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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 2, 2010

'Harold & Maude'/'Brewster Mccloud'

Does anyone remember Bud Cort? My guess is that Johnny Depp does; more than a few of his early, quirkier performances — like the wide-eyed naifs of "Arizona Dream" or "Benny & Joon" — owe a great debt to Cort's work in the 1970s. Wes Anderson does: he cast him in "The Life Aquatic" as a nod to Cort's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 2, 2010

Cluster

On July 3, Daikanyama Unit celebrates its sixth anniversary with German electronic music patriarchs Cluster, internationally known space-rockers Boris and minimal techno mainstay Fumiya Tanaka.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2010

Why is it OK to cheat in professional soccer?

MELBOURNE — Shortly before half-time in the World Cup elimination match between England and Germany on Sunday, English midfielder Frank Lampard had a shot at goal that struck the crossbar and bounced down onto the ground, clearly over the goal line. German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer grabbed the ball and...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2010

World's tweet is Japan's 'mumble' on hit Twitter

Twitter is a hit in Japan, succeeding where other social networking imports like Facebook have foundered as millions "mumble" — the translation of tweet — and give miniblogging a distinctly Japanese flavor.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 27, 2010

Exploring man's 'role' in nature; idol Koike Teppei's big acting break; CM of the week: Nissin Cup Noodle

Popular culture, movies in particular, has given us so many glimpses of the apocalypse that we may think we know exactly what it will look like. The special two-hour program "Jinrui Zero no Mirai" ("A Future of Zero Humanity"; Nihon TV, Mon., 7:56 p.m.) gives us several more, only this time without any...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jun 26, 2010

Baseball should follow sumo's example, at least in language

Sumo is a sport of big men . . . and big problems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 26, 2010

Global multitasking: it's in her DNA

Miho Natori can recite nursery rhymes in Thai, speak German fluently, converse over coffee in English and is native in Japanese. For this 40-year-old graphic designer, life kaleidoscopes world to world, from Japan, to the orphanage she helped start with her mother in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and to Germany,...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 25, 2010

The BeSeTo of three worlds

The roots of Japanese folk music are being brought back to life with a modern twist at the BeSeTo Theatre Festival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jun 25, 2010

A night with geisha and fine dining

The Royal Park Hotel in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, has prepared a special plan that offers guests the opportunity to experience traditional Japanese culture, combining a one-night stay at the hotel and a geisha entertainment and dinner event at a top Japanese restaurant on July 24.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Jun 25, 2010

Drink infusions: from fungi to bile

Fourteen years ago in a parking lot in the aptly named city of Lebanon, Tennessee, a gentleman who called himself Jellybean and claimed to have killed 26 people allowed me a swig of his homemade whiskey. His drink had a nose, palate and finish of ethanol. He may have forgotten to malt his grains, he...
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jun 22, 2010

'Hafu' draws viewers into world of Japanese identity

"Hafu," the Japanese term for people who are half-Japanese, takes on a more intricate meaning through the unfolding of mixed-race Japanese lives in the documentary "Hafu." Those starring in the film and those behind the project identify themselves as a newly emerging community.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 22, 2010

Can't vote? No problem, you're empowered!

What are you planning to do with yourself this summer? If you're Japanese, have you given any thought to the country's upcoming Upper House elections?
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jun 20, 2010

Homey husky learns to live a dog's life

Chaine, a friendly husky living in Tokyo, was 5 years old when her owners, Motoko Shiraishi and Yasushi Ishikawa, took her to see a sled-dog race in Gunma Prefecture in the winter of 2003.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 20, 2010

Resort to sheer pleasure on Ishigaki Island

Want to get away from it all? Then why not fly 2,000 km toward the Equator from Tokyo to Ishigaki, the main island of the southerly Yaeyama group in Okinawa Prefecture. And once there, then treat yourself to a stay at Club Med Kabira Beach, where you can do almost anything you want — or nothing at...
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2010

Nico Nico Doga plans to stream 'Cove' for free

An Internet service company will show "The Cove" online free of charge Friday and invite public comment, after theaters canceled screenings due to rightist opposition to the film's depiction of a dolphin hunt.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 18, 2010

Whatever you do, don't call it 'chillwave'

An online buzz began circulating last summer about a new style of music being created by underground acts in the United States. Labels used to describe the hazy tunes included "hypnagogic pop," "glo-fi" and "chillwave."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 18, 2010

Tokyo ballet is blooming

In its short history, the New National Theatre Ballet (NNT Ballet) has performed a total of 42 productions under the auspices of eight choreographers. It's a prolific output for a relatively young company and the company is understandably proud of this achievement.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 18, 2010

Back in Japan, Hotel Mexico rides the wave

Much is often made of the differences between popular music in the East and in the West, either praising the former for its inventive takes on Western styles, or deriding it for making cheap imitations. The truth, however, is that music travels so easily between nations and continents these days, and...
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2010

Vision for competing

As the Japanese economy suffers from sluggish domestic demand amid stubborn deflation and the graying of the population, and as Japanese companies are challenged by Chinese and South Korean firms in overseas markets, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Industrial Structure Council has unveiled...
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 12, 2010

Tour execs woo Ieyasu's China fans

The cities of Okazaki, Toyota and Anjo, in the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, are known as the hometown of the Tokugawa clan, which ruled the country for nearly 300 years from 1603 and laid the foundations of modern Japan.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 12, 2010

Sikorski says flexibility key to his success in Japan

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — It's a wonder Brian Sikorski's arm hasn't fallen off by now.
COMMENTARY
Jun 11, 2010

Who to credit for Asia's extraordinary rise?

LOS ANGELES — The extraordinary rise of Asia in recent decades cannot be understood or appreciated without some reference to outstanding leadership. Consider the experience of other regions of the world.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 6, 2010

Dancing for joy in Japan

As I sipped my vin rouge last week during an interval in "The Sleeping Beauty," K-Ballet's latest Tokyo production, a woman at the next table said to her companion: "I can't believe that evil fairy was a man! I just naturally thought it was a woman dancing that role."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 6, 2010

A guided tour to Akihabara

Maid cafes, cosplay (costume play), gachapon vending machines, canned oden noodles and otaku (geeks) — lots of otaku: I thought I knew Akihabara, or "Akiba" as its fans affectionately call it. I bought my first Apple computer (a secondhand Macintosh Powerbook) there in the early 1990s and had visited...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 5, 2010

Niseko's real estate boom: Bigger picture in sight for local development

For some it was a flash in the pan, at best an experiment destined to fail, at worst a mini-bubble hyper-inflated by greedy "outsiders" with little interest other than the type accumulating in the bank.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 3, 2010

Who's subscribing to Tokyo's new creative Tabloid?

If you want to launch a new cross-discipline creative space, you could do worse than invite pop diva Lady Gaga and flamboyant New York-based artist Terence Koh.

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