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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2008

'The Darjeeling Limited'

As an American filmmaker with no particular pedigree (like the Coppolas or Hustons), Wes Anderson's penchant for exclusiveness could have put him in a precarious position in the aggressively democratized world of Hollywood cinema. As it turns out, he occupies a not unenviable niche, probably because...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2008

'Yurei vs. Uchujin'

Even film directors need a break from the routine, don't they? Especially Takashi Shimizu, who has spent much of this decade making seven installments of his hit "Grudge (Ju-on)" J-Horror franchise, including two films for Hollywood, about vengeful ghosts who move from victim to victim like viruses....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2008

Taking the next step on Iran

LOS ANGELES — The approval of fresh sanctions on Iran marks the third time that the United Nations Security Council has been galvanized to stem the Islamic Republic's feared uranium enrichment efforts. Unfortunately, the new sanctions are unlikely to be any more effective than the first two rounds....
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2008

Critical time for BOJ to lack governor

With the opposition-controlled House of Councilors' veto Wednesday of Toshiro Muto's nomination for Bank of Japan governor, the prospects are mounting that the BOJ helm will become vacant after Toshihiko Fukui's term ends March 19.
Reader Mail
Mar 13, 2008

Think before charging racism

What in the world is going on with Readers in Council and the charge of xenophobia appearing in letters the past month?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Mar 12, 2008

Young CEO breaks through corporate age barrier

With a single click, you can view the 3-D image of a sedan or a sports car on a Web site of global automakers like Honda and Nissan. With another click, you can change the color and model, or even rotate the vehicle.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 12, 2008

Food for thought in our ways of seeing

W hen the famed Michelin food guide belatedly reached Asia recently, it seemed to make up for lost time, awarding more of its coveted stars to restaurants in Tokyo than are held by restaurants in New York and Paris combined. About time, too.
Reader Mail
Mar 11, 2008

Deaths from a balloon bomb

Regarding the March 6 article "Japan's wartime past offers lessons for today": I enjoyed this interesting review of the film "Ashita e no Yuigon." However, Reiji Yoshida's statement that "No one was killed on the American mainland during World War II" overlooks the deaths of 26-year-old Elsie Mitchell...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 11, 2008

The lowest form of flattery?

In order to avoid the entry of terrorists into Japan, it has been decided to impose fingerprinting and photography at immigration.' So begins the Foreign Ministry video explaining the November changes to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLEWISE,ON: FASHION
Mar 11, 2008

Stella McCartney, Anna Antoniades and more

Anna Antoniades in Nakameguro
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2008

Japan acquittal doesn't let Miura off the hook in California: expert

Differences between the Japanese and U.S. criminal justice systems made it possible for the Los Angeles Police Department to arrest Kazuyoshi Miura for the 1981 fatal shooting of his wife in California, despite being acquitted of her slaying in Japan, an expert says.
COMMENTARY
Mar 10, 2008

Get set for emissions trading

The year 2007 marked the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Kyoto Protocol; the 20th anniversary of the release of the report "Our Common Future" by the World Commission on Environment and Development, headed by former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (the expression "sustainable development"...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2008

Freedom and music go hand in hand

NEW YORK — North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is one of the world's most oppressive, closed and vicious dictatorships. It is perhaps the last living example of pure totalitarianism — control of the state over every aspect of human life. Is such a place the...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 9, 2008

Crown Prince could lead the way in effort for mutt emancipation

Next month, the environment ministry and the health ministry will jointly implement a new law that provides subsidies to local government health centers for the feeding of abandoned or captured dogs and cats. The money is designed to make it possible for these centers to take care of the animals an extra...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 9, 2008

The art of Frances Blakemore: a love affair with Japan

AN AMERICAN ARTIST IN TOKYO: Frances Blakemore — 1906-1997, by Michiyo Morioka. Seattle: The Blakemore Foundation/University of Washington Press, 2007, 200 pp., profusely illustrated, $35 (cloth) Living more than 50 years of her life in Japan, artist Frances Blakemore was a close and sympathetic observer...
Reader Mail
Mar 9, 2008

Where is the 'Japanese Dream'?

With regard to the article from Sentaku magazine that ran in The Japan Times on Feb. 27, "Wanted: world's best minds": It seems that only foreigners who work for Japanese branches of foreign companies can make a good life in Japan. Those working directly for Japanese organizations and businesses face...
Reader Mail
Mar 9, 2008

The money issue with surrogacy

Regarding the article about a surrogate mother who gave birth to "her own grandchild": This is painful to read. Why didn't the family just choose adoption instead of a surrogate birth? I can't figure out why a couple gets so obsessed with the idea that a baby must have their own DNA. Isn't it possible...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 8, 2008

Who can steal the limelight from the Mongolian princes of sumo?

A little over a week ago, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai announced its rankings for the upcoming Haru Basho in Osaka.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 8, 2008

European or Putin expansion?

WARSAW — The merit of the Berlin Wall was that it made obvious where Europe ended. But now the question of Europe's borders has become a staple of debate in the European Union. Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent threat to aim missiles at Ukraine highlights what is at stake in that debate's outcome....
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2008

Muto nominated as BOJ chief; DPJ unsure

With Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui's term expiring in 11 days, the government and ruling bloc on Friday finally nominated one of his deputies, Toshiro Muto, to replace him at the central bank.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 7, 2008

Diouf gives Broncos hope

Mamadou "Madou" Diouf is strong, swift and agile on the basketball court.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 7, 2008

Disney to work with two local animators

Animation fans will soon be treated to two new cartoons sprung from collaborations between Walt Disney Co. Japan and two Japanese animation companies, the local unit of the U.S. entertainment giant said Thursday.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan