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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 7, 2007

The first and last foreigner to see Laotians as they were

TRAVELS IN LAOS: The Fate of the Sup Song Pana and the Muong Sing (1894-1896), by Dr. E. Lefevre, translated with an introduction by Walter Tips. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 1995 (orig. edition), 224 pp., with contemporary photos and map, 725 Bahts (paper) During that late 19th-century feeding frenzy...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 7, 2007

Disparate values may still a democracy make

US President Lyndon B. Johnson used to say of people, "Once you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow."
Reader Mail
Oct 7, 2007

Domestic stand doomed Abe

In his Sept. 20 article, "Decline of the Liberal Democratic Party," Gwynne Dyer blames the downfall of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration on its continuation of Japan's post-World War II subservience to the United States in matters of foreign policy. He boldly proclaims that the "deeply...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 7, 2007

Pivotal seasons for Alex Ramirez & Marc Kroon

Neither of their teams made the Central League Climax Series, but the 2007 season has been a pivotal one for Yakult Swallows slugger Alex Ramirez and Yokohama BayStars reliever Marc Kroon. The contracts of both expire at the end of the current dragging out season, and there is doubt whether either club...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 7, 2007

Nahoko Yamazaki: Off-stage woman stars in men's theater world

Just as in the realm of politics, in the arts world — and here, particularly regarding the performing arts — different countries adopt different policies depending on their historical and economic circumstances.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 7, 2007

Clueless policy persists as Japan burns the unburnables

Last month, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara traveled to Fiji and Tuvalu on a fact-finding mission. Since the trip cost Tokyo taxpayers more than ¥15 million, the press was interested in just what sort of facts the governor would find in the South Seas and how they could be applied to one of the world's...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 7, 2007

Foreign celebrity talk show, teen sitcom, recycling tips

In the 1960s and '70s, no foreign celebrity was more popular in Japan than the French actor Alain Delon. His name was synonymous with the idea of the perfect-looking man, and because he was popular in an era that was not as media-saturated as our own, he seemed even more unreachable. He was also the...
Reader Mail
Oct 7, 2007

Thank-you remark cuts deep

At an inaugural news conference, new Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said, "Japan's independence and world peace are guaranteed because of, and thanks to, Okinawa's hosting of the U.S. bases." His way of saying it sounded as if Okinawa were not part of Japan. U.S. Defense Secretary Bob Gates has said...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 7, 2007

Stepping into the alternate world of Japan

JAPAN THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS: Shaman to Shinto, by Alan Macfarlane. Profile Books Ltd., 2007, 256 pp., £16.99 (cloth) Reviewed by MARIKO KATO "In many ways I was like Alice, that very assured and middle-class English girl, when she walked through the looking glass."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Oct 7, 2007

A Golden Age everywhere but at home

More high-profile new cars are hitting the market than have been seen for nearly 20 years, creating buzz everywhere but Japan.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 6, 2007

Baseball bodies sign memorandum

Nippon Professional Baseball and the Japan Student Baseball Association signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday that prohibits pro clubs from trying to lure high school and college players with cash and gifts, designed to prevent any repeat of a scouting scandal surrounding the Seibu Lions earlier...
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2007

Ministry snubs meeting with foes of dolphin kill

U.S. activists waging a high-profile campaign against Japan's annual dolphin slaughter and sale of mercury-tainted dolphin meat were snubbed by government officials Friday in Tokyo when they tried to hand over a petition of protest they claim bears 50,000 signatures.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 6, 2007

U.S.-Japan skate meet starts season

YOKOHAMA — The 2007-08 figure skating season gets under way here on Saturday afternoon when the U.S.-Japan International Counter Match, featuring world champion Miki Ando and world runnerup Mao Asada, is held at Shin-Yokohama Skate Center.
TENNIS
Oct 6, 2007

Venus makes final

Top seed Venus Williams survived a second-set wobble to book a place in the AIG Japan Open final with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Caroline Wozniacki on Friday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 6, 2007

Grant's Chelsea future hangs on whim of meddling board

LONDON — WANTED: Manager. Or maybe only a head coach.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2007

Okinawa's voice is heard

The angry reaction of Okinawa Prefecture residents to the deletion of references in history textbooks to the Imperial Japanese Armed Force's use of coercion and other forms of involvement in the mass suicides of local residents during the Battle of Okinawa has forced a change in the government's attitude....
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2007

Robot industry moves to aid seniors

If you grow old in Japan, expect to be served by a feeding robot, ride a voice-recognition wheelchair and hire a nurse in a robotic suit — all examples of cutting-edge technology to care for the country's rapidly graying population.

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