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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 9, 2011

Don Morton raises a mug to bicycles and cold beer

Film buffs may know American Don Morton for the reviews he writes for Metropolis magazine. During a recent interview in his apartment, though, he mostly talked about bicycles. In fact the 67-year-old native of San Francisco is the founder of the Tokyo-based Half-Fast cycling club.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 4, 2011

Today's youth have it hard, but is it worse than before?

Young people the world over are stuck with the world as it is, a world they had no hand in making. From the sidelines they blame their elders for this stupidity and that, and vow to do better when their turn comes, only to find, for the most part, that youthful risōshugi (理想主義, idealism) dies...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 3, 2011

Kotaro Horiuchi: A life spent in uncharted waters of boat design

Considering the current state of Japan's economy, it's remarkable to recall that 60 years ago there were hundreds of companies both old and new jockeying restlessly to fill the vacuum left after almost all the nation's cities were heavily bombed in World War II — jockeying, that is, with the kind of...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 3, 2011

Murakami puts a bomb under his compatriots' atomic complacency

"The Japanese will someday outgrow their nuclear allergy." I've never forgotten futurologist and Cold War military strategist Herman Kahn saying this to me on his visit to Japan in 1969, when I was his guide and occasional interpreter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2011

Debris removal, recycling daunting, piecemeal labor

Removing and disposing of the debris generated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are crucial parts of the recovery process as the people in the devastated region move forward with rebuilding their communities.
COMMENTARY
Jun 30, 2011

Hong Kong's values set it apart

The renowned Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, held for 80 days without charge, was finally released under conditions that among other things forbid him to talk to the media. Ai has apologized to reporters, explaining that he is not allowed to talk about his case and, in fact, "I can't say anything."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 28, 2011

Does Japan need an education in dealing with difference?

The Community Page received a large number of emails in response to Gerry McLellan's May 24 Hotline to Nagatacho column "Japanese adults need an education in dealing with difference." The following is a selection of readers' views.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 27, 2011

This summer the scent of Showa will linger in the heat

There's a distinct whiff of nostalgia in the air and it's coming from the general direction of the subway and JR stations. Also from the kaden ryōhanten (家電量販店 discount shops for consumer electronics) now doing excellent business with items like the senpūki (扇風機 electric fan) and nisōshiki...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 26, 2011

Morishita: treats in place of the trees

Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees. According to Akinori Saito, a historian in Tokyo's Koto Ward Office, the area known as Morishita (lit. "forest below") was most likely named for woods that surrounded the yashiki (residence) of a feudal lord named Saemon Sakai (1564-1619), a retainer...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jun 26, 2011

Readers offer 3/11 insights, valuable resources

As Japan has struggled with the physical and emotional challenges of the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, and the ongoing nuclear crisis that resulted, I have written three Our Planet Earth columns related to those events: one on Japan's response (March 27); one on alternative...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 25, 2011

'Reluctant' musician blows success his way with horn

Over half his lifetime ago, reluctant horn player Jonathan Hammill, at 15, slumped in the back seat of the family car. Sweaty and bored on a family trip to his grandparents' house in Florida, Hammill watched as his mother impulsively popped in a tape his music teacher had given him as encouragement at...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Jun 25, 2011

Yamase says Frontale coming together after changes

After the upheaval of an offseason transfer to Kawasaki Frontale, Koji Yamase is happy to see his new team occupy familiar ground near the top of the J. League table.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 24, 2011

'Hesher'

What would happen if Megadeath decided to record an emo album? The answer may be something like "Hesher," which features an almost Cro-Magnon sort of misanthropic metalhead hero who likes nothing but shredding, shagging, smoking dope and smashing things, but who, it turns out, will teach his straighter...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2011

Chopper group keeps up disaster-zone airlifts

After the March 11 quake and tsunami ravaged ports, railways, roads and bridges all along the Tohoku coast, leaving thousands of people stranded in isolated areas without water or electricity, the only way vital supplies could reach them at first was by flying them in.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 18, 2011

American woman pours self into noh

According to Rebecca Ogamo Teele, an American instructor, performer and mask carver for noh, falling asleep is a perfectly respectable response to attending such plays.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 16, 2011

Rap artist Rumi stokes nuke fires

If you were in the Tokyo neighborhoods of Koenji on April 10, Shibuya on May 7, or Shinjuku on June 11, you might have seen (or more likely, heard) thousands of demonstrators weaving through the streets, waving signs and chanting slogans in opposition to Japan's atomic energy policies. In the past few...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jun 15, 2011

Kawachi meets group seeking to buy Apache

Toshimitsu Kawachi, the bj-league commissioner, met with the Tokyo Apache's potential new owners on Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 14, 2011

Fearing radiation, family quits Japan

The ripples from the Fukushima nuclear disaster have been felt across the globe, drawing offers of sympathy and support for Japan, provoking debates about nuclear power and its alternatives — even sparking complete rethinks of energy policy.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 12, 2011

Barber's cutting comment denies others' humanity — and hers, too

It's depressing, I must confess.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2011

Iwate Philippine community in for long haul

One of the major issues facing Philippine nationals who survived the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is finding new jobs. With Japanese locals in the same position, securing new employment is a major challenge for everyone in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 11, 2011

Ramirez confident despite slow start at plate this season

Alex Ramirez isn't worried about his numbers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 11, 2011

Worldly duo took chance on Japan, find beachhead

Ask Alana and Michel Bonzi where they are from and their first answer is they are citizens of the world.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 9, 2011

Sawamura learning from mistakes in debut season

Before a recent game against the Yomiuri Giants, a rival Central League player remarked that rookie Hirokazu Sawamura might become the Giants' best hurler once he really learns how to pitch.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 6, 2011

What will Japan learn from the Fukushima meltdowns?

Can Japan afford nuclear power? Can Japan afford to dispense with nuclear power? If the answer to both questions is no — as, in the wake of the Fukushima reactor meltdowns, it appears it may be — we are at a fukurokōji (袋小路, impasse). What to do?
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jun 5, 2011

Abdul-Rauf reminisces about his playing days with Shaq

Shaquille O'Neal's larger-than-life persona followed him wherever he went during his colorful 19-year odyssey in the NBA.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jun 5, 2011

Parmer headlines Top 20 players in 2010-11

With four new teams joining the bj-league over the past two seasons, it has become a greater challenger to select Hoop Scoop's Top 20 players. But it's a worthwhile — and necessary — challenge. One that will become greater next June, following the first season with 20 teams, including four more...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2011

Students credit survival to disaster-preparedness drills

March 11 started out as another ordinary Friday at Kamaishi East Junior High School, which stands by the mouth of the Unosumai River that runs through the city into Otsuchi Bay. Classes were over for the day and students were about to start their after-school club activities when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 3, 2011

Abdul-Rauf opines on Aono's dismissal

Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf has been in this business long enough to know that coaches face an unenviable task every time they step onto the court. In other words, they can't please everyone.
Reader Mail
Jun 2, 2011

Group etiquette must come first

Regarding the May 27 article "Hashimoto stalks anthem foes": Some people criticize Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto as dictatorial for pushing a proposed ordinance that would force public school teachers to stand when the "Kimigayo" national anthem is sung at school. However, the proposal should be fairly evaluated...

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