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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 22, 2009

Raising bilingual children takes time, huge effort — and lotsa money

An American friend recently asked me a difficult question: How do you bring up a bilingual child?
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 22, 2009

Oceans awash in toxic seas of plastic

Umbrella handles. Pens. Popsicle sticks. Lots and lots of toothbrushes. These are just a few of the items that make up the approximately 13 million sq. km Eastern Garbage Patch, an immense plastic soup in the Pacific Ocean that starts about 800 km off the coast of California and extends westward. Sucked...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2009

China, tourism feature in huge 'anime' convention

The Tokyo International Anime Fair 2009 kicked off Wednesday to a cheerful start, featuring a mix of both domestic and overseas companies presenting their newest products and exploring new marketing methods ranging from "anime" tourism to online broadcasting.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Mar 18, 2009

Japan counting on Darvish against South Korea

SAN DIEGO — Japan and South Korea have seen a lot of each other in the World Baseball Classic. Enough that Ichiro Suzuki thinks it might be their fate to play each other over and over again.
Reader Mail
Mar 15, 2009

South Africa ready for World Cup

I was disappointed to read The Observer article "Little feel-good for Africa's World Cup," published Feb. 12 on The Japan Times' Focus page. The writer's pessimistic and nit-picking assessment of the preparations for, and expectations of, the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in my country, South Africa,...
COMMENTARY
Mar 15, 2009

Planets like Earth appear to be out there

LONDON — The real wonder of our age is this. You can go on the Web, type in PlanetQuest New Worlds Atlas, or Extrasolar Planets Encyclopedia, or NASA Star and Exoplanet Database, and directly access the data on 340 new planets that have been discovered in the past five years.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Mar 15, 2009

Icy white 'blossoms' and a flourish of deep pink

Each day last week I strapped on cross-country skis to patrol some trails quartering the primeval, 2,050-hectare Nopporo Forest adjoining Sapporo.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2009

Climate change mitigation by low-income countries

MUMBAI, CITIZENS NEWS NETWORK — The economies and resultant emissions of low-income countries are growing at a rapid pace. China and India are already among the top five greenhouse-gas emitters. The rest of the world may strive to stabilize its emissions at 1990 levels, but if China and India continue...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 13, 2009

Fans of GEISAI enjoy the opportunities

Held on Sunday, March 8, at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center, GEISAI #12 marked the latest installment of the ongoing series of open-application, competitive one-day festivals organized since 2001 by pop artist and cultural promoter Takashi Murakami. Part exhibition, flea market and spectacle, punctuated...
MULTIMEDIA
Mar 13, 2009

Fans of GEISAI enjoy the opportunities

Held on Sunday, March 8, at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition center, GEISAI #12 marked the latest installment of the ongoing series of open-application, competitive one-day festivals organized since 2001 by pop artist and cultural promoter Takashi Murakami. Part exhibition, flea market and spectacle, punctuated...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 7, 2009

Tradition, family serve up a hearty fare

T he band members are dressed in traditional German costumes, and your smiling hostess leads you out in a traditional dance. A modest buffet serves up a bounty of simple, home-cooked German fare: cabbage and sauerkraut, potatoes and sausage. And don't forget the German beer. Just say "Mahlzeit," and...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Mar 6, 2009

Redefining defiance for a modern Japan

More than 3 million people are likely to tune into the second installment of NHK drama "Jiro Shirasu" on Saturday night — and chances are, most will be waiting expectantly for the re-enactment of one particularly famous episode from the subject's life.
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2009

Genteel pastime reaches end of innocence

WATERLOO, Ontario — In recent years, Australia, England and New Zealand have canceled cricketing tours of Pakistan because of concern for the physical safety of their teams. At best, Australia agreed to play Pakistan in the neutral venue of Abu Dhabi next month.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Mar 4, 2009

Nakagawa, Ashby cited for performance in Feb.

With the addition of point guard Kazuyuki Nakagawa, the Takamatsu Five Arrows became a more potent basketball team in January.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Mar 4, 2009

AltJapan

Author and translator Matt Alt runs AltJapan, an entertaining and informative blog launched in 2006. Calling it a "digital scratchpad," the Maryland native writes about a wide variety of Japan-related subjects, ranging from the role of Lolita girls in military simulations to the majesty of Japan's toy...
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Mar 3, 2009

Authors get up close and personal in monthly bookshop lectures

Stephen Kott describes himself as the "chief coffee maker" at Good Day Books in Tokyo's Ebisu district. He says it with self-deprecating humor, but it's not a bad metaphor for one of his real duties, which is to serve up an engaging brew of knowledge, opinions and humor in the store's monthly author...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 3, 2009

Newspapers here soldiering on

Japan's newspaper industry caters to a nation of avid readers and has thus enjoyed a healthy business environment when compared with other developed countries — but times are changing.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2009

Pope should reflect on his universal mission

HONG KONG — Is the pope Catholic! This, of course, is a fabled American rhetorical expression, usually used sarcastically and meaning, how could you be so stupid as to doubt something?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2009

No reprieve for expelled Filipino family

The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau told an undocumented Filipino couple in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday that they will be detained unless they decide by March 9 whether to leave Japan with or without their 13-year-old Japan-born daughter.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 27, 2009

FIBA promotes unity between Japan's leagues

Desperate times call for desperate measures, someone once said. And it's safe to say these are desperate times for the Japan Basketball Association.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 27, 2009

Five Arrows aiming to continue good run

The Rizing Fukuoka face the daunting task of playing host to the Takamatsu Five Arrows this weekend. It's a job nearly as challenging as, well, hosting the Oscars.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 27, 2009

One pricey bowl of soup noodles

A bowl of noodles at a typical Tokyo ramen joint is cheap — usually around ¥800 — and served in a convenient location. Fujimaki Gekijo, situated between Nakameguro and Yutenji in Meguro Ward, is neither. And the owner and chef, Shoichi Fujimaki, would have it no other way.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 27, 2009

One pricey bowl of soup noodles

A bowl of noodles at a typical Tokyo ramen joint is cheap — usually around ¥800 — and served in a convenient location. Fujimaki Gekijo, situated between Nakameguro and Yutenji in Meguro Ward, is neither. And the owner and chef, Shoichi Fujimaki, would have it no other way.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2009

Deadline nears for Filipino family

Opponents of the deportation order against an undocumented Filipino family in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, are mounting a last-ditch effort to win a reversal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Feb 26, 2009

Jazz Taxi driver Toshiyuki Anzai

Toshiyuki Anzai, 67, is a cabbie in central Tokyo whose love of jazz drove him to start a unique Jazz Taxi service. His 90-minute cruises pair cityscapes with the most fitting music. Anzai plays songs that match not only the view but his passengers' moods — though he is partial to jazz, he sometimes...
EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2009

State of the world's children

With the media paying so much attention to the casualties of the economic slowdown, it would be easy to overlook a vital report on the grave situation faced by the world's two most vulnerable classes of citizens — women and children in impoverished countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 2009

Living life like a fairy tale

It's 5:40 a.m. Dawn has yet to peek over the mountains, and the forest surrounding Shonenji temple in Takachiho-cho still waits for morning.
JAPAN
Feb 21, 2009

Envoy lauds role of ODA in Azerbaijan's development

Official development assistance may be on a long-term decline, but its effectiveness remains integral to Azerbaijan's development, the country's deputy foreign minister said Friday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2009

Funereal flick out to reap Japan an Oscar

The Japanese film industry now turns out about 400 titles annually, but in a given decade only a few Japanese filmmakers win major international awards — including the biggest of all: the Oscars.

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