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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 5, 2011

Bodikon girl's remarkable selfmade comeback

One of the more enduring TV formats is the Ano hito wa ima (Where are they now?) variety special, which tracks down celebrities of the past to find out what happened to them in the decades since they vanished from our collective consciousness. The hunt is more interesting than the capture, since the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 2, 2011

Chasing dreams in gold and silver

You've probably heard of Japan's quaint custom of designating some people as Living National Treasures. Usually it's applied to exponents of a traditional art, craft or performing art in their twilight years. Luckily, nobody has ever come up with the idea of "stealing" these national treasures. While...
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2011

Radiation-linked cancer an intangible numbers game

With contaminated produce continuing to be detected beyond Fukushima Prefecture, public concern over the health effects of radiation exposure continues to mount.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 29, 2011

Kan government struggles to raise reconstruction funds

John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946), the British economist who advocated government intervention to regulate financial health, has lately been cited in the Japanese press in reference to the current administration's plan to raise the consumption tax (CT). When he held the post of finance minister for five...
ENVIRONMENT
May 29, 2011

Serendipities at every turn on this island 'pearl'

The sound of Buddhist chanting grew louder as my travel companions and I entered the compound around the "temple," where flickering torches lit the smiling faces of sedately circling monks as the warm tones of their voices carried through the impenetrable darkness on a chilling, flag-fluttering breeze....
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2011

Another Middle East standoff

Rarely have the differences between a U.S. president and an Israeli prime minister been so prominently displayed as they were last week when Mr. Barack Obama hosted Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Mr. Netanyahu's visit capped a week of activity: Jordan's King Abdullah visited a few days before...
LIFE / Language / KANJI CLINIC
May 23, 2011

Opposites attract in these kanji compound words

Some Japanese words are written with a single kanji, but countless others are compounds comprised of two (the majority), three, or more kanji. These compound words (jukugo) are not composed randomly; a limited number of patterns govern their construction, and today we will explore one of these: two-kanji...
BUSINESS
May 21, 2011

Indonesia, Japan eye ¥100 billion floating dock for coal transfers

Japan and Indonesia, the world's second-largest coal exporter, may build a floating dock worth as much as ¥100 billion to enable speedier transfer of the fuel from barges to bigger ships.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 19, 2011

Art in the realm of the sense of smell

In the battle between sight and smell, sight usually comes out on top as the more valued sense. But while our visual sense supplies us with copious and precise information about the world around us and allows us to appreciate images of beauty, our olfactory sense often has a firmer grasp on our moods,...
Reader Mail
May 8, 2011

The Thai-Cambodian border

With reference to the April 27 editorial, "A temple tests ASEAN": I wish to provide Japan Times' readers with facts about the recent situation at the Thai-Cambodian border, which was started by unprovoked armed attacks on April 22 by Cambodian troops on Thai soldiers and civilians.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 29, 2011

Wright, Cera get 1-up in 'Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World'

"Scott in the comics almost reminds me of Homer Simpson; you get to see what's going on in his head, and there's not much going on," says Hollywood indie poster-boy Michael Cera when asked about his role as the title character in the adrenaline-soaked action comedy "Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 23, 2011

Coming to proper terms

"You think you've got it rough?" says my wife. "How about me?"
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Apr 8, 2011

An early warning system in every pocket

Is your cell phone ready for the next quake? And do you want gentle prod or an air siren ringtone?
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 3, 2011

Renewed national pride will shape Japan's future

Spring dawns on a shattered Japan. "Not since World War II" is a recurring phrase, and no wonder. Mass destruction accompanied by radiation — what other analogy is big enough?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2011

Regime clash is personal

SANAA — When Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered his military March 18 to fire on peaceful protesters calling for his resignation, he sealed his fate. A wave of military, government and diplomatic defections, led by his longtime ally First Armored Brigade Commander General Ali Muhsin al-Ahmar,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2011

Knightley learns about life from Ishiguro adaptation

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Keira Knightley, at age 26, has proven herself much more than just a pretty face. Born March 26, 1985, she requested a showbiz agent at age 3 — not all that surprising, considering that her father, Will Knightley, is an actor and her mother is the acclaimed playwright Sharman...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2011

Japan abiding by IAEA: Amano

Director General Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Association tried to give his home country a break Friday by acknowledging the Fukushima power plant crisis is serious and Japan is acting in accordance with IAEA standards.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 11, 2011

Tyler raising his game as season progresses

Jeremy Tyler, still a few months shy of his 20th birthday, is no stranger to NBA talent evaluators. Though he's playing halfway around the world, the Tokyo Apache's highly touted 210-cm prospect is being closely watched.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Mar 9, 2011

Taro Okamoto towers above 2011

An NHK drama rekindled interest in Sakamoto Ryoma in 2010; will a new series do the same for artist Taro Okamoto in 2011?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2011

Toyota set to unveil new vision

Toyota Motor Corp., which traditionally gets a majority of its profit in the United States, will outline a strategy for growth in emerging markets in a 10-year plan the automaker is set to release this week, two sources said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 4, 2011

Showing art can be a load of rubbish

How are Africans seen by the rest of the world? Often as victims of tragedy, requiring our pity and charity, as I discovered when I showed a class of students a photo of the respected Ghanaian artist El Anatsui. The picture — in the catalog for his exhibition now on at the Museum of Modern Art, Hayama...

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it