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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 9, 2008

World's carmakers head back to school

International car manufacturers know that the automobile as a symbol has lost some of its gloss for the younger generation. Today's young people want to take transportation in new directions. They have a more ecological, environmentally sustainable vision of transportation, and often it's so idealistic...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 9, 2008

The art of Frances Blakemore: a love affair with Japan

AN AMERICAN ARTIST IN TOKYO: Frances Blakemore — 1906-1997, by Michiyo Morioka. Seattle: The Blakemore Foundation/University of Washington Press, 2007, 200 pp., profusely illustrated, $35 (cloth) Living more than 50 years of her life in Japan, artist Frances Blakemore was a close and sympathetic observer...
Japan Times
LIFE / COSPLAY CULTURE
Mar 9, 2008

Fashion fantasies come to life in cosplay

Silver wig, blue contact lenses, a mock sword and a (kind of) knight's costume.
JAPAN
Mar 8, 2008

Overseas citizens' groups prepare G8 strategy

As the Group of Eight summit approaches in July, leaders of overseas citizens' groups got together Friday in Tokyo to prepare countermeasures for the upcoming annual meeting of the major developed countries near Lake Toya, Hokkaido.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2008

Forex reserves pass $1 trillion milestone

Japan's foreign-exchange reserves rose to a record high $1.01 trillion at the end of February, reaching 13 figures for the first time, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 7, 2008

'4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days'

A young woman is about to get an abortion. On the morning of the crucial day, what's on her mind and how does she deal with it?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 7, 2008

Crossing over to the next world

The ghosts of Oku-no-in, cemetery and spiritual heart of Mount Koya, have a long time to wait: 5,670,000 years, give or take. According to the scriptures of Japan's Shingon sect of Buddhism, that's when the faithful expect the "Buddha of the Future" to arrive in this vibrant mountaintop monastic community....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2008

Warm reception may not await iPhone in Japan

Unlike much of the rest of the world, Japan is unlikely to embrace the iPhone, Apple Inc.'s Internet-enabled multimedia mobile phone, said Nahoko Mitsuyama, a telecom analyst at Gartner Japan who attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in February.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 6, 2008

The mathematics of music

So forward-looking that it's hard to categorize him — Is he an artist? A musician? A conceptualist? — Ryoji Ikeda makes the music that we'll lull the robots to sleep with when they ultimately try to take over. Or that we'll use to convince ourselves that we are the robots.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 4, 2008

Remains issue clouds Tokyo-Seoul ties

Historical issues involving Japan and South Korea have entered a new phase with the inauguration in Seoul last week of a conservative president and the return to South Korea last January of the remains of 101 Koreans who died while forcibly serving in the Japanese military during World War II.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 2, 2008

Compartmentalizing Japanese using prefectural stereotypes

At the heart of the current argument over whether or not to continue the special gasoline tax is a question that gets overlooked: Does the central government have too much control over prefectural governments?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 2, 2008

Shintaro Tsuji: 'Mr. Cute' shares his wisdoms and wit

Shintaro Tsuji isn't joking when he says he wants to make Hello Kitty, his company's best-selling character, into a brand name that rivals Gucci or Hermes.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2008

Ishiba admits job at risk over Atago accident

Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba indicated Friday he may resign after the investigation into the Feb. 19 collision involving the Aegis destroyer Atago and a trawler is wrapped up and preventive measures are established.
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2008

Return to the focus on mutual goals

During her visit to Tokyo this week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice apologized to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura for the alleged rape on Feb. 10 of a 14-year-old girl by a U.S. Marine in Chatan, Okinawa Prefecture. Considering the hurt feelings of people, especially...
EDITORIALS
Mar 1, 2008

Reforming the public servant system

The government has drawn up the draft of a bill to reform the national public servant system. While based on a proposal by a private advisory panel for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, it somewhat deviates from the proposal. Instead of creating a Cabinet agency to consolidate government personnel affairs...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 29, 2008

Slow-food movement creeps to Japan

Enjoying good food is a fundamental pleasure. But the slow-food movement asks whether "good food" can mean more than simply the flavor and presentation of a meal.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 29, 2008

Animate yourself a la UrumaDelvi

A n exhibition of works by UrumaDelvi, who created the popular TV character "Oshirikajiri-mushi," will be held March 1 to 16 at Parco Factory in Tokyo's Shibuya.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Q&A
Feb 29, 2008

I.D. cards for cigarette machines set to debut

People buying cigarettes out of vending machines will soon have to use a taspo integrated circuit card to verify their age.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 28, 2008

Human reeds swaying in a museum maze

It's dangerous to talk to an artist. Whatever you think of their art, after a conversation with them, you are bound to walk away intrigued, enchanted — maybe even disgusted (which isn't necessarily bad) — but mostly, hopefully, enlightened by a new understanding of their work.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 28, 2008

The time before the 'starchitects'

A brief respite from the 21st century's relentless demand for "starchitects" — exemplified by Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Frank Gehry — can be found at the Museum of Modern Art, Shiga, in "100 Years of W. M. Vories' Works."
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 27, 2008

Wanted: world's best minds

With further globalization of economic strategies among the industrially advanced nations, fostering and securing "brains" in the scientific and technological fields has become of utmost importance to every country.
EDITORIALS
Feb 26, 2008

Fidel Castro steps down

Fidel Castro, one of the world's longest tenured leaders, resigned this month. His decision to step down, long anticipated, opens a period of uncertainty for Cuba, but hopes for sweeping change are muted. Mr. Castro's brother Raul was picked to succeed him.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 24, 2008

Coming of age mini-series, cop-thriller-drama, Kazakhstan documentary

Owing presumably to TV viewers' dwindling attention spans, drama series are becoming shorter. This week, Fuji TV presents a four-part dramatization of an award-winning novel over the course of four consecutive nights rather than four consecutive weeks.

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