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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 21, 2009

The key words that kept Japan abuzz in 2008

Last October, publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha released the 61st edition of its "Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chishiki (Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words)" — a massive 1,614-page tome that retails for just ¥2,980. I have a facsimile copy of the book's first edition, launched on Oct. 10, 1948. In the introduction,...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 20, 2009

Coordinate a global stimulus for this crisis

GENEVA — As recession spreads around the world, the global production networks that arose with the globalization of the world economy have become sources of cutbacks and job losses. Postponing purchases of new winter coats in the United States means job losses in Poland or China. These losses then...
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2009

Temp support groups call for urgent steps

Support groups proposed several steps to the government and opposition on Monday to strengthen the safety net for laid-off temp workers ahead of an expected increase in their number at the end of March.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2009

Tsukiji reopens tuna auctions to the public

The Tsukiji fish market, one of Tokyo's most popular tourist attractions, reopened its early morning tuna auctions to the public Monday after a monthlong ban.
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2009

Obama and the alliance

Under the Bush administration, the Japan-U.S. alliance has undergone a quiet but important transformation in the eyes of most Japanese people: It has become a global alliance instead of a regional or bilateral one.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2009

Temps in manufacturing: Safety valve, but no net

A day before Christmas, temporary worker Yoshinori Sato, 49, received his dismissal notice from Isuzu Motor Co.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 20, 2009

Lifelines back to the 1900s

With 2009 so far looking bleak, here are some queries from around the world that take us into the past with the hope of finding positive solutions for the present.
EDITORIALS
Jan 20, 2009

Let change be contagious

Mr. Barack Obama won the keys to the White House by instilling expectations of change and optimism in the minds of the American public, as conveyed by his slogan "Yes, we can." His Jan. 20 inauguration as the United States' 44th president should be a source of great inspiration to the people and government...
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jan 20, 2009

Animal fair brings in the people

Seven-year-old Julie-Anne Bernet of Tokyo said coming to the fair had been "a surprise!" For both Julie-Anne and her brother Alan, 6, it was a day that brought lots of smiles and lots of warm, fuzzy feelings. How could it not, with all those cats and dogs to pat and play with?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 20, 2009

Breaking the silence on burakumin

For those who don't know — and you would be forgiven considering the lack of coverage the issue receives — a buraku is the term used to describe an area where some, but not all, of the residents have ancestral ties to the people placed at the bottom of feudal society in the Edo Period. These people...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jan 20, 2009

Shame over poor English level lies with education ministry

To the minister of education:
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2009

Diet gets biggest budget ever

The government on Monday submitted to the Diet an ¥88 trillion budget for fiscal 2009 — the biggest initial budget in history — to stimulate the sagging economy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jan 20, 2009

Missionary devotes lifework to helping Tokyo homeless

Jean Le Beau says his decision to pursue a life dedicated to the benefit of others was inspired in high school when he read the story of Father Damien, a 19th-century Roman Catholic missionary from Belgium who spent his life caring for lepers cast out of normal society and quarantined on the Hawaiian...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo