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JAPAN
Oct 15, 2008

Moriya asks for leniency over bribes

Former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya, on trial for bribery and perjury charges, made a final plea Tuesday for a suspended sentence and offered another apology for his deeds.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 12, 2008

TV "champions" return, and Kamiji the clown takes on a drama

Yusuke Kamiji, the chief representative of the currently hot baka tarento (dumb TV personality) trend, lands his first starring role in a comedy series as one of the title characters of "Serebu to Binbo Taro" (The Celebrity and Poor Taro; Fuji, Tues., 9 p.m.).
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Oct 12, 2008

Lamborghini's Gallardo: Italian flair meets German engineering

You could say that I am extremely sensitive to certain types of sound, especially those that fill you with awe and cause goose bumps. Every time I hear tenor sensation Luciano Pavarotti sing the last climactic note in "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera "Turandot," the hairs on the back of my neck stand...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 11, 2008

English for one's health

A friend recently asked me to teach some English classes for her while she took a semester off to have a baby. Of course, I was happy to help out.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2008

Juvenile court opens up for a day

Minors are usually tried in family courts behind closed doors, but in an effort to give the public a better understanding of how these cases are handled, the Tokyo Family Court this week showcased a mock juvenile trial.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 10, 2008

Pappa Tarahumara stages quirky take on 'Gulliver' tale

Hiroshi Koike, founder of the internationally renowned Pappa Tarahumara performing- arts company, says on its Web site that he has been interested in Irish satirist and cleric Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) for more than 20 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2008

Potts' luck: the rise of a superstar

It's a cliche to say "don't take things for granted" or "you never know what's going to happen in life." But it sounds more convincing from the mouths of certain people.
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2008

Public seen tiring of hereditary politics

Japan's history is one of family dynasties, from the Emperor's 1,400-year lineage to the father-son inheritance of kabuki theater roles. And then there's the Cabinet chosen by Prime Minister Taro Aso.
COMMENTARY
Oct 8, 2008

The truth comes too late

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was well aware that he resembled the generals who join a peace movement as soon as they retire. "I have not come here to justify my actions over the past 35 years," he said. "For a large portion of that period, I was unwilling to look reality in the eye."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 8, 2008

Motorcycle makers battle it out in Vietnam

HANOI — Red roses, field flowers, baskets of vegetables, slaughtered hogs. In Vietnam, farmers bring anything that can be loaded onto a motorcycle to market in the morning. In early evenings, bikers jam the streets as they return home.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 8, 2008

Falling-letter weevil

Japanese name: Otoshibumi
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2008

Japan's foreign workers

Japanese companies are not as Japanese as they once were. Japanese banks are taking over the assets of failed Wall Street investments firms, of course, but in addition to those economic assets, Japanese companies have been obtaining another asset — foreign workers. Statistics released two months ago...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2008

Health concerns of the elderly

Government leaders appear to be flip-flopping on their views of the unpopular health insurance system for people aged 75 or over. People have difficulty discerning leaders' true intentions. Unless clear explanations follow soon, the views may be taken as a ruse to soothe voters ahead of a Lower House...
COMMENTARY
Oct 5, 2008

Election won't remake Mideast

LONDON — U.S. President George W. Bush sounded much less uncertain of his peace "vision" when he received the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas in Washington on Sept. 25.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 5, 2008

So you think U.S. democracy's dying? Well, you're probably right

The national conventions of the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties are now but fast-fading memories. The only thing that I really wanted to know once they were over was: Who has the balloon concession for these events, because there's obviously a lot of easy money to be made from hot air.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2008

Experts back idea of public bailout in U.S.

Painful as it may be, acting swiftly to tackle the U.S. financial crisis with a public bailout is the right move — and perhaps the chief lesson from Japan's bad debt debacle of the 1990s, economists and politicians here say.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2008

Talking past each other

Questions raised in a Lower House plenary session by Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa seemed as extraordinary as Prime Minister Taro Aso's first policy speech was unusual. In his speech Monday, Mr. Aso had posed several questions to the DPJ. On Wednesday, Mr. Ozawa hardly tried to corner...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2008

'American Teen'

With a simplistic name that disguises the depth of its topic, "American Teen" is a fantastically straightforward documentary that follows one year in the lives of a bunch of high-school seniors in Warsaw, Indiana. Director Nanette Burstein ("The Kid Stays In The Picture") spent 10 months shooting during...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 3, 2008

Foundation runs for breast-cancer awareness

Every Oct. 1, Tokyo Tower is illuminated in a warm pink light to commemorate the beginning of National Breast Cancer Awareness month.
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2008

Ozawa reveals DPJ policy pledges, admonishes Aso

Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa kicked off the Diet debate Wednesday by concentrating on his party's policy pledges and lambasted Prime Minister Taro Aso for directing questions to the DPJ in his policy speech earlier in the week.
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2008

Bug cuisine not for the squeamish

Putting your prejudices aside can lead to different, and possibly better, experiences — such as eating insects.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 30, 2008

Is Hayao Miyazaki Japan's greatest film director?

How great is Hayao Miyazaki? Domestically, three of his movies are among the top five money-earners: His "Spirited Away" from 2001 outstrips even "Titanic" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Globally, his movies are the darlings of international film festivals. "Spirited Away" took the Golden...

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