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Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 10, 2007

Festival theater heats up Shibuya

Matsuri (festivals) in Japan are not only about fireworks, as the monthlong "Summer Summit 2007" drama event attests.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 5, 2007

Superstar fortuneteller, Nuremberg trials special, manga dramatization of WWII

Superstar fortuneteller Kazuko Hosoki usually works her caustic consultations on pliable, willing celebrities, most of whom take her harsh criticisms to heart. It will be interesting to see how her style goes down in Hollywood.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2007

Uniqlo fancies M&As as it outgrows home turf

Tadashi Yanai, chairman and CEO of Uniqlo Co. and its holding company, Fast Retailing Co., strongly believes a business must keep growing and changing to survive, and is now acting aggressively on this belief.
COMMENTARY
Aug 2, 2007

What the Japanese election really means

LOS ANGELES — The country is deadlocked. The people are divided. The stock market is grumbling. The leader is discredited — but vows to govern onward anyhow.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2007

The best and brightest of the fanatics

KIRKSVILLE, Missouri — In Britain and Australia, several Muslim medical doctors and engineers have been arrested following a series of failed car bombings. The arrest of these well-educated professionals, together with the Egyptian doctor Ayman al-Zawahiri's role as al-Qaida's deputy leader, raises...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 2, 2007

Last words on hell from the skies

"Moreover, the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable, taking the toll of many innocent lives."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 2, 2007

"Les noirs de Redon: The Monstrous Friends You See When You Close Your Eyes"

Bunkamura Closes in 25 days
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 1, 2007

Yamanote Line clocks — perfect for torturing Tokyo commuters

C locks make marvelous torture de vices. For sheer infliction of pain it's hard to top a creation that's dedicated to wrenching you out of your hard-won sleep. Throw in the fact that they insist on rousing you in time to cram yourself into a sardine can on wheels known as a train and you are adding pain...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 29, 2007

Kaiten zushi

It was a season of long days, heavy rain, loquats, hollyhocks and hydrangea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 27, 2007

Akon

"Trouble" is about right.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 26, 2007

Demented in NY

It's almost counterintuitive — in the midst of the glorious chaos that is China as it modernizes itself, Chinese painters are technically spotless. In their hands, paint has been tamed, a tool with which they slickly create canvases with flawless surfaces that almost hide their workmanship.
Rugby
Jul 16, 2007

Japan rugby players benefit from ATQ training

The 2007 Rugby World Cup might only be months away, but behind the scenes tier-two nations are already eyeing the quarterfinals four years from now.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Jul 13, 2007

Lights in the Dusk

Director: Aki Kaurismaki Language: Finnish and Russian
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2007

How the West lost its nerve with Russia

MOSCOW — Nation-states are built on ethnic and territorial unity, and their histories and political development are grounded in a sense of collective identity. Empires emerge when a national group considers its existence inside its territorial borders either risky or ineffective, and embarks on a forced...
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2007

JAXA sets ISS Japanese menu

Astronauts in for long-term stays at the International Space Station can look forward to having ramen, rice balls and green tea on their menus, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 24, 2007

Big breasts, funny hair, anything dumb — the way to go on TV

Last spring, TV tarento Rei Kikukawa made news when she appeared in a bra commercial. TV commercials are the bread-and-butter of most tarento (media stars), and Kikukawa has done her fair share, but since gaining stardom she's managed to avoid overt exploitation of her sex appeal. That's because she...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Jun 23, 2007

Handbag entrepreneur owes success to quality, celebrities

From the start, entrepreneur Kazumasa Terada had his eye on the global market. Using celebrities like the Hilton sisters in 2002 to promote his handbag label, Terada has turned Samantha Thavasa into a household name in Japan, and is on the verge of bigger things abroad.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 21, 2007

Asian artists echo biennale director's themes

VENICE, Italy — By the light of the setting sun, a skateboarder practices tricks on the edge of a seaside jetty. Heavy waves roll in and break against the shore in a constant motion in the background. The skateboarder keeps to a narrow radius and his movements are rhythmic and supple. The board appears...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Jun 15, 2007

All the Invisible Children

Director: Mehdi Charef, Emir Kusturica, Spike Lee, Katia Lund, Jordan Scott and Ridley Scott, Stefano Veneruso, John Woo Language: Mandarin, English, Italian, Portuguese and Serbo-Croatian
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 14, 2007

In step with nature, if not with celebrity

Renowned butoh dancer, award-winning actor, choreographer and agriculturist Min Tanaka has tried hard to escape international stardom.
COMMENTARY
Jun 8, 2007

Vanity in spinning a legacy

LONDON — Leaders of the summit countries have been changing. Gerhard Schroeder, the German Social Democratic chancellor of Germany, was the first to go. His replacement, Angela Merkel, is a Christian Democrat but leading a coalition with the Social Democrats.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 8, 2007

Lloyd Webber, Rice box-office smashes take center stage

Two of the most successful musicals of all time, "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita," take center stage in Tokyo and Kyoto this summer.
Rugby
Jun 3, 2007

Japan edges Tonga in Pacific Nations Cup

COFFS HARBOUR, Australia — In a tight and physical game, Japan beat Tonga 20-17 in the country's second-round affair in the Pacific Nations Cup.
EDITORIALS
Jun 3, 2007

Let Japanese film out of the forest

Naomi Kawase's Grand Prix at the 60th Cannes Film festival last week for "Mogari no Mori" put the Japanese film industry once again on the front page. Kawase's honor is another in a series of reminders about how rich and rewarding Japanese films can be. But at the same time, it is a reminder of how little...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 26, 2007

Bringing about world change through literacy

Imagine. You are a rising executive with Microsoft, with a corporate credit card and an associated lifestyle. Then one day, at age 35, you clear your desk, cash in your investments and walk away.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 20, 2007

Buy a car and drive up your grocery bill

Toyota Motor Corp. made headlines when it announced that its profit for 2006 was a record-breaking 2.24 trillion yen. In the United States, the news was greeted with some bitterness, since the Japan automaker had recently surpassed General Motors in terms of worldwide sales for the first time ever.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 18, 2007

Marisa Monte

Motherhood prompted genre-busting Brazilian singer-songwriter Marisa Monte to take a break from touring a few years ago. Now, maternity has her back on the road with a 10-piece band and headed to Japan for her first concerts in 15 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 10, 2007

Modern girls and outrage

The Taisho Era (1912-1926) saw young habitues of Japan's cafe society challenging and outraging their parents as they danced, smooched and smoked cigarettes, aping their idols of the silver screen. Emblematic of the age was the moga (modan gaaru, or modern girl) with her Western shoes, dresses, makeup...

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake