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COMMENTARY
May 12, 2008

Clinton's surprise appeal on campaign trail

LOS ANGELES — How much suffering must a nation and its people go through before everyone says enough is enough?
COMMENTARY
May 10, 2008

Britain's next government must beat mood of retreat

LONDON — Has the political tide in Britain now turned? And is the Labour Party under Prime Minister Gordon Brown now heading for defeat?
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
May 3, 2008

It's a voyage of discovery for Peace Boat couple

Tatsuya Yoshioka and Rachel Armstrong Yoshioka met in 1998 aboard a cruise ship during an international exchange organized by Peace Boat, the Japan-based nongovernmental organization that works toward social change mainly by chartering passenger vessels for "peace voyages."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2008

Halls of light in a city of horses

Something for everyone — that seems to be the motto for the new Towada Art Center in Aomori Prefecture. With cash in hand and a desire to see their town turn around, Towada has banked on art as a way to bring back vitality to an area that has lacked it of late.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2008

New regulations needed to curb bad banking

After the 1982 debt crisis, the U.S. savings and loan (S&L) crisis in the United States in the late 1980s, and the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the subprime mortgage crisis is the fourth major banking crisis since World War II, and by far the biggest. According to the International Monetary Fund,...
OLYMPICS
Apr 26, 2008

New swimsuits have Japan quite worried

For the Japan National Team's swimmers and coaching staff, this is a question that'll pop up often over the next several months: Will their choice of swimsuits diminish their chance of success at the upcoming Beijing Summer Olympics?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2008

Mixing sports and politics

PARIS — "Do not mix sports and politics!" That defiant cry from China's rulers to the threat of a boycott of this summer's Beijing Olympic Games does not stand the test of reality. Sport and politics have always been closely linked.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 15, 2008

An outside eye on Japan

In a nation traditionally seen as a monoculture, there's a multinational range of flowers blooming in Japan's current cultural crop. In the last several years there has been an influx of foreign-born creators — whether architects, designers or writers — and they are thriving in the local scene.
COMMENTARY
Apr 11, 2008

The U.S. election: grounds for optimism

LOS ANGELES — One early sign that a run of optimism may be on the way is the point at which the utility of continued pessimism is seen as utterly dysfunctional by all concerned.
COMMENTARY
Apr 6, 2008

Voice of Taiwanese heard around Asia

HO CHI MINH CITY — Sure, the election of the next president of the United States will be the most closely watched election in Asia or anywhere else this year. America, for all its stumbles, is still the No. 1 superpower: So whomever the American voter picks, the world is stuck with.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 2008

One huge fan of civilization

As long as you've at least half a sleepy eye slightly focused on popular culture, you've seen his art work, even if you never go to galleries. Up until two years ago, he'd never even shown in one, at least not the ones where you stand around sipping wine and eating imported cheeses.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2008

Last stand before Russia's next chance

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday through Friday, NATO will hold its biggest summit ever in Bucharest, the capital of its new member, Romania. Incredibly, NATO has invited its fiercest critic, Russian President Vladimir Putin, to attend. For the first time since 2002, he will. His presence is an embarrassment...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Mar 28, 2008

Vodka: not so plain and simple

Vodka is often described as the world's most versatile spirit, which is a nice way of saying that it doesn't taste of much. Globally, it outsells every other spirit, but outside of Eastern Europe, nobody drinks it for its flavor.
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2008

Prolonged unrest in Tibet could unravel China's monocracy

NEW DELHI — The monk-led Tibetan uprising, which spread across Tibet and beyond to the traditional Tibetan areas incorporated in Han provinces, marks a turning point in communist China's history. It is a rude jolt to the world's biggest and longest surviving autocracy, highlighting the signal failure...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2008

Music's greatest theme park

In mid-March, as spring began uncoiling anew, the world's music industry once again turned its eyes to Austin, Texas, the self-styled "live-music capital of the world," for the annual South by Southwest industry conference and festival. Planes disgorged thousands of band members, record-label bigwigs,...
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 26, 2008

Nakamura's absence not a concern for Okada in Bahrain game

Japan takes the field with an entirely home-based team against Bahrain for its second 2010 World Cup qualifier on Wednesday, but manager Takeshi Okada is confident his side is strong enough to do the business.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2008

Access to water is a right, not a privilege

BANGKOK — How will Japan and other countries in the world achieve the millennium development goal (MDG) target to reduce by half the proportion of 2.6 billion people who have no access to basic sanitation by 2015?
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 26, 2008

Fans cherish chance to see Red Sox, Athletics in Tokyo

A salad bowl, a melting pot, whatever you call it, the stadium was mixed with all types of baseball fans from all over the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 23, 2008

Namibia's no man's land

A trek through the vast Sperrgebiet wilderness that will soon be opened to tourism reveals an abundance of flora and fauna, mountains, meteorite craters, pristine beaches, isles with names like Roast Beef Island — and swarms of killer bees.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 23, 2008

Tokyo's thrilling new fashion feast

With an improved turnout and more labels on the runways, last week's Japan Fashion Week '08-'09 Autumn / Winter Collection was, on paper, a near- soaraway success.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 21, 2008

Shinsuke: A sip of sake in shitamachi

Slowly but surely word is getting out to the rest of the world: Japanese restaurants don't have to be formal, exquisite and jaw-droppingly pricey. Quite the opposite, in fact: Eating out in Tokyo can be casual, friendly, affordable and fun.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2008

Sentimental barrier to economic growth

Protectionist sentiment and fear of globalization are on the rise. In the United States, presidential candidates appeal to anxious voters by blaming the North American Free Trade Agreement for the erosion of the country's manufacturing base. Liberal trade initiatives have run into trouble in Congress,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 14, 2008

A guide to how to wine 'n' dine

Taking your own bottle to a dinner party is a tricky business. Dashing to a convenience store for some plonk that's below ¥1,000 might save cash, but it won't save your blushes if the stuff acts like paint-stripper on the palate, ruining the meal and your chances of being invited back. Even if you do...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2008

Diminishing ice floes raise climate alarm

ABASHIRI, Hokkaido — Plowing his icebreaker, the Aurora, into drift ice 10 km off Abashiri, Hokkaido, Capt. Keiichi Hori smiles bitterly as tourists onboard cheer the crunching sound of the boat's progress.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 11, 2008

'Lower-intensity' discrimination persists

NEW YORK — International Women's Day was celebrated March 8. Although progress has been made in achieving women's rights everywhere, we should not lose sight of the fact that widespread discrimination against women persists in law and practice, directly or indirectly, all over the world.
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2008

A frozen Garden of Eden

They call it the "doomsday vault," but it is intended to save humankind, not menace it. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which opened Feb. 26 in Norway, will serve as a repository for billions of seeds. It is designed to protect biodiversity and the people and cultures that depend on it. It is one of...
EDITORIALS
Mar 10, 2008

Accelerate antismoking measures

The World Health Organization in early February released a report stating that the global tobacco epidemic is one of the greatest public health threats of modern times. It said that in the 20th century the tobacco epidemic killed 100 million people worldwide.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 9, 2008

Will 2008 season be as magical as 1964 campaign was?

Will the 2008 Japan pro baseball season, I wonder, be anything like 1964?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 9, 2008

Surely it's time for Japanese to stop being so parochial

Second of two parts
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2008

Putin's unwilling executioner?

NEW YORK — The question that has dominated Russian politics, and world discussion of Russian politics — will he (Vladimir Putin) or won't he stay in power? — has now been settled. He will and he won't.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear