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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Dec 17, 2008

In praise of 'Ice Birds'

The rush, chatter and babble of a stream on a summer's day is a great delight; the constantly shifting sounds make entrancing music and provide a wonderful source of entertainment for the wait-and-see naturalist.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2008

Human rights require stronger institutions

PARIS — On Dec. 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first international proclamation of the inherent dignity and equal rights of all people. To this day, the UDHR remains the single most important reference point for discussion of ethical values...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 14, 2008

Japan's prime minister isn't choosy about who his gaffes target

Way back in 1977 there was a famous war film called "A Bridge Too Far." Now, perhaps somebody should make a movie starring Prime Minister Taro Aso titled "Osugita Shitsugen (A Gaffe Too Many)."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 5, 2008

'Kill'

Mamoru Oshii is a world-class animation director, but his films, from the 1995 dystopian SF "Ghost In the Shell" to this year's air-war epic "The Sky Crawlers," are not for the masses. Instead they often explore heavyweight themes that appeal to anime otaku (ultrafans), from the dissolving boundaries...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Dec 3, 2008

Oh, no: It's not a Christmas pud

The Christmas season may be grinding ever closer, and the creation in the photograph below is almost the right color and shape, but it's most certainly not a Christmas pudding.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Nov 29, 2008

Cultural differences a common bond for Japanese-Korean pair

Takashi Yasuda and Kim Hye Gyong met three years ago while both were living in an international guesthouse in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2008

Masuda defends 'hawkish' classes

The Defense Ministry will continue to provide a balanced education at its Joint Staff College, but will not immediately respond to criticism that some of its lecturers are known to hold nationalistic views, Vice Defense Minister Kohei Masuda said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2008

Japanning for southern barbarians

During the 16th-century age of exploration, Portuguese traders landed in Japan looking for exotic goods to sell in markets back in Europe and their newly founded colonies. Lacquerware was high on their list, not only for its decorative beauty but also for its more prosaic quality of being the only waterproof...
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2008

Tamogami views no secret

Unsworn testimony before an Upper House committee last week shed light on axed Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Toshio Tamogami's nationalist views, but questions persist over how such a vocal revisionist was appointed ASDF chief to begin with.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2008

Establishing 'equality' as a basic human right

LONDON — Following weeks of financial and economic turmoil, public debate has finally turned to the horrific potential human ramifications of the collapse of the global financial system.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2008

No more riots — Kaiser Chiefs get serious

In a few short years, Kaiser Chiefs, the cheeky indie-pop five-piece from Leeds in northern England, have seen their success on home turf swell from zero (as pre-Kaiser incarnation Parva) to their rebirth as stadium-ready, worldwide superstars. For this they can thank a string of chart-bothering singles...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 30, 2008

Digging deep to find the sparkle in Japanese Eyes

Japan's film industry releases more than 400 films a year, but only 10 screened in the Japanese Eyes section of this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, which ran from Oct. 18 to 26.
COMMENTARY
Oct 20, 2008

North Korea: settling for half a loaf

The conventional wisdom is that the Bush administration, in its never-ending face-off with North Korea over its nuclear ambitions, has once again been the first to blink. President George W. Bush has been severely criticized for removing North Korea from the State Sponsors of Terrorism List prior to...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 15, 2008

Fighters find ways to get job done

OSAKA — Lately, it seems for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Reader Mail
Oct 9, 2008

Fortunes may hinge on one vote

I agree with Canadian lawyer Craig Martin's argument in his Oct. 5 article, "The fatal flaw in trying to impose a new interpretation on Article 9," that "reinterpreting" constitutional provisions to suit the political desires of the moment is unacceptable. But then he states: "Consider the issue of guns....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 9, 2008

Great show of Chinese art in Japan, finally

You can safely assume the Beijing Olympic Committee had nothing to do with "Avant-garde China: 20 years of Chinese Contemporary Art," an earnest attempt to present a bite-size overview of contemporary Chinese art. Due to the nature of China's tightly managed "re-opening," most recent Chinese art has...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2008

Should Asia brace for more mega storms?

SINGAPORE — We have become acutely aware of the financial storm threatening to sweep the world. But what about nature's most powerful storms? Will global warming cause more frequent and intense tropical cyclones, increasing the already heavy annual toll of death, damage and injury in densely populated...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 2, 2008

Seeking photographic destinies

His figures cut through the sky, crisply suspended, on their way into the water. Sometimes they are immersed, or watching from a shore, but most often they hang in the air, about to split the drink in two. For Lithuanian photographer Vidas Biveinis, water represents a changing emotion, expressive of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Sep 21, 2008

Low and slow — Nagoya's slice of Southern California

Second of two parts
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2008

Forum addresses public's aversion to China

Chinese and Japanese political, economic and academic leaders shared their apprehensions about the ever-growing aversion to China among the Japanese public when they met for a two-day forum in Tokyo starting Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2008

LDP rivals offer more reform or regression

OSAKA — In the short term, the next prime minister will either continue internationally sought fiscal and economic reforms or return to the traditional pork-barrel projects and failed economic policies of the past, forge closer military ties with the United States or maintain the status quo.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan