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JAPAN
Sep 2, 2008

Quakes inevitable — so prepare

Last of two parts Are you ready for the Big One?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 2, 2008

Urawaza — quirky, everyday Japanese tips — head West

Two years ago, a mysterious 20-second video clip triggered some unexpected buzz on the Web site YouTube. In the segment, an ordinary-looking housewife draws an invisible line across the chest of a shirt with her finger. Then she pinches the shirt under the armpit and at the shoulder, does a quick flipping...
LIFE / Language
Sep 2, 2008

So is it respect for 'the aged,' 'the elderly' or 'the seniors'?

As it is every September, people in Japan are looking forward to keirō no hi, the coming national holiday dedicated to the older members of the population. Respect for the Aged Day provides an annual opportunity to visit one's elderly relatives, get involved in various welfare activities or just stay...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 2, 2008

Soft power is key to Japan reshaping its identity abroad

In February this year, a Japanese university student scribbled her name and that of her college on the walls of Florence's Duomo. The following month, the university received complaints from Japanese travelers embarrassed to find Japanese graffiti on a World Heritage Site. In June, after another Japanese...
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2008

Shionogi to purchase Sciele Pharma of U.S.

Shionogi & Co., the maker of the Crestor anticholesterol pill, has agreed to buy Sciele Pharma Inc. of the U.S. for $1.4 billion, adding research, development and sales staff.
Reader Mail
Aug 31, 2008

The language of discrimination

Regarding the Aug. 26 article "Japan defends steps to end discrimination": A country that makes it hard for foreigners to obtain permanent residence speaks its own language of discrimination, don't you think?
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2008

Sub's radioactive leak not harmful, U.S. says

The U.S. government Friday filed its final report on the submarine USS Houston's radioactive leak earlier this year, saying it had no adverse effect on human health or the environment, the Foreign Ministry said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2008

Bands gather under Hokkaido's rising sun

"Go for it, guys!" the staff on the wristband checkpoint shout as people file past. "Have a good time!" As the day wears on, they grow more enthusiastic. High-fives are exchanged, with the more ebullient customers even getting a hug.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 28, 2008

McCain aims to win by pandering to bigotry

NEW YORK — At a time when the Beijing Olympics have increased America's apprehension of China's rising power, Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee for president, has chosen Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate. Biden is the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and an established...
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2008

Seiko Noda: The time is ripe for consumer agency

Establishment of a consumer protection agency couldn't come at a better time, what with the current deterioration of the consumer environment, consumer affairs minister Seiko Noda said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2008

Steps eyed for temps' plight

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry may submit a bill to the Diet this fall that will urge, but not require, temp staffing agencies to pursue regular employment for the workers they dispatch in a bid to bring more stability to the lives of the underpaid.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2008

Families blossom under feminine mystique

OLYMPIA, Wash. — This year marks the 45th anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique." Today, many social conservatives still blame Friedan and feminism for inducing women to abandon the home for the workplace, thus destabilizing families and placing their children at...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 24, 2008

It's time for perfectly cute 50-year-old Japanese women

Madonna turned 50 on Aug. 16. The milestone was marked by a predictable barrage of commentary about "50 being the new 40" and how women no longer dread the half-century mark. Everybody is trying to eat better and exercise more, and cosmetic surgery isn't the big taboo it once was. But since the subject...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 24, 2008

Biomimicry: Natural by design

I magine being able to maintain a perfect temperature and humidity in your home year round, without spending a single yen in electricity or gas bills. That's exactly what Professor Emile Ishida of Tohoku University in northern Japan is striving to achieve — and he got the idea from termites.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 22, 2008

Abe edging back into fight

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to be trying to move back into the political limelight, even though his close associates think it's too early.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 21, 2008

A linguistic boxing match from a true classic

Internationally acclaimed English theater director David Leveaux first visited Japan 20 years ago as the substitute director of "Dangerous Liaisons" after an English colleague had to pull out. Now Leveaux, 50, is back in his second home after a bewildering series of trips from his London base to Vienna,...
Reader Mail
Aug 21, 2008

Helping those closest to us

Regarding Roger Pulvers' Aug. 17 article, "There's a lot to learn from the life and times of Beate Sirota Gordon": Thank you for an inspiring article! I had read about Beate Sirota Gordon in her book, "The Only Woman in the Room," which moved me to actually read the full Japanese Constitution in English...
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2008

Nippon Life preps for takeovers

Nippon Life Insurance Co. plans to raise ¥50 billion from Japanese institutional investors for acquisitions and to strengthen its capital base, the company said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 18, 2008

Reining in abuse of temps

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has started discussions that will eventually lead to stronger controls over the dispatch and use of temporary workers. The move will reverse the direction of the nation's basic labor policy. Labor market liberalization has progressed since the law on dispatched...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2008

Free trade system is in danger of extinction

In July, the Doha negotiations, promising freer trade, broke down, ostensibly over a small technicality in safeguard rules. In reality, the talks collapsed because nobody was willing to take the political short-term hit by offending inefficient farmers and coddled domestic industries in order to create...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years