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EDITORIALS
Aug 21, 2007

Auspicious start to mediation

More than a year has passed since a mediation process was introduced in district courts to settle labor disputes, especially between individual workers and companies. The system, which went into force in April 2006, utilizes the experience of people such as corporate personnel affairs experts and labor...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 20, 2007

Why can't Americans give up their guns?

NEW YORK — Is there anything comparable to the numbing obstinacy, the utter blindness to reality, that politicians display toward the consequences of untrammeled gun ownership in this country? So I wondered, once again, when I stumbled upon President George W. Bush's answer to what some now call "the...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2007

Something's up as 'buy' confidence slips

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — The sharp drop in the world's stock markets on Aug. 9 — after BNP Paribas announced that it would freeze three of its funds — is just one more example of the markets' recent downward instability or asymmetry. The markets have been more vulnerable to sudden large drops than...
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2007

Nintendo scores with brain-training, etiquette games

Since March, Natsumi Takita has spent 10 minutes daily on a Nintendo DS hand-held game machine, undergoing daily quizzes using "Otona-no Joshikiryoku Training DS" ("Common Sense Training for Adults").
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 18, 2007

Are island people an endangered species?

The passing of O-bon (the festival of the dead), seems an appropriate time to reflect on the declining population in Japan. While the population continues to decline, depopulation is also occurring in farming communities and on Japan's small islands. As an islander myself, I am confronted with the question:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 17, 2007

'I was totally squished, but it was ace'

It's apt that Rock in Japan takes place in between Fuji Rock and Summer Sonic. While Fuji sprawls myriad bands over a vast, scenic site and Summer Sonic hosts acts for a younger crowd in an exhibition hall and stadium, RIJ combines the best of both.
COMMENTARY
Aug 16, 2007

Japan, India: natural allies

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, weakened by a mortifying defeat in Upper House elections, will address the Indian Parliament later this month. This is an honor that U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao did not get during their state visits to India last year. India and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 16, 2007

"Takafumi Tsuchiya Exhibition"

Wada Fine Arts Closes in 9 days
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 15, 2007

Air-conditioned neckties, AERO multifunction iPod docks

Cool Biz is not a principle that your average Japanese salaryman is going to embrace without a robust philosophical debate. A key impediment to his embracing of the green logic is the necktie. If he could have it surgically attached, I do believe that he would. Thanko is giving the poor guy an option...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Aug 14, 2007

Close the door on the way out Asashoryu

Every sport has its ups and downs. Every sport has its bad boys. Sumo, in as far as it is classified as a sport, is no different.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 14, 2007

Manga frenzy proves that we're all kids at heart

That whole deal about growing up and behaving like an adult? Scrap it, you don't have to — at least not in the Japan of recent years. Adult responsibilities, adult worries, adult concerns — while we all know such things exist, it's become possible to dodge them well into your 30s and 40s, in a kind...
EDITORIALS
Aug 11, 2007

ASEAN turns 40

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) celebrated its 40th anniversary this week. It has grown considerably since its birth: It has doubled in size and taken on new tasks. While there is justifiable pride in its progress, there is also recognition that ASEAN must evolve significantly more...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 10, 2007

Festival theater heats up Shibuya

Matsuri (festivals) in Japan are not only about fireworks, as the monthlong "Summer Summit 2007" drama event attests.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Aug 10, 2007

A Good Year

Director: Ridley Scott Language: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2007

Wise-guy George woos Tokyo

It's not clear whether George Clooney was in character for his Tokyo press conference (along with "Ocean's Thirteen" producer Jerry Weintraub), or whether he'd just been knocking back the hooch with lunch, but either way, he rarely answered a question straight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 9, 2007

A sex trip that aims to ease our anxieties

The Japan Times gets up close and personal with director John Cameron Mitchell and actress Sook-Yin Lee about the sexiest film of 2007
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2007

Should Abe stay or go? Japan debates the LDP's electoral defeat

WASHINGTON — Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has told the Japanese public that despite his ruling coalition government's devastating defeat in the July 29 Upper House elections, he will do "the responsible thing": He will stay on as the party's leader and as Japan's prime minister.
Reader Mail
Aug 5, 2007

Unlimited self-righteousness

Regarding Robert Harte's July 29 letter, "Brazen demand for apology," in response to Kiroku Hanai's article: Whose demand is brazen? Harte's comment is a typical example of American self-righteousness and hubris.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 5, 2007

Celeb candidates stung by real election hero

TV Tokyo began its summary coverage of last Sunday's Upper House election later than the other stations, and included some genuine theater: A short dramatization of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's "crushing defeat."
EDITORIALS
Aug 3, 2007

Managing Japan's foreign reserves

Some government officials, including Financial Services Minister Yuji Yamamoto, are calling for more effective management of Japan's foreign-exchange reserves, the world's second largest at about $910 billion. During a recent visit to Singapore, Mr. Yamamoto proposed that Japan consider investing foreign-currency...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2007

Junction on Russia's road to nowhere

MOSCOW — Recently, a small event caused a major stir in Russian politics. An aide to President Vladimir Putin, Igor Shuvalov, said it was realistic to expect the appearance of a new person whom Putin would consider his potential successor. The statement hit like a bombshell, producing an explosion...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 1, 2007

Taiji officials: Dolphin meat 'toxic waste'

For what is believed to be the first time anywhere in Japan, elected officials have openly condemned the consumption of dolphin meat, especially in school lunches, on grounds that it is dangerously contaminated with mercury.
EDITORIALS
Jul 31, 2007

A devastating defeat for Mr. Abe

In Sunday's Upper House election, Japanese voters expressed their dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party, which has been embroiled in a pension-records fiasco, political-funds scandals and gaffes by Cabinet ministers. The votes have made the opposition Democratic...

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