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EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2007

Popularity takes a tumble

The approval rating for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has hit a record low since he came into power last September. A telephone poll at the beginning of this month by Kyodo News shows that the support rate has sunk to 35.8 percent, a drop of 11.8 points from mid-May and a big slide from the...
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2007

Defection from the North

Four North Koreans — a married couple and their two adult sons — were spotted in a small boat off Fukaura port in Aomori Prefecture last Saturday and are now in custody. They arrived in a 7.3-meter-long open wooden boat equipped with an old outboard engine. They say they left a port near the northeastern...
COMMENTARY
Jun 7, 2007

Playing the new Great Game in Asia and beyond

NEW DELHI — A nifty new enterprise to discuss security dangers in the Asia-Pacific and evolve a coordinated approach — the Quadrilateral Initiative — has kicked off with an unpublicized first meeting. U.S., Japanese, Indian and Australian officials, at the rank of assistant secretary of state,...
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2007

Competing foreign-worker plans face off

OSAKA — If the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) have their way, it's possible you'll see this help-wanted ad in your English-language newspaper:
SOCCER
Jun 6, 2007

Japan, Colombia conclude Kirin Cup with scoreless draw

SAITAMA — Japan and Colombia played out a dour 0-0 draw on Tuesday in the last home match for Ivica Osim's men before the Asian Cup finals, leaving the national team coach with even more questions than answers ahead of the July 7-29 tournament.
Reader Mail
Jun 6, 2007

Critics loyal to Dalai Lama

I would like to express my appreciation for the publication of B. Gautam's May 26 article, "Dalai Lama's shattered dream for Tibet." I am happy about the way in which the author has spoken about the Tibetan issue and the Dalai Lama, and about the underlying tone of support in his piece.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2007

Avoid the security dilemma in Asia

Military modernization is a constant process. Securing the state and protecting its citizens are the first tasks of any government. Militaries are vital to achieving these objectives, even though they are not the only means for doing so. Moreover, wise governments recognize that security is not absolute...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Jun 5, 2007

"The Great American Mousical," "Jake Cake: The Robot Dinner Lady"

"The Great American Mousical," Julie Andrews Edwards, Puffin Books; 2006; 133 pp. If you don't know who Julie Andrews is, ask your parents. They'll tell you how Andrews, the star actress of movie classics like "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music," brought cinema alive for children all over the world....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2007

A rare internationalist off to the rescue

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Will newly anointed World Bank President Robert Zoellick be able to get the organization back on its feet after the catastrophic failed presidency of Paul Wolfowitz? Although hardly a megawatt star of the Bob Rubin category, he certainly brings some positive attributes to the job....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / EAST ASIA SYMPOSIUM
Jun 4, 2007

U.S. presidential election casts long shadow

See related stories: Take your partners for economic integration Sustained economic growth is a question of balance for China
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2007

A torrid tale of three 'Swedish models'

STOCKHOLM — Sweden's economic and social system, sometimes called the "Swedish Model," is often depicted either as an ideal or an abnormality. But Sweden's system has varied considerably. In fact, broadly speaking there have been three different Swedish "models" since the late 19th century.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 1, 2007

Giants' Ogasawara talks softly but wields a big stick at plate

If you are a kid playing baseball and attend an instructional clinic at which a professional player teaches his elaborate techniques, you naturally become interested in absorbing those.
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2007

Stage now set for Hoya's Pentax tender offer in June

Hoya Corp. announced Thursday that it will launch a tender offer for Pentax Corp. as early as June 4 in an attempt to turn the camera maker into a wholly owned subsidiary, ending a two-month takeover battle that caused Pentax to replace its president.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2007

Dead newborn found at vacated flat

Workers clearing an apparently vacated apartment in Hokkaido found the body of a dead newborn among the former residents' belongings, police said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 1, 2007

'300'

The long-simmering cold war between Hollywood and the critics has again flared hot with the release of "300," an effects-driven popcorn movie about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., when 300 Spartan soldiers went down fighting against a Persian horde.
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2007

Latin America learns art of the possible

COPENHAGEN — Shortly after he was elected Uruguay's first left-leaning president, Tabare Vazquez declared that, "We have to reconstruct the future from the limitations of our own times."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2007

Photography now

The borderline between photojournalism and travel photography is hard to define.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2007

Far from the end of the United Kingdom

PRAGUE — Three hundred years after the first Scottish Parliament voluntarily voted itself out of existence in 1707, the Scottish National Party has won a plurality in the devolved Scottish Parliament that is one of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's great legacies. Does an SNP-led government herald...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 29, 2007

British comedy returns to Tokyo

Stand-up comedians, like parents, have a tendency never to give up on a joke. They keep going until it somehow makes someone laugh, even if it's only because of the absurd amount of effort they've put into it.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 27, 2007

MLB should eliminate 'rookie' label for Japanese veterans

Last week an Associated Press photo appeared in these pages with a caption that began, "Boston Red Sox rookie hurler Daisuke Matsuzaka . . . "
Reader Mail
May 27, 2007

Are defibrillators worth it?

I read with interest Alice Gordenker's column about the legal change that permits laypeople in Japan to operate the automated external defibrillator (AED), and the installation of AEDs in public places ("So what the heck is that?" April 17).
JAPAN
May 26, 2007

Diet lowers incarceration age to 'about 12'

The Diet enacted a package of new juvenile crime laws on Friday that lowers the minimum age at which a child can be sent to a reformatory to "about 12."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2007

Marilyn Manson

Feared in America as the Satan-worshipper who inspired the Columbine massacre, but widely regarded elsewhere as a camp standard-bearer for goth culture, Marilyn Manson talks about marriage breakups, murder and makeup

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