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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 10, 2007

Reported stalking cases likely just tip of iceberg

The day started like any other. The alarm clock rang at 7 a.m. and Laura Fitch, a Canadian then 28 years old, made her sleepy-eyed way to the shower to freshen up before brewing her first coffee of the day.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2007

Making institutions work for the poor

PARIS -- The World Bank has long proclaimed its dream of "a world free from poverty." Likewise, the International Monetary Fund may arguably desire "a world free from financial crisis."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 31, 2007

Helping to give back the power that is theirs

The two small rooms and kitchen occupied by Kalakasan have been bulging at the seams since early morning. First there was a regular staff meeting. In the afternoon, a group of Filipino women providing support to one of their members, came with a distressed mother and teenager. The youngster was raped...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 20, 2007

Demise of crime magazine historic

Making headlines worldwide last month was the publication of a magazine entitled "Kyogaku no Gaijin Hanzai Ura Fairu ("Shocking Foreigner crime: the Underground File"). On sale at major Japanese bookstores and convenience stores nationwide, Gaijin Hanzai (GH) attributed criminality to nationality, and...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2007

Realizing the potential of an aging society

Japanese society stands on the cusp of change. Starting from this year, large numbers of the postwar baby-boom generation will reach retirement age -- the so-called "2007 problem." The country's over-65 population already stands at 25.6 million, more than 20 percent of the total, and this percentage...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2007

Wikipedia founder searches for info in Japan

Regardless of the language, a search on the Internet these days will likely bring up a reference to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that anyone can contribute to.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 6, 2007

Booze-fueled antics take gloss off Hokkaido ski resort boom

For Niseko resident Shigeru Uehara the times are changing. The well-reported influx of Australian visitors and businesses to the region over the past few years has brought significant change to his community.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 20, 2007

Upping the fear factor

The government and media would have you believe that Japan has lost its mantle as a safe country. Apparently we live amidst a spree of heinous crimes. Accurate? Not very, according to a new academic study. But before we get to that, let's take stock of one alleged cause of this "crime wave," this decade's...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 6, 2007

Dispute over police actions compounds traffic tragedy

On March 25 last year, Michael Laws was driving a minivan full of children for an English-language playschool in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, when he hit a scooter. The rider was another foreigner, Patrick Alford, who died at the scene.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 23, 2007

Gender identity transformed from 'freak' into rights issue

'When I was a child, I had a feeling I wasn't satisfied with being a human being. To be a human being didn't seem like a beautiful existence to me," says Otojiro Toriyama.
Reader Mail
Jan 21, 2007

Grabbing the golden chance

Ethiopia, in addition to heeding the call of the legitimate Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia for support, was facing a clear danger from UIC forces. UIC has repeatedly declared jihad against us, fomented instability by allowing in destabilizing forces from Eritrea, assisted anti-peace...
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2007

Success for the EAS?

The second East Asian Summit (EAS) was held a month after it was originally scheduled to convene. Delay may have served the EAS well: The leaders in attendance appear to have listened to criticism that being a talk shop is not enough, that their meetings must produce tangible results. Their new mindset...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2007

Gore in town to push global-warming fight

Midway through a visit to Tokyo to promote his environmental documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth," former U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Monday made sure to praise Japan as the birthplace of the Kyoto Protocol.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 9, 2007

Japan's own Indian tech boom

Seven years ago, Harikrishna Bhat thought it was about time he did a little something for his country.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 26, 2006

Can NHK keep the air free?

The credibility of public broadcaster NHK is on the line over its handling of political interference by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 19, 2006

Go global at Christmas

Belle Vue Tokyo This authentic Italian restaurant boasts a magnificent and romantic view of the city and from Dec. 22 will be serving its 18,000 yen per person Christmas menu. The restaurant has a unique open kitchen where guests can watch Belle Vue's chefs prepare a variety of dishes, including a fish...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 12, 2006

Students spread their wings

Ever since Japan opened its doors to the West, English has been zealously studied in Japan's high schools, night schools, universities and companies.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2006

Working for a better society

Japan's population began to shrink in 2005 and society continued to grow older. That year, people aged 60 or older accounted for 21 percent of the population, making Japan one of the grayest countries in the world. Taking these factors into consideration, the 2006 welfare and labor white paper compiled...
COMMENTARY
Nov 20, 2006

Know the goals of military intervention

In a Washington Post article reprinted in these pages on Oct. 10, "The humanitarian war myth," Eric Posner writes: "If the United Nations were to have its way, the Iraqi debacle would be just the first in a series of such wars -- the effect of a well-meaning but ill-considered effort to make humanitarian...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 14, 2006

Beneath the surface

A converted bean storehouse in a Kyoto back-street is the unusual venue for an innovative introduction to traditional Japanese culture. During just one busy day, participants in the Origin Arts Program can try their hand at the ancient martial art of "Waraku," tea ceremony, calligraphy and Noh theater....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Nov 3, 2006

A wave to Setagaya

Home to approximately one tenth of the total citizenry of all of Tokyo's 23 wards, Setagaya houses 800,000 people, the same figure as the population for the entire island of Oahu, Hawaii. At both places, people seem to have come in waves.
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...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 14, 2006

Taking the real estate industry to new levels

No need to feel sorry for E. Takashi Norris, working all alone at his desk in Azabudai. Because it's good news -- including having a very nice office all to himself. "All my staff are out on business," he explains. "Even the young woman I took on initially as my assistant is now operating her own right,...
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2006

Mr. Abe takes the stage

I n his first Diet policy speech, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe emphasized opening the economy further, building a healthy, safe and "energized" society, carrying out financial reconstruction decisively, "resuscitating education" and switching to an assertive diplomacy.
COMMUNITY
Sep 16, 2006

Sun and Moon Yoga: 'Within my body, a city'

Trying to find the way in and out of the Sun and Moon Yoga studio in Meguro, Tokyo, is a bit like trying to negotiate an Escher drawing. Do you take the clean way, the dirty way, the back way or the other way? No worry, says owner-director Leza Lowitz, there is no right or wrong way, only the space that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 7, 2006

Fans lift J-culture over language barrier

Global interest in Japanese entertainment continues to heat up. Quite literally.
JAPAN
Aug 29, 2006

Ishihara crime fight serving Big Brother, stoking xenophobia?

A former deputy chief of Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's task force on public safety is questioning some of the projects the metropolitan government has been promoting.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 15, 2006

The trafficking scourge

Urairat Soimee's journey began with an invitation from a wealthy neighbor -- her mother's childhood friend -- in her small Thai village to come and work at a restaurant she claimed she owned in Japan. It ended with her in a Japanese prison, serving a sentence for murder.

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