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EDITORIALS
Oct 12, 2012

Mr. Chavez wins again

It was supposed to be a close vote; some even believed that an upset was in the works. But when the dust settled, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had won another election. This time, however, his margin of victory was considerably reduced, from 25 percentage points six years ago to about 10 percentage...
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2012

Territorial disputes don't rain on Asia's largest parade of cinema

There was very little talk at the 17th Busan International Film Festival, Asia's biggest movie event of the year, of the ongoing conflict between Japan and South Korea over ownership of those rocks in the Japan Sea. It so happens that the festival's Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award was being given to...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 11, 2012

Hashimoto would take in Tokyo constitutional malcontents

Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, who heads Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), said Tuesday he would not refuse tying up with three members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly even though they supported a petition declaring the Constitution invalid.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 9, 2012

A guide to navigating Japan's exotic legal-eagle menagerie

A common mistake made by foreigners trying to accomplish things in Japan is to go to a lawyer (bengoshi) with their problems. It is not a mistake because of a bunch of hooey about Japanese people not looking to the law for solutions, but because a lawyer may not be the best man or woman for the job....
BASKETBALL
Oct 7, 2012

Reigning champion Golden Kings open season with victory

The bj-league's eighth season tipped off on Saturday with three games, and the defending champion Ryukyu Golden Kings defeated the host Kyoto Hannaryz 82-73 in Koto Toyama's first game at the helm.
EDITORIALS
Oct 7, 2012

Work remains for consumer safety

A consumer protection commission was launched last month to investigate consumer complaints about appliances, food and commodities. Unfortunately, the seven-member Consumer Safety Investigation Commission might be a case of too little too late.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 3, 2012

Nippon Ishin no Kai: Local but with national outlook

After months of preparation, Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's new political party, Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), was formally inaugurated at a mid-September gathering that drew more than 3,000 supporters.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 30, 2012

Panasonic helped bring foreign players to Japan

Just as the Japan Basketball League is preparing to re-brand itself as the National Basketball League (NBL) for 2013-14, it is also coping with the planned loss of one of Japan's most successful basketball clubs, the Panasonic Trians.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 29, 2012

Pro tips on how to act like a native Japanese

This column is for Kim Bostwick, who is moving to Japan this week. I've made a list of pertinent things to know for her smooth transition into Japanese culture. Do these things, and people will mistake you for a native Japanese:
COMMENTARY
Sep 27, 2012

Senkaku row reverberates across Southeast Asia

China's recent conduct in its bitter dispute with Japan over the ownership of islands, fisheries and seabed resources in the East China Sea raises some geopolitical storm warnings for Southeast Asia.
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2012

Inward-looking DPJ

The retouching of the Democratic Party of Japan leadership, decided Monday by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, shows that he is more interested in avoiding friction within the party than in solving difficult problems the nation is facing.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2012

Censorship by riot puts West on slippery slope

Last Wednesday, Charlie Hebdo, a French satire magazine, published cartoons that nastily mock the Prophet Muhammad, and European governments immediately feared more violence like the murder and arson at U.S. diplomatic installations that followed the appearance of a crude video about Muhammad. France...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 23, 2012

Olympians vs. comedians; Yayoi Kusama fills the world with dots; CM of the week:

If you're a TV personality, it's not enough to be smart or athletic. You have to be both, as evidenced by the special "Takara Sagashi Adventure Nazotoki Battle" ("Treasure-hunting Adventure Riddle-solving Battle"; Nippon TV, Monday, 6:57 p.m.), which pits a team of Olympic medal winners against a group...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 22, 2012

Shameful elements grab spotlight

Last weekend it was handshakes, now it is chanting. The sad thing about English football at the moment is that too often football is taking a back seat.
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2012

Troubling elections in Hong Kong

When Hong Kong voters went to the polls to select a new Legislative Council (LegCo) on Sept. 9, prodemocracy parties appeared to have the momentum. When the votes were tallied, however, the pro-Beijing parties maintained their dominance in the legislature.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 21, 2012

Preseason tournament gives teams valuable tuneup

For Ryuji Kawai, his second season at the helm has the same aspiration as the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix's daily message throughout the 2011-12 season: A championship is the only goal. And the high-profile team will aim for that target as a first-year member of the Western Conference after spending...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 20, 2012

Extremities festival brings together experimental artists from Australia and Japan

Support from government bodies and nonprofit organizations helps develop and promote artists and musicians internationally. Japan sees various events such as Nordic Music Night, Finland Fest and British Anthems thanks to financial assistance from the embassies of the countries involved. Australian support...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 20, 2012

To stand out in Super Junior, sometimes a side job helps

Young K-pop fans may just kill for the chance to walk backstage on the set of "M Countdown," a popular cable television music program in South Korea.
BASKETBALL
Sep 19, 2012

Panasonic pulls plug on JBL team

As Panasonic Corp. restructures due to financial problems, the JBL's Panasonic Trians, considered one of the pillars of the sport here for decades, will dissolve after the 2012-13 season, multiple media outlets reported Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 18, 2012

Shilling for our side over the Senkakus

Akihiro Suzuki does not think war will come, but if it does, he believes Japan will prevail.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2012

Competition for national dignity drove 9/11

September 11, 2001, may — at least at first — seem like an inappropriate addition to the history of nationalism, given al-Qaida's explicitly stated global pretensions.
EDITORIALS
Sep 17, 2012

Mr. Draghi's decision

Mr. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), has made the boldest move yet to halt the economic crisis that threatens the solvency of European governments, the future of the euro and the very dream of a European Union.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2012

'Cheating' robot poses tech and ethical issues

Like a child eagerly trying to win some trading cards during a playground huddle, I scrunch up my fingers behind my back before unleashing my hand in time-honored fashion with the Japanese phrase: "Saisho wa gu, janken ... pon!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2012

'Tenchi Meisatsu (Tenchi: The Samurai Astronomer)'

After winning the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2009 for his funeral-business drama "Okuribito (Departures)," Yojiro Takita faced the usual dilemma of the successful: what to do for a followup? This onetime maker of risqué comedies about train gropers had since become a director-for-hire working...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Sep 14, 2012

Tsukuda having fun in German League

Up until a year ago, Germany wasn't even an option to for running back Soichiro Tsukuda.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past