau, the freshly harvested wine that has become an annual worldwide phenomenon. Marketing and traditional values, the two major forces on Japanese consumer behavior,...
Reader Mail
Nov 18, 2007

Intervention has killed 'design'

Regarding Julian Worrall's Nov. 6 article, "Design turns over a greener leaf": I generally agree with the idea that we should enter a design recession. As someone who has been practicing for the past 20 years in Europe, the United States, and extensively in Japan, my feeling is that due to media frenzy...
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2007

Global turmoil kept BOJ from hiking interest rate

The Bank of Japan refrained from raising interest rates in October because of concern "unstable" global financial markets could derail economic growth, minutes show.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 15, 2007

Just how dominant are Pats?

NEW YORK — No doubt more than one coach has wanted to send Bill Belichick the same one-fingered message that Wyoming's Joe Glenn relayed across the field when Utah went for an onside kick Saturday with a 43-0 lead in the third quarter of their college game.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 15, 2007

Not in Beijing for the Chinese

Standing among the glamorously attired revelers celebrating the opening of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing this month, Tokyo art dealer Sueo Mizuma had to yell to make himself heard.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 13, 2007

Murakami's Nobel leanings

The news that 88-year-old Doris Lessing received the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature was not greeted by the Japanese media with as much fanfare as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's winning the Nobel Peace Prize. This perhaps was because Japanese literary circles were more interested in whether Haruki...
EDITORIALS
Nov 13, 2007

Joy of learning marked down

A panel of the Central Education Council, which advises the education minister, has compiled an interim report that urges more class hours for core subjects in elementary and junior high schools — the first such move in 30 years. The proposal would be carried out as early as in 2011 as courses of study...
COMMUNITY
Nov 13, 2007

Beyond Nova

On Saturday, meetings were held across Japan for Nova Corp. instructors and staff, to provide information about the sponsor's plans for the future.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 11, 2007

Suguri perseveres as rivals grow younger

Sometimes in life we tend to take things that endure for granted.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 11, 2007

Why trust the self-serving United States anymore?

I began by asking myself the question linked inevitably to the survival of the United States as a trusted nation in the 21st century: Why can't America admit defeat?
EDITORIALS
Nov 11, 2007

Mr. Musharraf's misrule

In a move reminiscent of the Vietnam-era logic that justified destroying a village to save it from communism, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has suspended his country's constitution for the sake of saving its democracy. That decision is only the latest in a series of missteps that have undermined...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2007

Will entry checks cross the line?

Despite government claims it is necessary to counter terrorism, a new immigration procedure obliging most foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry to Japan has come under fire as an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2007

New MOT curator aims to do a lot with a little

Yuko Hasegawa delivers instructions to her staff in an even, polite manner that often belies the burden they impose. It's a style perhaps more suited to a corporate boardroom than an art museum. But, since she took over as chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT), in April last year,...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2007

Let history judge Russia's revolutions

PRAGUE — A plethora of anniversaries is arriving in Russia. This fall marks the 90th anniversary of the October Revolution of 1917 and the 25th anniversary of the death of Leonid Brezhnev. Next month will see the 15th anniversary of the Soviet Union's disintegration. Only by understanding that first...

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