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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 4, 2008

'Silk'

It took a long time for me to recover from the blast of bullsh*t Orientalism that was "Memoirs of a Geisha." There were the usual symptoms: nausea, shaky hands and an attack of shudders every time I passed by the Oriental Bazaar on Tokyo's Omotesando avenue, among others.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2008

Becalmed Hokkaido prays for G8 wind

TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Lined with traditional merchant homes, wholesalers and other historical buildings dating to the 17th century, Inishie (Antiquity) Street stretches 1.1 km from north to south in the Japan Sea coastal town of Esashi in Hiyama, southwestern Hokkaido.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2008

Peace, prosperity come at a price

It is self-evident that international peace is the foremost prerequisite for national security and prosperity. This is the common recognition of all advanced nations, but Japan, with regard to national interests.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2008

Japan stumbles its way toward a two-party system

2007 was a politically significant year. It is stirring to see how much the political terrain has changed from the beginning of the year to now.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2008

Political inertia, public indifference

Japanese politics and politicians continue to face an overriding question: What kind of nation should Japan become? The question needs to be discussed among all political parties in ways that inspire the public. Unfortunately, that is not about to happen. Preoccupied with short-term responses to immediate...
Japan Times
JAPAN / THIS FOREIGN LAND
Jan 1, 2008

Inevitably, newcomers play growing role

This is the first in a four-part series focusing on issues confronting Japan's growing foreign communities and their increasing impact on society as a whole.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 31, 2007

'08 to see nightmare of globalization, or alert central banks?

Looking back at what I wrote in this space this time last year, I find that I was dreaming of a Japan of the United States, in which the regions become city states unto their own and make Japan a generally more interesting place. The dream still remains but a dream. But I keep hoping.
Reader Mail
Dec 30, 2007

'Terrorists' walking the streets

Regarding the Dec. 22 front-page article "Mob crackdown targets bosses, bidders": Is there any possible excuse for the National Police Agency and the Japanese government allowing terrorists with guns, swords and knives to freely roam the streets of Japan killing whomsoever they please? Surely, it is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 2007

Need something to read in the new year?

OUR SHARED JAPAN: An Anthology of Contemporary Irish Poetry, edited by Irene De Angelis & Joseph Woods (Dedalus Press)
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 29, 2007

Watami empire built on concept of family 'izakaya'

Until Miki Watanabe opened his first Watami "izakaya" pub in April 1992 in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, such eateries were considered places for business workers and college kids to have a cheap drink and a few side dishes.
EDITORIALS
Dec 29, 2007

Education proposals lack coherence

The Education Resuscitation Council, which was set up under the leadership of then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has submitted its third report to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. The report includes a variety of proposals for consideration: a grade-skipping system, government guidelines for school integration,...
BASKETBALL
Dec 28, 2007

Apache guard Aoki continues climb to stardom

There are times this season when Cohey Aoki is the best offensive player on the basketball court.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 27, 2007

Blockbusters and new momentum

This was another great year for art enthusiasts with breadth, depth and an audience for all kinds exhibitions and events.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2007

The 'browning' of African technology

PRAGUE — Forget MIT. Hello, Tsing Hua University. For Clothilde Tingiri, a hot young programmer at Rwanda's top software company, dreams of Beijing, not Cambridge, animate her ambitions. Desperate for more education, this fall she plans to attend graduate school for computer science — in China, not...
COMMENTARY
Dec 26, 2007

China puts muscle to policy

NEW DELHI — Rising economic and military power is emboldening Beijing to pursue a more muscular foreign policy. Having earlier preached the gospel of its "peaceful rise," China is now beginning to take the gloves off, confident of the muscle it has acquired.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Dec 26, 2007

The biggest Internet-related stories of 2007

As we wind down on 2007, it's a good time to look back and see how much the Internet landscape has changed in the last year.
Reader Mail
Dec 25, 2007

Americans seem just as gullible

In his Dec. 9 letter, "Japanese seem easy to brainwash," Grant Piper appears a little un-evenhanded in claiming that Japanese have cornered the market on susceptibility to brainwashing. I'm sorry to say Americans are just as easily brainwashed.
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 23, 2007

From Bliss to blood

Some scholars say Japan's Christian history began long before the so-called "Christian century" (1549-c.1640). Their claim takes us all the way back to 7th- and 8th-century Nara, where Nestorian Christians from Persia are said to have built churches, operated a leper hospital and even converted the Empress...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 22, 2007

Wenger's young Gunners in fine form during Carling Cup

LONDON — Arsenal not only has the best first team in the Premier League, but it's second XI is also capable of beating England's finest.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2007

Japan calls off hunt for humpbacks

Even as its whalers sail for the Southern Ocean hunting grounds, Japan has agreed to temporarily suspend its pursuit of humpback whales, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura indicated Friday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 22, 2007

Preparing for . . . the Christmas that never comes

You think Christmas celebrations start too early in your country? So that when Christmas finally comes, you've already had enough of it? Where do you think "Season's Greetings" comes from?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 21, 2007

Tasting the good life

Karuizawa is known as a getaway magnet for the rich, and based on a recent trip to the town in Nagano Prefecture, Japan's wealthy take their pleasures very seriously.
EDITORIALS
Dec 20, 2007

Strains in Malaysia

The arrest of leaders of an ethnic Indian rights group shines a spotlight on rising tensions in Malaysia. The government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi appears unnerved by growing protests; its resort to the Internal Security Act (ISA) is a troubling sign. The focus of complaint is charges of...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?