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EDITORIALS
Dec 10, 2006

Our words of the year

Once again, it's the season when the dictionary and language people are hard at work winnowing words -- new ones, catchy ones, much-looked-up ones, over-used ones -- in preparation for crowning their latest Word of the Year (WOTY). This year, we thought we might do a bit of winnowing of our own.
Japan Times
LIFE
Dec 10, 2006

Politics at the grass roots

Judging by the society pages of certain publications in Japan, politicians at both the local and national levels seem to spend a lot of their time being photographed with ambassadors, captains of industry, assorted aristocrats, passing film stars and all manner of other folk.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 10, 2006

What remains 'Japanese' in such climates of change?

What is national character, and how does it differ from custom, manners and fashion? People talk about "the Japanese" as if referring to a nationality with an immutable quality that has existed and will continue to exist throughout the ages; and yet, Japan and the Japanese of the past are so different...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 10, 2006

SMAP's Kimutaku a different breed of idol

Six years ago this month, the public learned that Japan's most popular male showbiz personality, Takuya Kimura, was set to marry former singing idol Shizuka Kudo, already pregnant with his child at the time.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 9, 2006

Premier League benefiting from foreign ownership of teams

LONDON -- By early 2007 a third of the 20 Premiership clubs will come under foreign ownership.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 9, 2006

Unmasking life's many battles

I finally did it. I wore one of those masks because I caught a cold. Actually, not a cold, but a vicious stomach virus. But I couldn't help wondering: Who dunnit? Who didn't wear a surgical mask and passed their virus on to me?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Dec 9, 2006

Yoshiyuki Iwamoto

Yoshiyuki Iwamoto recently published in New York a book in English.
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2006

Ishihara tells Tokyo he wants third term

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara officially announced his decision Thursday to run for a third term in next April's gubernatorial election.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2006

Xiomara "Xiomara"

Nueva Trova ("new ballad") is Cuba's latest contribution to world music. One of the best of the new singers of these ballads is Havana-born Xiomara Laugart, whose debut presents the musical equivalent of slow food -- calm and seductive, the contrast with wilder dance music such as timba could not be...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Dec 8, 2006

Koshu: Japan's great white hope

Winemaking in Japan has a long but difficult history. At first glance, there's the auspicious fact that Japan lies at a similar latitude to sunny, dry California. But here, unlike California, the rainy season strikes during the early summer flowering, and recurrent typhoons batter vineyards just prior...
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2006

Tom Waits "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards"

Although his trademark raspy growl and love for schizophrenic concoctions of sound aren't for everyone, visitors to the whacked-out, downtrodden world of Tom Waits are rightfully mesmerized by its beauty and brilliance. With a persona that's equal parts grizzled farmhand, ringmaster and mad scientist,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Dec 8, 2006

Sitting on the dock of the bay

Occupying a space comparable to that of Tokyo Dome, the newly opened Urban Dock LaLaport Toyosu is officially Tokyo's largest shopping mall.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2006

Arab Strap celebrate '10 years of tears' with sayonara tour

Pop artists tend to be identified by their musical stylings. But some, like Scottish duo Arab Strap, are associated more with specific themes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 7, 2006

New forms of old traditions at the Japan Society

Over the past several years there have been quite a few exhibitions of Japanese ceramics overseas, but "Contemporary Clay/Japanese Ceramics for the New Century," which is now at the Japan Society Gallery in New York, is the most brilliant by far.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2006

Chaff that sticks to wheat

SYDNEY -- As scandals go in the annals of Australian business, the one over wheat sales to Iraq during the Saddam Hussein regime is huge. And the political fallout, both domestic and international, may prove to be even mightier. It leaves many people here and abroad scratching their heads in amazement....

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji