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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Apr 22, 2005

Trilogy in a triangle

In general, pre-bubble nightlife in Tokyo was rather dull. In the early 1980s, a Saturday night out in Shinjuku or Roppongi meant jockeying for space in a crowded disco with packs of Japanese intent on line dancing in front of mirrors. There were a few alternative bars scattered in and around Aoyama,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / NAME OF THE GAME
Apr 21, 2005

Fast, furious -- and frustrating

In "Meteos," a new puzzle game for the Nintendo DS handheld, the denizens of the universe greet you with a plea (in earnest, broken English): "We want you, save our planet!"
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Apr 17, 2005

A nation asleep at the wheel

Train carriages filled with white-collar workers dozing off on each other's shoulders are one of the most striking sights in Japan.
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Apr 17, 2005

'Man Friday' recalls time in line at Japan's first record expo

With the 2005 World Expo Aichi in full swing until September in Nagoya, it may come as a surprise to some that Japan's first world exposition was to have taken place as long ago as in 1912. But that was cancelled due to the death of Emperor Meiji. Another one, to have run in conjunction with Tokyo's...
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Apr 17, 2005

Jackpot jottings

While Japan's auto industry is forever being feted, the country's far-bigger pachinko business -- which takes a staggering 30 trillion yen a year in bets -- is almost entirely overlooked by society and the wider world.
Features
Apr 17, 2005

It's time Japan jumped on its cultural bandwagon

The Japanese have never regarded their culture as universal.
BASKETBALL
Apr 15, 2005

JBA gives green light to break-away teams

The Japan Basketball Association on Wednesday granted the Niigata Albirex and the Saitama Broncos special approval to break away from the amateur Japan Basketball League.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 14, 2005

Azure-winged magpie

* Japanese name: Onaga * Scientific name: Cyanopica cyana * Description: Magpies are in the Corvid family, that is, they are related to crows and jackdaws. But Azure-winged magpies are more elegant, with long, light-blue tails and wings, gray backs, white throats and black caps on the top of their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 13, 2005

Vision of a 'superflat' future

NEW YORK -- Murakami-mania hit New York last week as the "Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture" exhibition at the Japan Society opened to much media fanfare.
Japan Times
Features
Apr 10, 2005

Drop-dead gorgeous

Eiko Koike is a leggy, lushly upholstered Japanese celebrity, famous for her doe eyes and D-cup breasts.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 9, 2005

Ramos to captain beach soccer team

Former Japan international midfielder Ruy Ramos will steer the national squad at next month's beach soccer World Cup, Japan Football Association President Saburo Kawabuchi said Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2005

Singapore turns to Japan's matchmakers as birthrate sags

Japan might assist in Singapore's efforts to set up matchmaking services, sources said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2005

Honda hopes compact wagon debut snaps slide

Honda Motor Co. said Thursday it will start selling its first compact station wagon this week.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Apr 8, 2005

A new cellarful of tipples

The dot-com era saw an unfortunate number of foreign wine promoters descend on Japan. They were armed with snappy Powerpoint presentations and talk of quick riches, but their only apparent success was in relieving investors of their excess cash before moving on.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 6, 2005

Triumph in Tohoku: Staff of Eagles works miracle

SENDAI -- I saw something beautiful Friday night.
EDITORIALS
Apr 5, 2005

Bitter medicine to build trust

Political parties are bracing for a new round of joint parliamentary panel talks on social security reform. The biggest issue is how to integrate disparate and unequal parts of the public pension system. Prospects for final agreement look uncertain at best, given the wide differences that exist between...
Features
Apr 3, 2005

Does language 'difficulty' speak of a sense beyond mere words?

I have often been told by Japanese people that theirs is the most difficult language in the world. Virtually all the Japanese people who have said this to me, I might add, have spoken no other language than their own.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 3, 2005

So much food that we don't know what to do with it

The media didn't quite know what to make of that bizarre story last month about the elderly Sapporo man who allegedly killed his wife following a dinnertime spat. One might expect a husband to become angry over not getting enough food, TV commentators implied, but in this case the situation was the opposite....
MORE SPORTS
Apr 2, 2005

Japan to have two separate leagues

The Japan Basketball Association said Thursday the men's top-tier basketball league will be recreated as a domestic pro league starting from the 2007-2008 season.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2005

Laws to protect personal info kick in, criticized

Laws to protect personal information took effect Friday, banning the public and private sectors from using information on a person other than for its intended purpose and from providing it to a third party without permission.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2005

How to stabilize China, according to Hu

SINGAPORE -- China needs stability as it faces one of its most radical economic, social, cultural and political transforma- tions in history. This message was clearly delivered during the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing three weeks ago. President Hu Jintao needs stability to consolidate his...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2005

Daiei shareholders stamp rehab

Daiei Inc. received approval from shareholders Wednesday to adopt a rehabilitation program mapped out by the Industrial Revitalization Corp. of Japan that features a 592.4 billion yen aid package.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 30, 2005

Asia week sees debut show of a famous celadon potter

New Asian art becomes the talk of the town each spring -- not just in Tokyo or Beijing -- but in New York City where its annual Asia Week is now in full sway. Exhibitions abound in the Big Apple with some of the world's top dealers offering their treasures to collectors who visit from around the world....
Features
Mar 27, 2005

Mrs. Matsui

It was an open secret in my husband's course on modern Japanese literature at Radcliffe in the 1960s that his inspiration came not directly from the prose and poetry of Japan but from his absolute devotion to me.
Japan Times
Features
Mar 27, 2005

Meister of all he sautes

French, Italian and Spanish are the most familiar European cuisines in Japan. As for Austrian -- well, most people probably don't even realize that the country famed for "The Sound of Music" is also noted for its venerable and enormously varied fare.
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2005

Harnessing the power of dreams

Aichi Expo 2005, which opened Friday, differs significantly from previous world expositions. Its theme, "Nature's Wisdom," is the reason why. The six-month fair embodies two overarching principles: environmental friendliness and civic participation. The original construction plan was criticized for its...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
Mar 25, 2005

Chummy in the Chome

Shinjuku Ni-chome is still alive and thriving as the headquarters for Tokyo's gay bar scene. Unlike other party centers in Tokyo, I wouldn't say much has changed of late in the Chome, as the area is usually called by those who frequent it. No one ever calls it Shinjuku Ni-chome because that would be...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 24, 2005

Japanese wagtail

* Japanese name: Segurosekirei * Scientific name: Motacilla grandis * Description: Wagtails are easily identified by the way their tails wag frenetically when they walk. Even their flight pattern seems to wag -- they fly in an undulating wave. The head, throat and the top of the back and the wings...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?