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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2007

Poor nutrition negates hi-tech treatment

ROME — For most people reading this, in an era of obesity, the idea of going to the doctor when we are sick and being told to eat more is bizarre. And yet, for millions of people in the developing world, undernutrition is the root cause of many of their ailments. Eating more of the right food is actually...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 4, 2007

Skin-deep success

It started with an e-mail from my editor: "Get yr (sic) camera ready. Online Dating Minus Ugly People is coming to Japan. Thinking Lifestyle page trend piece. Ready for the money shot?"
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 20, 2007

World's suicide capital — tough image to shake

Japan has attained a reputation as the suicide capital of the world. A 2007 international comparison of suicide rates (per 100,000 people) by the World Health Organization ranked Japan sixth for females, at 12.8, behind Sri Lanka, South Korea and Lithuania, and 11th for males, at 35.6, well below Lithuania,...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2007

Number of displaced Iraqis is soaring

American officials report that the number of sectarian and other killings in Iraq has declined since the onset of the military "surge" that began earlier this year. But while the number of killings may, indeed, have fallen, does that mean Iraq is really safer?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 24, 2007

'Gore's Nobel Prize is wonderful'

As soon as the rumors began that former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and the U.N. Intergovern- mental Panel on Climate Change were being considered for a Nobel Peace Prize it was easy to predict at least one thing: Win or not, the commentators, pundits and bloggers were going to have a field day.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 18, 2007

A country caught in the grip of a regime

MYANMAR — Rangoon (or Yangon as it is now called) seen from the air seems subdued, at least after brilliant nighttime Bangkok. Just a light here and there, otherwise a carpet of darkness. This extends even down into the new and otherwise imposing "national" airport where the light is so dim that officials...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 16, 2007

The faces behind the numbers: A day feeding Tokyo's hungry

Last in a two-part series O n a typical Saturday evening, I stroll around the bustling streets of Shibuya with my friends, dressed up, heels clicking, ready to hit a couple of trendy shops. The chilly breeze puffs up the hairs on my arms and I shudder — winter is approaching. We chat about school,...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2007

China can change Myanmar

HONG KONG — Buddhist monks, the most pacific of dedicated religious people, marched through the streets of Myanmar's main cities Yangon and Mandalay last week in protest against years of hardship, gross mismanagement and corruption inflicted on their long-suffering people.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Sep 23, 2007

Linguists gutted by body-talk blight

Imagine a nation of people who no longer know where their center lies. That's what Japan has become in recent decades.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Sep 23, 2007

Japanese: A language in a state of flux

Languages are never static. They change and evolve with people over time. They also interact with other languages, and through an endless cycle of loaning and borrowing of words, ideas and concepts are shared, exchanged and nurtured across national and cultural boundaries.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2007

A vital graying society

The nation is now in the midst of the Week of the Aged. As the theme suggests, the government and the people must rack their brains to figure out how to build a graying society full of vitality. The internal affairs ministry's report says there were an estimated 27.44 million people aged 65 or over as...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 18, 2007

Looking on the bright side

Last in a two-part series
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 11, 2007

Volunteering: How to start making a difference this fall

First in a two-part series
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 2, 2007

Danjuro Ichikawa: Destined to act wild

When Danjuro Ichikawa stomps around the stage in flamboyant costumes, his face painted in red-and-white makeup and his voice virtually bellowing, it is kabuki in its rawest, most dramatic form. This actor and his ancestors through 11 previous generations have been wreaking havoc in the elegant world...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 20, 2007

Why can't Americans give up their guns?

NEW YORK — Is there anything comparable to the numbing obstinacy, the utter blindness to reality, that politicians display toward the consequences of untrammeled gun ownership in this country? So I wondered, once again, when I stumbled upon President George W. Bush's answer to what some now call "the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 24, 2007

Koreans speak out on schooling

Since the publication of my article about the Okayama Korean Primary and Middle School (Community, May 22), I have had several people ask me questions about the attitudes, opinions and beliefs of the people involved with the school.
Japan Times
LIFE / REFUGEES AND JAPAN
Jul 8, 2007

Screenings on behalf of 33 million

From July 18-26, the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) will sponsor the 2nd International Refugee Film Festival in Japan. The program of 30 movies over nine days at four theaters includes feature and documentary films that focus on the lives, trials and triumphs of people forced to leave their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 5, 2007

Angelina Jolie true to her 'heart'

The Japan Times gets close and personal with Hollywood's hottie-cum-humanitarian on making films with a message, being hounded by the media — and life with Brad Pitt.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 1, 2007

Kotaro Sawaki: Writer on the road of life

Kotaro Sawaki is one of the most popular nonfiction writers in Japan. He made his name with "Shinya Tokkyu (Midnight Express)," a reportage of a yearlong overland trip through Asia and Europe he took when he was in his mid-20s. Those stories — whose title refers to a euphemism for "prison break" used...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2007

For those needing home care, here's how the plan works

Following are answers to some common questions about the national nursing-care insurance plan and how it works:
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2007

Europe, open your borders

PRAGUE — It is time for Europe's politicians to admit to voters that governments cannot stop people moving across borders. Despite efforts to build a Fortress Europe, over a million foreigners bypass its defenses every year; some enter covertly, but most just overstay their visas and work illicitly....
LIFE
Jun 10, 2007

When and how you slumber is not as simple as it may seem

Getting up early is one of those things that people older and wiser always say is "good for you.''
JAPAN / Q&A
Jun 8, 2007

What's behind the measles outbreak?

A measles epidemic is spreading, especially among people in their teens and 20s, forcing weeklong closures at 29 universities and 22 high schools nationwide between April 1 and May 26.
LIFE / QUEUING
May 27, 2007

Patience pays off for firms on standby to queue for you

With queuing playing such an important role in Japanese life — just watch any breathlessly excitable TV magazine program fearlessly reporting any day of the week on long lines outside noodle shops or dog groomers — there are even those who cash in on the phenomenon directly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 22, 2007

Seeing from the Korean side

In February this year over 300 people attended the performing arts festival at a junior high school in Okayama. It was much the same as any other arts festival at any other junior high school in Japan; the students sang, danced, played music and performed skits for an audience made up of family and friends....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 6, 2007

Karel Van Wolferen: Insights into the new world disorder

When Karel Van Wolferen released his seminal book "The Enigma of Japanese Power" in the dying months of the bubble economy, the normally staid monthly magazine Chuo Koron described its impact as akin to being struck by a bolt of lightning. For once, the hype was merited. Little before had matched the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 5, 2007

Elvis impersonators may be answer to island's problem

Like many other places in Japan's countryside, Shiraishi Island is suffering from depopulation. When I came here 10 years ago, the population was 900. Now it is almost 700. Which goes to show that anyone can have his or her own island if one waits long enough.
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2007

Global population is graying

The 2006 revision of the United Nations population estimates and projection recently made public shows that the world population, now 6.67 billion, will reach 9.19 billion in 2050. This increase of 2.52 billion people is equivalent to the world's total population in 1950. During the same period, the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 24, 2007

NGO startups confront major hurdles in Japan

As regular readers of this newspaper will know, reports on the human rights situation in North Korea tend to read more like a litany of inhuman wrongs.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji