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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2010

The royal British revival of Princess Masako

WASHINGTON — An invitation to the upcoming nuptials of Prince William to Kate Middleton next April should be making its way to Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako soon. The odds of Princess Masako actually attending the much-anticipated wedding are stacked against her, given that the princess...
Japan Times
JAPAN / RESETTLEMENT
Dec 16, 2010

Critics slam settlement program's lack of vision

Lawyers and supporters of asylum-seekers in Japan have cast a critical eye on the start of the government's third-country refugee resettlement program.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2010

The Kremlin resets Russian foreign policy

2010 has seen a change in Russia's relations with the West. The Obama administration came to office promising a "reset" in relations with Moscow, and in the past year, this new mood of cooperation has begun to deliver tangible results. Moscow and Washington are working together to reduce their nuclear...
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Dec 15, 2010

Social gaming frenzy sees two Godzillas play rough

On Dec. 8, the Tokyo-based Internet company DeNA received an on-site investigation by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) due to suspected unfair trade practices. DeNA had allegedly interfered with their third-party game providers' development of games for DeNA's competitor, Gree.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Dec 14, 2010

Bigger not necessarily better for eikaiwa

As an eikaiwa owner and operator in Osaka, it was refreshing to read Mr. Richard Smart's views in his article "Small schools offer hope amid eikaiwa slump" (Zeit Gist, Nov. 2).
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 12, 2010

Era of American managers in NPB finished for now

Flash back to 2007. One-third of the teams in Japanese pro baseball (including half the Pacific League clubs) had American managers. There was Marty Brown with the Hiroshima Carp, Terry Collins leading the Orix Buffaloes, Trey Hillman guiding the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters and Bobby Valentine at the...
Reader Mail
Dec 12, 2010

Italian baker could use leavening

I am gravely disappointed in the comments of Paolo Aggio, the subject of the Dec. 7 Who's Who article, "Italian baker gives new life to old Tochigi warehouse." Aggio yearns for the "good old Japan" — by that he means all of 22 years ago! — and he cannot say good things about the opportunities that...
COMMUNITY
Dec 11, 2010

Mover, shaker aids Goa's poorest kids

Stephen Young has always felt "driven to see the world" and left London at the age of 17 to do just that. He loves music, celebrates life and love and sees value, use, and often great potential in the world's outcasts, whether they be unwanted appliances in Tokyo or street children in the slums of Goa....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 11, 2010

Aging naturally and gracefully

The current Visit Japan campaign, where the government hopes to hit 10 million foreign visitors by the end of 2010, should be courting the American baby boomers — 78 million people between the ages of 50 and 70. We could call it the Visit Aging Japan Campaign.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 7, 2010

Abuse rife within trainee system, say NGOs

In October 1999, 19 Chinese trainees came to the Takefu city office pleading for help. In their first year in Japan as interns, the women had been promised ¥50,000 a month, but scraped by on ¥10,000. The next year, as technical trainees, they should have received ¥115,000 a month. After health insurance,...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 7, 2010

Hakone Ekiden gave relay races new fascination

As the new year approaches, many people are looking forward to gathering with their families to eat special New Year's dishes. Some also will be tuning in to watch the Hakone Ekiden, the two-day long-distance collegiate relay race held from Jan. 2.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2010

Uniqlo billionaire Yanai goes back to the basics

Tadashi Yanai, Japan's richest man, used advice from management guru Peter Drucker to build his Uniqlo clothing empire. To pull out of a slump that's hammered profits and shares, the billionaire is revisiting the lessons.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 5, 2010

Kawachi has backers, detractors

Knowing that the Japan Basketball Association (JBA) had no interest in establishing a legitimate professional league several years ago and that he would face fierce resistance from the sport's old boy network, Toshimitsu Kawachi took a courageous step and formed a rival circuit, which included a pair...
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2010

Officials fear WikiLeaks' potential to harm U.S. ties

What's next? What disasters await in the pipeline?
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2010

Midterm losses hobble Obama on a global scale

WASHINGTON — Barack Obama's political fortunes suffered a devastating blow at the election polls Nov. 2. Since then, whether on domestic policy or in the international arena, nations as well as American politicians have raised their price for cooperating with him.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Dec 1, 2010

Microsoft taps schoolgirl idols for Xbox 360 Kinect launch

During the launch of Micosoft's new controller-free motion peripheral, Kinect, on Nov. 20 in Akihabara, Tokyo, a pair of schoolgirl idols stood smiling before a line of about 150 eager gamers — the guy at the head of the line had camped out for two days in a cardboard box with "Xbox 360" painted on...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 30, 2010

Justice not served in navy abuse case

This summer, a U.S. Navy doctor, Lt. Cmdr. Anthony L. Velasquez, 48, walked free after serving seven days in the brig at the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture. He had admitted to two counts each of wrongful sexual contact and conduct unbecoming an officer. He had, however, gotten off lightly, with...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 28, 2010

Trans-Pacific Partnership for a cheaper bowl of beef and rice

The APEC summit in Yokohama earlier this month was a key event by any standard. Leaders of 21 countries came to discuss how to integrate the world's most dynamic region in terms of trade.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2010

Whaling fleet yet to depart

The whaling fleet has not yet left for the Antarctic Ocean, making this year's departure unusually late.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2010

Kan confers with Lee on North threat

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Seoul counterpart, Lee Myung Bak, agreed Wednesday their countries and the United States must work closely to confront any provocations by North Korea, which the previous day shelled a South Korean island in the Yellow Sea, causing four confirmed deaths.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2010

SDF dispatch may up Senkaku ante

Japan may further damage already frayed relations with China if it moves the Self-Defense Forces closer to a group of islets claimed by both nations, says Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University's Tokyo campus.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Nov 25, 2010

Trio must be firm with North

Growing military tension on the Korean Peninsula has posed another major diplomatic challenge for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet, and Japan needs to form a firm united front with the United States and South Korea to deal with Pyongyang's provocations, critics said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2010

TPP zone will test commitment to free trade

SINGAPORE — China is outpacing the United States and Japan as Asia's top trading partner. Can Washington and Tokyo make up lost ground in the competition for economic influence that is shaping future geopolitical alignments and institutional architecture in the region?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2010

Japanese open about being part of Sea Shepherd crew

For Kuniko Oyakawa, that cetaceans may be more intelligent than, say, cows, pigs or chickens is not why she opposes whaling — she is against eating any wild creature.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 23, 2010

Both victims, perpetrators of sekuhara : responses

A selection of readers' responses to "Foreigners victims, perpetrators of sekuhara" (Zeit Gist, Oct. 26) by Steve Silver:
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 20, 2010

What's wrong with talking a little turkey?

Japan typically digs in its heels against outside customs. To win acceptance here, such customs must first measure up to Japan's high standards of cultural attainment.

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