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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 9, 2009

Pianist Kawai seeks out the real Chopin

"I had the sense I was on a mission when I decided to do this project," recounts Poland-based Japanese pianist Yuko Kawai, who has been introducing authentic versions of the works of Chopin (1810-49) — as restored in musical scores published as the National Edition — through her Chopinissimo recital...
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2009

Teachers beset by unruly parents

When the 27-year-old rookie elementary school teacher in Kanagawa Prefecture began receiving phone calls from the mother of one of his students demanding an apology from the parents of their child's alleged "bullies," he thought it was just a misunderstanding by an overprotective parent.
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jan 6, 2009

Countdown party India style

Almost a quarter of the Indian community in eastern Tokyo, adults and children alike, shared a lively countdown party with Japanese locals on Dec. 31.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 4, 2009

Yomiuri Giants prepare to commemorate 75th anniversary in 2009

A Happy New Year to all readers of the Baseball Bullet-In.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jan 4, 2009

You can't beat country life

I was down in Kyushu with some Japanese friends last year, just sipping a few drinks and chatting. The conversation turned to kabu and became very serious and somewhat gloomy. Quite honestly, I wasn't really following it all, but I felt I had to put in my two-pennies' worth.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2009

Cars no longer coveted by young

To get around the city, Yutaka Makino hops on his skateboard or takes the trains. Does he dream of the day when he owns his own car? Not a chance.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2009

Is Aso only postponing the inevitable?

The political news that will have the most far-reaching repercussions into the new year is the plummeting approval rating of Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Cabinet, and his delay in dissolving the Lower House of the Diet for a general election.
COMMENTARY
Dec 31, 2008

Good riddance to a bad year

If U.S. President-elect Barack Obama can walk on water, then change really is coming to the United States and the world. If there are no more big unexploded bombs buried in the world's financial systems, then this may be just an ordinary recession. But the most telling image of 2008 was Iraqi journalist...
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2008

Exchange rate woes putting foreign students in a bind

The strong yen and tumbling South Korean won are making life difficult for people whose income depends on the two currency's exchange rates.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 31, 2008

Boozer should take vow of silence

NEW YORK — This week's Bernie Madoff Chutzpah Award goes to Carlos Boozer. In this epoch of bankruptcies and bailouts, unemployment and unsold tickets, he went out of his way recently to damage the reputation of the "Me" generation.
COMMENTARY
Dec 29, 2008

New Afghan strategy will compound U.S. problem

Even before U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has been sworn in, the contours of his new strategy on Afghanistan have become known: A "surge" of U.S. forces, not to militarily rout the Taliban but to strike a political deal with the enemy from a position of strength.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2008

Deng legacy after 30 years

SINGAPORE — The approaching close of 2008 should remind us of the day 30 years ago that marked the onset of a chain of events that was to alter the course of Asian — and human — history.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2008

Will Europe rise to the Obama opportunity?

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Will 2009 and the beginning of Barack Obama's U.S. presidency mark the beginning of a new era in trans-Atlantic relations, or will the old divisions linger, nurtured by the depth and gravity of the economic crisis? Will the crisis lead to nationalistic and selfish attitudes on both...
COMMENTARY
Dec 28, 2008

China destined to be America's best friend

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — When the holiday season ends and Barack Obama takes the U.S. presidential oath of office next month, will he notice that life has become less merry and more naughty and un-nice? This brilliant American politician will soon become aware that suddenly everyone wants to be his...
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2008

China's miracle at middle age

It has been 30 years since China embarked on the greatest economic experiment in human history. In that time, the country has emerged from poverty and chaos to become one of the leading economic powers. It is tempting to call China's astounding growth an economic miracle, but the trajectory of the last...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Dec 28, 2008

ONE for ALL

Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 28, 2008

Place your wager on Macau

A charitable take on Tokyo's landfill projects would have them simply extending the city's alluvial plains into Tokyo Bay. Given another millennium or two, natural siltation might end up doing the same thing.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 28, 2008

Longtime baseball writer will miss these people, places, things in '09

As we see the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, I have compiled a list of five people, places and things I will miss when the new Japanese baseball season rolls around in the spring. Here they are:
LIFE / Lifestyle / 2008 MEDIA ROUND-UP
Dec 28, 2008

Making sense of the strange changes of 2008

Every year, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation selects a "kanji of the year." This year's is "hen," meaning "change" or, equally, "strange, peculiar."
EDITORIALS
Dec 26, 2008

Reform in the name of revenue

The government has endorsed a medium-term tax reform program designed to secure revenue sources to cover the ballooning costs of social security, which includes pensions plus medical and nursing care services. It mentions raising the consumption tax from fiscal 2011, but equivocates, because the program...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 26, 2008

Ishikawa scoops award

Golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa received a huge present on Christmas Day and flashed his signature bashful smile one last time before the end of the year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 26, 2008

Kicking back in Kurohime

A school friend of mine did his in Nagoya. An American I met the other day did hers somewhere in Kyushu. I was sent to central Hokkaido, where I did my one-month home stay in a tiny town called Otofukecho. I occasionally check the map to make sure it's still there. But, I have to admit, I've never been...
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2008

State to aid foreigners in dire financial straits

A government plan to support foreigners living permanently in Japan who have lost their jobs and are in financial distress amid the severe recession was revealed Wednesday by Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2008

Aso failing to lead LDP to promised land

When Taro Aso became prime minister in September, he was chosen by his peers in the Liberal Democratic Party as the man who would reverse their declining ratings. But after three months of the extraordinary Diet session, which closes Thursday, Aso's Cabinet already seems to be in trouble.

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