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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2008

From music to funk

"The Orphanage" is 33-year-old director Juan Antonio Bayona's first feature film, and while it's a striking enough film in and of itself, certainly the presence of Guillermo del Toro ("Pan's Labyrinth") in the role of producer helped the film get the attention it deserved. Dressed in standard directorial...
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2008

Tokyo condo supply rise seen in '09

The condominium supply in Tokyo and surrounding areas may rise for the first time in five years in 2009 after dropping to a 16-year low in 2008, the Real Estate Economic Research Institute said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2008

Yen slips on hints of intervention

The yen weakened from near a 13-year high against the dollar after Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa signaled Japan is ready to intervene in the foreign-exchange market for the first time in four years.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2008

Sumitomo to export Aussie wheat

Sumitomo Corp., Japan's third-largest trading company, plans to boost its wheat sales in Asia after winning an export permit from Australia, the world's sixth-biggest shipper of the grain.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2008

Goldman agrees to sell Sanyo stake

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to sell its stake in Sanyo Electric Co. to Panasonic Corp., ending weeks of resistance after accepting an increase of less than 1 percent, two sources said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 19, 2008

Volo Cosi: Northern Tokyo's top- notch Italian

Another year of eating our way around Tokyo draws to its well-fed conclusion. We have dined well in 2008 — we invariably do, of course — with many memorable evenings and lunches spent at the table. Among the highlights was finally making our way to Volo Cosi.
BUSINESS
Dec 19, 2008

Nation's auto market could see lowest sales in 31 years: JAMA

Vehicle sales in Japan next year may fall to their lowest level in 31 years as unemployment and the economic slowdown keep drivers out of showrooms.
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2008

Central Europe and the bear

How are the ex-communist countries of Central Europe faring during the present global economic downturn? To judge by the glittering city of Budapest, the answer is that so far the forces of recession have made little impact. The restaurants are full, the shops crowded, the streets jammed with vehicles,...
COMMENTARY
Dec 18, 2008

What can be done to protect Zimbabweans

WATERLOO, Ontario — The responsibility to protect (R2P) norm, embraced universally at the world summit in New York in 2005, remains operationally elusive. Calls are growing for international intervention to lift the shroud of Robert Mugabe's ruinous reign from Zimbabwe's body politic.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2008

Modest signs of progress in Poznan

SINGAPORE — The world remains on a path toward a new treaty to limit greenhouse-gas emissions, blamed by some scientists for warming the planet to potentially dangerous levels. But clinching a comprehensive deal designed to control climate change has been made increasingly difficult as both developed...
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2008

The dilution of devolution

The government's devolution panel has submitted to Prime Minister Taro Aso a second set of recommendations calling for the consolidation of regional offices of central government ministries and a reduction in the number of national servants working at such offices.
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2008

Summits in developing countries

Regarding the Dec. 11 article "Asylum claims nearly double": As a reader from a developing country, India, I see Japan with respect to technological prowess and a rich cultural history. Yet, one can assume, with Japan's unique and intricate social landscape, that it is not easy for many who come here...
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2008

Worst effect of gun control

Regarding Darryl McGarry's Dec. 14 letter, "Less paranoia about government": The author undercuts his arguments for banning guns with his belief that "criminals bearing firearms do not care about the law." Exactly! So why would they care about gun-control laws? Gun control is most effective at disarming...
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2008

Celebrity sets off on two-year 'Earth Marathon'

Comedian Kanpei Hazama, 59, departed Osaka Wednesday at the start of his 36,000-km around-the-world jogging and sailing "Earth Marathon" that he expects to take at least two years to complete and whose progress will be closely reported on TV and a Web site.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2008

New U.S. travel authorization plan has airlines on edge before launch

A new border control system the United States will start using to screen short-term foreign travelers in January remains relatively unknown less than a month before launch, and people in the airline and tourism industries are worried the lack of awareness will wreak havoc at airports nationwide.
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2008

U.S.-China ties good for Japan

Regarding the Nov. 25 article reprinted from Sentaku magazine, "U.S.-China ties weaken alliances": The rise in U.S.-China relations, which primarily accounts for inseparable bilateral economic trade, in my opinion should be good news for Japan, contrary to what the writer argues. This is essentially...
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2008

Asylum seekers sidelined

In the past two decades, the number of successful asylum seekers to Japan has barely averaged in double figures, while the handful of countries that were rich and humane enough saved some 75,000 refugees from the brutality of their own countries last year alone. Admittedly the world is in recession,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / READERS' FUND
Dec 18, 2008

NPOs try to support rising tide of asylum seekers

Last in a series
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2008

'Rice' remark hardly racist

Regarding the Dec. 15 AP article from Savannah, Ga., "Ford dealer hits Japan cars as 'rice ready, not road ready' ": The "rice ready" comment is more a sign of frustration and a tacit admission that Japanese brands are competitive with and arguably superior to Fords. Fords are fine cars in their own...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Dec 18, 2008

Kobe, Lakers rally past pesky Knicks in fourth

LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant scored nine of his 28 points in the last 7 1/2 minutes, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to beat the New York Knicks 116-114 on Tuesday night.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Q&A
Dec 18, 2008

New U.S. entry requirement

The United States will launch a new immigration system starting Jan. 12 to try to prevent terrorists entering the country. This will require foreign short-stay visitors from 34 countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, including Japan, to apply for travel authorization at a Web site in advance...

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