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EDITORIALS
May 16, 2009

Marine relocation to Guam

The Diet on Wednesday endorsed a Japan-U.S. accord on the planned transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014. The opposition-controlled Upper House voted it down, but under a constitutional provision, the Lower House's earlier approval of it prevailed.
JAPAN
May 16, 2009

Quarantined students, teacher target of ill will

Three high school students and a teacher from Osaka who were the first people in Japan confirmed to have the new flu have become the target of malicious phone calls and e-mails, local board of education and municipal officials said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
May 16, 2009

Diplomacy in love, life and work

Aiko Tanaka, 27, met Olegs Orlovs, 27, for the first time when she visited his home country, Latvia, as a tourist with her family in 2002. Olegs was her tour guide.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 16, 2009

Holy mackerel — a fish story

If you live in Japan long enough, various shipwrecks of odd jobs will float your way. For example, a short while ago I was asked to do some translation work regarding . . . fish.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2009

Sony logs ¥228 billion loss, sees more red ink

Sony Corp. suffered a record ¥227.78 billion group operating loss for the business year that ended on March 31, blaming plummeting global demand and the yen's surge against other currencies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2009

'State of Play'

There's a scene in "State of Play" where an unkempt, hard-nosed veteran reporter (Russell Crowe) — you know, the type who drink their whiskey straight, out of a paper cup — meets his new colleague, a younger, perkier journalist (Rachel McAdams) who bangs out gossipy blogs for their newspaper's digital...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2009

Gauguin: 'I shall never do anything better'

Was he just a "Sunday painter" who abandoned his wife and five children for a bohemian life in a distant island paradise — where he died of syphilis and poverty in the arms of a teenage mistress?
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 15, 2009

Kobe Bryant says series should decide title

A veteran coach, a voice of reason, a passionate advocate for a better and stronger bj-league, Tokyo Apache floor boss Joe Bryant has plenty of suggestions on how to improve the hoop circuit in the future.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2009

Being Nihontsū: Japanophiles in our own country

"Wakonyōsai (和魂洋才, the soul of a Japanese and the talents of a Westerner)" was a phrase once used to describe the ideal of the modern, enlightened Japanese. This perfect person supposedly combined the knowledge, logic and open-mindedness of the West with the principled restraint, sense of honor...
JAPAN / CITIZEN JUSTICE
May 13, 2009

Preparation for quicker criminal trials enhances focus

Second in a series
EDITORIALS
May 12, 2009

Booster shot for big companies

As the special measures law for corporate revitalization was revised, the government has started a scheme to inject capital into large companies suffering from the current economic downturn. The Development Bank of Japan will provide funds if companies meet certain conditions.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
May 12, 2009

Kusanagi romp makes waves as real crimes go unpunished

Dear Tokyo Metropolitan Police,
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 12, 2009

A boost for DPJ, at LDP's expense

With Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa intending to resign over a political fundraising scandal, the party may regain some momentum for the upcoming general election, analysts say.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 12, 2009

Meeting the charity challenge

Can you imagine yourself completing a 100-km mountain trail in 48 hours and — if this is not enough of a challenge — begging your family, friends and colleagues to part with some hard-earned cash and sponsor you? What's more, could you do all this voluntarily for the sake of a good cause? If so,...
Reader Mail
May 10, 2009

Washing with soap has benefits

For all the talk about preventing the spread of influenza, Japan has not learned the lessons of SARS. The other day, after taking a train, I went to the washroom in a JR station. As always, there was no soap. Telling people to wash their hands won't do much good until soap is in common use.
BASKETBALL
May 10, 2009

HeatDevils hoping to live to see fifth season

The Oita HeatDevils endured an 8-44 regular season, the worst record in the bj-league this season. And now the team is looking to find a way to remain in business.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 10, 2009

Manchukuo tragedy finally gets a film its spurned victims deserve

There are many heroes, both Japanese and Chinese, in Sumiko Haneda's deeply moving documentary, "Aa Manmo Kaitakudan (A Story of Manchurian Settler Communities)."
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 10, 2009

A death from human kindness

On April 21, the body of former pop singer Yukiko Shimizu was found in a cemetery in Oyamacho, Shizuoka Prefecture, in front of her father's grave. Police assume that she committed suicide on the spot by inhaling hydrogen sulfide fumes and had probably also tried to kill her 80-year-old mother, who was...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 10, 2009

'Insect crazy tour,' Rubicon decisons and comedian Edo Harumi's early days

The title character of "Dora the Explorer," the American animated TV series, is a bilingual Latina girl who often takes the time to teach Spanish phrases to the viewing audience. In the Japanese version (TV Tokyo, Mon., 6 p.m.), Dora and her monkey sidekick Boots speak Japanese and teach English when...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 9, 2009

Chelsea again incapable of accepting defeat

LONDON — It should have been no surprise that Chelsea accepted its Champions League knockout by Barcelona with all the grace of a pack of hyenas.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 9, 2009

Indian consultant orchestrates Sichuan earthquake relief effort

This summer, near the first anniversary of the massive, deadly earthquake that hit China's Sichuan Province, Somasundaram Soma, an Indian management consultant in Tokyo, plans to hold a charity concert in the capital to raise funds to build schools for children in the devastated region.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
May 8, 2009

Sledge flexing muscles for Fighters in 2nd year

CHIBA — Terrmel Sledge is getting used to playing baseball in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 8, 2009

Government day care falling short

The line of children waiting to get into government-subsidized day care is swelling for the first time in five years, a sign of these recessionary times, some observers say. But for others it is merely the latest blow in a long-term problem, especially for working mothers unable to leave their toddlers...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 8, 2009

'W.'

Some things don't require a lot of explanation. If I were to tell you I was planning a barbecue in my kitchen, filled my sink with kerosene and reached for a lighter, you wouldn't need to stick around to guess what happens.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 8, 2009

Pop impresario turns Arab dance belly up

There surely aren't too many people out there who can talk about hanging out with The Sex Pistols in one breath and taking calls from then-United States Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the next. Miles Copeland, however, is one such person.

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear