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JAPAN
Jan 16, 2008

Long-term residents may face language test

The government may require long-term foreign residents to have a certain level of Japanese proficiency, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2008

Getting serious about global warming

This year is crucial in the fight against global warming — especially for Japan. During the 2008-2012 five-year period, industrialized countries must reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions by an average 5 percent from 1990 levels under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. In July, Japan will host the summit of...
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2008

Slowdown in housing starts

Repercussions from the fabrication of quake-resistance data by structural engineer Mr. Hidetsugu Aneha and other engineers continue two years after the scandal first surfaced. In the wake of the scandal, the Building Standards Law has been revised to make buildings safer. Since the revision took effect...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jan 16, 2008

Japan toughens up on Internet regulation

In a country with one of the world's most vibrant Internet cultures, rumblings of change in the way that online information is managed, controlled and regulated is causing concern for many.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 16, 2008

Snow season's not what it was . . .

"Winter either bites with its teeth or lashes with its tail." (Traditional proverb)
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2008

Fukuda again rejects calling early election

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda reiterated on Tuesday his reluctance to dissolve the Lower House for a snap general election before the Group of Eight summit this July in Hokkaido.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2008

SMFG turns to alliances with Asian banks

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. will target alliances with Asian banks, including Malaysia's RHB Capital Bhd., to boost income as domestic lending falls.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2008

JAL may back out of plan to sell credit card unit

Japan Airlines Corp. may cancel a plan to sell a stake in its credit card unit as it raises cash by selling securities instead, according to sources.
COMMENTARY
Jan 15, 2008

Recurring dream about Asia's prospects

LOS ANGELES — The Grand Asian Master, no more than a few thousand years old, appeared to me the other night (as he does from time to time) and asked what I wish for these days.
BASKETBALL
Jan 15, 2008

Kashiwagi emerging as one of Japan's top rising superstars

Not long after the hard-fought battle wrapped up, Shinsuke Kashiwagi choked back with tears on the floor in front of the jam-packed 2,700 spectators.
BASKETBALL
Jan 15, 2008

Sakuragi muscles Aisin past Toyota in final

Aisin Sea Horses center J.R. Sakuragi attempted 24 field-goals in the All-Japan Basketball Championship title game.
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2008

Reviews of films set in Japan

In the Jan. 4 article "Once again, here comes the West to the Orient," writer Kaori Shoji labels the film "Silk" Orientalist, but fails to provide any convincing evidence for this pejorative. Her one relevant criticism is that a village lord speaking English in pre-Meiji Japan would have been "an impossible...

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes