virtualreview: japan|world media

H1N1 vaccine safe: survey | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:42 +0100

The vaccines for H1N1 influenza manufactured in Japan are safe, but doctors should administer them carefully to patients with severe chronic diseases, a health ministry committee said Saturday. As of Nov. 19, out of the roughly 4.5 million people who...

Duty to beg off religious activity | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:39 +0100

Regarding the Nov. 11 article "Ozawa lashes out with scathing remarks on Christianity": As a pastor of a local church, I would like to share some of my thoughts on Democratic Party of Japan secretary general Ichiro Ozawa's comments. Although I have great...

Actress, producer Mizunoe dies | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:36 +0100

Actress-turned-film producer Takiko Mizunoe died of natural causes Monday in Kanagawa Prefecture, sources said Saturday. She was 94. Born in Otaru, Hokkaido, Mizunoe joined an opera company run by Shochiku Co. in the prewar era and eventually became...

Early-bird Uniqlo sale celebrates founding | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:31 +0100

The Uniqlo chain held an early-morning sale at about 400 stores Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of its operator, with more than 2,000 people lining up before dawn outside its flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza district. More than half...

Dancing in the Tokushima streets | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:26 +0100

After being in Japan for a while, you get to know a place by its festivals. See a gaggle of folk in a TV clip freezing their extremities off while gawping at vast, whimsical sculptures carved from snow and ice, and you recognize immediately they're in...

Japan rugby squad routs Canada | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:23 +0100

Japan ran in four tries to overpower Canada 27-6 and take the two-game test series between the two nations on Saturday. Japan, which demolished the North Americans 46-8 last Sunday in the first test in Sendai, went ahead after nine minutes thanks to a...

Breaking campaign pledge is risky | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:22 +0100

Regarding the Sentaku Magazine article published in The Japan Times on Nov. 16 under the headline "Does Ozawa run the show as Hatoyama foots the bill?": Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has long been known by informed members of the Japanese electorate as a...

One-time trade in ivory sought | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:20 +0100

Tanzania and Zambia have proposed they be allowed to sell ivory from African elephants, which is prohibited under the Washington Convention, in a one-off deal to Japan and China, sources said Saturday. While the proposal will be discussed at the...

Hot Hibachi League prepares to heat up as season draws to a close | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:18 +0100

The final game of the 2009 baseball season in Japan takes place on Sunday at Tokyo Dome. Billed as the "U-26" it features a select team of college players against a group of professionals, most of whom are under the age of 26. The pro team roster...

Ozawa's sermon hardly befitted the spirit of the mount he chose | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:16 +0100

On Nov. 10, Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, dropped a bombshell in a speech he made atop one of Japan's most sacred mountains, Mount Koya, in Wakayama Prefecture. The temple on that mount was founded in the ninth...

Arimura ties Japan LPGA record | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:12 +0100

MITOYO, Kagawa Pref. (Kyodo) Chie Arimura matched a Japan LPGA record with a 10-under 62 to take a four-shot lead after the second round of the Elleair Ladies Open on Saturday. Arimura, who began the day one shot off the lead, made six birdies on the...

How to save the planet, Edo Japan style | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:10 +0100

Azby Brown is fascinated by Edo Japan because it once faced dire environmental degradation and yet did not collapse. Through a combination of ingenious technological advances, government direction and a pervading ethos of having "just enough," Edo society...

Save Afghanistan aid for Japan | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:07 +0100

Larry Ejima hit the nail on the head in his Nov. 8 letter, "Aid to Afghanistan a nonstarter." It's bad enough that the United States continues to pour billions in money and liters in blood in that war-wounded country, to realistically achieve what, when?...

No quick Futenma decision: Hatoyama | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:05 +0100

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Saturday he is not ready to reach a conclusion by the end of the year on the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture. "I'm not yet at that stage," Hatoyama told reporters in Tokyo,...

DPJ to admit existence of secret nuke pact | Japan Times

vr@virtualreview.org — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:27:02 +0100

The Foreign Ministry has decided to admit the existence of a secret Japan-U.S. pact under which Tokyo allows stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons, ministry sources said Saturday. During its in-house probe, the ministry...