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COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2011

Take a new tack on Iran

WASHINGTON — Throughout 2010, the pattern for negotiations over Iran's nuclear program held to form. With just about every diplomatic effort failing to yield results, international efforts had increasingly given way to discussions about sanctions — and what mix of them would be needed to bring Iran...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Jan 11, 2011

Absence makes couple grow fonder

Long-distance relationships are no longer rare in today's global village. But how long can a couple last without actually seeing each other? Fukuoka residents Naoko Yufu, 28, and 26-year-old Xie Guosong from China have been apart for about four of the five years of their relationship.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2011

Ginza back in the vanguard

For decades Japan's prestigious department stores were not simply retailers but arbiters of culture, holding art exhibitions and setting the standards of worldly sophistication.
Reader Mail
Jan 9, 2011

Emotional toll of citizenship law

Recent letters regarding the need for dual citizenship in Japan seem to deal with the practical benefits, real and perceived, associated with nationality. I suspect that for most affected individuals, however, this is a much more emotional matter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2011

Haneda's nighttime services falling short with travelers

Opening up Tokyo's Haneda airport to more international flights was supposed to make a lot of sense for travelers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2011

Hurts

When Hurts took the stage at the Chiba leg of 2010's Summer Sonic for their first ever Japan show, they surely could not have predicted the reception that awaited them. With their debut album still under wraps and nary a note yet released in Japan, this fast-rising British duo somehow wrangled a large...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 7, 2011

Fill up on Morimura's unusual 'side dishes'

Some artists are accorded such historical importance that virtually everything they do or have done comes under close scrutiny. Other artists are effectively known for a single thing, such as the nominal Italian Surrealist, Giorgio de Chirico, who is primarily known for his so-called "metaphysical paintings,"...
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT JAPAN'S EXPENSE
Jan 1, 2011

Digital age leaves myopic Japan facing manufacturing crisis

First in a five-part series exploring how Japan and its East Asian neighbors are separately handling five common issues
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2010

Endgames in Iraq and Afghanistan

NEW YORK — For nearly a decade, American foreign policy has been dominated by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As 2011 begins, with 50,000 U.S. soldiers still in Iraq and another 100,000 in Afghanistan, it may not look like that era is coming to an end. But it is.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 28, 2010

Kabuki going strong, 400 years on

The media frenzy over kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo's drunken midnight brawl in Tokyo last month may be a testament to how, 400 years after its birth, the genre remains a highly popular form of entertainment integral to Japanese culture.
COMMUNITY
Dec 28, 2010

Teens give boost to volunteerism

American School in Japan alumnus Jonathan Higa and student Alex Heideman are setting an example for others interested in volunteerism by boosting the youth activities of Hands On Tokyo, a nonprofit organization offering community services.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Dec 26, 2010

Your money or your life: Where happiness lies

Year-end holidays always elevate hopes for happiness, but with expectations set high it is not surprising that they often seem to bring depression and loneliness instead.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 24, 2010

Fukuoka group offers traditional holiday

Flights overseas can get expensive around the New Year's holidays, so Fukuoka-based tourist organization Wahaha Studio Japan are hoping to make the holidays here a memorable experience.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2010

Japan makes Beethoven's Ninth No. 1 for the holidays

It's Sunday afternoon at Tokyo Geijutsu Gekijo, where the Japan Philharmonic is performing Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, one of dozens of performances of the piece that take place throughout Japan during the month of December. The house is virtually sold out, and the audience appears to be mostly...
CULTURE / Film
Dec 24, 2010

'Tron: Legacy'/'Mikokai Eigasai'

"Tron: Legacy" is one of those movies that makes you stop and seriously wonder whether there isn't some kind of Stupid Test you have to pass in order to be allowed to work at a studio these days.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 24, 2010

Meet some famous Japanese ghosts of publishing

We live in interesting times. Because of the Internet, old familiar media formats are breaking down or going through changes. More and more printed word publications are going out of business or finding new life online. The old LP/album format is essentially an anachronism in an iPod-centered universe....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 21, 2010

Javan culture brings couple together

Sumiyanto, 31, born and raised in the Klaten regency of central Java, and Ayako Nezu, 39, from Kawasaki, met in 2002 in the central part of the Indonesian island while they were studying at a national traditional arts college in Solo.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 19, 2010

To students of English, the Spanish Armada has a lot to answer for

Second of two parts
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2010

'Burlesque'/'Desert Flower'

Who knew that the movie-going public was simply dying for a remake of "Showgirls," the 1995 disaster that nearly sank Paul Verhoeven's career? Well, canny souls obviously studied that much- ridiculed film's long-term success in the rental market, where it grossed over $100 million, and along comes "Burlesque,"...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 17, 2010

Zoo holds yearend events for the family

The story goes that a long time ago, Buddha ordered some animals to come see him on New Year's Day. It was at that point he told the group that he would nominate 12 animals to be the leaders of all the animals, and that they would take turns each year. This is how the Chinese zodiac came to be.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2010

'Saigo no Chushingura (The Last Ronin)'

It's long been a rather cynical maxim of the Japanese movie business that, when all else fails, you can always put butts on seats with a revival of "Chushingura."

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