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JAPAN
Sep 27, 2008

Tourism minister apologizes for gaffes

New tourism minister Nariaki Nakayama wasted no time putting his foot in it. The day after stating that Japanese do not like foreigners and that the country is ethnically homogeneous, Nakayama apologized Friday and retracted his statements.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 27, 2008

Ties that bond though cultures apart

With a wry but happy smile, Jennifer Rose DiLaura recalls the day she and her husband first met their daughter, adopted from China.
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2008

Slow reaction to tainted food

Following the scandal in which rice contaminated with pesticides or mold toxin was resold to companies, an industrial chemical is now suspected of having found its way into food products. Marudai Food Co. has begun a recall of five products possibly made with melamine-tainted milk purchased from a Chinese...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 26, 2008

Ritenour, Grusin jazz Sumida

Two leading American figures in jazz fusion will give a Tokyo performance in collaboration with one of Japan's foremost orchestras on Oct. 2 at the Sumida Triphony Hall in Sumida Ward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 26, 2008

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Mexican acoustic instrumental duo Rodrigo y Gabriela cut their teeth in the thrash band Tierra Acida, playing the dirtiest dives of Mexico City before decamping to Dublin in 1999. Soon after they busked around Europe for a while, developing their unique fusion of styles and building a body of their own...
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2008

Economists split over Nakagawa's dual financial duties

Prime Minister Taro Aso's appointment of Shoichi Nakagawa to head both the Finance Ministry and the Financial Services Agency drew mixed reactions Thursday as economists wondered whether the move will help Japan cope with global turmoil or compromise the FSA's regulatory role.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2008

Protests greet nuclear carrier at its new home in Yokosuka

YOKOSUKA, Kanagawa Pref. — The USS George Washington arrived at its new home Thursday, becoming the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to be forward-deployed outside the United States.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Sep 26, 2008

Red Carpet treatment

Like Da Vinci or Mozart, every bartender wants to make something that lives on after they die," says Takahiro Watanabe of the Keio Plaza Hotel's Polestar bar. "A bartender's dream is to make a cocktail that appears on every bar's menu."
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2008

Koizumi to exit political stage

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, one of the most popular and influential politicians in the nation, expressed his intention Thursday to retire from politics once his current term in the Lower House ends.
JAPAN
Sep 25, 2008

Aso gets quick start, names new Cabinet

Hawkish Liberal Democratic Party President Taro Aso was elected prime minister Wednesday and immediately formed his new Cabinet.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 25, 2008

Sri Lanka: isle of earthy delights

Although Sri Lanka has been long-renowned for its natural beauty, the art of the island seems to have been far less celebrated — or even studied — than that of other South Asian countries that share Theravada Buddhist culture, such as Burma or Cambodia. Though Sri Lanka was obviously greatly influenced...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 25, 2008

An incomprehensible answer for modernity

Check the film listings and you'll find Akira Emoto cast in at least 10 movies playing this autumn. Since winning the Japan Academy Awards prize for supporting actor in 1983 and '97 and for leading actor in '98 — for his role in "Kanzo Sensei (Dr. Liver)" — Emoto has become one of Japan's most well...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 23, 2008

Anything, any time, anywhere

Unlike most other countries, Japan is dotted with thousands of vending machines that allow consumers to buy a wide range of products at any time of the day or night, eliminating the need for inconvenient trips to the store.
COMMENTARY
Sep 22, 2008

Brace for Bush's last hurrah

The good news is that U.S. President George W. Bush is not going to invade Iran before he leaves office. The bad news is that he is attacking Pakistan instead.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Sep 21, 2008

Low and slow — Nagoya's slice of Southern California

Second of two parts
Reader Mail
Sep 21, 2008

'Effective' education lacking

The information in the Sept. 10 article "Japan's education system cost-effective" is grossly misleading. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development may claim that Japanese students "perform" well, but on what is this "performance" based? Scores from standardized multiple-choice exams that...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
Sep 21, 2008

Civility penalizes Japan's refs

My first reaction on hearing that a Japanese alliance of sports associations would hold a study weekend on international refereeing was that it was "too little — too late."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WEEK 3
Sep 21, 2008

Rail feat rained off

When the driver of a bullet train momentarily applies the brakes, passengers greet the reduction in speed with a slight, G-force-induced nod of the head, and not much else.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 21, 2008

Koizumi branded the bad boy in latest food scandal

Most of the recent food-related scandals were motivated by pure greed, so they were easy to understand. The current scandal involving inedible imported rice bought from the government and sold as edible rice is more complicated and raises some questions. How do the governments of the countries that produced...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 20, 2008

Ashley proves business success irrelevant in soccer

LONDON — In the 1956 autobiography of former Newcastle striker Len Shackleton, one chapter was entitled "The Average Director's Knowledge Of Football."
COMMUNITY
Sep 20, 2008

Putting women on paths of potential at work and at play

Australian-born Sara-Shivani is learning hard and fast the nature of her bliss — what she was born to be and do. Her mantra — As I am now, recognize/ As I was born to be, remember/ As I wish to be, visualize/ As nature intended, live — is the motto of the program of holistic heath she is offering...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2008

Travel back to the silent '30s

A special screening of vintage Japanese films in Tokyo on Sept. 27 will showcase six silent movies from the 1920s and '30s.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2008

Will open-door immigration plan die after Fukuda?

Japan isn't exactly known as an open country to foreigners, but there was a recent brief ray of hope in June.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2008

Tokyo Comedy Store ups the laugh factor

Live comedy about the absurdities of living in Japan and off-the-wall improvisation are showcased every month by the English- language performance troupe Tokyo Comedy Store.
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2008

JAL, ANA to reimburse travelers for excessive surcharges

Information-inputting errors by Air Canada led Japan Airlines Corp., All Nippon Airways Co. and their agents to collect excessive fuel surcharges for connecting flights, the tourism ministry and the two Japanese airlines said Wednesday.

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