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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2006

Merkel's reforms drift toward dead end

MUNICH -- A year ago, Angela Merkel, Germany's charming new chancellor, was in the final phase of her election campaign. The incumbent, Gerhard Schroeder, lagged so far behind her Christian Democrats (CDU) in public opinion polls that she thought she would win a landslide victory and could therefore...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 2, 2006

Tyler Foundation helps other sick kids shine on

There are many pictures of Tyler Ferris on the Web site his mother, Kimberly Forsythe, created after his death just over a year ago. In every one he is smiling, if not grinning from ear to ear.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2006

Welfare recipients will need more than Abe's helping hand

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe's pledge to create a society in which struggling people can receive second chances, while being assured of a public safety net, isn't getting through to those living on assistance.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2006

Kubota, other firms get asbestos bill

An expert panel of the Environment Ministry on Wednesday approved a proposal calling for machinery maker Kubota Corp. and others to contribute a total of 340 million yen a year to the private-sector's share in the new compensation law for asbestos victims.
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2006

Pay falls for first time in six months

The average pay of corporate employees fell 0.1 percent in July from a year ago to 395,879 yen for the first decrease in six months, according to a government report released Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2006

Amnesty International on track with call for inquiry

NEW YORK -- An Amnesty International report severely criticizes the Israeli Defense Forces's behavior during the recent war in Lebanon and calls for an independent commission of inquiry. Such a commission should investigate the actions of not only the IDF but also Hezbollah, as civilians were the main...
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2006

Jobless rate dips as offers hit 14-year high

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent in July from 4.2 percent in June, while the ratio of job offers to job seekers in July marked the highest level in 14 years, according to government data released Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 27, 2006

An underclass returns -- and with it, what?

All indications are that Japan is reverting to prewar norms. I am not referring solely to the new nationalism, bolstered by Japan's increasingly aggressive military stances, but rather to the notion of social equality -- or inequality -- that is being created for its citizens today.
Japan Times
LIFE / DISABILITY IN JAPAN
Aug 27, 2006

Blind doctor finds new ways of seeing

This story is part of a package on "Disability in Japan". The introduction is here.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 27, 2006

'Disguised contracting' gets proper airing in media . . . with results

The main front page story of the July 31 Asahi Shimbun was about the prefectural labor bureaus cracking down on major manufacturers for improper employment practices; in particular, something called giso ukeoi, or "disguised contracting."
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2006

Abe wants stronger prime minister's office if he gets top job

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe would increase the role of the prime minister's office in setting key policies in education and national security if he becomes the country's leader, sources close to him said Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 26, 2006

Ministry to seek 20.16 trillion yen for '07 welfare budget

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said Friday it will ask for 20.16 trillion yen in social security outlays in the fiscal 2007 budget.
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2006

Woman held in umbrella eye-stabbing

Police said Thursday they have arrested a 31-year-old woman on suspicion of seriously wounding a saleswoman at a Tokyo department store earlier this month by poking her in the eye with an umbrella.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2006

U.S. beef ban over but it seems otherwise at stores

It's been weeks since Japan ditched its import ban on U.S. beef and the first shipment went on sale, but American beef is nowhere to be seen at supermarkets here -- except for the five Costco stores.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2006

Support clubs to make 'old freeters' into full-timers

The government will create support clubs to help "older freeters" secure full-time jobs, labor ministry officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2006

Brewers basking in the summer economic heat but the future looks flat

As the summer heats up, the beer is flowing around backyard barbecue grills and rooftop beer gardens in city centers. And this year, a recovering economy is putting a little extra fizz into beer sales.
EDITORIALS
Aug 23, 2006

Child abuse crisis

Child abuse in this nation has reached a crisis level. Child welfare centers across the nation dealt with a record 34,451 cases of child abuse in fiscal 2005, a thousand more than in the previous year and a 31.3-fold increase since fiscal 1990.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2006

Obituary: Toshikazu Wakatsuki

Toshikazu Wakatsuki, a pioneer in rural health care, died of pneumonia Tuesday at Saku Central Hospital in Saku, Nagano Prefecture, a hospital official said. He was 96.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 22, 2006

Rakugo and a noisy neighbor

Rakugo Ewan, teaching in Tokyo, is interested in Japanese story-telling. "I don't know if you have heard but story-telling in the U.K. is enjoying quite a revival. Edinburgh has the first center for story-telling ever created in the world, funded by the Scottish Storytelling Forum and the Church of...
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2006

Fear of rivalry rules LDP

With the governing Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election a month away, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe has emerged as the overwhelming favorite to win the post, and hence to become the next prime minister.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2006

Too little, too late for Russia

LONDON -- In his recent State of the Union speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the "most important [matter] for our country is the demographic problem." He said Russia's population is declining by 700,000 a year -- this from a base of 143 million. Russian demographic experts suggest that the...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 20, 2006

A nation of animal lovers -- as pets or when they're on a plate

The Japanese consider themselves a compassionate people when it comes to an animal's fate. Memorial stones have been erected in whaling villages since the early Edo Period (1603-1867), as they are today at slaughterhouses. Buddhist priests are hired to read the sutras before altars set with incense and...
COMMENTARY
Aug 19, 2006

Struggling for transparency in China

HONG KONG -- Following the Chinese press, one sometimes gets totally depressed and feels that there is no hope for the country, with its myriad problems. At other times, the opposite is true. This week, it is a mix. On different fronts, one sees a host of problems but, at the same time, it is clear that...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 19, 2006

TaoZen: synthesizing life practices of the sages

Masahiro Ouchi stands before a group of 30 assorted individuals in Be Yoga, a studio in Tokyo's Hiro-o (including five dishy-enough French men to make one English guy joke that among so many women he has never felt so disadvantaged) and introduces us to the essence of the spiritual and therapeutic practice...
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2006

Crown Prince and family fly off to Holland

Crown Prince Naruhito, Crown Princess Masako and their daughter, Princess Aiko, left for the Netherlands on Thursday for a two-week trip aimed at helping the Crown Princess recover from her stress-induced illness.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 13, 2006

His Emperor's reluctant warrior

Samurai-born and steeled in Japan's harsh military culture, Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi had lived five years in North America but was largely unknown to Washington's leaders when he was ordered to defend Iwo Jima "at all costs." The U.S. would pay dearly for underestimating him.
EDITORIALS
Aug 13, 2006

Too risk-averse to take issue

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda put a damper on the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race when he dropped out of the running. Who will succeed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September?
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2006

Nukaga decides not to run in LDP presidential race

Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga said Friday that he would not enter the race for Liberal Democratic Party president, confirming earlier reports that he would not run.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person