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COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2005

Chinese protests stiffen Japanese resolve

The Law of Unintended Consequences has been at work again, this time in the intense Japanese reaction to the Chinese demonstrations last month against Japan, some of them violent. In a word, the eruption in China has backfired in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2005

Betting on World War III

LONDON -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick has a way with words. On a recent trip to Europe he tried to persuade European Union politicians not to lift the arms embargo that they had imposed on China after the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. If the EU lifted the ban, he said, the Europeans...
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2005

A victory of sorts for Mr. Chen

The people of Taiwan put a damper on "mainland fever" last weekend. In elections to create a special assembly that would amend the island's constitution, President Chen Shui-bian's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a plurality of votes. The results are more an endorsement of the status quo, though,...
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
May 19, 2005

PET bottles

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
May 19, 2005

Birders' islet of delights

The last month has been one of considerable atmospheric variety here where I live in Hokkaido, with laggardly spring weather lapsing back to winter sunshine and warmth, then being followed by snow and cold winds. It has been playing havoc with blossoming times, bumblebee emergence and spring bird migration....
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2005

Sharper sense of nuclear safety

The latest annual report from Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission is a troubling reminder that accident prevention remains a key priority for the nation's nuclear power industry. The head of the commission acknowledges in the foreword that last August's tragedy in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture -- Japan's deadliest...
COMMUNITY
May 15, 2005

Spaghetti with chopsticks makes a mess of Mishima image

Many years ago, while teaching Japanese language and literature at the Australian National University in Canberra, I asked students in a seminar to conduct an experiment on campus. That was in the 1970s, when Australia and much of the rest of the world were rediscovering Japan as an economic and cultural...
COMMUNITY
May 14, 2005

Extraordinary Ainu strut their stuff in Scotland

Val Aldridge is the researcher of the exhibition "The Extraordinary: A People Called Ainu," which opened at Scotland's Perth Museum and Art Gallery in April and will run through to the end of the year. It is hoped that it will generate some interest in July when the Group of Eight summit takes place...
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2005

Asia's growing role in global economy

WASHINGTON -- The recently concluded spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund focused on several key questions of concern to the international community: the prospects for sustaining global economic growth, reducing vulnerabilities in the international financial system, reducing poverty in...
BUSINESS
May 13, 2005

Steelmakers make hay as demand keeps rising

Strong global demand offset rising materials prices in fiscal 2004, allowing Japan's major steelmakers to log record earnings, according to earnings reports released through Thursday.
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2005

The meaning of triumph over evil

Sixty years ago, Nazi Germany was defeated. World leaders gathered in Moscow this week to commemorate that victory over evil. Many will wonder why that celebration was held in Moscow. That such a question could be asked is a stark reminder of the speed with which the past is receding. It is reveals why...
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2005

Tony Blair's Pyrrhic victory

HONG KONG -- The people of Britain have just re-elected Tony Blair and his Labour Party to a record third successive election victory. But in what should have been his moment of greatest triumph, Blair faces the ultimate question -- when will he give up the job of prime minister?
EDITORIALS
May 11, 2005

Confidence in train safety

The safety of public transport in Japan has been thrown into doubt by the April 25 train derailment in Hyogo Prefecture, which killed 107 people and injured 460, and by a succession of other transport-related incidents that have followed -- including train overruns, a bus accident, errors by air traffic...
COMMENTARY
May 11, 2005

The failures to counteract inhumanity

LONDON -- Sadako Ogata was at London's Royal Institute of International Affairs in April for the release of the book she has written about her experiences as U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) between 1991 and 2000.
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2005

Fishing for sustainable profits

The good news for Japan's fisheries is that some of its products enjoy growing demand abroad, particularly in some parts of Asia. This year's government white paper on fisheries stresses the importance of developing overseas markets and highlights a variety of export-oriented initiatives across the country....
SUMO
May 8, 2005

Can anybody beat Asashoryu?

The big question heading into the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament is not if grand champion Asashoryu will win yet another title, but whether the Mongolian grappler will be handed a single loss during the 15-day meet.
Features
May 8, 2005

How to look hot or not

Dressing properly for a barbecue party is a daunting task.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2005

Mr. Blair's historic victory

The Labour Party of British Prime Minister Tony Blair won a third consecutive parliamentary election on Thursday. The victory is vindication for Mr. Blair, although he has been wounded by the results: His parliamentary majority is much reduced. The key question is how much time the prime minister has...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 8, 2005

TV show scrapes bottom of barrel in bringing Asia to Japan

One of the hoariest cliches of international politics is the idea that governments only have beefs with other governments, not with their citizens. The tragic irony is that the citizens suffer anyway. Maybe the majority of Iraqi people didn't like their tyrant, but one has to wonder how much they accept...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
May 5, 2005

Techno racing on the edge

The original "Wipeout" racing game hit the PlayStation in the midst of a worldwide cultural movement -- electronica. Beatboxes and keyboards were ringing in the new millennium as dance clubs saw renewed interest along with the club drugs that fueled the all-night raves. With its spacey visuals and techno...
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2005

Some pits remain in Vietnam's growing bowl of cherries

LOS ANGELES -- The people of Vietnam -- who celebrated the 30th anniversary of the United States' final pullout from Saigon on April 30 -- are getting with the market-oriented, rich-is-glorious, we-love-anyone-with-money (including Westerners), China-clone program of economic reform (while keeping dissidents...
EDITORIALS
May 3, 2005

Nonproliferation plus disarmament

An international conference to review the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) opens at the United Nations Monday. The 1970 treaty is riddled with inefficacy, as illustrated by North Korea's nuclear-weapons program, Iran's moves to enrich uranium, and the existence of an international black market for nuclear...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 3, 2005

Rail passes, credit and changing your cash

More credit queries I notice lately you've had a lot of queries regarding credit cards in Japan. One question I'm curious about is -- why?
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2005

Longevity bonds can help retirees prosper

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut -- Living a long time is one of our deepest wishes, and medical and economic progress offers the hope that it will be fulfilled. Some scientists say that the average human life span could reach 90 years or more by midcentury. But what if our wish is granted? What good is a longer...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 2, 2005

Transition to 'payoff' system went smoothly, but full impact unknown

On April 1, the government's limited deposit guarantee, known as the "payoff" system, took full effect as scheduled. So far, the measure hasn't resulted in any visible disturbances, such as a major shift of funds out of bank accounts. Why?
COMMENTARY
May 2, 2005

Caldron of simmering views

In advance of Constitution Day, on Tuesday, research commissions on constitutional reform from both houses of the Diet last month adopted final reports summarizing five years of debate. The Lower House panel focused on amending the supreme law, including revision of the war-renouncing Article 9.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 1, 2005

History set to be made with first interleague games in Japan

By the time you read the next offering of the "Baseball Bullet-In" on Sunday, May 8, Golden Week 2005 will be over, and Japan pro baseball's first session of interleague play will have begun.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2005

A peek over the wall

Hearing the words "gated community," most people in this country probably think of America -- and not with admiration. The phrase, after all, denotes privilege and exclusion, fear and distaste, not unlike those more heavily freighted labels of the past, "pale" or "ghetto."
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2005

Police launch major probe into Amagasaki train crash

Driver training -- Page 2
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2005

Are dress codes key to global warming?

Just as a 1,000-km journey begins with a single step, it seems that the arduous process of reducing Japan's greenhouse gas emissions starts with the simple removal of a few neckties.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight