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BUSINESS
May 30, 2008

Keio's Ikeo proposed for BOJ position

Kazuhito Ikeo, a professor at Keio University in Tokyo, was nominated Thursday to join the Bank of Japan's Policy Board as the government sought to fill one of two positions left vacant since March.
COMMENTARY
May 29, 2008

Prime ministers in trouble

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda face a sea of troubles. Neither looks likely to keep his job long enough to make a significant contribution to solving the problems in Britain or in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2008

Girls and women: first casualties in wartime

AMSTERDAM — Truth is often said to be the first casualty in wartime. But if the real truth is told, it is women who are the first casualties. In conflict zones, the United Nations children's agency UNICEF recently observed, sexual violence usually spreads like an epidemic. Whether it is civil war,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2008

Myanmar's referendum farce

PRAGUE — The enormous suffering of the Burmese people caused by the recent cyclone, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths, deserves the sympathy of the entire world. But more than sympathy is needed, because the Burmese military junta's incompetence and brutal oppression are further aggravating...
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2008

Use nature's bounty to ensure our survival

BONN — Farmers across Africa are engaged in an unequal struggle against a pestilent fruit fly whose natural home is in Asia. The fly, first detected in 2004 in Mombasa on the Kenyan coast, has since swept across the continent, decimating mangoes and other crops and devastating livelihoods.
JAPAN / TICAD IV
May 29, 2008

Japan vows ambitious Africa aid

YOKOHAMA — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda kicked off a major Africa development conference Wednesday by pledging to double Japan's annual net official development assistance to the continent to $1.8 billion by 2012 and extend up to $4 billion in new yen loans over the next five years, in particular for...
Japan Times
JAPAN / TICAD IV
May 29, 2008

Kenyan, Brit win first Noguchi Africa Prize

YOKOHAMA — A Kenyan woman and a British man on Wednesday were handed the inaugural Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize from the government for their achievements in medical research and health services.
Reader Mail
May 29, 2008

Zeroing in on relative Truth

In his May 25 letter, "The reconciliation of opposites," William Johnston explains that Peter Singer's May 19 article, influenced by the rationalism that has "invaded the Western world since the time of the Greeks," made him laugh because, in a word, "everything is one and not one."
Reader Mail
May 29, 2008

Existence of God and misery

Peter Singer's May 19 article, "If there's a god, then why is there suffering," seemed a little . . . hmmm . . . how would Albert Einstein put it? Childish.
Reader Mail
May 29, 2008

Defensive overkill mystifies

I read the May 23 front-page article "Anime stokes ire of Muslims" with some concern, as it reminded me yet again how insignificant events get blown out of proportion when it comes to the Muslim world. The chairman of the fatwa committee of Cairo said the scene "depicts Muslims as terrorists, which is...
Reader Mail
May 29, 2008

Mutual back-scratching alleged

In his May 25 Asian Bookshelf article, Donald Richie reviews "America and Other Poems" by Nobuo Ayukawa -- an anthology selected and translated by Shogo Oketani and Leza Lowitz. Strangely, however, Richie's glowing review omits to mention that this is the same Lowitz who edited his own "Japan Journals."...
Reader Mail
May 29, 2008

Darwinian view of Christianity

In his response to "If there's a god, then why is there suffering," Robert Cooper's observation in his May 22 letter ("The bond that all humans share") that "Suffering creates need, and need leads to human innovation"' sounds like an argument for Christianity as capitalism. He suggests that "what may...
Reader Mail
May 29, 2008

Some Buddhists prefer a fairy tale

After reading William Johnston's May 25 letter, I'd just like to set the record straight and say not all Buddhists think rationalism is a bad thing, and not all Buddhists believe in some fairy tale where Asia is a Shangri-La full of enlightened beings.
Reader Mail
May 29, 2008

Use of fur beats alternatives

Regarding the April 17 article "Designer's 'ecological' line slammed as 'green-wash' ": While it was very interesting to read Chie Imai's idea of mixing recycled synthetics with real furs, I felt the tone of the headline, and the coverage given to the response from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment...
JAPAN / TICAD IV
May 29, 2008

Africa making strides but still in need of help

African leaders said Wednesday that while their nations have a responsibility to fight poverty and improve the living conditions of millions on the continent, its partners, including Japan and other affluent nations, must also lend a hand.
JAPAN
May 29, 2008

Amnesty hits government on death penalty

The head of Amnesty International's Japan chapter blasted the government Wednesday for negligence in promoting public understanding of human rights, saying such inaction fostered public backing for capital punishment.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2008

Clear Sony speaker goes tubular

Sony, the company that brought the world the egg-shaped music player and the doglike robot, has now created the transparent tube speaker.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 29, 2008

Veteran, versatile Fighters endure slew of injuries

Injuries are what professional teams inevitably have to deal with, perhaps an even more daunting task than facing opposing teams.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2008

Cannes: sobriety and great excess

JAPAN / TICAD IV
May 29, 2008

NGOs urge greater access, and more than just cash aid at TICAD

Addressing the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development on Wednesday, representatives of nongovernmental organizations stressed the need for more than economic assistance.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 29, 2008

Global realities will make Toyako among most complex G8 summits

Global circumstances surrounding the Group of Eight summit have changed greatly, making an expanded meeting with emerging economies China and India more important than ever, according to the top Japanese coordinator for the July G8 gathering in Hokkaido.
CULTURE / Art
May 29, 2008

Hideaki Kawashima: Wavering

Tomio Koyama Gallery, Kiyosumi-Shirakawa

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