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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.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 17, 2006

Self-censorship conjures ominous echoes of the past

These days a simple but potent Japanese word is appearing in the media with inordinate frequency. It is hannichi, which means "anti-Japanese." An incident last month brought to mind an earlier era, when the word hannichi was also in common currency. Some words skip decades, returning to haunt the national...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 17, 2006

Struggling to put the brakes on the culture of drunk driving

What makes a crime more heinous than another? We usually think it has to do with intention. Murder, which implies pre-meditation, is more seriously punished than manslaughter, which implies lack of premeditation.
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
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 16, 2006

Commode confession of Sound Princess

All the talk of royalty these days has got me to thinking -- has anyone else ever wondered why so many royal words are associated with toilets? Think about it. You sit on the throne. If you're a woman in a public bathroom in Japan, you probably use the Oto Hime (Sound Princess) to cover up the sounds...
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2006

Abe holds tongue on Japan's war deeds

has sent signals" they want to improve the Japan-China relationship, he said. Abe's strategy has been to keep his opinions to himself about Japan's actions in the 1930s and 1940s.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2006

Abe figures five years needed for constitutional revisions

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday it would take about five years to revise the pacifist Constitution, a project the would-be prime minister has made a major pillar of his campaign platform.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 12, 2006

Owning the bragging rights to work addiction

The Japanese were once famed for their work ethic. Now, shigoto-chudoku (workaholism) has been franchised out to the rest of the world and become a fact of globalized life.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 10, 2006

War's heroes and villains: Two sides of the same coin

For two days, on Aug. 18 and 19, 1966, Australian soldiers fought a battle at the village of Long Tan in South Vietnam. Though vastly outnumbered, they held their ground. Subsequently, they were given medals for bravery by the then-government of South Vietnam; and in May 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson...
EDITORIALS
Sep 10, 2006

Tears for the Crocodile Hunter

The curious phrase "crocodile tears" might need redefining in the wake of the death of Australia's famed "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin. Shakespeare coined the term, an allusion to the Romans' belief that crocodiles weep as they eat their prey, to describe an insincere display of grief, false tears....
JAPAN
Sep 9, 2006

METI submits criminal complaint on Mitutoyo

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry filed a criminal complaint on Friday against precision instrument maker Mitutoyo Corp. and its executives on suspicion of unlawfully exporting two measuring devices that could be used to make nuclear weapons to Malaysia in 2001, ministry sources said.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 9, 2006

The Work: four questions for a peaceful mind

Nina Lynch and her musician husband, Ashik Peter Lynch, facilitate the work of Byron Katie, an American woman now in her mid-60s who, after many years of depression and suffering, woke up one morning to find that her life had changed completely.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Sep 8, 2006

Dover Street shop storms into Tokyo

When it comes to revolutionary retail concept stores in Japan, there's no getting away from Tokyo's Aoyama district. That area's latest major opening comes from none other than Japan's epoch-making fashion house Comme des Garcons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Taking J-rock values stateside

On the eve of the longest and perhaps most important tour of their almost decade-long career, Dir en grey were putting on a brave face.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Various Artists "Peace Not War Japan"

Charity music has a rich tradition in Western countries, from 1985's "Live Aid" extravaganza to War Child's benchmark album of indie philanthropy, the 1996 "Help" compilation. Given the size and wealth of Japan's music industry, it might be expected to chip in where poverty and strife raise their ugly...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2006

Can the IMF avert a global meltdown?

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- When world financial leaders meet in Singapore this month for the joint World Bank/International Monetary Fund meetings, they must confront one singularly important question: Is there any way to coax the IMF's largest members, especially the United States and China, to help...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 7, 2006

Fans lift J-culture over language barrier

Global interest in Japanese entertainment continues to heat up. Quite literally.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2006

Insurers covering more suicide debt

There were 3,649 cases of suicide in fiscal 2005 that resulted in the person's consumer loan debts being paid off by their life insurance companies, the Financial Services Agency said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2006

Abe expresses intent to revise Constitution to exercise collective defense

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, all but certain to be the next prime minister, again expressed on Tuesday his strong ambition to revise the pacifist Constitution and maintain the right to exercise collective defense on specific occasions.
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2006

Witness testifies Livedoor doctored earnings with shady stock trades

A key prosecution witness testified Tuesday that Internet company Livedoor Co. doctored its earnings by selling and buying its own stock, as the trial of its former president, Takafumi Horie, entered its second day.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2006

Question of next prime minister still taxing issue

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi succeeded in shrinking the political pork barrel by privatizing the powerful post office monopoly and weaning politicians from their heavy reliance on public works to boost the economy.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2006

Concept of war on terror plagued by weaknesses

PRAGUE -- Israel's failure to subdue Hezbollah demonstrates the many weaknesses of the war-on-terror concept. One weakness is that even if the targets are terrorists, the victims are often innocent civilians, and their suffering reinforces the terrorist cause. In response to Hezbollah's attacks, Israel...
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2006

Tax panel scraps report that takes Tanigaki's tack

Ignoring the objections of some members, the government's Tax Commission canceled publication of a midterm report on tax issues for the first time since the tax panel was launched in the late 1950s, admitting Tuesday the decision was influenced by political considerations.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2006

Change needed at Yasukuni

In the Washington Post article that ran on this page Aug. 22, "Much to-do about a shrine," conservative U.S. commentator George Will suggests that Shinzo Abe, the front-runner in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race, stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine, the memorial for Japan's war dead, if he...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2006

Morality of boss's pay can't be legislated

PARIS -- Ever since 2001, when France enacted a law requiring listed companies to reveal their executives' pay packages, newspapers have had a field day denouncing greedy bosses. Not only are fixed salaries revealed, but so are bonuses, fees for serving on boards of directors, returns on stock options,...
BASKETBALL
Sep 3, 2006

Spain to face Greece without Gasol

SAITAMA -- Can Spain replace Pau Gasol's productivity?
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2006

Merkel's reforms drift toward dead end

MUNICH -- A year ago, Angela Merkel, Germany's charming new chancellor, was in the final phase of her election campaign. The incumbent, Gerhard Schroeder, lagged so far behind her Christian Democrats (CDU) in public opinion polls that she thought she would win a landslide victory and could therefore...
BASKETBALL
Sep 2, 2006

Challenge sets tone for Greece

SAITAMA -- There was a seminal moment in Greece's victory over the United States in their semifinal game at the FIBA World Championship that would have defied belief in years past.
BASKETBALL
Sep 2, 2006

U.S. must tweak formula for Olympics

SAITAMA -- Coach K said it was a disappointing loss, but the Americans began a long journey with the setback.

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