search

 
 
BASKETBALL
Mar 26, 2007

Five Arrows wrap up excellent weekend with win

The Takamatsu Five Arrows gave an impressive two-day primer on hoops over the weekend at Ariake Colosseum.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2007

Turn Japan-South Korean ties into a real partnership

HONOLULU -- We are dismayed by the current state of Japan-South Korean relations. The two countries are natural partners. Both are U.S. allies, democratic societies, and share similar values and security concerns. During the Cold War, both Japan and South Korea feared expansion of communism from the...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 26, 2007

Jury system doesn't guarantee justice

NEW YORK -- My U.S.-Japanese business consultant friend John Gillespie dropped by and, upon hearing that my wife Nancy had been summoned to jury duty, said Japan should introduce a similar system.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2007

Strengthen U.S. trade ties

Japan is gearing up to conclude more free trade or economic partnership agreements with foreign governments. So far, Japan has been less enthusiastic about FTAs and EPAs than Western countries but is changing its tack due to difficulties expected in the new round of multilateral trade talks under the...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2007

A showdown in Pakistan

The removal of the chief justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court may have triggered the biggest political crisis yet for President Pervez Musharraf. The government claims Justice Iftikhar Chaudry is corrupt. His supporters counter that his real offense is his independence and argue that Pakistan's democracy...
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Mar 26, 2007

From steel and coal deal to integration: EU fetes 50 years of history

On Sunday, Europe marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the historic agreement that established such bodies as the European Parliament and the Court of Justice.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 25, 2007

Maki, Takahara power Japan past Peru in exhibition

YOKOHAMA -- Seiichiro Maki broke his scoring duck and Naohiro Takahara continued his rich vein of form with another goal as Japan beat Peru 2-0 in a friendly at International Stadium Yokohama on Saturday evening before 60,400.
BASKETBALL
Mar 25, 2007

Oita nabs playoff spot

The visiting Oita HeatDevils lost their Saturday showdown with the reigning bj-league champion Osaka Evessa 89-76, but they earned a playoff berth in the process.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2007

West least served by fast U.S. exit: Iraq's No. 2

A quick withdrawal of American forces would not benefit Iraq or Western interests, Iraq's vice president said Saturday in Tokyo, hours after the Democratic Party-led U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a cutoff deadline for the Iraq war.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 25, 2007

Miki, Mao place 1-2

After bombing in last year's Olympic Winter Games, Miki Ando was written off by just about everybody.
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

Hey, gaijin, give it a break!

I partially agree with Hidesato Sakakibara's Feb. 28 letter, "Term 'gaijin' has run its course," and Donald Seekins' March 7 letter, "Use 'expatriates,' not 'foreigner' " -- both of which decry use of the word "gaijin." As a Westerner, I have never had much desire to be addressed with this word by ethnic...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 25, 2007

Dragons primed for another title run

March 30 is Opening Day for Japan's Central League, and there is a new anticipation as the CL enters its first year with postseason playoffs on the docket.
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

Show sincerity to receive it

With regard to recent articles by the Korean Central News Agency of North Korea, it seems that North Korea links its abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s and '80s with the Japanese military's use of Korean "comfort women" during the Pacific War. Why then should the Japanese government even...
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

Nazis worried Roosevelt more

While in transit at Narita, I came across Mike Lidgley's March 18 letter about Pearl Harbor, "Winning the geopolitical game?," and the Feb. 24 article that it referred to, "Telling the truth at Yasukuni," by Hisahiko Okazaki. I was so shocked by the article that I referred it to a distinguished colleague....
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

Reflection of Japanese society

I'm fed up with recent comments from the prime minister and the defense, foreign and health ministers. Their minds are full of amateur propositions; they are obviously politically inferior to the dictator of North Korea, who is about to get what he wants through nuclear brinkmanship.
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2007

Ambassadors manga and anime

Walk into any bookstore around the world and you will find a new, large section for one of Japan's best-known representatives -- manga. Likewise, in DVD stores, drama, comedy and action have been pushed aside for Japanese anime. All around the world, people of all ages are pouring over translations of...
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2007

Abe's LDP backers seek Taiwan-India China foil

President Hu Jintao should visit Japan first (before Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao), and hold exchanges with Prime Minister Abe, and perhaps with the Imperial family as well. Only then can we establish Japan-China relations on equal grounds."
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 25, 2007

The fanned flames of fashion

Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook, by Patrick Macias and Izumi Evers, illustrations by Kazumi Nonaka. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2007, 148 pp., profusely illustrated, $16.95 (paper) Fashionable clothing on young women is often seen as an indication of the state...
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

U.S. also used 'comfort women'

U.S. Rep. Mike Honda of California recently introduced to Congress a resolution calling on the government of Japan to apologize for its implementation of a system of sexual slavery before and during World War II. Although Honda's intentions are noble, the resolution manifests several misconceptions....
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 25, 2007

Zuleta slugs slam; opener ends in tie

CHIBA -- They had already created a special chant and nickname for him (Samurai Julie, go Julio), but Chiba Lotte fans may have to start calling the newest Marine, Julio Zuleta, by a new name: The Rainmaker.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2007

Despite vision deficit, Europe survives

PRINCETON, New Jersey -- The celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome come at an opportune moment. For now is the time for the European Union to call an end to its self-imposed "reflection period" following the rejection of the European Constitution by the French and the Dutch,...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight