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Reader Mail
Oct 18, 2007

Other wrestlers must step up

Regarding the Oct. 10 sports brief "Tokitsuumi replaces fired elder": The tragic death of the young wrestler in the Tokitsukaze stable has brought many private details of sumo life to light. For the 34 years I have intensely covered sumo as a reportage artist, and having been married to a Japanese...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2007

A kinder way to tackle climate change

NEW DELHI — On Sept. 24, a major event took place in the United Nations with about 80 heads of state and heads of government meeting at the invitation of Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to discuss the subject of climate change.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2007

¥552 million Myanmar aid project nixed

The government will cancel a ¥552 million project to build a human resource training center in Myanmar to protest the recent military crackdown on the democracy movement and the killing of a Japanese video journalist, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tuesday.
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2007

Ministry reneges on meeting

On Oct. 5, Persia White, a director of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was refused entry to the Japanese health ministry's building to attend a pre-arranged meeting, and to deliver a petition to stop the slaughter of dolphins and small whales in places such as Taiji, Iko, Ito, Futo and Izu. Furthermore,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 16, 2007

The faces behind the numbers: A day feeding Tokyo's hungry

Last in a two-part series O n a typical Saturday evening, I stroll around the bustling streets of Shibuya with my friends, dressed up, heels clicking, ready to hit a couple of trendy shops. The chilly breeze puffs up the hairs on my arms and I shudder — winter is approaching. We chat about school,...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
Oct 16, 2007

Self-study sites welcome you to the world of kanji

When I first suggested in this column using Internet resources for learning kanji in 2001, a Yahoo search yielded 12,700 hits for "kanji learning." That number has now reached a staggering 1.4 million. New, sophisticated online kanji self-study resources are increasingly enabling foreign kanji learners...
COMMENTARY
Oct 13, 2007

Democracies' double standard

NEW DELHI — The repression let loose by Burma's (Myanmar) military junta has fittingly drawn international outrage. But the indignation and new wave of U.S.-led sanctions also obscure an inconvenient truth: Promotion of freedom has become a diplomatic instrument to target not China — the world's...
BUSINESS / EAST ASIA SYMPOSIUM
Oct 13, 2007

Agricultural industry reform said crucial for Japan FTAs

Japan could be left behind in the global trend of free trade agreements unless it resolves the problem of its protected agricultural sectors, Keio University professor Fukunari Kimura stressed at the Sept. 28 East Asia symposium.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 12, 2007

MY PLAYLIST: Hot Chip

Hot Chip are leading the current British electro-indie crossover charge, having earned widespread acclaim for their second album "The Warning," released in Japan last month on Rough Trade.
Reader Mail
Oct 11, 2007

Where is Japan going?

I have a difficult time understanding why the Japanese government torments itself so much over the thought of shouldering more costs than it has already allocated for U.S. military bases, especially in areas where it does not even have jurisdiction. If Japan exists in the the promise of a "no-military"...
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2007

When it's unsafe at home

A survey taken by the health ministry between May and June shows 12,575 cases of physical, psychological and other kinds of abuse of people aged 65 years and over in the year since the law to prevent abuse of elderly people went into effect in April 2006. Experts believe the figures reported by the nation's...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 7, 2007

Nahoko Yamazaki: Off-stage woman stars in men's theater world

Just as in the realm of politics, in the arts world — and here, particularly regarding the performing arts — different countries adopt different policies depending on their historical and economic circumstances.
COMMENTARY
Oct 5, 2007

Myanmar's crimes against public health

NEW YORK — During four decades of rule, the Myanmar military has neglected people's health needs to such an extent that it amounts to an attack against the people, whose health status remains one of the most precarious in the region. This is more proof that the military leadership has been more interested...
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 4, 2007

Machimura mulling bill-consultation bodies with opposition

The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition should create consultation bodies with the opposition camp, which now has a majority in the House of Councilors, to seek its opinion on important bills before any final decisions are reached, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2007

In need of legal help? Just dial the center

From marital woes to financial crises, people often require legal assistance for the problems they face in life.
Reader Mail
Oct 2, 2007

Hurdles to teaching English

Regarding the article "Is it all over for Nova?" on the Sept. 25 Community page: I used to work at Nova as an assistant trainer until about two years ago. I quit because I was worried about the company's future at that time.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2007

Fukuda vows to regain public trust

urgent issue," Fukuda told the Diet in the 23-minute speech. "Without the people's trust, it is impossible to realize any policy or necessary reforms." The remarks followed Fukuda's warning to his Cabinet last week to keep their hands clean over political funds.
Reader Mail
Sep 30, 2007

Union accepts Nova teachers

Regarding the Sept. 25 article in the Community section "Advice for teachers": The statement that "The General Union and Nambu decided on a policy that we won't take new members if Nova goes bankrupt" is not an accurate reflection of the General Union's policy. The General Union has no special policy...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Sep 30, 2007

Asashoryu fiasco illustrates incompetence of sumo's leaders

Enough already.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 30, 2007

Sophistication from improvisation

Kitano Takeshi. London: British Film Institute, 2007, 272 pp., with photos. £16.99 (paper) This is a brilliant book on a mercurial subject. Takeshi Kitano is an actor and film director, ubiquitous on television as well, who has become a media event. His persona has splintered and he stands Janus-faced...
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2007

Stemming the violence in Myanmar

The situation in Myanmar has become ugly as the country's security forces mount a violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators. Already more than a dozen people have died, including Buddhist monks and a Japanese journalist. It is the first such shedding of blood since prodemocracy demonstrations in 1988,...
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2007

Japan may pull envoy if talks tank

we have to wait and see for a while to decide if we should apply sanctions or not," Fukuda told reporters at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. "We won't immediately apply sanctions because much of Japan's aid is humanitarian." Tokyo has traditionally used a policy of engagement with Myanmar,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 28, 2007

Rebel yell from the desert

Saharan bluesmen Tinariwen traded guns for guitars, then set about gaining an army of famous fans
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2007

The rise of the middle-ranking powers

The security environment since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States has clearly demonstrated the limits of the United Nations, or even the U.S. as the world's sole military superpower, to maintain international security. However, like-minded mid-level powers with similar intentions...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past