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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 5, 2009

Go with the flow at classic 'sento'

Not simply as a means to get clean, "sento," or public baths, have traditionally been places where communication flowed. Bathing and chatting together with one's friends and neighbors in the buff exemplifies the off-guardedness of the most informal relationships.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2009

Cannes set to sparkle in a depressing year

The Cannes Film Festival will unreel May 13, although the global recession has damped business at the picturesque French seaside resort renowned for its rich playboys and beautiful women.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
May 5, 2009

Fujimori gets his; Japan left shamed

News item: Alberto Fujimori, former president of Peru, was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison by a Peruvian court for connections to death squads.
JAPAN
May 4, 2009

Experts say Japan can handle flu

While Japan has yet to see a confirmed case of swine flu, experts believe it won't be long before someone will be infected.
JAPAN
May 4, 2009

Woman's body found after sons stabbed

NAGOYA (Kyodo) Police found the body of a 57-year-old woman Sunday at her home in Kanie, Aichi Prefecture, after her two sons were stabbed the previous day, police said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 3, 2009

SMAP star Kusanagi causes naked rage among media

Between the time the media first heard the news that SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi had been arrested for public indecency and his press conference the next day, there was a frisson of titillating anticipation over what the scandal might reveal and how Kusanagi would emerge from it. Even now, speculation...
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2009

Peaceful nuclear hazards are bad enough

LUCKNOW, India — In the early hours of April 26, 1986, the world experienced one of its worst nuclear disasters. Reactor No. 4 of Chernobyl power station, near Pripyat in Ukraine, exploded. Two explosions blew the dome-shaped roof off the reactor, causing its contents to erupt out.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2009

Ueno looks to shoebills as saviors

Shoebills, native to Africa, were first brought to Tokyo's Ueno Zoo in 2002. Although they resemble Big Bird of "Sesame Street" fame, with their exaggerated beaks and chopstick legs, their eyes are anything but friendly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 2, 2009

Creating a catalyst for self-reflection

"One of the hardest missions for people is to face themselves in the mirror, to criticize themselves, to ask themselves really basic questions," says ex-Israeli soldier Avichay Sharon. "No one wants to touch sensitive nerves, no one wants to go underneath, scratch underneath within himself." Sharon is...
BUSINESS
May 2, 2009

March jobless rate hit four-year high

The nationwide jobless rate jumped to its highest in more than four years in March while household spending continued to slide, underscoring the ongoing pain being inflicted on the world's second-biggest economy. Prices also fell, fueling deflation worries.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2009

Chrysler Chapter 11 threatens Nissan vehicle supply deal

Nissan Motor Co. will review its vehicle supply agreement with Chrysler LLC following the U.S. company's bankruptcy filing.
JAPAN
May 2, 2009

Power struggle rages in North over Kim's heir

As succession speculation abounds amid reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's deteriorating health, a recently obtained confidential report has shed new light on a power struggle taking place in the reclusive state.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 1, 2009

Expect a heavenly performance

T he Vienna Boys' Choir, dubbed as having "the voices of angels," is set to bring its pitch-perfect sound to Japan between now and mid-June.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
May 1, 2009

Valentine optimistic as pitchers find form

Chiba Lotte Marines pitcher Hiroyuki Kobayashi didn't come out of Tuesday's game against the Orix Buffaloes with a win, but he should've gained a lot of confidence.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2009

So what then was 1968 all about?

For over a decade, artist-in- residence programs have been held by myriad organizations throughout Japan, all with roughly the same objective: to provide a unique and mutually enlightening experience for the both visiting artist and host. One of the latest residencies held at Tokyo Wonder Site might...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 1, 2009

Industrial output sees first rise in six months

Industrial output rose for the first time in six months, government data showed Thursday, beating the estimates of economists and indicating the economy may resume expanding possibly this quarter.
Reader Mail
Apr 30, 2009

Why focus on the trivial?

Why focus on the trivial?
BASKETBALL
Apr 30, 2009

Nippon Tornadoes set to open first IBL season

International Basketball League's Nippon Tornadoes open their first season on Friday against the Vancouver Volcanoes at the O'Connell Sports Center in Vancouver, Wash. The Tornadoes will play 16 more games in a short summer season, wrapping up play on June 3 against the Oregon Waves.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 29, 2009

Rumors about Mullin joining Knicks intensify

NEW YORK — Despite an upsurge of chatter claiming Donnie Walsh only has eyes for Chris Mullin — a couple of NBA observers assert the apparently departing Warriors VP has been promised the GM job — this is untrue, according to the Knicks president.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2009

Ailing Pioneer to get ¥2.5 billion assist from Honda

Embattled Pioneer Corp. said Tuesday it will receive ¥2.5 billion from Honda Motor Co. to prop up its worsening capital base and help rebuild its car electronics business.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2009

Japan takes measures to head off contagion

The government on Tuesday heightened scrutiny of incoming tourists, warned Japanese living in Mexico to leave, and told those planning to go there to think twice after the World Health Organization raised the alert level for a new type of influenza.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 28, 2009

Nagoya win limited lift for DPJ until Ozawa comes clean

Takashi Kawamura's landslide win Sunday in the Nagoya mayoral poll was a much-needed boost for the Democratic Party of Japan, whose image and reputation were badly damaged by the arrest in March of President Ichiro Ozawa's chief secretary over shady political donations.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 28, 2009

Corporate bankruptcy, the Japanese way

Ever since U.S. financial services giant Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed in September, in what many have called the worst corporate failure in U.S. history, the global economy has been heading south.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat