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COMMENTARY
Aug 31, 2005

The meaning behind Koizumi's moves

On the surface, most elections are about personalities, false promises and special interests. But Japan's general election Sept. 11 is about a deeper historical reconciliation -- the effort to resolve differences between the country's cultural and behavioral preferences, and the organizational practices...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2005

Southeast Asia watches Koizumi's gamble

SINGAPORE -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took an unprecedented political gamble in dissolving the Lower House and calling a snap general election for Sept. 11 -- after the Upper House rejected his postal privatization bills Aug. 8. The privatization of Japan Post symbolizes Koizumi's reform plans...
COMMENTARY
Aug 25, 2005

Know when not to apologize

LONDON -- Here is a telling statistic about Japan's foreign policy that is little known in the West, and may not be widely known even in Japan itself.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2005

Victor's logic in hindsight

Every August Japan is filled with prayers for the 3.1 million Japanese who died in the Pacific War and feelings of resentment against the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This August, which marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, Japanese media have done intensive reporting to...
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Aug 21, 2005

Cartoon duo leads the way in a version of history that's no joke

The phrase "textbook row" has become a regular sighting in Japanese newspapers of late, as newly authorized history books for schools are accused, both at home and abroad, of "glossing over" the bloodier aspects of this country's warmongering, Imperialist past.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2005

Rallying round home-grown sounds

It's the final day of this year's Rock in Japan festival, which took place Aug. 5-7. Holding court in the HMV DJ booth is entertainer Yoshiaki Umegaki. He's a late fortysomething transvestite sporting a tall blue wig and playing with his plastic breasts under a fetching blue sequined number while pouring...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 21, 2005

All together now, as yesterday's no-no becomes the status quo

When I first arrived in Japan in the 1960s, I was friends with a Western sociologist who was genuinely frustrated. When he went around surveying public opinion, he said that he found Japanese people to be stubbornly reserved and conservative. Apparently, those who responded to his questions about social...
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2005

Postal reform bills still top LDP agenda

The Liberal Democratic Party pledged Friday to resubmit Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's defeated postal privatization bills for passage in the next Diet session.
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2005

Statements befitting future conduct

On Monday, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement apologizing for Japan's past colonialism and aggression. He also decided that day not to visit Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan's militarism in the 1930s and '40s. Instead, he visited and...
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2005

China to swoop on Iran oil field if Tokyo pulls support: firms

On the brink of tapping into one of the world's largest known oil reserves, Japanese companies are fretting over the possibility of further rivalry with China.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Aug 18, 2005

Jizo

Dear Alice,
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2005

Honoring the war dead is a hot, heated affair

Tens of thousands of people braved a sweltering Monday in Tokyo to pay their respects to the nation's war dead on the 60th anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender.
JAPAN / 60 YEARS,AND ONWARD
Aug 14, 2005

War's end brought cash to Hokkaido

When the 77th Division of the 9th Army Corps landed in Hakodate, Hokkaido, on Oct. 4, 1945, it began a low-key U.S. presence in Japan's northernmost prefecture which continues to this day.
COMMENTARY
Aug 14, 2005

Reform mantra mesmerizes

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision to call a Diet Lower House election Sept. 11 solely on the question of post office privatization is curious.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 14, 2005

Chiune Sugihara: His conscience gleams out of the darkness

Exactly 60 years ago, during the evening of Aug. 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito recorded the speech of surrender to be broadcast to the Japanese nation the next day at noon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2005

Just a slab of cold peace after 60 years

MONTEREY, Calif. — Sunday marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War. In Asia, it is an especially critical milestone as China, South Korea and many Southeast Asian countries recall their struggle against the Japanese invasions, valuing peace all the more today. Time is supposed to heal...
Japan Times
Features
Aug 14, 2005

Caught in the middle: an 'enemy' in service of the Emperor

Life in Japan during the war years was not easy for foreign-born persons of Japanese parentage, but relatively speaking it would seem that I had a fairly easy time.
Japan Times
Features
Aug 14, 2005

Spared suicide pilot fights in cause of peace

Every Sunday evening finds Masamichi Shida among a group of antiwar protesters outside the train station in Kamakura, south of Tokyo, singing songs opposing Japan's participation in the U.S.-led campaign in Iraq.
JAPAN / 60 YEARS AND ONWARD
Aug 12, 2005

Bank lending key to postwar revival

When Hiroshige Nishizawa got a job at the now-defunct Industrial Bank of Japan more than 40 years ago, the new graduate was full of ambition.
COMMENTARY
Aug 10, 2005

When it comes to American policy, Tokyo and Beijing have something in common

LOS ANGELES -- In two recent decisions involving the two major powers of East Asia, the United States revealed that it is still ungenerous about sharing power, even with a close ally like Japan, and that it is still so paranoid about China that it is willing to risk antagonizing it by acting as if it...
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2005

House dissolution may delay critical diplomacy

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision Monday to call a general election may end up stalling Japan's diplomatic agenda, including talks on realigning the U.S. forces in Japan.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2005

Financial world sees postal setback as its own

The House of Councilors' rejection Monday of the contentious postal privatization bills fueled pessimism in the financial sector about future reforms of the world's biggest financial institution, banking industry insiders said.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2005

White knight rides to consultancy's rescue

A white knight in shining armor showed up in a high-profile corporate takeover battle Monday, when Eight Consultants Co. announced it would launch a tender offer bid for Japan Engineering Consultants Co.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 9, 2005

Visiting U.K. students compare notes on war

As Japan prepares to mark the 60th anniversary of the Aug. 15 end of World War II, 24 British high school students are working to promote mutual understanding by holding exchanges on wartime history with Japanese people.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2005

Legacy of tepid leadership

For Japanese, August is a gloomy month. In the Pacific War, which ended in August 60 years ago, more than 3 million Japanese troops died. In the final days of the war, U.S. forces dropped history's first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki following indiscriminate carpet bombings of Japanese cities...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 7, 2005

Learning a foreign language is a cultural journey, too

English students of Japan, unite! You have nothing to lose but your (conversation school) chains!
MORE SPORTS
Aug 6, 2005

Colts RB James happy he made the trip after all

Now that he's in Japan, Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James is finding out things aren't so bad after all.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2005

UNSC bid crippled as African Union refuses to join 'G4' in resolution

Japan's prospects of gaining a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council have been dealt a savage blow, with the African Union refusing to draft a joint resolution on UNSC expansion with Japan and three other nations.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’