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Reader Mail
Sep 24, 2009

Main cause of Japan's stagnation

There are many things wrong with Guy Sorman's Sept. 18 article, "Japan's harmonious drift." Let me pick some of them apart. First is the notion that "working less" is the main cause of Japan's economic stagnation. If that were the cause, I'd presume the French economy should have deteriorated even further...
LIFE / Digital
Sep 23, 2009

Can firms trust cloud computing?

This year's overhyped IT concept is cloud computing. Also called software as a service (SaaS), cloud computing is when you run software over the Internet and access it via a browser. Both Google Docs and salesforce.com's customer management software are examples of this.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 23, 2009

Murray rips Rawl for reneging on offer to coach Oita

The Oita HeatDevils were in shambles last season, including in the team's front office. Not only did the club manage to lose a league-worst 44 games (it played 52), it also created unnecessary headaches for the bj-league.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 22, 2009

Small group making waves

About two months before the Aug. 30 election, a small group of political leaders made big news by forming a new group. Though it consists of only half a dozen politicians at the local level, Shucho Rengo (the Local Leaders Federation) grabbed headlines nationwide and created concern among senior Diet...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Sep 21, 2009

'Alien' prime minister, new-look Cabinet bring change to old politics

Politics is not the kind of stuff you normally stay up to watch on the telly long into the night. Not unless scandals, drunkenness and other juicy activities are involved, of course.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
Sep 20, 2009

Mystery on the 'Dark Dinner' menu

One evening in mid-August, a dozen people gathered at Ryokusenji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district for a meal. But this was to be no regular feast, as the diners sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers would all be blindfolded and served a series of dishes the organizers would not disclose beforehand....
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2009

Divining Japan's new leadership amid the expectations of change

LONDON — On a recent visit to France, I was frequently asked about the results of the Japanese election. Did the results mean that Japan was really changing? Would the new Japanese government increase Japan's influence in the world?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 20, 2009

The forgotten DPJ promise on women's rights

In the weeks since the Democratic Party of Japan secured a majority in the Lower House, the new DPJ members of that institution have apparently been told to keep their mouths shut when they're around the media.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2009

JRP grads bridge cultures

A group of young foreigners who visited Japan as part of a study program and mastered the language announced their favorite Japanese words Tuesday to an admiring domestic crowd.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 19, 2009

What is it that makes things 'Japanese'?

The other day I walked along the road to the far side of the island. Kio-chan, who I hardly recognized without his trademark red Hawaiian shirt and red cap on, could be seen in the distance being walked by his dog. When I approached him, he was huffing and puffing. "Kio-chan," I said, "I didn't know...
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2009

LDP presidential campaign kicks off as three-horse race

Campaigning for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race officially kicked off Friday with three candidates vying for the task of rebuilding the party and returning it to power.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 19, 2009

Fujii promises to compile 2010 budget on time, overhaul or no

New Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii promised Friday that the government will compile the fiscal 2010 budget by the end of the year like it does every year, and that its framework will be decided by early next month.
COMMENTARY
Sep 18, 2009

Competing northern passages

LONDON — Early next week two German-owned container ships will arrive in Rotterdam from Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, having taken only one month to make the voyage. That's much faster than usual — but then they didn't take the usual route down through the South China Sea, past Singapore,...
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2009

JAL's quest for survival a tale of pros and cons

Since news broke last week that Japan Airline Corp. is seeking a capital investment from a foreign airline, speculation has been rife over which one would make the best fit for the struggling carrier.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2009

Economists banked too much on rationality

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The widespread failure of economists to forecast the financial crisis that erupted in 2008 has much to do with faulty models, which meant that economic policymakers and central bankers got no warning of what was to come.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2009

Nomiya shelves Barbie image

Elegance is not just having your clothes and personal grooming just so," says Maki Nomiya. "It's also doing even mundane things, like eating, with grace."
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Pollution by industrial China

In his Sept. 10 letter, "Hardly a Western phenomenon," Barry Ward said things I wanted to say (with regard to the Bengal Famine in 1943). However, both he and Dipak Basu, author of the Aug. 27 letter "Who represents the Western spirit?," missed one very important point: Despite there still being plenty...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Sep 16, 2009

The feminine side of Gundam

New Type, a Gundam-themed transvestite bar in Akihabara, takes cosplay and host/hostess bars to a new level.
BASEBALL / SPORTS SCOPE
Sep 16, 2009

Ichiro certain to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer

There were a number of doubters nine years ago when Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese position player in Major League Baseball.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 15, 2009

Community groups provide lifelines in many ways

If you spot a festival or sporting event taking place in your neighborhood, chances are it was organized by the local neighborhood association.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2009

'Recession proof' gaming industry now struggling

Despite its reputation for being recession-proof, the domestic video game industry is having a tough time and first-half sales are looking weak, industry experts said Monday.
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 14, 2009

Reds end seven-game losing streak

SAITAMA — Urawa Reds finally snapped their seven-game losing streak on Sunday with a 4-1 win over Montedio Yamagata that was not quite as convincing as the final score might suggest.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 13, 2009

Tanikawa: A master of foreign ways and Japan's most accessible poet

"We must try to explain everything we think to children. . . . Words that are really rooted in the bones of the Japanese people: Those words are accessible."
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2009

Political fancies at the Venice Film Festival

VENICE — Often great films tell great political stories. Or, at least they unfold against the backdrop of tumultuous political events. "Gone with a Wind" would never let us forget the American Civil War. "Casablanca" was set against the exodus of hundreds of people fleeing Nazi tyranny to the New World....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 13, 2009

ANA looks to sky as JAL hangs head

In a TV commercial aired all last summer, airline passengers are shown relaxing when the pilot comes on the PA to make the usual announcement about travel times and weather. Nobody seems alarmed when they learn that the skipper is teen golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa, who isn't old enough to drive a car...
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2009

Nothing was lost in translation in Saitama mugging trial, peers believe

The lay judges in the four-day trial of a 20-year-old Filipino said Friday they felt their new court duty was a valuable experience and, although the defendant's case required translators, no question was left unanswered.
COMMUNITY
Sep 12, 2009

College head finds magic where he can

The Rev. Frank Howell, president of Sophia Junior College, Catholic priest, educator and debate team coach, finds serenity in an unexpected location amid the bustle of his busy life. He hops a train and heads to another land — Tokyo Disneyland.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’