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THE

COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2009
A story line to push the economy
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Since hitting bottom in early March, the world's major stock markets have all risen dramatically. Some, notably in China and Brazil, reached lows last fall and again in March, before rebounding sharply, with Brazil's Bovespa up 75 percent in May compared to late October 2008, and...
EDITORIALS
Jul 21, 2008
Toning down the convenience
In an attempt to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, some local governments are planning to ask convenience stores to rethink their round-the-clock operations. If fully implemented, fewer business hours would have a great impact on people's lifestyles. As a first step, though, it would be necessary...
Japan Times
Features
Jul 13, 2008
Japan's culture policy lingers in limbo
It's a fact that has long puzzled devotees and plain old tourists alike. Japan's manga and anime arts have been wowing the world for more than a decade, and yet the national government still hasn't got around to setting up a proper museum for their enjoyment, preservation and study.
EDITORIALS
Mar 17, 2008
Punishing bureaucratic neglect
The Supreme Court earlier this month upheld a suspended prison sentence for a former health ministry official who had been found guilty of failing to prevent the sale and use of HIV-contaminated blood products that resulted in the death of a patient suffering from impaired liver function. It concluded...
Reader Mail
Jan 20, 2008
Don't cross oceans to kill whales
I love Japan and its people. I have always been impressed by all the Japanese people I have ever met and worked with. But I am so sad that Japan sends its ships to our ocean to kill our whales. We Australians see whales as very intelligent creatures who nurture their young in family groups, and who have...
EDITORIALS
Dec 16, 2007
Stars in their guides
Last month, Tokyo's restaurants received their stars. For the first time, the famed Michelin Guide, the most respected and feared guidebook in Europe, published a volume outside the Western world. Noted for its make-or-break effects on European hotels and restaurants, the publication was greeted in Tokyo...
EDITORIALS
Sep 30, 2007
The real stakes in Taiwan
There was never any doubt about the outcome of Taiwan's bid to regain a seat in the United Nations. For the 15th time in as many years, the U.N. rejected Taipei's call to return to the world body. The application did not even make it to the General Assembly agenda, having been blocked by the General...
Reader Mail
Sep 16, 2007
Deplorable distortion of message
I agree with Vipan Chandra's opinion in his Sept. 5 letter, "Message of a war-crimes judge," that Japanese nationalists distort the message of the late Indian Justice Radhabinod Pal, who believed that wartime leaders accused at the Tokyo Tribunal were not guilty. That a monument to the judge stands right...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 17, 2007
Girls have all the fun
If there was a festival anthem to this year's Summer Sonic, it was "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." The overflowing crowd at Cyndi Lauper's Sunday set on the Sonic Stage was mostly made up of women who mouthed every word to her string of hits. And when she finished with her biggest hit, the female members...
EDITORIALS
Aug 10, 2007
A credible economic policy
Since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat in the Upper House election, it is all the more important for the government to work out a credible economic policy. As Japan's population grays and decreases at the same time, it will be essential to enhance efficiency...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 27, 2007
Playing their last show, again
"This year is 30 years since I first went onstage with a band called The Cure and 2009 will be 30 years since our first album," says proto-goth Robert Smith, speaking via telephone on a suitably ghoulish Friday the 13th.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2007
Upper House campaign commences
The campaign for the July 29 Upper House election has officially started. It is the first national election since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in September 2006. Under the Abe administration so far, the Fundamental Law of Education has been revised to instill patriotism in children and strengthen...
EDITORIALS
May 28, 2007
Strategic Economic Dialogue stumbles
The increasingly shrill dialogue between the United States and China over economic issues should sound familiar to many Japanese. A swelling U.S. trade deficit with China has led to demands by Washington for the revaluation of the Chinese currency, threats of trade sanctions from Congress, and angry...
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2007
Juvenile Law revision
A bill to revise the Juvenile Law, which passed the Lower House with the backing of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, is now in the Upper House. The bill is designed to provide harsher treatment of juvenile offenders. Lawmakers must question whether such a move will really help to prevent juvenile...
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2007
Kiosks and koban
Two of Japan's most respected institutions — kiosks and koban (police boxes) — have gone empty in recent weeks, upsetting many who regularly depend on them. The shock waves are still reverberating around the country, but especially in Tokyo, where their essential everyday services were reported closed...
COMMENTARY
Mar 5, 2007
To move without U.S. cues
In their talks Feb. 21, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and visiting U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney reaffirmed the "unwavering" Japan-U.S. security alliance. This raises a question: Why did Abe have to reaffirm an alliance that is said to have already benefited from the long honeymoon between former Prime...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2005
The lights, guitars, action of Go! Team
Film commonly relies on music to add emotional impact. However, with The Go! Team, who hail from Brighton, England, it works the other way around. Early singles were flush with action and near-cinematic thrills, all guitar squalls and percussive thrust, with soaring horn lines that burst through your...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 22, 2004
Sexual, textual and visual boundaries
IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES (BFI Film Classics), by Joan Mellen. London: British Film Institute, 2004, 88 pp., with photographs. £8.99 (paper).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 12, 2003
Re-start me up
When a band has entered its fifth decade and its name is virtually synonymous with rock 'n' roll, it needs no introduction. The Rolling Stones are the Stones. And "Forty Licks," released this year to mark the band's 40th anniversary, is simply a collection of their hits. "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction,"...

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?