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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 24, 2007

The Caribbean Magic Steel Drum Orchestra

In 19th-century Trinidad, drumming became so synonymous with gang warfare that the British colonial authorities outlawed hand drums altogether. Seeking an alternative, the island's denizens turned first to bamboo before happening upon an ingenious use for discarded oil drums. The resulting instrument,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 24, 2007

'Oyaji'

Action stars in Hollywood tend to have long shelf lives. Jackie Chan, born in 1954, is still making slick kung-fu moves in "Rush Hour 3," while Sylvester Stallone, born in 1946, returned to the ring this year in "Rocky Balboa." And Harrison Ford, born in 1942, is back again for a fourth round as Indiana...
CULTURE / Music
Aug 24, 2007

Kiiiiiii "Al & Bum"

As comfortable playing traditional gig venues as they are art galleries, Tokyo girl duo Kiiiiiii have built their reputation on their live shows, in which vocalist U.T. and drummer Lakin' dash through a technicolor car crash of songs and musical skits performed in the character of 1980s American schoolgirls....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 24, 2007

Out of darkness

The Sept. 18 worldwide release of "Suimou Tsunenimasu (A History of DJ Krush)," DJ Krush's three-DVD retrospective, certainly gives fans quite a bit to chew on. Stretching back to the mid-1990s, when the turntablist/producer Krush (real name Hideaki Ishii) first toured overseas, this documentary sews...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 24, 2007

'Sicko'

In the space of merely a few years, director Michael Moore has seen his reputation morph from "the guy who made documentary films truly popular" to "the guy who plays fast and loose with the truth." His moment of greatest triumph at the box office — "Fahrenheit 9/11," which raked in some $120 million,...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 24, 2007

Showa cartoons rich in humor

While today Japan is at the forefront of the world's multibillion-dollar anime industry, with directors such as Hayao Miyazaki winning Academy Awards, in the pre-computer age of the early 20th century, Japanese animators were devising their own techniques by studying methods used in imported European...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 23, 2007

Late to the art party in the 1980s

"Place" and "presence" were two of the core concerns of Minimalism, the last thread of Modernism before it collapsed into Postmodernism's stylistic confusion in the 1970s.
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2007

China tightens grip on Tibetan Buddhism

HONG KONG — China announced last month new regulations governing Tibetan Buddhism, including a stipulation that senior monks, known as "living Buddhas," cannot be reincarnated without government permission.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2007

Toyota may draw a bead on India's small-car market

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday it may bring out a small car in India in two years as it tries to grab market share from Suzuki Motor Corp. in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2007

Osaka athletics meet fades at starting gate

OSAKA — Poor ticket sales and extremely hot and humid weather are threatening to turn the upcoming International Association of Athletics Federations meet in Osaka into a public relations disaster that could affect Mayor Junichi Seki's re-election prospects later this year.
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2007

Omi, Kwon agree market turmoil needs monitoring

Market turmoil sparked by the U.S. subprime mortgage rout needs to be closely watched to ensure that risks to the global economy don't become excessive, the finance ministers of Japan and South Korea agreed Wednesday. Kwon Okyu and Koji Omi, meeting in Gwacheon, released a statement saying they "recognized...
BUSINESS
Aug 23, 2007

Sharp unveils 50% lighter, thinner more efficient LCD TV prototype

Sharp Corp. on Wednesday unveiled a prototype of what it said was the world's thinnest, lightest and most energy-efficient liquid crystal display TV as it races to take the lead in developing a next-generation lineup.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 23, 2007

Behind the mask

Noh is Japan's most inscrutable performing art. A tremendous influence on kabuki and bunraku puppet theater, it is a household name across the nation, yet relatively few Japanese have ever been to a show. Culture vultures marvel at the elaborate costumes and the esoteric, chantlike music; the plays are...
Reader Mail
Aug 22, 2007

Germany remains apt comparison

In response to Florian Coulmas' July 8 article, "Act of missionary hypocrisy: Is U.S. the one to censure Japan about the past?," I would like to say that Germany is an apt comparison to Japan when it comes to a nation's memory of its war crimes.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 22, 2007

Can others save Earth despite Big Oil's blinkers?

How can an economic superpower founded on progress and innovation be so averse to change that would cut the greenhouse-gas emissions that are spurring global warming and climate change?
BUSINESS
Aug 22, 2007

GE considers selling Lake credit unit

General Electric Co., the world's largest provider of private-label credit cards, said Tuesday it is considering the sale of its Japanese consumer-credit unit, Lake Co.
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 22, 2007

Multitasking watches and solar iPod rechargers

No craze is complete without its own gadgets. This new Sudoku aid looks just like another Japanese obsession — the "keitai" — with players using the number keypad to enter their sudoku answers. It costs ¥1,029, with more information available at item.rakuten.co.jp/wnd-minakuru/4582256_900052/. If...
SOCCER
Aug 20, 2007

Spurs find form against Derby

LONDON (AP) Tottenham lifted the pressure on manager Martin Jol by scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes on Saturday on the way to a 4-0 Premier League victory over Derby.
Reader Mail
Aug 19, 2007

Sumo wrestlers deserve rest, too

The punishment meted out to Asashoryu was neither lenient nor strict, but the accusation of "mental instability" was off the wall and totally inappropriate. Asashoryu's unrefined behavior in the past was tolerated because he was the only yokozuna, his sumo was exciting, and spectators and TV audiences...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 19, 2007

Why not let doping close the gene gap?

PRINCETON, New Jersey — There is now a regular season for discussing drugs in sports, one that arrives every year with the Tour de France. This year, the overall leader, two other riders and two teams were expelled or withdrew from the race as a result of failing, or missing, drug tests. The eventual...
COMMENTARY
Aug 18, 2007

China's tough leap forward

BRUSSELS — Ever since Deng Xiaoping's aphorism "Black cat, white cat, who cares as long as it can catch mice" was burned into Chinese souls by the successive horrors of the Great Leap Forward, its resulting famine and the Cultural Revolution's shambolic savagery, China has seen 10 percent-plus growth...

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo