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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2008

Bettye LaVette brings her triumphant soul battle to Fuji

Few artists could have struggled through a career as thoroughly frustrating as that of American soul singer Bettye LaVette and still continue to display the strength and good humor that she does.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2008

Tokio Marine to buy U.S. insurer

Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to buy U.S. insurer Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. for $4.7 billion (about ¥500 billion) to expand in the world's biggest insurance market.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2008

Idemitsu considering new pricing method

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan's second-biggest refiner, may follow the example of Nippon Oil Corp. in adopting a new pricing method to better reflect soaring crude-import costs, company President Akihiko Tembo said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2008

Osama bin Laden: the Islamic bard of terror

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY — In Riyadh last March, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia decorated U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney with the Kingdom's Order of Merit. This gesture elicited hundreds of Internet postings from Arabs condemning the award as treachery and lamenting the pitiful state of leadership in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jul 23, 2008

New entry adds zing to Wii swing

In motion: Nintendo Co. became the big dog in the console-game arena by never resting too much on its laurels and always trying to squeeze one more success or innovation out of its best achievements. (For some reason, the name "Mario" keeps coming to mind.)
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jul 22, 2008

Big clubs' shortcomings taking shine off J. League championship race

On the face of it, a league table where just 10 points separated the top 13 teams at the halfway point of the season would suggest an exciting contest, but this year's J. League has been more infuriating than it has been enthralling.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 22, 2008

Professor Kunihiko Takeda

JUDIT KAWAGUCHI Professor Kunihiko Takeda, Ph.D., is vice-chancellor of the Institute of Science and Technology Research at Chubu University and one of the world's leading authorities on both uranium enrichment and recycling. The 65-year-old is also a bestselling author of books with titles such as “We...
LIFE / Language
Jul 22, 2008

Katakana makes Japanese trendy and accessible

Words and phrases in katakana may appear to be easily recognizable to non-native speakers of Japanese, but they are often fiendishly difficult. This generally comes as a surprise to Japanese, who naturally assume that we can understand katakana words readily, seeing as many of them originated in foreign...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 20, 2008

Writer takes memorable trip to Victor Starfin Stadium in Asahikawa

ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido — Last week I had the pleasure of attending a regular-season baseball game in the central Hokkaido city of Asahikawa, as the Yomiuri Giants played the Chunichi Dragons at the 25,000-seat Victor Starfin Stadium. It was the first appearance by the Giants in 16 years at the ballpark...
Reader Mail
Jul 20, 2008

Supporting a tobacco tax hike

Regarding the July 11 article "Lawmakers seeks sweet spot in tobacco tax debate": I support the tobacco tax hike. Many countries and localities have already traveled this path and their examples show clearly that increased taxes do not eliminate revenues, while they bring about meaningful public health...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 20, 2008

Tokyo: A guide for a certain type of resident

TOKYO: The Complete Residents' Guide, by Andy Sharp, Beau Miller, Frank Spignese, Jennifer Geaconne-Cruz, Julian Satterthwaite, Karryn Cartelle, Tamsin Bradshaw. Dubai: Explorer Group, Ltd., 2008, 444 pp., profusely illustrated, $14.99 (paper) This book, says the introduction, "is going to help you to...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2008

What's the beef with Seoul?

NEW YORK — At the outset of the violent protests in South Korea over imported beef from the United States, the entire Cabinet of South Korean President Lee Myung Bak offered to resign. Last week, Lee fired three of them. But beef, it turns out, represents just the tip of the iceberg of grievances against...
EDITORIALS
Jul 19, 2008

Niigata earthquake anniversary

The first anniversary of the earthquake off Niigata Prefecture came Wednesday, reviving sad memories for residents in Kashiawazaki, Niigata Prefecture, and other places. The quake resulted in the deaths of 15 people, and more than 2,300 were injured. Some 40,000 homes sustained damage, including 1,330...
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2008

Entrepreneur pioneers Akihabara tours

Jane Fong was one of the lucky few awarded a full Foreign Ministry scholarship to a master's program in international business at Sophia University in Tokyo — but she gave that up to become an entrepreneur in "Electric Town."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 18, 2008

I ain't afraid of those ghosts

There are lots of yureizaka (phantom slopes) in Tokyo, and at least seven of them have been spooking lily-livered pedestrians since the Edo Period (1603-1867). The slope I head for, in broad daylight, slants through the somnolent graveyards of old temples from the early 1600s. It's a beastly summer day,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 18, 2008

Can iPhone infiltrate Japan's mobile tribes?

Kentaro Tohyama is proud of his new iPhone. He stood overnight in line to get it when the device became available in Japan for the first time. But the 29-year-old computer engineer isn't about to part with his made-in-Japan cell phone either.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2008

Master tells public to draw on karate

Tadanori Nobetsu hands a letter to his karate students every month containing a warning of deteriorating Japanese morality and encouraging them to maintain their discipline. At his dojo, he requires "rei" (civility) and "aisatsu" (greeting.)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 18, 2008

Rei Harakami and Kahimi Karie

During the 3rd-anniversary events at Liquidroom in Ebisu, Tokyo last August, Rei Harakami played with jazz-pop vocalist and pianist Akiko Yano in their group Yanokami. This August, the idiosyncratic, Kyoto-based electronic musician plays with multilingual singer Kahimi Karie at the same venue.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.