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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2012

Wi-Fi, Facebook and all that jazz

Fumito Fukuchi, owner and proprietor of Kissa Sakaiki jazz cafe in Tokyo's central Yotsuya neighborhood, grins as he puts the finishing touches to an online schedule.
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2012

The Facebook fizzle

The initial public offering (IPO) for Facebook, the social networking website, generated a media frenzy rarely seen since the dot.com bubble over a decade ago. Those who missed out on Friday's IPO could still buy shares through Tuesday, although the offering produced more press than profit — at least...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 22, 2012

Foreigners disqualified as blood donors for wide range of reasons

From the many responses to our April 3 column, "Less-than-fluent foreigners may have trouble giving blood," it seems that Japanese language ability is an issue at some centers, but not all. Other factors sometimes took precedence, such as medical conditions and other rules.
Reader Mail
May 20, 2012

Promote respect, not sympathy

Regarding the May 16 Kyodo article "Ministry to urge employers to hire more women": I feel the motive here is incorrect. Instead of taking up this initiative to "improve [women's] employment conditions", the labor ministry should make efforts to acknowledge the value that women can add to the nation's...
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2012

Few strong performers in 2011

Listed major companies are announcing their business performance for fiscal 2011. As a whole, they are expected to show the first decrease in recurring profits in three years, mainly due to the effects of the 3/11 disasters, floods in Thailand, the strong yen and rises in the prices of imported raw materials,...
EDITORIALS
May 19, 2012

A rare annular eclipse

The morning of May 21 will give many people a opportunity to start becoming interested in the universe and science. An annular eclipse of the sun can be observed in large areas of Japan along the Pacific around 7:30 a.m. that day.
JAPAN / 40 YEARS AFTER REVERSION
May 18, 2012

Jurisdiction over remote Senkakus comes with hot-button dangers

Fourth in a series In January, Hitoshi Nakama, a member of the municipal assembly of Ishigaki, Okinawa, and three others landed on Uotsuri Island, one of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 18, 2012

Owner OK with metro bid to buy disputed Senkaku Islands

Ever since Hiroyuki Kurihara and his family took title to the Senkaku Islands in the 1970s, they have firmly kept to the will of the previous owner: The islets are not to be sold to anyone but the Japanese government or a public organization.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 18, 2012

'The Muppets'

The Muppets franchise gets a thorough dusting off and a major makeover in "The Muppets," but it's probably the parents, and not the kids, who will most appreciate the effort. This is the first Muppets movie to come out since "Muppets From Space" in 1999, and such a lot of water has gone under the bridge...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
May 18, 2012

Kyoto's Allred has unique perspective on game, life

The Japan Times periodically features interviews with players in the bj-league. Lance Allred of the Kyoto Hannaryz is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2012

Economic reliance on bases won't last, trends suggest

Koza Gate Dori is conveniently situated near one of the entrances to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, but a visit to the shopping street, where "for rent" signs are common and numerous stores are shuttered, makes it clear that residents aren't profiting much from the presence of the United States Air Force....
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
May 16, 2012

Japan's social-gaming industry hindered by government's anti-gambling move

When it comes to mobile social-gaming, nowhere is it as popular or as profitable as it is in Japan. The nation's two industry giants, Gree and its rival DeNA's Mobage, have been increasing their sales every quarter for years. Gree's TV-commercial campaigns are second only to cosmetics company Shiseido...
JAPAN
May 15, 2012

Cesium spikes in Tokyo Bay samples

Sludge samples taken at the mouths of two major rivers emptying into Tokyo Bay showed radioactive cesium contamination linked to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis grew by 1.5 to 13 times since August, a researcher at Kinki University said Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 15, 2012

The women who get go

On a chilly Sunday afternoon in January in downtown Osaka, a group of young Japanese women in kimono were drinking green tea and eating chocolate cake while excitedly chattering away. The topic was their respective rankings in the ancient Asian mind sport of go. Later, when the talk died down, six of...
EDITORIALS
May 15, 2012

Okinawans deserve better

Forty years have passed since Okinawa reverted to Japanese rule on May 15, 1972, after 27 years' of occupation by the United States following the end of World War II. Polls show that about 80 percent of Okinawans regard the restoration of Japanese rule as a positive development. The central government...
Reader Mail
May 13, 2012

People aren't compelled to love

In his May 3 letter, "Religious debate is not personal," Scott Mintz describes the overall Christian narrative as one in which people "are commanded by God to accept Jesus as their savior." He also queries Jennifer Kim ("Why are nonbelievers distressed?," April 26 letter) about what she means by the...
Reader Mail
May 13, 2012

Improve conditions at Sendai zoo

I recently learned that a charitable group established by a talent agency plans to import two giant pandas from China. I strongly oppose this importation. I understand that the group decided to contribute in the hopes of boosting the Tohoku region's economy and lifting children's spirits after it learned...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 13, 2012

Niigata prevails over defending champs in series opener

The Niigata Albirex BB had six players reach double figures in scoring in Saturday's 89-80 victory over the two-time reigning champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix in Game 1 of their bj-league Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 11, 2012

Clooney comes of age as land and loves collide

Of all the descriptors actor George Clooney gets pegged with, "father" is not usually among them. Academy Award-winner? Sure. Activist? Yes. Sexiest Man Alive? You bet. It was his turn as a dad in "The Descendants" last year, however, that earned him a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 11, 2012

Upstart B-Corsairs open playoff series with victory

The Yokohama B-Corsairs burst onto the scene as a brand new franchise with an unusual — but hip — name and no identity when the 2011-12 bj-league season tipped off in October.
Reader Mail
May 10, 2012

Politically correct 'straw men'

I was delighted to read Nick Wood's May 3 criticism, "Poor joke about liberators," of my April 29 letter ("Dogma gets in the way of joke") because he proved something about so much of modern political discourse. I never wrote that Western males were perfect with regard to their treatment of women. Wood's...
BASKETBALL
May 7, 2012

Akita, Kyoto pull off tiebreaker wins; Niigata, Shiga earn sweeps

The Kyoto Hannaryz, Shiga Lakestars, Akita Northern Happinets and Niigata Albirex BB have all advanced to the bj-league's conference semifinal round, and now shift their attention to their next opponents.
EDITORIALS
May 6, 2012

Danger in the bath

An investigation into one of Japan's favorite pastimes — bathing — has found a startling statistic: 14,000 people a year die during bath time. That's nearly three times more deaths than from car accidents, 4,612 people.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 6, 2012

Singleton's dunk at buzzer gives Sendai dramatic victory

Playoff basketball is supposed to be exciting. And with a festive atmosphere on Golden Week, the bj-league's first scheduled postseason contest of the 2011-12 season lived up to the hype on Saturday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 6, 2012

New push should be for renewables

With the nation's last operating commercial reactor ceasing operations Saturday, The Japan Times interviewed two energy experts to explore the future of nuclear power in Japan.
Reader Mail
May 3, 2012

Feeling deregulation's effects

Let me make a brief comment about the Bloomberg article by Jared Diamond, titled "Three reasons why Japan's economic pain is worsening," which ran in The Japan Times on April 28.
Reader Mail
May 3, 2012

Poor joke about 'liberators'

Having watched "The Whistleblower" (starring Rachel Weisz) on the same day as reading Donald Feeney's April 29 letter, "Dogma gets in the way of joke," I found his use of a black woman's words in evincing the view that white men are "liberators" as bordering on the contemptible.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 1, 2012

Constitution again faces calls for revision to meet reality

Thursday marks the 65th year since the Constitution took effect in 1947.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / THE ZEIT GIST
May 1, 2012

Blood, beatings and the cage: the bouncer

Before The Japan Times was invited inside Nagoya's iD Cafe to speak to Thomas, the nightclub's security manager, we stopped to chat to a uniformed policeman near the club. He told us there were as many as 50 fights in a nearby park on Friday and Saturday nights. This busy area of the city, Sakae, known...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat