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JAPAN
Apr 29, 2009

Japan takes measures to head off contagion

The government on Tuesday heightened scrutiny of incoming tourists, warned Japanese living in Mexico to leave, and told those planning to go there to think twice after the World Health Organization raised the alert level for a new type of influenza.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2009

Cheap tolls may worsen traffic jams

Prime Minister Taro Aso's economic stimulus measures are about to unleash the nation's worst highway traffic jams, toll operators and police say.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 28, 2009

Corporate bankruptcy, the Japanese way

Ever since U.S. financial services giant Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed in September, in what many have called the worst corporate failure in U.S. history, the global economy has been heading south.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2009

Politicians on the make

The image of members of Parliament (MPs) in Britain has been damaged by recent revelations about the way in which MPs — including ministers and some senior members of opposition parties — have taken advantage of the rules about expenses to feather their own nests. Some MPs have also been accused...
BASKETBALL
Apr 27, 2009

Apache beat Broncos in regular season finale

After clinching home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs on Saturday, Tokyo Apache coach Joe Bryant opted to rest several key players on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Apr 26, 2009

Recalling 'the fall of the Yasuda Auditorium' and the end of Japan's student movement

At a friend's Easter Sunday dinner party, I asked, "What do you think the student movement of the '60s in the U.S. accomplished?" One guest answered, "Obama's election." Unexpected but true: in this country, the opposition to the Vietnam war went hand in hand with the movement that culminated, in federal...
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 26, 2009

Edmilson-led Reds edge JEF, ascend to top of J. League

CHIBA — Urawa Reds moved into first place in the J. League on Saturday as a second-half Edmilson goal led the Saitama side past JEF United Chiba for its fourth 1-0 win in a row.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 25, 2009

Environmentalist David Suzuki has words of warning for ancestral homeland

Long before baseball's Ichiro moved to the northwest coast of the United States of America, another Suzuki had made a name for himself higher up, across the border in British Columbia, Canada. Dr. David Suzuki, environmentalist, scientist, TV producer and writer, was voted, in a nationwide poll in 2004,...
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2009

Lower House passes bill widening MSDF antipiracy role

The Lower House passed an antipiracy bill Thursday to create a permanent law enabling the Maritime Self-Defense Force to protect ships of any nationality against pirates, amid strong protests from opposition parties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 24, 2009

La Machine invades Yokohama!

"You know 'e is a crazy man," Fredette, a feisty, flame- haired assistant, warns in a French accent as she hands over a yellow hard hat. "A mad man. Un fou. And very, very busy. You must be quick."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 24, 2009

Netsuke: delicate treats for the dandies of Edo

Until modern times, Japan seems to have been almost unique in having no tradition of jewelry, apart from the stone beads and gold accessories found in burial mounds from the last few centuries of the prehistoric period until circa seventh century. Elaborate necklaces, bracelets and diadems could be seen...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2009

Eisler: international author of mystery

Start with an image. A man walking down a street in Tokyo. Steep, like San Francisco. Maybe Daikanyama. As the man walks toward Shibuya, two men follow in the shadows.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 24, 2009

Wishing Chong: from barbecue to demons

2008 was undoubtedly the year of "Yakiniku Dragon" ("Korean Barbecue Dragon"), a realistic, autobiographical work by the Korean-Japanese playwright Wishing Chong that premiered April 17 in the New National Theatre's Pit. When the curtain came down that night on the NNT/Seoul Arts Center collaboration...
Reader Mail
Apr 23, 2009

Leniency will make matters worse

Regarding the April 14 article "Calderon couple exit Japan": As far as I know it is a standard practice among countries worldwide to deport illegal immigrants who have been apprehended. In the Calderon case, the daughter was granted special permission to stay in Japan, however. I wonder what legal criteria...
COMMENTARY
Apr 23, 2009

U.S. shifting Mideast policy

It is almost possible to hear the tectonic plates grinding. The whole international landscape is once again on the move, tumbling old structures and turning old assumptions upside-down.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 21, 2009

Travel by train on a budget

Rail on the cheap In Japan for only a limited time, J.K. is desperate to travel and see as much as possible. But there's a problem. "Cash is pretty limited. Are there any money-saving ways of traveling by train in Japan?"
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 21, 2009

Japan's many roads to ruin

While there are many roads to democracy and prosperity, in Japan it is roads that may take the country in a different direction. In their latest book on construction in Japan, "Doro o do suru ka" ("What to do about the roads?"), lawyer Takayoshi Igarashi and journalist Akio Ogawa paint a bleak picture...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 20, 2009

Aso's gift-tax cut for rich puts wealth gap issue on back burner

Who are the people that are suffering the most as this global depression unfolds? Clearly, it is the weakest members of society who are getting the worst deal. That, sadly, is the way it has always worked. There's not much that can be done about this particular fact of life.
EDITORIALS
Apr 20, 2009

Raising the bar at law schools

In April 2004, 68 law schools were established in accordance with the nation's legal reform. Since then, the number has increased to 74. Earlier this month, about 5,800 people enrolled in these schools. Those who have not studied law at undergraduate level will have to complete a three-year course and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2009

Holbrooke lauds Mideast, Japan for Pakistan aid

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said Saturday that Middle Eastern nations, including Iran, played a key role in gathering aid for Pakistan at the Donors Conference in Tokyo the previous day.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 19, 2009

Race, ethnicity and identity in Japan

Japan is a multiethnic society largely in denial about its diversity. Here we can examine the contradictions and consequences of this discourse. This second edition published a dozen years after the first is a welcome update with 10 chapters analyzing, inter alia, Japan's six principle minority groups...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 19, 2009

Kuwata roars back with 'Tora-san,' drama about running from debt, and the story of a 'bad wife'

Keisuke Kuwata, the leader of the Southern All Stars, who called it quits last summer after 30 years as Japan's most popular rock band, revives his old TV series. "Kuwata Keisuke Ongaku Tora-san" ("Keisuke Kuwata, Music's Tora-san") (Fuji, Mon., 11:15 p.m.) was first broadcast for six months in 2000...
JAPAN / Media
Apr 19, 2009

Cops crack whip in fight vs. vice

A leather-clad female physically punishing a compliant male into erotic bliss is the usual image one conjures for BDSM, or bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism. Yet, to spend a Sunday afternoon with the ladies on the roster of La Siora, a high-end club based in Shinjuku, is to realize that the proper...
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2009

Consumer bills clear Lower House

The House of Representatives passed bills Friday to create a consumer affairs agency after both ruling and opposition forces reached a compromise.

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