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JAPAN / Society
Feb 8, 2009

Burmese junta fuels influx

In 2008 there was a sharp spike in the number of people seeking asylum in Japan, and although only 6 percent of those processed were recognized by the government as refugees, they totalled 57 compared with 41 the year before.
COMMENTARY
Feb 4, 2009

Protectionism not the answer

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has rejected protectionist measures to mitigate the effects of the present world economic crisis and has condemned the anti-globalization lobby as ignorant and misguided. He and Lord Mandelson, the minister responsible for business affairs and a former EU commissioner,...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2009

MSDF's hands tied on antipiracy tour

With Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada's orders to prepare the Maritime Self-Defense Force for dispatch Wednesday, the government has officially given the green light to an antipiracy mission around the Horn of Africa.
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2008

Afghanistan in trouble

The Taliban, which was ousted from power by U.S.-led coalition forces seven years ago, is stepping up its efforts to regain power in Afghanistan. Coupled with an increase in militant attacks in Pakistan and the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan symbolizes...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Dec 2, 2008

Hailing the tail end of Bush

Regarding Barack Obama's election as U.S. president, I welcome the groundswell of hope. It's about time. The past eight years have been, well, awkward for Americans overseas.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008

Fukui town of Obama erupts in victory parties

Yes we did. That's what residents in the Sea of Japan town of Obama were chanting Wednesday during a boisterous celebration following Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 21, 2008

Japan's spies: What cloak, dagger?

How ill is Kim Jong Il?
EDITORIALS
Sep 19, 2008

Turning point for Zimbabwe

In what could be a historic moment for Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe and Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), have signed a power-sharing agreement.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2008

Worrisome NSG agreement

India has won a significant victory in its efforts to claim an exception to rules designed to thwart the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Delhi did not accomplish this on its own: It got considerable help from Washington, which seeks to build a new relationship with the world's largest democracy.
EDITORIALS
Sep 11, 2008

Moot occasion to celebrate

North Korea this week celebrated the 60th anniversary of its founding. In its editorial, Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, called on North Koreans to remain united around the leader Kim Jong Il and to strengthen the armed forces, which it described as "the foundation of a strong nation." It...
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2008

Saitama U.N. disarmament talks follow North denuclearization snub

SAITAMA — A three-day U.N. conference on nuclear disarmament kicked off Wednesday in Saitama, a day after North Korea announced it had stopped disabling its atomic facilities.
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2008

No backing down on whaling, official says

Japan has no intention of curbing its scientific whale hunts, a Fisheries Agency official said Wednesday in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY
Jun 27, 2008

Loving and loathing the EU

LONDON — The European Union now consists of 27 states, with more states in the Balkans and Eastern Europe jockeying to join. Turkey is a candidate for membership. There would be benefits for the EU from further expansion, including more trade, improvements in democratic institutions and the protection...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2008

Hot air over global warming

HONG KONG — Fresh reports every day tell of glaciers melting, thinning polar ice triggering prospects of a scramble for the riches under the Arctic ice cap, worries about rising water levels inundating low-lying countries, and soaring oil prices.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jun 3, 2008

Good news from grass roots

Reader Rodney in Vancouver recently e-mailed: "I've often found your articles informative and useful, but they tend to take a tone of complaint. Please tell us about some face-to-face, grassroots efforts that have helped make Japanese more considerate and respectful of those who are different."
EDITORIALS
May 26, 2008

Jammed door to Myanmar

More than three weeks since Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar, the military junta has finally decided to open its door to a larger international relief effort and to allow in aid experts "of all nationalities." More than 130,000 people are believed dead or missing because of the cyclone — compared...
JAPAN
May 10, 2008

Myanmar junta slammed for referendum in cyclone wake

The Myanmar junta's plan to hold a national referendum while its people are reeling in the aftermath of a devastating cyclone "will not produce any good outcome," a model and designer from the country who was granted refugee status in Japan in 1993 told reporters Friday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 10, 2008

The making of a market center

Almost everything was sold before he even arrived at Art Fair Tokyo, but that didn't stop gallerist Peter Nagy from coming to Japan anyway. The impulse to dip his toes into what could become contemporary art's next deep pool was just too strong to resist, so three large canvases by artists Thukral &...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Mar 8, 2008

Pair practice art of collaboration in life, work

Designers Yoshiko Tajima and Ansgar Vollmer met and fell in love while students at Koeln International School of Design in Cologne, Germany.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 2, 2008

Capello in tough spot when it came to decision on Beckham

LONDON — Fabio Capello was always going to be damned if he picked David Beckham and damned if he dropped him for his first game as England manager against Switzerland on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 24, 2007

Evidence on Iran doesn't seem to matter

LONDON — Shaul Mofaz, the Israeli defense minister, is not a fan of Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. In fact, he wants him fired. "The policies followed by ElBaradei endanger world peace. His irresponsible attitude of sticking his head in the sand over Iran's...
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2007

Ruling bloc's MSDF bill is given to Diet

The ruling coalition Wednesday submitted to a divided Diet a special bill to enable the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue providing logistic support in the Indian Ocean for U.S.-led antiterror operations in and around Afghanistan.
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2007

How to downsize Bush's 'axis of evil'

LOS ANGELES — The "axis of evil" has certainly proven one tough triangle with which to tangle. But is it about to be downsized? As defined by U.S. President George Bush in his 2002 State of the Union address, this putative axis triangulates Iraq, Iran and North Korea. But is one of them on the verge...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2007

Once again, musical chairs at the Kremlin

VIENNA — It's that time again: Russia's pre-election season when prime ministers are changed as in a game of musical chairs. The last one seated, it is supposed, will become Russia's next president. As the end of his rule approached, Boris Yeltsin went through at least a half-dozen prime ministers,...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami