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Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 14, 2007

It's high time for Japan to ride the space-tourism wave

The United States and Europe are finally, albeit slowly, paving the way for space tourism to become a revolutionary source of new business -- some economists even believe it could save the stagnating world economy.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 14, 2007

Perish the thought that Japan may have god on its side

'The Japanese are, it is true, commonly said to be an irreligious people. They say so themselves. . . . The average, even educated European strikes the average educated Japanese as strangely superstitious, unaccountably occupied with supra-mundane matters. The Japanese simply cannot be brought to comprehend...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 14, 2007

Nissan breaks ground on Yokohama HQ

Nissan Motor Co. held a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday in Yokohama for its new head office building scheduled to be completed in 2009.
Reader Mail
Jan 14, 2007

Cuba can deal with crisis

Please allow me to register my agreement with Grant Piper. No other country has built such an internally cohesive society capable of coping with the most extreme external shocks as Cuba has. We have much to learn from it in how we should prepare to cope with the external shocks that we are about to...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 14, 2007

Asia's shift in global importance

Chasing the Sun: Rethinking East Asian Policy, by Morton Abramowitz and Stephen Bosworth. New York: A Century Foundation Book, 2006, 165 pp., $15.95 (paper). Slowly but surely, the United States is waking up to the profound changes afoot in the structure of global power. The rise of China is one sign...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 14, 2007

Once in keeping with some of the best company

In the Company of Men: Representations of Male-Male Sexuality in Meiji Literature, by Jim Reichert. Stanford University Press, 2006, 282 pp., illustrations XI, $60.00 (cloth). The search for modernity in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) involved not only the discovery of some new subject matter but also the...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 14, 2007

Japan's pioneers of new space age

So what kind of people will be Japan's first space tourists?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2007

Aceh peace pays off for election victor

BRUSSELS -- After the second anniversary of Aceh's tragic tsunami, peace seems to have finally come to the troubled province. Official results of the Dec. 11 provincial elections came with the new year. They confirmed a landslide victory for one faction of the former rebels.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 14, 2007

Bullet train straight to the heart of Japan

Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan, by Christopher P. Hood. Oxford: Routledge, 2006, 266 pp., $125 (cloth). The needle-nosed bullet train racing past the base of Mount Fuji is one of the most enduring images of Japan, a postcard mix of high-tech and traditional beauty. This retains...
BASKETBALL
Jan 13, 2007

Ayer, Ellis pace Oita in win

Oita big men Chris Ayer and Andy Ellis scored 23 and 21 points, respectively, to guide the HeatDevils to a 94-81 victory over the Saitama Broncos at Beppu Arena in Oita Prefecture on Friday night.
SUMO / Basho reports
Jan 13, 2007

Asashoryu rolls countryman

Grand champion Asashoryu overwhelmed his Mongolian compatriot Kyokutenho on Friday to remain one win off the lead at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2007

Likely more of the same

On Wednesday night in Washington, U.S. President George W. Bush delivered the most important speech of his presidency -- his long-awaited "new strategy" for Iraq. In fact, much of its key provisions had been leaked to the press. And upon close examination, it is difficult to see where the strategy heralds...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jan 13, 2007

Ann Jenkins

A highly qualified teacher and versatile actress, Ann Jenkins will appear in the forthcoming production of 'Moon Over Buffalo' to be presented by the Tokyo International Players.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 13, 2007

English foibles bear humorous and educational manga

It's New Year's Day and the Yamada family, dressed in kimono, gather around the table for a feast, and to review English phrases they learned the previous year, like "take a breather" or "playing hooky."
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2007

Fukui hints at rate hike at next BOJ meeting

BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui said Friday that private consumption is "on the increase," fueling speculation the central bank may raise interest rates at its meeting next week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 13, 2007

Niseko -- the souls of melted snowmen

Here I am basking in central heating in Hokkaido. I came to try out Japan's rugged north for the winter where only five percent of Japan's population dares to live, along with 3,000 higuma, or brown bears. Hokkaido is famous for its wide-open spaces and dairy cows.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2007

Education minister's 'expenses' in question

A political group headed by education minister Bunmei Ibuki logged a combined 8.75 million yen in "office expenses" in 2004 and 2005, a period the group's political funds report indicates it had little or no activity and had a rent-free office, it was learned Friday.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2007

Unfaithful, abusive marriage ended violently; wife handed over to state

The head and torso of a male body has been found inside a vinyl bag dumped on a riverbank in Bando, Ibaraki Prefecture. Police are trying to identify the corpse, which was found Thursday afternoon near the Yahagi River. Investigators believe the man was somewhere between 30 to 60 years old. The head...

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