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Reader Mail
May 1, 2011

Taiwanese cheering for Japan

Taiwan has always had a special affinity with Japan. Along with strong cultural, historical and economic ties, we both bear the brunt of brutal earthquakes and typhoons. During the 1999 earthquake in central Taiwan and the 2009 flooding of southern Taiwan, Japan was prompt to provide its support.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 1, 2011

Revenge of the aunties

If the collective noun for a bunch of morons is a "drool," then what would it be for a group of feckless twenty-something cretins? A "slobber"? A "salivation"? The group of six men in this rollicking satire run the entire gamut of idiocy as they battle the formidable Midori Oba-sans (aunties), those...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 29, 2011

ArtGig offers 'Dirty, dirty! Sex, sex!' — for free

When curator Shai Ohayon says he's organizing 12 hours of "dirty, dirty, sex, sex" in Shinjuku, he's not making a sordid offer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 29, 2011

Bright set out to lighten spirits

All-female vocal quartet Bright are putting their efforts into Action for Nippon, a charity that works to help kids affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Apr 24, 2011

Gaming Moto Azabu

Rather than dwell on the dark side of life at this time, I decide to get my game on by heading to a store just off Azabu-Juban's main shopping street in central Tokyo's Minato Ward. Max Game, at the foot of Kurayamizaka (Dark Slope), is surrounded by kids of all ages sitting at tables, strategizing and...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 23, 2011

Experience has taught Nakamura how to persevere

If the J. League is looking for inspiration as it prepares to restart the season on Saturday, Shunsuke Nakamura knows more than a thing or two about triumph over adversity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
Apr 17, 2011

Bags of fun recycling old JTs

In Japan, English-language newspapers are great sources of news and views and such (some more than others, of course). But a new use for them has lately arisen, with patrons of mini-trucks selling baked yaki-imo (sweet potatoes) in upscale Tokyo office districts thinking it trendy to receive their hot...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2011

The enemies of a digital universal library

Scholars have long dreamed of a universal library containing everything that has ever been written. Then, in 2004, Google announced that it would begin digitally scanning all the books held by five major research libraries. Suddenly, the library of utopia seemed within reach.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 16, 2011

Earthquake relief: Little people doing big things

Prime Minister Naoto Kan took out nearly a full-page ad in the International Herald Tribune last week to thank the international community for their kizuna (bond of friendship), regarding Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster on March 11. It was a stirring tribute to those who have come together to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 15, 2011

Yoshihiko Takahashi's messages in a bottle

The obvious property of glass is that it is transparent, but for Yoshihiko Takahashi this is only one of its essential characteristics. The prolific glass artist, whose career is being honored by a retrospective at the Crafts Gallery of the Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, clearly has several handles on the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Apr 15, 2011

Wakayama fair in Yokohama

The Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel Tokyu will hold a Wakayama Prefecture dinner fair at its buffet dining restaurant, Cafe Tosca, from April 18 to May 31.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Apr 14, 2011

Bouncing back and reaching higher

A blast of fashion literature
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 9, 2011

You walked into this

We could all use a good laugh. The only question is what defines "good."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 8, 2011

The Monochrome Set

In many ways, The Monochrome Set are the archetypal "Big in Japan" band. Formed in 1978 by a handful of Adam Ant's former backing musicians, the band, featuring guitarist Lester Square's faintly retro playing style and vocalist Ganesh "Bid" Seshadri's dryly humorous lyrics, flew insolently in the face...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 8, 2011

'Mama Bush' puts black women in a powerful light

Based in New York, Mickalene Thomas is known for mixed-media paintings, photographic collages and videos that explore representations of beauty in art history and pop culture through images of African-American women.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2011

Mayors near nuke plant torn between threat, jobs

Mayors of towns and villages around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were torn Tuesday between two facts: the facility has brought economic benefits to their communities but is now posing a threat to the lives of their residents.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2011

Tohoku disaster sparks innovative social media responses

As Japan grapples with an unprecedented triple disaster — earthquake, tsunami, nuclear crisis — the Web has spawned creativity and innovation online amid a collective desire to ease suffering.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Apr 3, 2011

Japan's 'La Gaijine'

On Francoise Morechand's living room table there sits a book once owned by a samurai in the Edo Period (1603-1867) that she says she has been studying.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 1, 2011

'Kigeki Konzen Tokkyu (Cannonball Wedlock)'

Hollywood screwball comedies have long been favorites of Japanese filmmakers, with many listing such genre masters as Frank Capra, Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder as influences. Screwball comedy heroines, however, are usually self-centered, hard-headed types, while the local feminine ideal on screen is...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 1, 2011

Second Harvest rallies support for Tohoku

By 9 a.m. on Thursday morning, March 24, several delivery trucks have deposited boxes of emergency supplies in front of the Taito Ward, Tokyo warehouse of Second Harvest Japan, a charity-based food bank.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 1, 2011

Designs on love, dreams and fun

The 20th century, with its emphasis on war and mass industrialization, favored the functionalism of modernism in architecture, design, and other areas. This saw such elements as decoration, embellishment, playfulness and humor pushed to the sidelines in design. The rise of a more consumerist economic...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Mar 31, 2011

Design in aid of Tohoku

The design world lends its artistic hand As Japan struggles with the consequences of the Kanto-Tohoku earthquake, this month's column takes a different format to highlight some of the ways the design community has come together to provide relief and support.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2011

Job, sales data show economy was rebounding before quake

The unemployment rate fell in February and retail sales beat analysts' forecasts, signs that the economy was picking up before the March 11 disaster struck.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 27, 2011

Time for JBA to give up charade on merger

Under normal circumstances things move at a snail's pace within the Japan Basketball Association. So it's anyone's guess if talks between JBA officials and their bj-league counterparts will pick up anytime soon and/or if any progress will be made in the months to come for the creation of a new "top league"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 26, 2011

Canadian writer draws on creators' support for Tohoku

News stories around the world reveal a deluge of incomprehensible sameness, the debris of aggregate destruction overshadowing an area known for its rugged beauty and strong individuals.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2011

Streamline relief operations

As more than 10 days have passed since the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, the government should quickly review its setup so that it can carry out its relief operations as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 20, 2011

The Bronze Bonze

Yoshiyuki Yoneda had a problem. As chief priest of a temple in Kyoto, he ministered to the spiritual and ritual needs of his local community. But like many other clerics in Japan's ancient capital, he also wanted to attract fee-paying tourists to his temple.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 20, 2011

Sumo seeks to recover from disaster of its own making

If March 13, 2011, had been a normal Sunday in Japan, at around 4:30 p.m. this writer would have popped open a beer, grabbed a packet of shelled peanuts, switched on his TV and watched the first day of the Osaka Grand Sumo Tournament on NHK.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?