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COMMENTARY
Oct 30, 2006

Even nuclear talk detracts

Some influential Japanese politicians have called for debate on whether the nation should adopt nuclear arms, causing repercussions at home and abroad. Since 1967, Japan has upheld the three-point policy of not possessing, making or allowing the entry of nuclear arms, while remaining under the U.S. nuclear...
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2006

New flexibility of cell phones

The much-awaited portable-number service for cell phones has started in Japan, enabling users to change carriers without having to change phone numbers. This is a new convenience for customers, but for the cell-phone carriers -- NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Softbank Mobile Corp. -- it heralds the...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 30, 2006

Erosions of a shaky moral high ground

NEW YORK -- To choose the most bewildering action of George W. Bush since he became U.S. president in 2001 is tough. Is it starting a war without cause? Is it creating a dubious court and prosecuting a man for mass killings while committing even greater mass killings? Or is it concocting legislation...
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 29, 2006

Frontale tops Sanga, pulls closer to Reds

KAWASAKI -- The race for the J. League title was blown wide open on Saturday as Kawasaki Frontale beat bottom-of-the-table Kyoto Purple Sanga 2-0 to move within four points of leaders Urawa Reds.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 29, 2006

West Ham manager Pardew finds himself on hot seat as losing streak hits eight

LONDON -- If West Ham players could pass the ball as well as they are passing the buck, the team would not be staring relegation and crisis in the face after eight consecutive defeats, their worst run in 74 years.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 29, 2006

TV Asahi's "Quiz Presentation Variety Q-sama," Fuji's "Kinyo Prestige" and more

SLack of imagination has not stopped TV producers from coming up with new outlets for all the comedians looking for work. Every week TV Asahi's variety show "Quiz Presentation Variety Q-sama" (Mon., 8 p.m.) offers about a dozen comedians and other tarento the opportunity to present their own quizzes,...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 29, 2006

Is the sun setting on the future of Japan?

SHUTTING OUT THE SUN: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation, by Michael Zielenziger. New York: Doubleday, 2006, 352 pp., $24.95 (cloth). The strength of this book lies in its sensitive and poignant portraits of hikikomori, Japan's recluses. Their stories of withdrawal are etched with pain and anomie....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 29, 2006

Children's welfare in the doghouse

This past week the nation was shocked by the news of yet another small child who died at the hands of abusive and negligent adults.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 29, 2006

A Hero's Journey

A telegram arrived in the evening. Belinda sat on the edge of the faded chintz sofa in her parlour, staring at the envelope on her knees yet keeping her right hand poised above it as if it were a butterfly about to take to the air. She couldn't bring herself to open it, not straight away. She couldn't...
EDITORIALS
Oct 29, 2006

Japanese and the 'Paris syndrome'

How many victims does it take to make a syndrome? According to a French newspaper, a dozen a year will do. In the case of a trend it has dubbed "Paris syndrome," that would be the 12 or so Japanese tourists a year who are said to be so disenchanted by their encounter with the fabled French capital that...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 28, 2006

Morimoto caught up in moment

SAPPORO -- Hichori Morimoto is no Doug Mientkiewicz.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 28, 2006

Seguignol Shimmy, Shinjo's tears . . . and more

SAPPORO -- The Japan Series wrapped up Thursday in Hokkaido, and Japan Times baseball writer Stephen Ellsesser is taking the first train out of here, before hopping a plane for Tokyo.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 28, 2006

MVP Inaba celebrates 4th Series title

SAPPORO -- In the post-game beer fight, Atsunori Inaba was filled with joy, carrying a big bag filled with booze on his back and spraying it at his teammates.
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2006

Bullying still a school problem

Two recent student suicides due to bullying -- one in the town of Chikuzen, Fukuoka Prefecture, and the other in the city of Takigawa, Hokkaido -- have raised questions over the attitudes of educators. Teachers, principals, board of education officials and officials of the education ministry need to...
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2006

Matsushita scores huge in flat-panel TV market

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., maker of the Panasonic brand, said Friday that its group net profit jumped 78.7 percent to 115.1 billion yen in the April-September period, thanks to brisk sales of its flat-panel plasma televisions and air conditioners.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2006

Sony battery in Japan laptop sparks

Kyodo News A Sony Corp. lithium-ion battery pack short-circuited in a Fujitsu Ltd. notebook computer, sending out sparks that burned the user's hand, a Fujitsu spokesman said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2006

Eco-technology development crucial: Ford exec

Although it is struggling with financial trouble, U.S. automaker Ford remains committed to investing in new products and technology, a senior executive said Friday.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji