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BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 25, 2008

Time for JBA to stop ignoring bj-league, act in best interests of game in Japan

SENDAI — Ninety minutes after Sunday's Sendai 89ers-Ryukyu Golden Kings game, a slew of players were still visiting with fans or conducting interviews.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2008

'Zenzen Daijobu'

Japanese comedies today come in two broad categories: frantic, surreal ones of the Kankuro Kudo ("Maiko Haaaan!!!") sort and ironic, realistic ones from the Nobuhiro Yamashita ("Linda, Linda, Linda") corner.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 25, 2008

Basking in the northern cold

Sapporo's famed Snow Festival — running this year from Feb. 5 to Feb 11. — began when a bunch of bored school kids in 1950 built a series of snow sculptures in Odori Park in the center of the city. Their enthusiasm during the hardships Japan was suffering after the war struck a chord with the population....
COMMENTARY
Jan 24, 2008

How Ma's 'three nos' policy could impact cross-strait ties

TAIPEI — Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou has proclaimed a "three nos" policy — no unification, no independence, no use of force — in outlining his planned approach to cross-strait relations should he win the March 22 Taiwan presidential election.
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Corporal punishment prohibited

Regarding the Jan. 17 letter "Treatment of foreign students": I feel sorry for the Chinese student, and angry with Tohoku University. Although I was not at the scene of the "physical assault," I want to clarify to foreigners studying in Japan that corporal punishment at Japanese educational institutions...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 24, 2008

BoSox announce new partnership

The Boston Red Sox and longtime marketing partner EMC have expanded their partnership ahead of the Ricoh Japan Opening Series 2008 the team announced on Wednesday.
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Raising the bar for foreigners

Regarding the Jan. 16 article "Long-term residents may face language test": The government seems to be intent on keeping new foreigners out of this country and making life increasingly harder for those already living here. Only weeks after the law subjecting us to fingerprinting on each re-entry took...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2008

New cram school blurs public and private line

Cram schools have long played an important complementary role to classroom education, but a new type opening Saturday in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, is causing a stir among educators.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2008

China's Baidu begins services in Japanese

Baidu.com Inc., China's leading Internet search company, began offering Japanese-language services Wednesday, taking aim at major search engine providers Yahoo Japan and Google Japan.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2008

Bill to keep high gas tax reaches Diet

The government submitted a tax reform bill to the Diet Wednesday that includes a clause to continue the special additional higher gasoline and other auto-related taxes — a key bone of contention that the opposition camp plans to confront the ruling bloc over in the current session.
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Gifted player deserves coverage

In his Jan. 17 letter, "Accusations by soccer midfielder," Francesco Formiconi states that he does not know why people like Shunsuke Nakamura are given "so much space in the news."
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Drinking sessions add to problem

The Jan. 11 editorial "Confidence to have children" rightfully pointed out that long work hours prevent men from assisting in child care. However, I might point out that company drinking sessions add even more time to the typical salaryman's day than does overtime. These drinking sessions, which are...
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2008

Profiting on a scrap of information

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has launched an investigation of three NHK employees — two reporters and a director — on suspicion of insider stock trading. They are suspected of garnering ¥100,000 to ¥400,000 in profits after trading 1,000 to 3,000 shares on "insider" knowledge....
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2008

Need for thoughtful proposals

As Diet debates go into full swing, the Democratic Party of Japan has dubbed the current Diet session a "people's-lives-first-gasoline" session. The leading opposition party, which together with other opposition parties controls the Upper House, appears determined to scrap the "temporary" additional...
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2008

Prefectural lawmakers rally in praise of gas taxes

About 450 prefectural assembly members from the ruling and opposition parties staged a rally Wednesday in Tokyo to call on policymakers to maintain the current tax rates on gasoline, roads and motor vehicle tonnage.
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Help those who can help Japan

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura's statement that the Japanese government may require long-term residents "to have a certain level of Japanese proficiency" has been getting significant attention, particularly from mass media outside of Japan. I would like to congratulate Japan Times writer Kaho Shimizu...
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Empathy, common sense lacking

It's said that applause for Stalin's speeches went on for so long because nobody wanted to be seen as the first to stop applauding. Japanese salarymen might be reluctant for similar reasons to leave the workplace. Whatever the reason, everyone seems to agree that too much of the burden of "parenting"...

Longform

In 2020, 38% of all households were single-person. That figure is projected to rise to 44.3% by 2050.
The rise of AI companionship in a lonely Japan