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LIFE
Aug 12, 2007

Has another society of such superlatives ever existed at all?

The fascination of the Heian Period (794-1185) lies in the fact that in all world history there is nothing quite like it. It would be hard to imagine a culture more exclusive, more fastidiously refined, more smugly incurious about the unknown, more unwarlike, more tearfully melancholic, more sensitive...
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 11, 2007

Dice-K fever triggers tourist boom in Beantown

One spring evening at Fenway Park, Koji Sakae rose to his feet in a wave of Red Sox euphoria, joining a packed stadium in a standing ovation for his hero, Daisuke Matsuzaka.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2007

Builder in Aneha scam can walk free

The Tokyo District Court handed former Kimura Construction Co. President Moriyoshi Kimura a suspended three-year prison term Friday for window-dressing his company's accounts and knowingly selling inadequately earthquake-resistant condos designed by disgraced architect Hidetsugu Aneha.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2007

Experts doubt Abe can pull out of political spiral

Following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's staggering loss in the July 29 Upper House election, all eyes are focused on whether embattled Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can shore up his credibility with a new Cabinet.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2007

Nagasaki hopes new mayor can fill Ito's shoes

NAGASAKI — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may have been the most senior guest of honor at Thursday's atomic bomb memorial ceremony in Nagasaki, but Mayor Tomihisa Taue was the one many came to hear.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2007

Zooming in on public security

For some, the growing number of security cameras in public is a reassuring reminder that efforts are being made to make communities safer, but one expert claims Japan must still make better use of such surveillance technology to crack down on crime.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2007

'Ocean's 13'

Walk into a Starbucks or a McDonald's in Nagoya, New York or Nairobi, and the odds are your frothy latte or spongy burger will taste exactly the same. That's what franchise food delivers: a safe and comfortingly familiar, almost identical experience every time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2007

Wise-guy George woos Tokyo

It's not clear whether George Clooney was in character for his Tokyo press conference (along with "Ocean's Thirteen" producer Jerry Weintraub), or whether he'd just been knocking back the hooch with lunch, but either way, he rarely answered a question straight.
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2007

How to deal with disasters

LONDON — Britain is notorious for its weather. This year April was unusually fine and warm. May, June and July were unseasonably cool. To describe these months as "wet" would be an English understatement. There was record rainfall with some places being deluged by rains normally only seen in the tropics....
COMMENTARY
Aug 9, 2007

Product safety issue a blessing in disguise?

HONG KONG — China's preliminary agreement with the United States on measures to deal with food and drug safety worked out last week is an encouraging development that may well avert a confrontation that could poison the relationship, which is already beset by trade and other economic disputes.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2007

Merchant index hits 2 1/2-year low

Sentiment among barbers, shopkeepers and other merchants on the front lines of the economy fell to a 2 1/2-year low as falling wages and a stock-market plunge discouraged consumers from spending.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Aug 8, 2007

How is it our time seems to speed up?

"I never think of the future; I find it comes soon enough."
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Aug 8, 2007

Cell phones may turn into boomboxes

Batteries just don't generate the respect they deserve. Imagine how much poorer your lifestyle would be if all of the miniature power cells you use just up and disappeared. Panasonic, as one of the many companies whose profit margins very much rest on these humble gadgets, knows their value and often...
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2007

Spielberg as himself in China-lobby role

LOS ANGELES — Has the U.N. Security Council gone Hollywood? Suddenly it's all action on the Darfur, Sudan, nightmare. Maybe the United Nations got hit with a touch of " E.T."!

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?