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CULTURE / Books
Apr 19, 2009

Race, ethnicity and identity in Japan

Japan is a multiethnic society largely in denial about its diversity. Here we can examine the contradictions and consequences of this discourse. This second edition published a dozen years after the first is a welcome update with 10 chapters analyzing, inter alia, Japan's six principle minority groups...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 19, 2009

Kuwata roars back with 'Tora-san,' drama about running from debt, and the story of a 'bad wife'

Keisuke Kuwata, the leader of the Southern All Stars, who called it quits last summer after 30 years as Japan's most popular rock band, revives his old TV series. "Kuwata Keisuke Ongaku Tora-san" ("Keisuke Kuwata, Music's Tora-san") (Fuji, Mon., 11:15 p.m.) was first broadcast for six months in 2000...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 10, 2009

Bach leads Tokyo classical festival

"I told myself to combine the study of commerce and my passion for music," says French producer Rene Martin, who has built on those foundations to pursue his vision of democratizing classical music through the annual spectacular he's named La Folle Journee (Days of Enthusiasm).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

'Red Cliff: Part II'

Was it worth the six-month wait? The answer is a resounding affirmative. John Woo's second and final segment of the epic battle extravaganza "Red Cliff" picks up with a monstrous, 800,000-strong army led by invading warlord Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) about to close in on Jiangdong, the province of young...
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

'Red Cliff: Part II'

Was it worth the six-month wait? The answer is a resounding affirmative. John Woo's second and final segment of the epic battle extravaganza "Red Cliff" picks up with a monstrous, 800,000-strong army led by invading warlord Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) about to close in on Jiangdong, the province of young...
EDITORIALS
Apr 9, 2009

The Conficker bug fizzles

The world did not end on April 1, the Internet did not fail and civilization did not collapse. In other words, for those who followed the hype, Conficker, a software virus that has infected computers worldwide, was no big deal. That is reassuring — and testament to the seriousness with which experts...
EDITORIALS
Apr 7, 2009

Municipalities for the people

A government panel on the local autonomy system is discussing what should be the ideal form of municipal government. Through their welfare and education services and community revitalization programs, etc., municipalities are the closest governments to citizens. The panel's discussion focuses on whether...
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2009

Carbon slump threatens emission-cut goals

SINGAPORE — First, came the credit crunch and recession. Now there is a carbon price slump that may undermine one of the main ways governments have chosen to combat global warming. This is happening as Japan, the United States and other advanced economies develop plans for carbon trading based on national...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 5, 2009

Dead ends, about turns abound in the politics of roads

About a year ago, the government was all in a lather about extending the gasoline tax. Local governments and the ruling coalition, not to mention interested bureaucracies, wanted to continue the tax because they said the revenues were necessary to build more roads. Opposition parties were against the...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 5, 2009

Looking at history: the argument for facts over theory

Positivism in historiography means an emphasis on facts over theory, documentary evidence over deductions from premises. It may also be called "nitty-gritticism," George Akita suggests in "Evaluating Evidence," a book that recounts the author's dealing with primary sources and the problems he has come...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 3, 2009

'Hatsukoi — Natsu no Kioku'

First love, or hatsukoi, is a perennial, popular theme for seishun eiga ("youth films"), ranking right up there with tragic early death.
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2009

Netanyahu's fig leaf buffer

LONDON — "I am not afraid of Bibi (Netanyahu). I will not be anybody's fig leaf," said Ehud Barak, leader of Israel's Labor Party, defending his decision to join the hard-right coalition government formed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. But off in the distance there was a curious whirring noise....
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 31, 2009

Child porn hard to define, stop

Japan has a huge adult pornography market. But the country also has a reputation as a haven for child porn, with international human rights groups and governments including the United States all criticizing Tokyo for not doing enough to curb the spread of sexually graphic material that exploits children....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 28, 2009

From a shady past to helping others

Kabukicho is Tokyo's infamous entertainment district and suburb of sleaze. A heavily populated square of sleepless activity northeast of Shinjuku Station, it is home to a haphazard mix of movie theaters, hostess bars, strip clubs, and seedy nightclubs. An illicit atmosphere permeates the air.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2009

Director claims new film helped Oe beat lawsuit

Korean-resident film director Pak Su Nam said Wednesday that a confession appearing in her latest documentary about mass murder-suicides by civilians in Okinawa in 1945 helped dismiss a lawsuit against writer Kenzaburo Oe.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2009

Are Earth's oceanic 'carbon sinks' filling up?

Russian and South Korean scientists made a disturbing discovery recently in the Sea of Japan. They found that the amount of carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas, being absorbed in the water dropped by half between 1992 and 2007.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 20, 2009

Manga's reach is long

Manga is not just about manga. So says the Kyoto International Manga Museum, which — not surprisingly, I guess — thinks the genre's sphere of influence extends way beyond the printed page to encompass everything from music and cooking to calligraphy and theater. To prove their point, the museum is...
JAPAN / Q&A
Mar 20, 2009

Hand-wringing over fund scandal

The political fund scandal involving Nishimatsu Construction Co. has brought to light once again the unhealthy relationship between politics and money. This time, prosecutors went straight to the top by arresting the chief secretary of Ichiro Ozawa, president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2009

A place for charity even in these tough times

PRINCETON, New Jersey — As I tour America promoting my new book, "The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty," I am often asked if this isn't the wrong time to call on affluent people to increase their effort to end poverty in other countries. I reply emphatically that it is not. There...
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2009

Baha'i in Japan slam Iran for holding members accused of spying for Israel

KOBE — Japan's Baha'i community is calling on the government to join the growing list of countries and international organizations that have condemned Iran for its arrest of seven of its members.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2009

Golan Heights, Shebaa Farms could unlock peace process for Israel, Syria and Lebanon

NEW YORK — Any rapprochement between Israel and the Palestinians beyond a temporary ceasefire seems rather improbable at the moment. However, the Golan Heights' and Shebaa Farms' territories contested between Israel, Syria and Lebanon could spearhead a peace process in the Middle East now actively...
Japan Times
SPORTS / HIT AND RUN
Mar 15, 2009

Group linked to Valentine explored buying BayStars

Like a batter with three strikes, Bobby Valentine is promising to go down swinging.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2009

Morning Musume not ready to graduate yet

Most artists dream of longevity, but few are afforded significant time in the limelight. The paradox of all-girl group Morning Musume, 12 years since they began, is the enforced time-limit its members face in order for the group to remain forever young.

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