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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 20, 2009

So was Modernism Chinese?

A In his lifetime, artist Ding Yanyong was called both the "Oriental Matisse" and the "Modern Bada Shanren," after the Chinese individualist painter born Zhu Da (1629-1705). The combination of the epithets obviously reflects Ding's (1902-78) ability to straddle the East and West, but given a little historical...
MULTIMEDIA
Mar 20, 2009

So was Modernism Chinese?

A In his lifetime, artist Ding Yanyong was called both the "Oriental Matisse" and the "Modern Bada Shanren," after the Chinese individualist painter born Zhu Da (1629-1705). The combination of the epithets obviously reflects Ding's (1902-78) ability to straddle the East and West, but given a little historical...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 20, 2009

Brusca: Bruschetta, beer — this must be northern Italy

Great news. Stefano Fastro, owner-patron- chef of one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Kagurazaka's inimitable Ristorante Stefano, has just opened a new place. Better news yet, it's not a spinoff or an attempt to duplicate his original operation. In fact, it's completely different in feel, although...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Mar 19, 2009

South Koreans gaining ground rapidly on baseball rivals

SAN DIEGO — South Korean fans shouted "This is Korea" as a part of a cheer during their team's game against Japan at the World Baseball Classic.
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2009

Embassy warns of Roppongi drink-lacing

The U.S. Embassy informed Americans in Japan on Tuesday that it has recommended that its employees avoid frequenting bars and clubs in Tokyo's Roppongi entertainment district because of a significant increase in drink-spiking incidents.
EDITORIALS
Mar 18, 2009

A test for Northern Ireland

Terrorists murdered three people in Northern Ireland last week. A decade ago that news would have been commonplace. Today, however, it is a stunning development for a people who have grown accustomed to peace and reconciliation. The remaining elements of a terror movement are trying to fan the flames...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 18, 2009

Calligraphy still holds the key to mastering kanji

I recently encountered a new term that's a real mouthful: IT依存性漢字健忘症 (IT izonsei kanji kenbōshō, kanji amnesia due to dependence on information technology). The word acknowledges that the proliferation of word processors has weakened people's ability to recall both individual kanji...
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2009

Golan Heights, Shebaa Farms could unlock peace process for Israel, Syria and Lebanon

NEW YORK — Any rapprochement between Israel and the Palestinians beyond a temporary ceasefire seems rather improbable at the moment. However, the Golan Heights' and Shebaa Farms' territories contested between Israel, Syria and Lebanon could spearhead a peace process in the Middle East now actively...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Mar 17, 2009

I am not a Pakistani child bride (but the U.K. can't tell the difference)

A quondam lover of EnglandOsaka
CULTURE / Books
Mar 15, 2009

Invoking 17th-century demons and desires

On the opening day of Shin-Yoshiwara — Edo's new pleasure quarters — Matsunaga Seiichiro, a 26-year-old swordsman stands on the Asakusa Nihon Embankment and looks across at the city. He then descends into streets filled with music, danger, alcohol and prostitutes, and thus begins his journey to manhood...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2009

10-year overstayer is granted new visa

MAEBASHI, Gunma Pref. (Kyodo) The Justice Ministry granted a one-year residence status Thursday to an Iranian female college student who had illegally stayed in Japan for more than 10 years, ministry officials said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2009

AA=

While most young acts tend to start off in smaller venues and work their way up, AA= opted to do the opposite. The new solo project from Takeshi Ueda, bassist with apparently now-defunct tech-metal heroes The Mad Capsule Markets, played their first-ever concerts to thousands at the massive Intex Osaka...
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2009

Mr. Bashir is indicted

It is unlikely that last week's decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict Mr. Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, on charges of war crimes has cost Mr. Bashir much sleep. The ICC cannot enforce the writ on its own, and Mr. Bashir has allies and friends around the world.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2009

Credit crisis particularly hard on small firms

The failure of Pacific Holdings Co., a real estate manager that filed for bankruptcy protection with ¥163.6 billion in liabilities, highlights the funding problems at many firms.
COMMENTARY
Mar 10, 2009

Toward a globalized Asia

As a result of globalization, intellectual frameworks and paradigms for forming cultural policies are shifting, especially regarding cultural activity in international contexts.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 8, 2009

Tokyo city: living in constant flux

John Milton was of the opinion that "towered cities please us then, and the busy hum of men." Tokyo would have delighted him. Largest city in the world, it has long busily hummed. Home of the first tower (dungeon-keep of the earliest Edo castle) it now has enough towering skyscrapers for everyone.
EDITORIALS
Mar 8, 2009

Stopping child pornography

The National Police Agency said it handled 676 child pornography cases in 2008 in Japan. That is 109 more cases than in 2007 and much more than the mere 25 cases prosecuted in 1999, when Japan's status as a worldwide distribution point for child pornography came to light. Further arrests continued this...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 7, 2009

Statistically speaking

The way the pieces fit together in my local jigsaw puzzle of suburbia is that my property borders on that of seven other homes. Four of these families I have a nod-and-smile acquaintance with. The other three I might recognize by voice, for their words sometimes cut right through our walls.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Mar 6, 2009

Temp pioneer still going strong

Yoshiko Shinohara, president of staffing firm Tempholdings Co., has received numerous awards both in Japan and abroad.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 6, 2009

New theater keeps it short and sweet

History is being made on the second floor of a new apartment block in Yokohama's waterfront Minato Mirai district where, since February 2008, the Brillia Short Shorts Theater has been Japan's first and only cinema dedicated to films under 25 minutes long. The one-screen venue is now showing this year's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2009

Edo to Meiji

The popularity of ukiyo-e (genre painting) woodblock prints is partly due to aesthetic reasons and partly symbolic ones. In terms of sheer beauty, there is much to recommend in the better examples in the genre, from bright blocks of color and sinuous lines to lively compositions and intriguing details,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 6, 2009

Suntory Hall in 'ruins' for Mozart production

Showing me a sketch of the set of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni," executive producer Keiko Manabe, who has led Suntory Hall's opera projects since 1989, explains the new production's concept.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2009

The explorers' cargo

Before the age of discovery, Europe had been separated for hundreds of years from the Indian Ocean by an impenetrable crescent of territories largely hostile to Christians. The Venetians — always more interested in commerce than proselytizing — controlled whatever trade there was with Asia through...

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go