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JAPAN
Feb 18, 2010

Semi-public bodies are on notice: Edano

New reform minister Yukio Edano said Wednesday a second round of scrutiny in April will target independent administrative institutions and public interest corporations that are believed to be squandering taxpayer money.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2010

Top marine says Okinawa bases are vital

The U.S. bases in Okinawa are strategically necessary and marines are prepared to die to protect Japan, the commander of the U.S. Marine Corps of the Pacific said Wednesday in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2010

Perilous U.S.-China games

BEIJING — Beijing is increasingly playing hardball on every issue that brings it into contact and potential conflict with the rest of the world: democracy in Hong Kong; U.S. arms sales to Taiwan; the visit of the Dalai Lama to the White House; sanctions against Iran; the value of the renminbi; the...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 16, 2010

Steeped in tradition, Shinto, sumo is also scandal-stained

The national sport of sumo traces its origins to an early Shinto ritual to pray for a bountiful harvest, and the professional tournaments of today date to the 17th century during the Edo Period.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Feb 16, 2010

Instinct key for singer-entrepreneur

For a musician and entrepreneur with many professional faces, Australian Donna Burke is surprisingly wary of constantly taking work-related calls.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 15, 2010

LDP flailing for relevance

The once dominant Liberal Democratic Party is said to be trying to re-establish its identity as a genuine conservative force, but the LDP leadership appears to be doing nothing more than working desperately to maintain the status quo.
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 14, 2010

Tiger of the snows

White flakes slip delicately down. Dusting the glow of graceful moss-clad forest relics rotting back into the ground, they illuminate the few giants still standing — majestic Japanese yew and lofty Korean pine. The ancient trees are silent; the only sound is from the hustle of our camouflaged legs...
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 14, 2010

Dersu's lair that inspired Kurosawa

After leaving Kolya's cabin, I visit the remote village of Krasny Yar on the River Bikin. This is one of just a handful of settlements in this vast region still partly inhabited by indigenous hunter tribes — the Udege and Nanai. The original Dersu tribe — whose eponymous member traveled with czarist...
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2010

Mr. Hatoyama's bold move

In a bold and surprising move, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama Wednesday appointed Mr. Yukio Edano, a 45-year-old Democratic Party of Japan Lower House member, as administrative reform minister. Mr. Edano, well-versed in policy matters, is highly qualified as a government waste-cutter. His joining the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 12, 2010

Chatmonchy go south by southwest

"We want to establish our reputation as a rock band rather than a 'female' rock band. But I've noticed there are big differences in feeling between men and women, and it seems to be easier to convey how we feel and get into the rhythm as girls."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 12, 2010

Chicken Head Maker

Many bands dream of combining various musical styles to create a completely new sound, only to discover that it's a bit like trying to make bechamel sauce; if you're not careful the creamy concoction you dreamed of will curdle into an evil-looking slop. Chicken Head Maker, who happily converged on the...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2010

Iran's revolutionary echoes

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Iran's continued unrest, now extending through the 30th anniversary of the revolution that toppled the shah, raises the question of whether the Islamic Republic is about to fall. As in 1979, millions of Iranians have taken to the streets, this time to protest electoral fraud in...
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2010

In search of a big, new idea

Governments everywhere are nowadays being overpowered by the problems and tasks they face.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Feb 7, 2010

Winter warmth, home and away

A friend just sent me a satellite photograph taken last month of the whole of Britain blanketed in white, and wrote about the homeless folk dying in extremely cold weather in Poland. Perhaps some people will doubt that global warming is happening at all after this winter — little realizing that it...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Feb 7, 2010

Clutch shooters create excitement in bj-league

Basketball aficionados and casual fans alike remember Michael Jordan's clutch shots in the closing seconds of games. Other clutch shooters, such as Jerry West and Reggie Miller, have buried dozens of shots that separate them from the NBA's ordinary scorers.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2010

SDF engineers get Haiti marching orders

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa on Friday ordered the dispatch of about 350 Self-Defense Forces engineers to assist in humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in earthquake-devastated Haiti as part of the U.N. peacekeeping operation there.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Feb 6, 2010

Forces dispatch quick if it's a quake

Three weeks after the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti, Tokyo is preparing to dispatch Self-Defense Forces personnel to join the United Nations peacekeeping operation to assist in the country's reconstruction.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell