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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 23, 2008

Dining by firefly light at Chinzan-so

Dining by firefly light at Chinzan-so From late May to late July as night falls, fireflies light up the historical Japanese garden of the Chinzan-so restaurant complex in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo. To coincide with their appearance, from May 24 through July 18, the annual firefly-viewing fair, featuring...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 23, 2008

Classical connections to the soul

Although Italian composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi was classically trained at Milan's Conservatorio, the 52-year-old Turin native has ventured far from his classical roots to create works that draw on an eclectic blend of influences.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
May 23, 2008

Bottled water: It's naughty, but nice

I know, I know, bottled water is terribly unethical these days. Pinching a natural, life-sustaining resource and flying it to rich people in faraway lands is a bit naughty, all that packaging is trashing our planet, and our taps dispense safe water for less than ¥1 per liter — or a little more than...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
May 23, 2008

Japanese malt scotches rivals

If you know Nikka Whisky only as the producer of the extraordinarily cheap peatless Black that fills the nether regions of Japan's whisky market, you might be surprised to learn that the company makes around 40 other styles — and one of them has just been voted the best single malt in the world....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 23, 2008

'Rambo'

At the time, it seemed like the "Rambo" series epitomized everything that was wrong about the '80s. Star Sylvester Stallone, with his oiled-up, inhumanly pumped-up physique, was the poster-boy for the first generation to embrace steroid abuse. The revenge fantasies he was peddling — re-fighting the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 23, 2008

'After School'

In 2005, Kenji Uchida, then an unknown young director, won four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival for his second feature, "Unmei Ja Nai Hito (A Stranger of Mine)."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 23, 2008

Is this America's most dangerous band?

Nashville punk four-piece Be Your Own Pet are dangerous. That's the official line of their own label in the United States, Universal, where faceless suits chopped three songs from the band's new album, "Get Awkward," for being "too violent." Yes, the same label that releases albums by chain saw-wielding...
Reader Mail
May 22, 2008

The right thing for public health

Tom Plate's May 4 article, "A chance for Beijing to take a stand on health," is insightful in that it points out that health, press freedom and, most of all, human consciousness are our most precious assets. There are no national boundaries for epidemics such as SARS and bird flu. They could occur in...
Reader Mail
May 22, 2008

Struggling with a dying art

In his May 18 letter, Grant Piper makes some very good remarks on letter writing in Japan. Letter writing is a dying art. I think quantity and varying quality is a good thing and allows for more varied opinions. It also does not exclude anyone based on someone else's prejudices. The problem with The...
Reader Mail
May 22, 2008

The bond that all humans share

In response to the article "If there is a god, then why is there suffering?," I would say not only does God exist but also that he is all-good, all-powerful and all-knowing.
Reader Mail
May 22, 2008

Encourage clear, critical thought

Grant Piper's May 18 letter, "A little slack for letter-writers," starts off with the inaccurate claim that my May 8 letter ("Use fewer letters when quality lags") specifically cited him by name for poor writing. He then proceeds to make the argument that letters to the editor constitute a genre of...
Reader Mail
May 22, 2008

Release imported-rice stockpile

Regarding the May 19 article "Fukuda sets $10 billion climate aid to Africa": Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's investment, coupled with sound oversight and accountability, should indeed provide a model for other Group of Eight nations to consider.
EDITORIALS
May 22, 2008

A dispiriting Middle East tour

I t is often said that U.S. presidents go overseas when their domestic standing goes down. With U.S. President George W. Bush's approval ratings hitting record lows, it should come then as no surprise that he seems to be racking up the miles as his term in office winds down.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2008

Honda eyes '09 launch of new five-seat hybrid

Honda Motor Co. said it will launch a new gasoline-electric hybrid car early next year in Japan, North America and Europe, underlining its emphasis on hybrids as the core of its eco-friendly vehicle business.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2008

Weak dollar affecting oil prices

PRAGUE — Around the world, there is anguished hand-wringing about the high price of oil. But if political leaders want lower oil prices, they should be promoting policies that strengthen the dollar.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
May 21, 2008

Frame your memories in slideshow fashion

Kodak moments: One key advantage of digital photography over the traditional film and chemical approach is how you display your results. While you can print out your digital photos and then stick them up on your fridge or up on your mantle, just like in the old days of film, you can also do something...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
May 21, 2008

Field wide open in race to be GM of Knicks

NEW YORK — Billy King, Billy Knight, Bernie Bickerstaff and a mystery man are the exclusive competition for the Knicks' GM job, it says here.
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2008

If there is a god, then why is there suffering?

Do we live in a world that was created by a god who is all-powerful, all-knowing and all good?
JAPAN
May 19, 2008

Japan team finds bodies at school

BEICHUAN, China — The search by a Japanese relief team for signs of life turned into a grim recovery of bodies Sunday at a school in one of the hardest-hit areas of last week's earthquake in western China.
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2008

Rising costs of living

Price rises are hitting both consumers and enterprises. Among consumer goods, rises in the prices of food and energy, closely tied to people's daily lives, are conspicuous, and companies hit by higher raw materials costs hesitate to raise wages. These factors tend to depress consumer demand, thus damping...

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.