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COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 8, 2008

Beware the foreigner as guinea pig

Anywhere in the world, noncitizens have fewer legal rights than citizens. Japan's Supreme Court would agree: On June 2, in a landmark case granting citizenship to Japanese children of unmarried Philippines mothers, judges ruled that Japanese citizenship is necessary "for the protection of basic human...
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 8, 2008

Ainu artist, activist has spent a lifetime fighting prejudice

Shizue Ukaji was born in March 1933 in a small southern coastal area of Hokkaido known as Urakawa.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 8, 2008

How green are Japan's urbanites?

The Group of Eight summit began Monday at the Windsor Hotel Toya, an exquisite, maximum- security resort in Hokkaido. There, the world's top leaders are holed up in conference rooms, trying to strike last-minute deals on various global issues, the most disputed of all being climate change.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 8, 2008

Food crisis, Africa aid at center stage

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — The three-day Group of Eight summit kicked off Monday in Toyako with Japan's leadership of the G8 being tested by a raft of new global challenges.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 8, 2008

Indigenous peoples hold unique fear of climate change's impact

SAPPORO — Indigenous peoples will be the hardest hit by climate change because of their dependence on "Mother Earth," Ben Powless, a native Mohawk from Canada, told a convention of nongovernmental organizations Monday.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 8, 2008

Souvenir press kits aim to drive environmentalism theme home

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — A resolution against global warming may not be issued at the Group of Eight summit, but journalists covering the Toyako gathering will at least head home with eco-friendly wristwatches and rechargeable batteries.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 8, 2008

Fukuda, Brown urge G8 rebuke of Mugabe

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and British counterpart Gordon Brown agreed Monday that the Group of Eight industrialized nations should send a strong message about Zimbabwe's political chaos.
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 8, 2008

G8 leaders cast Tanabata wishes

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Everyone has hopes for the future, a reflection of their past experiences. The world leaders gathered for the Group of Eight summit are no exception — as evidenced by what they wrote on pieces of paper hung Monday from bamboo trees in the Japanese wish-making tradition of the July...
JAPAN
Jul 8, 2008

DoCoMo developing next-generation 'wearable' gadgets

Rolling your eyes to turn up the volume on a portable music player and tapping your fingers to turn on a DVD player are among technologies Japan's top mobile carrier is testing to make "wearable" gadgets.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2008

Mitsui to raise engine production

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. said Monday it will invest ¥5 billion to raise production capacity by 20 percent to meet demand for ships.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 SUMMIT 2008
Jul 8, 2008

Kept at arm's length, protesters slam G8 leaders

SOBETSU, Hokkaido — Marching in light rain, more than 100 antisummit protesters accused the Group of Eight industrialized nations of contributing to poverty and global warming as they made their way to Toyako from the small town of Sobetsu, Hokkaido, on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2008

Apply the fiscal brakes to this runaway train

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The global economy is a runaway train that is slowing, but not quickly enough. That is what the extraordinary runup in prices for oil, metals and food is screaming at us.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2008

Economy will likely slow, not shrink: BOJ

Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Monday the economy will keep expanding, playing down concern it may fall into a recession.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2008

NEC buys Hungarian wireless firm

NEC Corp. said Monday it has bought Hungarian communications-engineering company Linecom Kft. to expand operations in Eastern Europe.
BUSINESS
Jul 8, 2008

Ministry urges nation take steps to woo sovereign funds

Japan should adopt measures aimed at attracting more of the almost $3 trillion managed by sovereign wealth funds, a trade ministry report said.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Jul 7, 2008

[VIDEO] An interview with Joi Ito (part 1 of 3)

Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Jul 7, 2008

[VIDEO] An Interview with Joi Ito (part 3 of 3)

Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Jul 7, 2008

[VIDEO] An Interview with Joi Ito (part 2 of 3)

COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2008

Light in Iraq won't burn on optimism alone

LOS ANGELES — A measure of self-delusion can be healthy if it deters the outbreak of another round of perhaps even more dangerous and destructive self-delusion. This scenario was on display the other night at a presentation at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, a traditional major forum for world...
COMMENTARY
Jul 7, 2008

Work traditions worth keeping

When I had a chance to meet with a group of students, I asked them for what purpose each would do the job that he or she got in the near future. A majority replied "something that makes work worth doing and life worth living," although some did say "for money."
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2008

Tensions strain 'strategic' Russia-China ties

SINGAPORE — To judge from the recent exchanges between the leaders of China and Russia, all is sweetness and light in the strategic partnership between the two leading Eurasian powers. But beneath the surface, problems over military sales, trade and energy are weakening Sino-Russian relations just...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years