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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Oct 19, 2013

Countryside campaigner for us all

In the mid-1970s, Souichi Yamashita, a farmer in northern Kyushu who also writes books about rural Japan, got to know a young man named Yutaka Une.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 19, 2013

Imagining civil servants who actually serve

As a comedy, Nippon TV's 'Dandarin' not only pokes fun at bureaucratic privilege, but also wags its finger at Japan's storied management style, which succeeds on the backs of put-upon employees.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Oct 19, 2013

Guantanamo's fate tied to Afghan exit

The approaching end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan could help President Barack Obama move toward what he has said he wanted to do since his first day in office: close the American prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 17, 2013

Sugano delivers as Giants move closer to Japan Series

Tomoyuki Sugano grew up wanting to pitch in an important game for the Yomiuri Giants.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 17, 2013

Making do without Obama

More attention has been given to U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to cancel his trip to Asia because of Beltway politics than to what the regional ministers did without him.
EDITORIALS
Oct 16, 2013

Policy speech overlooks key issues

An extraordinary Diet session starts ostensibly to deal with radioactive contamination, reconstruction of disaster-hit areas and world trade, but the prime minister's policy speech misses.
EDITORIALS
Oct 16, 2013

Raising fees for nursing care services

The government plans to raise the out-of-pocket share paid by 'high-income' earners for services received under the elderly nursing care insurance system from 10 to 20 percent.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 16, 2013

The wonderful world of Japanese law: Yōkoso to endless discovery

Having kindly published my intermittent ramblings on Japanese law and the occasional other subject over the years, The Japan Times has seen fit to give me a monthly column.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2013

Abe opens Diet session focused on the economy

A 53-day extraordinary Diet session opens with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressing the need for deregulation.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Oct 15, 2013

Pitched battle of perception surrounds Guantanamo prison

Weeds now grow where nearly two dozen kneeling and blindfolded men in orange jumpsuits were photographed as guards in fatigues looked on.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 15, 2013

Self-cast Senate moderates seek deal from the middle, for the middle

In the past few days, a bipartisan group of 12 U.S. senators has come together to push both parties toward a compromise, hoping to reopen the federal government and raise the national debt ceiling all at once.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 13, 2013

Cleanup at nation's war cemetery stirs anger, grief

Elizabeth Belle walked toward the grave of her son carrying a canvas bag full of miniature pumpkins, silk leaves and other decorations for his headstone. Then she noticed the changes. Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, where more than 800 Iraq and Afghanistan war dead are buried, had been stripped...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Oct 12, 2013

Just picture that — and know how to

A sleek, black anchor shape, etched against the blue sky, hurtles in pursuit of prey. A Northern Hobby, a flashy falcon, is chasing dragonflies. Sighting one alone speaks to me of summer in Hokkaido, especially with its mate brooding or feeding a growing fledgling in a nearby treetop nest.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 12, 2013

Tabloids brimming with anti-Korea diatribes

For 11 consecutive days from the start of this month, every front page of the Yukan Fuji, a nationally circulated evening tabloid published by the Sankei Shimbun, was embellished with at least one negative reference to South Korea. Some headline excerpts:
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Oct 11, 2013

Big Oktoberfest at Deutsche Schule Kobe

Deutsche Schule Kobe European School will hold Oktoberfest 2013 on Oct. 19 in Kobe.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 10, 2013

World Cup place on line for mediocre England

England's national football team is like the English weather. Rarely very good, seldom that bad . . . a sort of middle line, occasionally hitting a high like beating Brazil (albeit in a friendly at Wembley) but generally a safe bet with few extremes.
WORLD
Oct 9, 2013

Hagel taps new Guantanamo envoy

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel named a veteran Capitol Hill lawyer Tuesday to rejuvenate the Pentagon's flagging efforts to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2013

Nissan-only N.Y. taxi fleet plan struck down

New York's plan for a new fleet of cabs from Nissan Motor Co. has been blocked by a judge who ruled that the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission overstepped its authority by requiring medallion owners to buy a specific vehicle.
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2013

With 8% hurdle cleared, Aso eyes 10% sales tax

Just a week after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his intention to raise the 5 percent consumption tax to 8 percent next April, Finance Minister Taro Aso said he was upbeat about raising the levy further to 10 percent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Oct 8, 2013

Backlash against Miyazaki is generational

If you haven't lived in Japan, it's hard to appreciate just how beloved are anime maestro Hayao Miyazaki and his creative hub, Studio Ghibli.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo