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Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 21, 2005

Party leaders head out on the national stump

Ruling and opposition leaders traveled to various parts of the country Saturday to seek public support ahead of the Sept. 11 general election.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 21, 2005

It's the eccentrics whose appeal endures

KILLING RAIN, by Barry Eisler. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2005, 337 pp., $24.95 (cloth). BANGKOK TATTOO, by John Burdett. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005, 304 pp., $24 (cloth). While perhaps not as well known as Sherlock Holmes or Agent 007, pulp magazines and later paperback books featuring the intrepid...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2005

Consolidating against conflict, disaster

SINGAPORE -- Despite some initial difficulties, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations preserved its cohesion as a credible regional organization to end a weeklong series of annual meetings on a good note late last month in Vientiane:
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2005

Statements befitting future conduct

On Monday, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement apologizing for Japan's past colonialism and aggression. He also decided that day not to visit Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan's militarism in the 1930s and '40s. Instead, he visited and...
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2005

Tohoku temblor not area's Big One: panel

The powerful earthquake that rattled the Tohoku region Tuesday was not the big temblor predicted to strike the area within the next 30 years, the government's Earthquake Research Committee concluded Wednesday.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 18, 2005

Summers in Japan mean blood sweat and tears

Though it hasn't been scientifically proven, there appears to be a definite link between summer heat and summer funerals. In my neighborhood, the onset of o-neppa (heat wave), followed by those negurushii yoru (restless nights) sets off a string of o-soshiki (funerals) at the local temple. Almost always,...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 18, 2005

What a curious wonder the walrus is

The walrus is a peculiar, even comical, creature -- and not only in Lewis Carroll's 1872 poem, "The Walrus and the Carpenter."
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2005

Investor funds flourish, but caveat emptor

Ranging from hip-hop music to premium wines and a ramen court, funds are emerging in myriad fields to whet the appetites of investors tired of the minuscule interest on regular bank deposits and eager for a taste of adventure.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 17, 2005

Viewing the United States from an Asian perspective

HONOLULU -- During a gathering of Asians and Americans in Honolulu, the Asians seemed ambivalent about the role of the United States in their region. As one put it, "We want the Americans to be on tap but not on top."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 17, 2005

Artists' works join the EU

In the last 30 years, the central eastern European nations of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary have experienced tumultuous times. Under communism, state control and censorship forced artists to be regional and nationalistic, but since the soft slides into capitalism and democracy epitomized...
EDITORIALS
Aug 16, 2005

The other nuclear crisis resumes

Iran appears to be headed -- once again -- toward conflict with the rest of the world over its nuclear programs. Tehran has rejected a European proposal that was designed to end concerns over its determination to develop facilities that would allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon -- an objective the Iranian...
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2005

Abe, ministers, Diet members visit shrine

Amid heightened attention on Japan's wartime past, 47 Diet members visited contentious Yasukuni Shrine together Monday, the 60th anniversary of the nation's surrender.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2005

Police suspect Joyu may try to retake Aum's helm

Fumihiro Joyu, the nominal head of the Aum Shinrikyo cult that launched the deadly sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, may be attempting a comeback, police sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2005

Nakagawa visits Yasukuni Shrine

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa visited Yasukuni Shrine on Sunday, the first Cabinet member to go to the shrine near the 60th anniversary Monday of the end of World War II.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 14, 2005

Chiune Sugihara: His conscience gleams out of the darkness

Exactly 60 years ago, during the evening of Aug. 14, 1945, Emperor Hirohito recorded the speech of surrender to be broadcast to the Japanese nation the next day at noon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2005

Just a slab of cold peace after 60 years

MONTEREY, Calif. — Sunday marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Pacific War. In Asia, it is an especially critical milestone as China, South Korea and many Southeast Asian countries recall their struggle against the Japanese invasions, valuing peace all the more today. Time is supposed to heal...
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2005

Hashimoto likely to retire from Diet

Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto is expected to retire from the Diet without running in the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election, members of the Liberal Democratic Party said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2005

Will the LDP land on its feet Sept. 11?

A showdown has begun for the Sept. 11 House of Representatives election, a poll that may witness a drastic change in the political landscape.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2005

House dissolution may delay critical diplomacy

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision Monday to call a general election may end up stalling Japan's diplomatic agenda, including talks on realigning the U.S. forces in Japan.
JAPAN / 60 YEARS AND ONWARD
Aug 9, 2005

Japan's veterans bemoan lack of U.S.-style respect

OSAKA -- Every Aug. 15, all manner of people gather at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine. But often lost among the parade of rightwing loudspeaker trucks, leftwing protesters and formally attired senior political figures swarmed by the press are the veterans themselves.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 7, 2005

Los Van Van

Fusing a variety of Latin rhythms into a potent, down-to-earth style, Los Van Van has been packing dance floors for over 30 years and shows no sign of slowing down. A Cuban institution, this wild, 15 member band is not only the most successful Latin group to arrive on the world stage from Cuba (at least,...
EDITORIALS
Aug 6, 2005

An excuse for nuclear weapons

Sixty years ago, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, followed by one on Nagasaki three days later. The killing and injuring of hundreds of thousands of people ushered in an age that threatened nuclear annihilation. Since the East-West confrontation ended 15 years ago, the world has tended...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 6, 2005

What not to do in Japan: die

As a veteran resident approaching his 28th year in Japan, I would like to offer some simple advice to tourists, newbies and fellow graybeards as well. Which is:

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan