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JAPAN
Apr 16, 2006

Murakami Fund ups stake in Matsuzakaya to 7.52%

The Murakami Fund has increased its stake in Matsuzakaya Co. to 7.52 percent and remains the largest shareholder in the department store operator, according to a report the investment fund submitted to the Finance Ministry.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 16, 2006

'Conspiracies of silence' feign sympathies largely unfelt

Japanese people are known for their sense of propriety and decorum. Reserve and self-restraint are fine Japanese virtues, and they have afforded the society an enviable harmony and level of personal safety unparalleled in the developed world. Putting a damper on people's self-assertive instincts, and...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 16, 2006

Ring trilogy spirals past science fiction

RING, SPIRAL, LOOP, by Koji Suzuki. Vertical Publishing, 2003-2005, each $24.95 (cloth). One cinematic treat that 1998 turned out was "Ringu," which was the rarity of a well-worked, intelligent horror flick that won broad appeal among movie fans who ordinarily look askance at efforts in the horror genre....
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 16, 2006

Ugly and macho or ultimate supercool on wheels?

The streets of central Tokyo are thronged with countless high-end automobiles, but one model above all others stands out from the crowd. Two meters high and 2.1 meters wide, with a mean, military-style mien, the Hummer H2 is hard to miss among the massed ranks of Toyotas, Nissans, Beemers and Mercs....
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2006

Hospitals want terminal care guidelines: survey

More than 85 percent of public hospitals think legislation or guidelines are needed for the treatment of terminal patients, according to a recent Kyodo News survey.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 15, 2006

More than just a fair-weather friend

I've finally figured out why there are over 2.6 million beverage vending machines in Japan -- companionship.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2006

Copyright revision helps one-coin DVDs become hit with movie collectors

It happens all the time: You run down to the video store to rent your favorite movie classic, only to find someone else has beaten you to it. But what if you could buy your very own DVD of the film for the same price as renting it?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 15, 2006

When rankings go rank

One symptom of a society addicted to quick information is the popularity of lists.
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2006

Tattered NPT needs repairs

LONDON -- What has become of the globally agreed regime designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons -- the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)? The answer these days is that while it has served the world well for many years it is now in tatters.
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2006

Wage gap getting wider

Income disparities have widened among people in their 20s in Japan and will likely get wider despite Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's denial of such a trend, according to an annual government report now under compilation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2006

Student athletes looking to win job-hunting race

Whether you are a university senior looking for your first "real job" or a company veteran looking for a change, the most important thing to include on your resume is a concise summary of specific skills you can provide, whether that be system engineering, knowledge of corporate law or a flair for foreign...
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2006

Polish Japan's image abroad

LONDON -- Japan's image abroad ought to be better than it is. The Japanese economy has largely recovered. Reform continues. Democratic processes are working. Japanese educational standards and technical abilities are admired. Each of these statements can and no doubt should be qualified, but the overall...
SPORTS / E-LIST
Apr 12, 2006

Checking out Seibu's early glory run

The E-List could fill a few thimbles with Japanese baseball knowledge, but not enough to be pompous. And now it is time to put the List's first serving of humble pie on the table.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2006

Science crisis in the making

Last November I delivered a lecture on complex-system economics at a world-famous institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I also attended a conference on science education in the same city, along with a physicist from Turkey who was visiting there at the time.
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2006

Mr. Ozawa takes the DPJ's helm

The Democratic Party of Japan -- which has plunged into a crisis following the resignation of its young leader Seiji Maehara over a bogus e-mail fiasco -- chose Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, a heavyweight veteran politician, as its new leader. As leader of the No. 1 opposition party, the tasks facing Mr. Ozawa are...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2006

DPJ elects Ozawa as new president

The Democratic Party of Japan elected veteran lawmaker Ichiro Ozawa, 63, as its new president Friday, ending his head-to-head race with rival and two-time President Naoto Kan.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2006

Prosecutors file appeal in candy stick death case

Prosecutors on Friday appealed a Tokyo District Court ruling that cleared a doctor of failing to give proper treatment to a 4-year-old boy who died after a cotton candy stick pierced his throat and penetrated his brain in 1999.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2006

Foreign students' goal of career proves elusive

In line with the government's campaign launched in 1983 to boost the number of foreign students in Japan to the 100,000 mark, the figure came to some 117,000 in 2004.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 7, 2006

Ryuan, Kaikaiya: izakaya mood swings

We were in the mood for eating Japanese -- nothing too fancy, but somewhere modern, with a sense of style, to match the elevated state engendered by strolling under the Meguro-gawa blossoms. We couldn't get into our favorite watering holes alongside the river. So we decided to try our luck at Ryuan [formerly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 7, 2006

Turntable takedown

In junior high, when Kentaro Okamoto first encountered DJing on a televised DJ battle, he could never have suspected that he would end up winning the 2002 DMC World Final Championship for his talent on the turntables, or spinning alongside hip-hop royalty like The Roots and Pharcyde.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 6, 2006

An art born of Saicho's syncretism

This year marks the 1,200th anniversary of the founding of the Buddhist Tendai sect in Japan, when Priest Saicho (767-822), posthumously known as Dengyo Daishi, received court permission to establish a school of religious study and training at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hie to the northeast of Kyoto....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 6, 2006

"Przemek Sobocki: the STORY of HER"

Gallery SPEAK FORCloses Saturday
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 6, 2006

Your greatest fears become reality

Awee figure of a man, dressed in a cuddly gray Dangermouse jumpsuit, enters a wrestling ring screeching, "Dangermouse saves the day!" Three menacing-looking Japanese pro-wrestlers proceed to chase him around the ring, smashing fluorescent light bulbs on his head as he tries to fend them off with his...
SPORTS / E-LIST
Apr 5, 2006

No ducking WBC's highs and lows

Welcome to the E-List, home of integrity and baseball, although the two are one in the E-List's mind. And the List does have a mind of its own, which brings me to the next point.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 5, 2006

Patrolling the seas from on high

On February 28 this year, I was invited by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force base at Hachinohe to give a lecture on naval history to the officers of Fleet Air Wing Two. So for me it was to be a sudden switch from the coral seas and pleasant climate of Okinawa (with which I regaled you in this...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 4, 2006

Students bring school to book

It was payday, and Shawn Hannold's bank account was empty. A phone call from a coworker alerted Hannold the paychecks hadn't shown up in the accounts that morning.
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2006

Protectionism has returned to Europe

LONDON -- The big idea was that Europe would do away with economic nationalism, sweep away frontiers and stand as a shining example to the rest of the world of free trade and open markets. That was the dream. The reality is turning out rather differently.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 1, 2006

Victim's best friend: savvy 'avy' dogs

I have just skied down a chute and am buried under more than a meter of snow. I have a two-way radio on and an avalanche rescue beacon. After 20 minutes of deathlike silence, I can finally hear a dog barking in the distance. I've done a lot of back-country skiing in my life, but this is the first time...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 31, 2006

Concert harpist plays by invitation

Award-winning 26-year-old harpist Keziah Thomas has been invited by the family-run harp manufacturers, Aoyama Harps, to give three recitals in Tokyo, Fukui and Osaka, after impressing at the Ninth World Harp Congress in Dublin last year.

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