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COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2007

Once again, musical chairs at the Kremlin

VIENNA — It's that time again: Russia's pre-election season when prime ministers are changed as in a game of musical chairs. The last one seated, it is supposed, will become Russia's next president. As the end of his rule approached, Boris Yeltsin went through at least a half-dozen prime ministers,...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2007

A night out — with divorce on the rocks

Ask a friend to name a detective, and legendary sleuths such as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot or Kosuke Kindaichi will probably figure in their reply. Regardless of nationalities, detectives seem to be familiar to many — provided they are fictional characters.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 16, 2007

Postmodern sports for all

One night last month, while I was lazily channel-surfing at home, I happened on shot-putters doing their thing at the IAAF's World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
COMMENTARY
Sep 15, 2007

Taiwan's sad quest for U.N. membership

WATERLOO, Ontario — As the United Nations General Assembly begins its annual session later this month, it will refuse once again to confront an issue where the denial of reality intersects with a negation of the world body's core values.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 14, 2007

Guitar duo carry exotic sounds around Japan

Kiyoshi Shomura and María Esther Guzman, renowned guitarists from Japan and Spain respectively, perform their guitar duo recital across Japan from Sept. 15-30. They promise to entertain with an exotic blend of European Mediterranean repertoire from various periods.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 14, 2007

Tokyo Pinsalocks

"Spoon Market" is more than just a music event. Organized by female new-wave/electro band Tokyo Pinsalocks and Holly, owner of live house Sangenjaya Heaven's Door, the event includes live music and DJs, as well as video, art, photography and craft exhibits, fashion, food and even "hair arrangement."...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 14, 2007

Taiko therapy

Mickey Hart, former Grateful Dead drummer, thinks Japanese drum troupe Kodo are "like a hot spring." He's right, and not just because "they make people feel good," as he explains. They also both involve views of seminaked people, both make you sweat, and both have been known to induce a not entirely...
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2007

Abe announces he will resign

After less than a year in power, embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Wednesday he intended to step down to clear the political gridlock created by the ruling coalition's defeat in the House of Councilors in July and to expedite the extension of the controversial antiterrorism law.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2007

Ozawa says DPJ ready for election; still opposes MSDF law

Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa said Wednesday his party will be prepared for the possible dissolution of the Lower House and general election following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's surprise resignation announcement.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 13, 2007

Memories of fortresses and clouds

Watching on television as the second plane hit the World Trade Center in 2001, Japanese sculptor Masayuki Nagare's thoughts were not with his most famous sculpture, "Cloud Fortress" (1975), which was located at the base of the towers. The then 78-year-old was recalling a time 58 years earlier when, as...
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2007

Asset Investors, Itochu plan fund

Merchant bank Asset Investors Co. plans to invest as much as ¥120 billion in domestic companies through a fund set up with Itochu Corp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 11, 2007

Staying casual in Minami-Aoyama

Renzo Rosso is a floppy-haired fiftysomething who would blend in perfectly on a porn set, but instead runs Diesel S.p.A., the casual clothing megabrand.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Sep 11, 2007

Toru Otsuka

Toru Otsuka, 67, is the president of Live Coffee, a coffee importer and roaster known for selling the best beans for the least dough. Otsuka is a treasure hunter: he handpicks only the highest quality from small growers around the globe, and considers his best finds the people who work with him. His...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 9, 2007

From the Beatles concert to royal tattoos in Japan

Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, Volume VI, compiled and edited by Hugh Cortazzi, Global Oriental, Kent, 2007, 368 pp., £60 (cloth) This book is the latest (and, sadly, probably the last) of the volumes about Anglo-Japanese relations that have been sponsored by the Japan Society of London since...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 7, 2007

Orbital adventures

Those who watch Phil Hartnoll at Clash26 will see one of British dance music's most influential artists.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 7, 2007

Spokes for yourself

Into cycle racing? Not into doping scandals? Well maybe this is the international road race for you.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 7, 2007

Tokyo Jazz 2007

The Tokyo Jazz fest organized by NHK and Nikkei was a 2-day event when it started 5 years ago and, up until 2005, had Herbie Hancock as director. How things have changed.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 6, 2007

The magic of noh by firelight

At this time of year — and also in April and May, when it is neither too hot nor too cold for performers or audiences — takigi (firelight) noh is performed throughout Japan. Preferred venues are outdoor noh stages in the precincts of shrines, but as these are rare, special ones are often built in...
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 5, 2007

MSDF Indian Ocean exit not an option: Komura

The government will do whatever it takes to ensure that Maritime Self-Defense Force warships continue their mission in the Indian Ocean in support of the NATO-led antiterrorism campaign in Afghanistan, new Defense Minister Masahiko Komura said.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2007

Volunteers must consider risks

The ordeal of 19 South Korean Christians held hostage in Afghanistan by the Taliban finally ended over the weekend as they reunited with family members back home. Seoul's strenuous negotiations with the Taliban made possible their liberation. Two other hostages had been released Aug. 13. We again extend...

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