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COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2008

What exactly is the West?

PARIS — Everyone everywhere has by now heard about the "clash of civilizations." This Samuel Huntington concept has become universal. In the 1950s, French economist Alfred Sauvy had a comparable success with the expression "Third World." One reason these phrases gain wide acceptance is their lack of...
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2008

New trade deal would boost world economy

PARIS — Governments around the world face weakening economies and soaring food prices. Amid the hand-wringing, an important and immediate step they can take to help would be to agree on a new multilateral trade deal.
JAPAN
May 1, 2008

Pandas added to summit agenda

Japan will ask China to provide new panda bears to Ueno Zoo during the summit between President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda next week in Tokyo, a Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 1, 2008

EC to G8: Match our ambitious carbon goals

The European Commission will push members of the Group of Eight industrialized countries to equal the European Union's commitment to fighting global warming when the G8 summit opens in July in the hot-spring resort of Toyako, Hokkaido, a senior EC official said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
May 1, 2008

U.S. looking for 'accountability' at July summit

KYOTO — The United States' agenda for the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Toyako, Hokkaido, emphasizes health and development issues, making sure previous agreements are carried out in a publicly accountable way and guaranteeing that developing nations are part of a post-Kyoto Protocol treaty, said...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2008

LDP gets drivers' ire for gas hikes

Angry motorists swiftly slammed the government's decision Wednesday to reinstate provisional extra tax rates on gasoline, with some calling the imminent price hike a "terrible act" and others criticizing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for his strong-arm political tactics.
BUSINESS
May 1, 2008

Plant closure sends Tepco to first group loss in 28 years

Hurt by the closure of an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant and higher oil and gas prices, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday that it posted a group loss of ¥150.1 billion for fiscal 2007 — its first annual group loss in 28 years.
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Why fix what's not broken?

Why fix what's not broken?
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

More smoking regulations, please

I applaud Kanagawa Gov. Shigefumi Matsuzawa for his efforts to ban smoking in public places in the prefecture ("Kanagawa eyes wide-reaching smoking ban," April 16). This is a necessary measure that the central government should have put in place a long time ago. I hope that other governors will follow...
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Admiration for Japanese academia

I am not surprise by the April 15 article reporting that the University of Tokyo ranked 12th among about 3,800 academic and research institute worldwide, with Kyoto University, Osaka University and Tohoku University also ranking high ("Tokyo U. 12th in research papers").
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2008

Chicks on Speed: Art Rules Kyoto 2008

The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2008

"Bob Richardson" and "Terry Richardson"

Zel Cafe in Roppongi and LaForet Museum in Harajuku
BUSINESS
May 1, 2008

J-Power ups dividend just ¥10, braces for fight with TCI

Electric Power Development Co., the country's biggest electricity wholesaler, said Wednesday it will raise its annual dividend by ¥10 — to a total of ¥70 per share — for fiscal 2007, spurning repeated calls by a U.K.-based hedge fund that it double the annual payout to shareholders.
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2008

Mr. Berlusconi's return

Italian voters are hoping that it will be third time lucky for Mr. Silvio Berlusconi. In fact, the Italian media magnate, one of the world's richest men, is almost always lucky. The real question is whether Mr. Berlusconi's third term as prime minister of Italy will be good for his country. Sadly, there...
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Short and to the point

One thing I like about The Japan Times is that it is short and to the point, with a satisfactory cross section of news and views from home and abroad. With just 22 pages it is easy to carry around and over the course of the day I read most of it. Well, not the ridiculous wastage of sports which, properly...
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Death penalty is no deterrent

The April 23 article "Kamei seeks to undermine death penalty" states "A 2004 government opinion poll showed that 81.4 percent of respondents supported the death penalty, on the grounds that only capital punishment can provide true closure to the families of the victims, and that executions act as a deterrent...
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Civil servants made to murder

I could not agree more with the views on the death penalty of Lower House member Shizuka Kamei. In addition to Kamei's point that a government that looks after the well-being of its society has no role in murdering a person, the death penalty also obligates a civil servant to become a murderer in the...
BUSINESS
May 1, 2008

Softbank eyes 40% stake in Chinese SNS Oak Pacific

Softbank Corp. plans to take control of Chinese Internet firm Oak Pacific Interactive by buying a 40 percent stake for about ¥40 billion by 2011 in a bid to expand its Internet business in China.

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