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EDITORIALS
May 30, 2007

Mr. Abe's post-Kyoto proposal

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has proposed that the world set a common goal of halving greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050, but has not specified a baseline year. This approach is intended to gain the cooperation of both industrialized and developing countries to reduce their emissions in the post-Kyoto period....
JAPAN
May 30, 2007

Ruling bloc shelves pension reform vote

of support for (elderly members of the public) and should no longer be the object of a political dispute," Nakagawa said in referring to the no-confidence motion threat. According to Nakagawa, the relief bill focuses on one point — removing the five-year statute of limitations on pension payments that...
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2007

Far from the end of the United Kingdom

PRAGUE — Three hundred years after the first Scottish Parliament voluntarily voted itself out of existence in 1707, the Scottish National Party has won a plurality in the devolved Scottish Parliament that is one of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's great legacies. Does an SNP-led government herald...
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2007

Suicide that conceals facts

The suicide of farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka amid political funds scandals is both shocking and sad. It is regrettable that he chose to kill himself rather than sincerely answer questions over the suspicions surrounding him. Mr. Matsuoka's suicide should come as a political blow to Prime Minister...
Reader Mail
May 30, 2007

Baby hatch is not the answer

Regarding the recently opened facility for unwanted infants at Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto: I have worked with children and families for more than 20 years. The argument that people are not comfortable talking with government staff is so true, but the answer is not a baby hatch.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 30, 2007

Sex, morals and DNA

It wouldn't be surprising to see a message along the following lines on an Internet dating site: "SJF, 26, wants to meet kind, generous, romantic, honest man."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 30, 2007

Japan refutes 'marine Darth Vader' charges

ANCHORAGE, Alaska Transformed by oil money from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, and boasting probably more gas-guzzling SUVs per person than any other American city, on a bad day Anchorage can resemble a giant foggy parking lot.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 30, 2007

DIY bread makers fill big gap in Japanese menus; robot cubes mimic people

Japanese cuisine does for seafood what French wineries do for the gift of the grape. But what it does for bread is more akin to the imposition the English have made on the world's palate. The alleged loaf consisting of six thick white slices with not a crust in sight at either end of it, and apparently...
Reader Mail
May 30, 2007

'The people' means nationals

Reiji Yoshida's May 8 article, "Constitution protects all" -- about how far Japan's Constitution protects the rights of foreigners -- is a bit misleading.
SUMO
May 29, 2007

Hakuho wrestles his way into the history books

The 2007 Natsu Basho is over, and it will only ever be remembered for one thing: the 15-0 unbeaten zensho yusho winning record of Mongolian ozeki Hakuho that etched his name forever in the annals of Japanese sporting and cultural history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 29, 2007

'Amakudari' too entrenched to curb?

The Diet began deliberating a bill this month aimed at curbing "amakudari," the practice of giving retiring top bureaucrats lucrative jobs in private-sector firms and quasi-government entities in the business sectors they oversee.

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