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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 12, 2011

Tomioka Silk Mill ranks as Meiji Era industrial gem

In his youth, Shinji Takahashi was a featherweight boxer. Today, working with his two younger brothers in a family legal practice based in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, he is a heavyweight lawyer and committed activist.
COMMENTARY
Mar 11, 2011

Cry against gender violence in Afghanistan

NEW YORK — Self-immolation committed by a large number of Afghan women is one of the most tragic responses to gender violence in that country.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2011

'The Fighter'

"The Fighter" doesn't bring anything new to the boxing picture genre — but it's packed to the gills with all that reminds us why such movies enthrall.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 11, 2011

A puppeteer of traditional Japanese arts

As a photographer, Hiroshi Sugimoto creates artworks that start off as visions from his imagination. His celebrated "Seascapes" series, for example, which features oceans and skies devoid of all traces of human activity, began with the notion of a vista that could be viewed today in the same way that...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 11, 2011

Mount Aso to be set ablaze as part of old farming ritual

Each spring, residents of the towns surrounding Kumamoto Prefecture's Mount Aso gather to hold the Aso Fire Festival. Several events will be held as part of these festivities during March.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2011

Toyota gives big voice to Canadian exec

The executive who wrote Toyota Motor Corp.'s "global vision" announced by the president said Thursday that the changes at the automaker can't fix all crises but will speed up response to recalls.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 11, 2011

New dance-music label Diskotopia aims to bring Tokyo in step

Glance at the lineups of Tokyo's larger nightclubs on any given weekend and you'd be forgiven for feeling some deja vu. Mainstays such as Takkyu Ishino, Shinichi Osawa or Dexpistols are likely to be headlining, much as they have been doing for the past several years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 11, 2011

'Nobuyoshi Araki: Theater of Love'

Taka Ishii Gallery Photography/Film
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 11, 2011

Support pandas by staying in Tokyo

To help a project between China and Japan to breed the endangered giant panda, Mitsui Garden Hotels will offer an Ueno no Panda Oen Plan at its five Tokyo locations for guests to support the new pandas at the Ueno Zoological Gardens.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2011

'The Runaways'/'True Grit'

The Runaways were an all-girl band whose comet flared briefly in the late 1970s, living precariously on that fault line between party-hearty hard rock and attitude-laden punk. The fact that they were teenage girls who dared to play harder than the cock-rock boys made them notable at the time, when piggy...
Reader Mail
Mar 10, 2011

Trace betrayal of voters to the top

Simon Foston's Feb. 23 letter, "DPJ can do without some people," seems intent on spreading the image that some Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers support former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa just for money and that Ozawa is to blame for the DPJ's recent election losses.
COMMUNITY
Mar 10, 2011

Achieving happiness and well-being through positive psychology

Positive psychology is a hot topic these days. Books with "happiness" in the title are pouring out of publishers' lists, and studies on resilience, well-being and gratitude have made their way from academic journals to mainstream magazines. More than 200 colleges and universities in the United States,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2011

Briton excels at helping foreign women adjust

Japan got a little better last year in gender equality, according to the World Economic Forum: It moved up in the rankings to 94th place out of 134 countries, from 101st in 2009.
Reader Mail
Mar 10, 2011

Bad time to bypass New Zealand

Regarding the March 6 Kyodo article from Nagoya, "Travelers cancelling New Zealand tours": Christchurch is the gateway to the north island of New Zealand, and there are many wonderful alternative tourist attractions near Christchurch. Now, more than ever before, New Zealand needs those tourists to boost...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2011

The Gadhafis: like father, like son

LONDON — "The enemy of yesterday is the friend of today . . . . [I]t was a real war, but those brothers are free men now." Thus spoke Seif al-Islam Gadhafi in March 2010, referring to the leaders of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), an armed organization that had attempted to assassinate his...
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Mar 8, 2011

You want that green tea to go?

Green tea is traditionally a drink to be savored slowly, but new innovations are targeting people on the go.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 8, 2011

DPJ loses potential successor to Kan

Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara's abrupt resignation Sunday may have averted even more turmoil in the Diet, but his loss bodes ill for the Democratic Party of Japan because he was a leading candidate to succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 8, 2011

Tokyo: Who would you like to see succeed Shintaro Ishihara as Tokyo governor?

Ben Austin
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 8, 2011

Domestic child abuse in spotlight

The Fukuoka District Court in January sentenced a 34-year-old mother to six years in prison for causing bodily injury resulting in her daughter's death, casting the spotlight anew on child abuse.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 8, 2011

Byzantine temp rules need permanent fix

Back in the days when I was a corporate drone in Tokyo, I had a wonderful secretary who had the good fortune to get pregnant. Bad news for me, though, since I had to endure a series of temps, some good, some bad, and one who marinated herself in enough perfume to make everyone ill. But what I found most...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2011

Spurred by Beijing, New Delhi moves to raise its profile in Iraq

LONDON — After seven long years, the Indian government has decided that the time has come to make its presence felt in Iraq by naming an envoy to the country. The previous ambassador to Iraq was withdrawn in 2004 when the security situation in the country was spiraling out of control.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Mar 7, 2011

Germany's economic miracle: New lessons await for old Japan

The economies of Japan and Germany, similar in many respects, are often compared. Not only did both rise from the ashes of World War II to become the leading economies in their regions, but they also formed strong manufacturing bases, large numbers of successful midsize companies and enjoyed extreme...
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2011

Good outlook for English classes

Takahiro Fukada's Feb. 26 article, "Are schools ready for English?," accentuates elementary school teachers' concerns about teaching English as a compulsory subject to fifth- and sixth-grade students from the beginning of the new academic year. University professors express anxiety about the number of...
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2011

Lives of innocents are on the line

Regarding the March 1 article "Top prosecutor opposes fully taped interrogations": Even if a criminal suspect's statement is not recorded in its entirety, the timing of any confession will be documented. And if this evidence is used in a public trial, then all parties will be aware of who confessed....

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’