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COMMENTARY
Feb 5, 2007

Gaffes dog Abe's leadership

A series of inept remarks made by ministers of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet have undermined public support for his administration. Opinion polls show that public approval ratings for his Cabinet continue to fall.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Feb 4, 2007

Barbaro's incredible will to live provided lesson for all

"Animals and children are the only pure things in life."
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2007

Extra budget shoved through Lower House

The ruling bloc -- the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito -- rammed a supplementary budget through the Lower House on Friday after the opposition camp boycotted deliberations in protest of health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa.
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2007

Osaka plans another homeless eviction

OSAKA -- The Osaka Municipal Government is once again cracking down on the homeless, preparing to clear out a small group next week from a park that will be the site of a major international sporting event in August.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 3, 2007

Making the streets safe in Hokkaido

I came to Hokkaido for the winter to take a job in medical translation. I work in Niseko, the powder snow Mecca to skiers and snowboarders. And when they face plant in the powder, ski into a tree, or huck a cliff and land improperly, I go to the hospital and help interpret between doctor and patient....
MULTIMEDIA
Feb 2, 2007

This one's for Billy

"Rock 'n' roll is scary. Rock 'n' roll can make a person die. Rock 'n' roll may kill," says Seiji, aka Guitar Wolf, last Sunday. And he knows all about that.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 2, 2007

'Shooting Dogs'

When Hitler got his collaborators together and proposed the genocide of Jews, one of the things he said to justify the act was that before long the world will forget the whole thing. He is famed for having cited the example of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1917, in which around a million people were estimated...
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2007

H5N1 confirmed at Okayama farm

Dozens of chickens that started dying two weeks ago at a poultry farm in Okayama Prefecture were killed by the H5N1 strain of bird flu, agriculture officials confirmed Wednesday, fueling concerns about the future of the poultry industry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 1, 2007

Aznavour: the voice of France's Frank Sinatra travels well

PARIS -- It had been raining since morning, but Charles Aznavour's welcoming smile banished thoughts of the cold outside.
Reader Mail
Jan 28, 2007

What passes for attractiveness

Recent moves by Spain to rein in eating disorders in the high-fashion industry by sanctioning a healthy body mass index and thereby curbing excessive skinniness among supermodels have spread to Italy and show signs of spreading to other countries as well. This is a good thing and only partly...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 28, 2007

The Courtship

Insight, fate and human frailties intermingle in this love story for winter from the pen of MICHAEL HOFFMAN
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 28, 2007

More than money was found wanting in 'the lost decade'

Last week in this column, in an attempt to trace the roots of the nationalism now becoming a mainstream political force in Japan, I discussed the currents that characterized this country in the 1980s. This week I will look at the 1990s, to see how the social euphoria of the '80s led to what has come...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 26, 2007

Treatment of Roma in schools on trial

PARIS -- What good are Europe's treaties aimed at ensuring the legal equality of all citizens when entire groups face systematic discrimination?
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2007

Plunder of Philippines continues

Japan has one of the strongest economies in the world. Obviously Japan can afford to build nursing colleges and train nurses. But it has chosen to drastically cut spending on health and other social services and instead spend the money on the military. And it has decided to import nurses from the...
BUSINESS / Q&A
Jan 24, 2007

Election puts overtime-pay exclusion on hold

Wary of an upcoming election, the ruling bloc is backing off on a highly contentious bill that would exclude certain white-collar workers from overtime pay.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 24, 2007

One dive at a time

They say time and tide wait for no man, and it's safe to say that few people understand this truism as well as diver and explorer Dr. Greg Stone, one of 12 individuals recently named a National Geographic Adventure Hero of 2006.
Reader Mail
Jan 21, 2007

Too much ink spilled over old milk

Another big food-safety scandal has made news media headlines and worried millions of consumers. This time a cake factory has committed the unforgivable crime of using 60 liters of milk that had passed its expiration date by one day.
EDITORIALS
Jan 21, 2007

Holding off on a rate hike

The Bank of Japan's Policy Board has decided to maintain the overnight call rate, the key short-term interest rate, at 0.25 percent -- the rate it adopted last July when it scrapped its zero interest rate policy. The final conclusion of the Policy Board's discussions last week departs somewhat from BOJ...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 21, 2007

Ah, those good old bad old '80s days

W hen did Japan begin to change and enter its present phase of burgeoning nationalism? (I hesitate to call it "new" nationalism, because it's actually just a rehashing of old myths for 21st-century consumption.)

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