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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 30, 2010

Only got 4Minutes to take the world

T he five young members of 4Minute sit dressed in tight, black leather outfits at a luxury hotel in Ebisu, Tokyo. It's one day before their Japanese debut, but they show no signs of nerves.
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Apr 28, 2010

Hikosaemon

New Zealand-born Hikosaemon (who prefers to go by his YouTube moniker) was raised an army brat. His father's overseas postings allowed him to see a bit of the world at an early age, and a two-year stay in Singapore when he was 7 years old helped spark his interest in Asian cultures. After returning to...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2010

Hatoyama's fate tied to Futenma

HONG KONG — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama chose to use his 10 minutes with President Obama at a working dinner during the recent nuclear summit trying in vain to bend the president's ear on the increasingly vexing question of the relocation of U.S. military base facilities in Japan. He did this rather...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2010

Japan needs green tech investment

The government should focus more on promoting innovations and utilizing energy-efficient technologies of Japanese companies in the nation's efforts to combat global warming, officials of industry groups said at a recent symposium in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Apr 27, 2010

More than a popularity contest

Former health, welfare and labor minister Yoichi Masuzoe on Friday launched a new party, Shinto Kaikaku (literally "new party for reform"). In opinions polls, the former Liberal Democratic Party member was most preferred option for prime minister from among a list of politicians. The six-member party...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 27, 2010

Battered Briton survives aikido ordeal

At the end of February, a group of international students graduated from the Tokyo-based Yoshinkan Honbu Dojo, one of the most intensive martial arts training centers in the world.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 25, 2010

Book makes real those whose lives led them to become homeless

When I was living in Kyoto in the late 1960s, I would often see homeless people along the banks of the Kamo River. They generally lived under the bridges in structures made of cardboard and blue sheeting. Having seen many homeless people in my native Los Angeles, I was particularly struck by the neatness...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Apr 25, 2010

Horsing around in Shinjuku

At the tail end of this year's cherry-blossom season I set off for one of Tokyo's prime viewing spots, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. My idea is to walk the quiet backstreets circling the garden, then canter through the park itself, which features several late-blooming varieties of sakura cherry trees....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 24, 2010

Commuting by bicycle benefits more than just your health

In an attempt to reduce Japan's carbon footprint, more government and corporate initiatives are encouraging commuters to cycle to work.
JAPAN
Apr 22, 2010

Geos school chain files for bankruptcy

Geos Corp., a major operator of foreign-language schools, has filed for bankruptcy with the Tokyo District Court with debts of ¥7.5 billion, and rival G.communication Co. will take over some of the defunct company's schools, the two companies announced Wednesday.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2010

Are thicker textbooks the answer?

Faced with a drastic deterioration in academic performance, the education ministry is set to abandon a decade-old policy of relaxed programs and dramatically increase page counts of elementary school textbooks starting next year.
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2010

Terrorists gain from inequality, recruiting those without options

CHANNAI, India — The recent massacre of 80-odd para-military soldiers by the Indian rebel group the Maoists was terrorism in its bloodiest form.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 18, 2010

Troubled times call for such a hero

Japanese history is replete with heroes admired for successfully challenging the status quo. Nostalgia for such figures increases during tough times, as seen in the "Ryoma boom" borne from the TV series on Sakamoto Ryoma, the Meiji Restoration hero. However, the nation might benefit more from studying...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 17, 2010

Fuji veteran brings kids English Adventure

If you hike in the Chichibu mountains this summer in Saitama Prefecture, you may stumble across an American-style summer camp with huge tents and 50 to 60 school kids exploring nature with walks and tree-climbing adventures and enjoying campfires and roasting marshmallows.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 16, 2010

Finding beauty in the simplest of things

The Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo's Komaba area was founded by Muneyoshi Yanagi (1889-1961) in 1936 and built in the style of a traditional Japanese house. With natural light filtering through shoji screens, its unusual setting enhances the wonderful displays from its collection of folk-craft items...
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2010

Education with less latitude

The education ministry has screened and approved 148 new textbooks for use in primary schools, most of which will be introduced to classrooms in fiscal 2011.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Apr 9, 2010

Office ladies shedding the uniform look

Fashion for office ladies used to be limited to monotonous uniforms as more companies lighten up, new ensembles are coming out of the closet.
JAPAN
Apr 9, 2010

Importance of diversity explored at trans-Pacific forum

LOS ANGELES — About 200 people representing a wide range of fields in the United States and Japan got together recently in Los Angeles to discuss the importance of diversity and inclusion programs in today's difficult economic times.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2010

Why do Jews succeed?

WASHINGTON — In recent decades, economists have been struggling to make use of the concept of human capital, often defined as the abilities, skills, knowledge and dispositions that make for economic success. Yet those who use the term often assume that to conceptualize a phenomenon is a first step...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 9, 2010

'Roppongi Crossing' may be better when crowded

At the opening press conference for "Roppongi Crossing 2010," the U.S-based French artist Jules de Balincourt said that he was impressed how the exhibition revealed to him that the contemporary art being produced in Japan could just as easily have been created anywhere in the world — that trends in...
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Apr 6, 2010

Japan, U.N. share blind spot on 'migrants'

On March 23, I gave a speech to Jorge Bustamante, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, for NGO FRANCA regarding racial discrimination in Japan. Text follows:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 4, 2010

Mika Tsutsumi: Spotlight on the States

Mika Tsutsumi is a spirited journalist and writer whose work turns a spotlight on the widespread hardships and poverty caused by official policies and the behavior of businesses in the United States.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2010

Okada hints 'feasible' Futenma option in works

NEW YORK (Kyodo) Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada says he has told the United States that an undisclosed Japanese proposal for the relocation of the Futenma military base is more feasible than the current plan hammered out in 2006.

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