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COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2011

Putin afflicted by Brezhnev syndrome

The winner of Sunday's legislative election in Russia was a foregone conclusion: United Russia, organized by Vladimir Putin. Likewise, there is no doubt that Putin himself will win the presidential election due in March 2012. But the public enthusiasm that ratified Putin's rule for a decade has vanished,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 6, 2011

Comic anthologies offer visions of hope after 3/11

In the wake of March 11, artists, writers, letterers and colorists based in Japan and across the globe have been hard at work crafting stories and images of solidarity, concern and, above all, hope for two fundraising books: "Spirit of Hope" and "Aftershock: Artists Respond to Disaster in Japan."
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 3, 2011

Health drinks making major Mideast inroads

Japanese health drinks have been gaining popularity in the Middle East.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 2, 2011

Tintin gets a little closer to Japan in 3-D movie

"Everyone knows Tintin!" says a street hawker in the film "The Adventures of Tintin" — but 30 years ago director Steven Spielberg had no idea who or what he was.
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2011

Toyota puts pedal to metal with 86 coupe

Toyota Motor Corp. introduced its new 86 coupe Saturday, betting that the 200-horsepower sports car will widen the automaker's appeal beyond its best- selling Camry sedan and Prius hybrid.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 27, 2011

Blazing trails in Chiyoda's gardens

With November drawing to a close, I head to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace and the adjacent Kitanomaru Koen park, hoping for fall colors and a mental breather before the season goes nutcrackers with parties and shopping.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 26, 2011

Yairi using tsunami pine for guitars

Yairi Guitar, the famed guitar maker in Kani, Gifu Prefecture, is using pine trees knocked down by the March 11 tsunami to fashion instruments in hopes of engraving the disaster on people's memory through music.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 26, 2011

Keeping abreast of the bra trends in Japan

Oh fun, time for an annual breast examination. Not that there is any pain involved with the examination. It's finding time to go to the hospital that's tough.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 25, 2011

Are digital newspaper subscriptions worth it?

Japanese newspapers still have cold feet when it comes to embracing their digital editions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2011

'Les Amants du Flore'

Boy meets girl. They fall in love and decide to hook up — for the rest of their lives. But how can they make sure that the flame never dies? Twentieth-century philosopher couple Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir dug into the problem and came up with a few codes of behavior. 1.) Never get married....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2011

'Antoki no Inochi (Life Back Then)'

At Hollywood pitch meetings, the pitchers (presenters) typically sell their movie ideas with the "meets" technique, as in, "It's a monster animation for the whole family: 'Bambi' meets 'Godzilla.' "
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 24, 2011

Blackwoods

In a city like Tokyo, with more than 13 million people and who knows how many aspiring musicians, what does a band need to do to set their show apart from the others?
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 19, 2011

Fallen soldiers' kin visit Saipan to meet U.S. vet

Relatives of Japanese victims of World War II in Aichi Prefecture visited Saipan to meet a U.S. veteran in October.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 18, 2011

Parmer not panicking over Hamamatsu's slow start

Jeffrey Parmer realizes the two-time defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix are a work in progress.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 18, 2011

Atelier d'I: Plenty of wine — and food to match

For the longest time, one of our most vociferous complaints about Tokyo was that there weren't enough wine bars worthy of the name. These days, thankfully, we are spoiled for choice in every price range. One of the best of the new crop we've discovered recently is Atelier d'I in Shirokane.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2011

First glimpses inside the Fukushima No. 1 compound since 3/11

On Saturday a group of journalists, including this reporter, were allowed for the first time to enter the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on a guided tour.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2011

Saori Yuki wants a kayōkyoku wave

Defining kayōkyoku is like trying to nail down konnyaku.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 17, 2011

"Geometry Of Light By Alyson Shotz"

Espace Louis Vuitton TokyoCloses Dec. 25
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2011

Passepied "Watashi Kaika Shita Wa"

Oh, not again. Almost exactly three years ago I was handed a preview copy of "Hi-Fi Anatomia" by Soutaiseiriron. At first I hated the album's anime-friendly helium vocals and pretentious air, but after a few spins, the super-minimal jazzy-poppy tunes, as fragile as glass, drilled their way into my brain....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2011

Songwriter's album touches on quake

It might still be too early to understand the effect of March 11's Great East Japan Earthquake on musicians living in the stricken Tohoku region, but as lives get back to normal artists will no doubt find ways to express themselves.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 13, 2011

Creating a future for Japan's aging society

Japan is an elderly country. Twenty-three percent of its population is 65 or over. By 2050, nearly 40 percent will be. Nothing like these demographics has ever been seen before, here or anywhere. This is well-known and much discussed, usually in terms of the grim implications for an enfeebled economy...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 13, 2011

Erotica to celebrate and educate

The word shunga ("spring picture"), used to identify woodblock prints that portray erotic subjects, is not simply a euphemism for the awakening of natural urges. Rather, as both these books inform us, it is an abbreviation of a longer Chinese name, shunkyu higa ("secret pictures from the Spring Palace"),...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 12, 2011

Retiree's blog about old car catalogs finds fans

A blog written by a 76-year-old retiree in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, is finding an audience among car buffs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 11, 2011

"Exhibition as media 2011: Tetsuya Umeda"

"Exhibition as media" is a series of art projects planned and implemented by the Kobe Art Center in collaboration with Kansai-based artists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 10, 2011

Sapphire Slows "True Breath"

The music Sapphire Slows conjures up on her debut EP, "True Breath," floats between genres: dance music, dream pop and ambient are just a few. However, the element uniting these five songs is really how unsettling they can sound — even at their most danceable.
COMMENTARY
Nov 10, 2011

Open markets key to growth

The lengthy communique issued at the end of the recent Group of 20 summit in Cannes has been largely overlooked in the media, which have understandably focused on the financial crisis facing the eurozone. It is probable that many leaders did not even read the full text that had been prepared in advance...

Longform

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