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JAPAN
May 21, 2010

Former negotiator lays base woes on Okinawa

Every story has more than one side.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 21, 2010

'King' Solomon mines fresh lease on life

After a few relatively lean years, the Japan Blues & Soul Carnival has landed a big fish again in the person of Solomon Burke, a soul legend of the 1960s who is currently enjoying an incredible late-career renaissance, while serving as an inspiration to everybody from Mick Jagger to Joss Stone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2010

'Legion'

"Legion" may not be a great film, but if you wanted to pick one film that was symptomatic of America in the early 21st century, this is it: a movie about angels . . . with machine guns.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2010

Globally minded director goes native

It's sad but true that Japanese directors with big reputations abroad are often odd men (or women) out back home.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 21, 2010

Directing the flow of theatrical creativity

Any time you go to a theater in Japan you are sure to be handed several colorful flyers for other shows — and among them you will almost certainly find the face of Tetsuya Chiba. At 46, and the father of three boys, Chiba is one of the country's most popular and best-known stage actors, known as much...
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2010

Immigrants can buoy Japan

It is not possible to spend more than a few minutes with a Japanese diplomat or scholar without hearing the "C," namely China. Most of them are convinced that the People's Republic is expanding its global influence while Japan's is shrinking. The entire world, and most worryingly Asia, which used to...
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2010

Broaden your vision with identity economics

BERKELEY, Calif./DURHAM, N.C. — A great strength of economics is its ability to examine how decisions are made from the point of view of decision makers. For example, economics can explain in this way why consumers buy what they do. It also offers a perspective on why employees work for some employers...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 19, 2010

Softbank debuts handsets with Twitter applications

Softbank Mobile Corp. unveiled new cell phones Tuesday boasting applications for the micro-blogging service Twitter.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 18, 2010

Why doesn't national health insurance pay for maternity care?

With high life expectancy and a declining birth rate, you'd think there would be more government money invested in maternity care.
JAPAN
May 18, 2010

I-Fairy robot leads events at Tokyo wedding

Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 18, 2010

Sakurai: a very dapper demagogue

Makoto Sakurai brings to mind that old joke about the man in a pub who says "I'm not racist, but . . . "
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2010

'Honor killings' aimed at suppressing castes

CHENNAI, India — India can be sparkling white and deadly black. While it brags about its scientific achievements, including space exploration and nuclear arms, fancy cars and elite educational institutions, it must hang its head in shame over some heinous, dark-age practices.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 16, 2010

Three-time CL batting king Powell relishing chance to coach Mariners

Congratulations are in order to Alonzo Powell on being named batting coach with the Seattle Mariners last week. As one who played seven years with the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers, Powell is well remembered in Japan by fans and friends, and it would not be surprising to see him become a major...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 16, 2010

Globe-trotting Brit sets a new 'Guinness' record for itchy feet

If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing under ludicrously difficult, not strictly necessary, self-imposed rules. Such was the thinking of 31-year-old Graham Hughes when, stewing on the details of a long-dreamed of plot to visit every country on Earth, he decided to add a bit of hot sauce: He would...
JAPAN
May 15, 2010

Carrying on the art of silent film narration

Midori Sawato knows how to act, from princess to samurai to thief — but only with her voice.
JAPAN
May 15, 2010

Housing glut opens door to foreign tenants

As the country's foreign population keeps growing and the declining birthrate and oversupply of housing result in more and more vacancies, it is time for real estate agents to create a more welcoming environment for foreign customers, according to people who work in the business.
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2010

A new standard for guilt

In his first trial, 52-year-old Takemitsu Mori was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Osaka District Court for murdering his former daughter-in-law and her 1-year-old son in an apartment in Hirano Ward, Osaka, and then setting the apartment afire in April 2002. In the appellate trial, the Osaka High...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 15, 2010

Are we Kobo Daishi freaks?

"You're wearing a Kobo Daishi T-shirt," the Buddhist priest observed.
JAPAN / CUSTODY OR ABDUCTION
May 14, 2010

Returning to Japan with kids was only safe option, two mothers say

It was a typical love story for Kyoko Yamaguchi. The couple met in Europe, fell in love, married and later had a son.
JAPAN
May 14, 2010

Hatoyama admits pledge is dead

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Thursday effectively retracted his pledge to resolve the Futenma relocation dispute by his self-imposed deadline, saying he will continue negotiations beyond June if his administration can't reach a comprehensive deal this month.
JAPAN / CUSTODY OR ABDUCTION
May 14, 2010

Hague pact no answer to in-country custody fights

Applicable only in cases where children are wrongfully taken from their country of "habitual residence," the Hague Convention offers no recourse to foreigners in Japan trying to gain access to their children following a death or divorce if they are not granted custody.
BUSINESS
May 14, 2010

Sony cuts annual loss to ¥41 billion

Sony Corp. stayed in the red last business year but reduced losses through cost cuts and better sales of consumer electronics.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 14, 2010

French lenses focus on Japan

Has life become easier for Tokyo-based expatriate photographers?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 14, 2010

'From Paris With Love'

When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that life got better after 50, he could have been prophesying about John Travolta. His career has been one of peaks and plunges, punctuated by some of cinema's most interesting fashion moments ("Saturday Night Fever" and "Battlefield Earth" come to mind). Ever since...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 14, 2010

Here comes 'Othello': 'the best play ever'

"The tragedy 'Othello' was written by Shakespeare at the height of his powers [around 1602], its poetry is finer than 'Hamlet,' its psychology deeper than 'Macbeth,' its love story more compelling than 'Romeo and Juliet,' its heartbreaking tragedy more moving than 'King Lear.' 'Othello' might be the...

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