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CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 16, 2006

Ring trilogy spirals past science fiction

RING, SPIRAL, LOOP, by Koji Suzuki. Vertical Publishing, 2003-2005, each $24.95 (cloth). One cinematic treat that 1998 turned out was "Ringu," which was the rarity of a well-worked, intelligent horror flick that won broad appeal among movie fans who ordinarily look askance at efforts in the horror genre....
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 16, 2006

Ugly and macho or ultimate supercool on wheels?

The streets of central Tokyo are thronged with countless high-end automobiles, but one model above all others stands out from the crowd. Two meters high and 2.1 meters wide, with a mean, military-style mien, the Hummer H2 is hard to miss among the massed ranks of Toyotas, Nissans, Beemers and Mercs....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 16, 2006

Unlike with the French, a lack of fight spells future gloom for Japan's workers

While traveling through Europe recently I tried to get a handle on the controversy surrounding France's now abandoned First Job Contract (CPE) law, which was meant to make it easier for companies to hire young people. However, those same young people thought the law would make it easier for companies...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 15, 2006

Timing of Rooney-Owen row not a good omen for England

Hell hath no fury like a bookmaker scorned.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2006

Japan marks third-deadliest winter

The number of deaths caused by snow-related accidents recorded since December totaled 150, making it the third-worst winter in the postwar era in terms of people who died or disappeared because of heavy snowfall, the government said Friday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 15, 2006

Scouring the bush for flowers with power to heal

Upon mailing Australian Bush Flower Essences last year for help with a nauseous pregnant daughter, the speed of reply, kindness and concern was impressive. It was so impressive that it seemed a good idea to seek out the company's founder, Ian White, who said he would be coming to Japan in the spring,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Apr 15, 2006

Maureen Tan

When Mutsuko Miki, widow of former Prime Minister Takeo Miki, set up the Asian Ladies Friendship Society in 1968, she could not have projected how the society would rate in 2006. To her gratification, ALFS today, expanded to the Asia-Pacific Ladies Friendship Society, has 24 member countries and a general...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Apr 14, 2006

Knight expands fashion empire

Eccentric British fashion designer Paul Smith is currently presiding over a rollout of stores across the globe. Following on from the December 2005 opening of a bubblegum-pink store on Melrose Avenue, L.A., last week he was in Tokyo to unveil a four-story flagship in the Aoyama district. Later this year...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 14, 2006

The Rogers Sisters "The Invisible Deck" (Too Pure/Hostess)

Rock musicians manifest the confrontational mode in many different ways, and New York's The Rogers Sisters utilize most of them. A classic power trio that has absorbed every trick the configuration has yielded over the years, the group works up from the kind of precision noise that sisters Jennifer and...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 14, 2006

Workshops, screenings at music video festival

The music video showcase Mirrorball, screened annually at the Edinburgh Film Festival for the last 10 years, will be presented for the second time in Japan. The Mirrorball Music Video Showcase Festival arrives in Tokyo April 15-16 for a weekend of events arranged into four screening programs and workshop...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 14, 2006

Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys

Once upon a time, songs filled with earthy humor, sexual innuendo and a deep love of pretty melody were the norm. Singer and ukelele player Janet Klein collects such long-lost gems from the 1910s, '20s and '30s and revives them with a passion. Far from sounding like a musical antiquity, though, she sings...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 13, 2006

Taiwan's KMT sees stability in status quo

HONOLULU -- Chairman Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan's Nationalist Party, better known as the Kuomintang (KMT) did a marathon swing through the United States in March to deliver several pertinent messages:
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2006

NTT to bring aromas to the movies

NTT Communications Corp. said it will introduce a new service this month employing a computer system that allows people to experience aromas while watching a film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 13, 2006

Lennon's love and peace legacy on display

To commemorate the wedding of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and their peace activities during the late 1960s, the John Lennon Museum in Japan is hosting a special exhibition until July 31 titled "John and Yoko's Love & Peace Activities 1968-1970."
SPORTS / E-LIST
Apr 12, 2006

Checking out Seibu's early glory run

The E-List could fill a few thimbles with Japanese baseball knowledge, but not enough to be pompous. And now it is time to put the List's first serving of humble pie on the table.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 12, 2006

Japan plans to host int'l meet in summer 2007

Japan is planning to host a top-level international swimming meet in September 2007, the year prior to the Beijing Olympics, Japan Swimming Federation officials said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2006

Tokyo U. 13th in essay citations

The University of Tokyo was listed 13th in a world ranking of citations from research essays covering the 11 years to 2005, the Japan office of Thomson Corp. of the U.S. said Monday.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 12, 2006

Poor health may be no-laughing matter

Some people complain that Japanese people don't laugh enough, that Japanese society today is too strait-laced.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2006

Japan tells China to change 'unfair' trade practices

Japan urged China on Tuesday to alter trade practices that it considers unfair, such as imposing tariffs on auto parts that are as high as those on assembled cars, and expanding its list of hazardous chemicals on short notice to effectively block exports of items that contain them.
BUSINESS
Apr 12, 2006

BOJ maintains zero interest rate money stance

The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged after a two-day Policy Board meeting ended Tuesday, effectively leaving interest rates at zero.
SUMO
Apr 11, 2006

Taiwan training tour set for Aug.

The Japan Sumo Association finalized plans Monday for a five-day training tour of Taiwan in August.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2006

Over 4 million foreign tourists visited last year

The number of foreign tourists visiting Japan hit a record 4.37 million in 2005, up 13.8 percent from the previous year and surpassing 4 million for the first time, a government-affiliated organization said Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2006

Science crisis in the making

Last November I delivered a lecture on complex-system economics at a world-famous institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I also attended a conference on science education in the same city, along with a physicist from Turkey who was visiting there at the time.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 11, 2006

Linguistic art of cutting and running gets a tweak

Last week, a girlfriend of mine was at an over-30s-only go-kon (singles drinking party) and came back sorely disappointed. Her gripe was that all the men there -- handsome, well-off and working for high-profile companies -- were nigegoshi (noncommittal, making ready to cut and run) from start to finish....
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 11, 2006

Cheese, yoga and knitting

We're well aware that Tokyo is not the be all and end all of the country, but it's hard to get information useful to the foreign community when we are all so scattered. This is why the following two mails are so welcome. Thanks guys.

Longform

Wealthier women in the prewar era had been the targets of various media-related health campaigns that mistakenly encouraged them to avoid everything from riding bicycles to reading novels when their monthly cycles came around.
Menstruation in Japan: Breaking the silence, slowly