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COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 24, 2009

Party shakeouts unlikely if the DPJ wins big-time

The latest major opinion polls seem to indicate that the general election on Aug. 30 will bring about a change of government in Japan, with the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) unseating the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Taro Aso as the predominant force in the Lower House. One is left...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 22, 2009

Activist preaches global education

Given the current global racial and religious tensions, it may sound utopian to envision a world in which people of diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds live in peace and harmony by honoring the differences of others.
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2009

BOJ may set preconditions for raising rates

The Bank of Japan may consider setting preconditions for ending its policy of keeping interest rates near zero should the economy deteriorate and deflation take hold, BOJ Policy Board member Atsushi Mizuno said Thursday. "It is an option to show our commitment to keep interest rates at extremely low...
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Aug 20, 2009

How to view sumo up close and in person: asageiko

To many Japanese, the closest they will ever get to a sumotori — just one of several words employed in Japanese to describe a professional sumo wrestler, — is at one of the six annual honbasho tournaments held in Tokyo (3), Osaka (1), Nagoya (1) and Fukuoka (1).
OLYMPICS
Aug 19, 2009

Rogge plans to step down in 2013

LONDON (AP) IOC president Jacques Rogge plans to resign as an active member of the Olympic committee after his final presidential term ends in 2013, preferring to serve as an "honorary president."
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Aug 18, 2009

Kids hit the dance floor for charities

Visitors going into Tokyo Church of Christ in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on a Friday afternoon in July were welcomed by three children with painted faces who proceeded to perform modern dance.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2009

Another Afghan milestone

On Thursday, Afghanistan will hold the second presidential election in the country's history. While every election in Afghanistan is a reason to celebrate, the mood surrounding this vote will not match that of the country's first ballot, held five years ago.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2009

Traumas of Showa Era have shaped a man's life

A man's life alone cannot represent the Showa Era in its entirety, but Susumu Iida's serves to underscore many of its harsh legacies.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 16, 2009

CL looks like a two-horse race as stretch drive nears

With roughly six weeks and 40 games remaining in the 2009 Japan pro baseball season, we are taking a look this week at the Central League clubs, where they stand and their chances of qualifying for the Climax Series, with mention of some key players and their ups and downs.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 16, 2009

Sakai's twin personalities were falling apart before bust

The advice column in the Aug. 1 Asahi Shimbun ran a letter from a 30-year-old woman who despaired over her obsession with male idols, wondering if it was the reason she didn't have a boyfriend. The guest adviser was University of Tokyo Professor Chizuko Ueno, who told her to relax. She'd survived 30...
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 15, 2009

Civil servants uneasy as DPJ plots change in power game

When vice farm minister Michio Ide in June criticized the Democratic Party of Japan's plans to subsidize farmers' income as unrealistic, DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama quickly fired back.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 14, 2009

Sprint queen Fukushima looking forward to challenge at worlds

How quickly things can change.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 14, 2009

Playwright Tomohiro Maekawa finds the uncanny in the mundane

In February this year, 35-year-old Tomohiro Maekawa's reputation was given a boost when he was nominated in both the best-playwright and best-director categories of the prestigious Yomiuri Theater Awards. Although Maekawa didn't walk away with an award; the nominations, coming just six years after he...
Reader Mail
Aug 13, 2009

Steps toward human maturation

The Aug. 6 article by the Rev. Eric Freed, "Purpose of remembering," was one of the most appropriate statements yet with regard to the 64th anniversary of the atomic explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. With persuasive and quiet eloquence, Freed appealed for our unavoidable commitment to being creative...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 13, 2009

Berlusconi's scandals are no laughing matter

ROME — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's political and sexual exploits make headlines around the world, and not just in the tabloid press. These stories would be no more than funny — which they are certainly are — if they were not so damaging to Italy and revelatory of the country's immobile...
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2009

JAL told to share more runs

Japan Airlines Corp., Asia's most indebted carrier, should expand code-sharing agreements with other airlines to boost passenger traffic without the cost of operating new routes, the civil aviation chief said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2009

BOJ leaves rate unchanged on deflation fears

As expected, the Bank of Japan left the key interest rate unchanged Tuesday at around 0.1 percent amid continued concerns about deflation, even though exports and production have shown signs of recovery.
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2009

Funds for local government

A Cabinet Office panel on the promotion of devolution is pushing discussions that will lead to the preparation of a third set of recommendations for the prime minister. This set was originally supposed to be submitted in May, but its submission was postponed to September because of strong opinion within...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Aug 9, 2009

Swim legend Furuhashi inspired Japan at tough time

There are historical icons in every nation. But only a few individuals can be considered symbols of a nation's collective psyche during a particular era.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2009

New Party Nippon pledges 'basic income' for all

Minor opposition party New Party Nippon unveiled its campaign platform Friday, promising several major policies, including the enactment of a monthly "basic income" allowance for all citizens and a re-examination of all public-works projects to cut down on wasteful spending.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic