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COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 19, 2006

End of the Lion

The mythmaker Jim Frederick TIME Magazine The most difficult aspect of reporting on Koizumi was confronting the fixed, immutable and monolithic "Koizumi Myth." What started as a campaign plank -- "Koizumi is a reformer and a rebel who is destroying the LDP and reinvigorating Japan" -- somehow became...
BASKETBALL
Sep 18, 2006

Higashio, Apache eager to build strong fan base

On Sunday afternoon, ex-baseball hurler Osamu Higashio stepped onto an unfamiliar field, a hardwood court, not a soft baseball field.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 17, 2006

Bizarre bouts of self-expression

Nearly 300 spectators cheered wildly as disco music blared. A spotlight picked out two fighters approaching the ring to kick off a puroresu (prowrestling) event held recently in a Tokyo town hall.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 17, 2006

Take a wild ride on the Orient Express

THE OTTOMAN CAGE by Barbara Nadel. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2005, 312 pp., $23.95 (cloth). DRAGON FIRE by William S. Cohen. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2006, 383 pp., $24.95 (cloth). "One of the most frequently asked questions that I get as a British author," Barbara Nadel tells the e-zine...
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2006

Asahara's execution finalized

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a special appeal by lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, finalizing the death sentence for the man who masterminded the cult's horrific nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 15, 2006

Fishing around for a piece of history

"Enjoy it while you can," says Professor Theodore Bestor of Harvard University. He's referring partly to Tsukiji's famous fish market and partly to sushi and to the fact that "some species are at risk of becoming commercially extinct."
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2006

TB and HIV: a combination made in hell

PRAGUE -- Fatima, who lives in western Tanzania near Lake Tanganyika, has been suffering for more than a month from a dry, hacking cough. She trembles to think that it might mean she has tuberculosis. Fatima knows that she can find out and, if necessary, receive treatment at the nearest health clinic,...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2006

Emerging from the nuclear shadow

"At any given moment in history, precious few voices are heard crying out for justice. But, now more than ever, those voices must rise above the din of violence and hatred."
COMMENTARY
Sep 14, 2006

Let's avoid a U.N. row with South Korea

LOS ANGELES -- I do not much mind being misquoted, especially in a good cause. That cause is the worthy candidacy of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon, who is fighting for the job of U.N. secretary general. The incumbent, Kofi Annan, is finishing out his second term and must vacate later this...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 12, 2006

How can I get a mortgage in Japan?

F. wants to know if there are any banks that will give home ownership loans to foreigners who do not have permanent residence status.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 12, 2006

Picking a yoga teacher needn't cause a strain

For anyone interested in yoga, the first step is finding the right teacher.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 12, 2006

Permanent residency

As more foreigners choose to remain in Japan long-term, increasing numbers have sought a status change to reflect their commitment to the country and make it easier to build a stable life here.
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2006

Ministry sees lack of help for elderly

The public should be engaged more actively in caring for the elderly and child-rearing in their communities by turning their work-oriented lives into family- and community-oriented ones, the labor and welfare ministry said in an annual report released Friday.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2006

Mitarai briefs Abe on China's cooperation hope

Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on Thursday told Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe that China wants to cooperate with Japan on environmental protection and energy conservation, and that the Japanese business community also hopes to work together in these areas,...
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2006

Abe looking to beef up defense posture

Shinzo Abe, the runaway favorite to succeed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, has big ambitions for Japan's traditional pacifist diplomacy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 5, 2006

Grim bar system may hurt legal reforms

Sept. 21 is awaited with a mixture of anticipation and dread in campuses across Japan. It is the date on which results of the country's first new bar examination are announced. How well a school's students do on this test, which is projected to have a pass rate of about 40 percent, may have a serious...
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2006

Lessons from a paper chase

by Oji Paper Co., Japan's largest paper producer, for Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd., the nation's sixth-largest paper maker, was Japan's first-ever hostile TOB mounted by a major company against a domestic rival. The bid eventually failed as Oji President Kazuhisa Shinoda admitted Aug. 29 that the deal was...
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2006

Crime victims may get voice in parole decisions

The Justice Ministry plans to launch a system in October 2007 that would allow crime victims to express their opinion on whether the perpetrators should be released on parole, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2006

Japan to do nothing for now in Iranian nuclear standoff: Aso

Japan will observe for now the current developments in the Iranian nuclear standoff and put off any decision on whether to impose sanctions before a meeting next week between Iranian and European negotiators, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Friday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2006

Rights awareness spreading like wildfire

HONG KONG -- The headlines tell it all. On the front page of the International Herald Tribune: "Activist in China sentenced to 4 years -- decision seen as part of a sweeping move to punish dissent."
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2006

NPA will offer reward money for info on crimes

The National Police Agency announced a seven-point public safety plan Tuesday for fiscal 2007, highlighted by the offering of rewards for information leading to the arrest of people suspected of committing serious crimes.
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2006

Simplifying disaster communications

Since Japan lies in the path of typhoons, wide areas of the nation suffer from floods and landslides every year. Cloudbursts also wreak havoc in limited areas. Accurate information is crucial in preventing injuries, deaths and property damage when disasters strike. In a welcome move, the Ministry of...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 27, 2006

TBS's "Message," TV Tokyo's "Dawn of Gaia" and more

Aug. 28 marks the 53rd anniversary of the very first broadcast of a television commercial in Japan, and as a way of commemorating the event TBS has produced a special two-hour drama, "Message" (Monday, 9 p.m.), about Toshi Sugiyama, who is considered the most innovative TV commercial director in the...
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2006

Picturing North Korean propaganda

Japan's comic craze was first documented for the West with the publication of Frederick Schodt's "Manga Manga, The World of Japanese Comics" (1983). Since then, the production and consumption of manga and anime -- its moving picture equivalent -- have spread to China and the Republic of Korea. More recently,...
EDITORIALS
Aug 26, 2006

Yet another test for the U.N.

As promised, Iran has delivered its response to the U.N. ultimatum that it resume negotiations over its nuclear-energy program. And, as expected, the response was sufficiently ambiguous to offer something to everyone. If Tehran is serious about talks and is truly seeking a negotiated solution to stave...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 24, 2006

The 'fools' dance'

'O doru aho ni miru aho, onaji ahonara odorana son son (Dancing fool and watching fool. If both are fools, then dance, or you'll lose big)."

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?