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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Apr 19, 2009

A plea to address pro basketball's future in Japan

Dear Prime Minister Aso,
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Apr 18, 2009

Not love at first sight, but love at first date for couple

Canadian Vanessa Hayes knew even before her first date with Michio Kiyomiya that she would end up marrying him, although it wasn't quite love at first sight.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2009

Japan, EU agree wealth gaps must be closed

NIIGATA, Japan and Europe need to address a common problem: the gap between an overconcentration of wealth, and amenities, in large urban areas compared with their rural communities, experts and journalists agreed at a recent conference.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 18, 2009

Kyoji Yamamoto leaves all inhibitions behind

Kyoji Yamamoto is probably the most famous rock guitarist in Japan. As leader of the groups Bowwow and Vow Wow, he has performed around the world, lived in the U.K. and the United States and played with some of the best musicians on the planet. Of course, hard rock in Japan struggles to compete with...
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Apr 17, 2009

24 City

Director: Jia Zhangke
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 17, 2009

Yokohama becomes creepy — and crawly

Rumor has it that a giant spider has taken up residence in the Bayside area of Yokohama — just across the road from the famed Red Brick Warehouse. "As big as a four-story building," they say it is, with giant brown-metal legs and 2-meter-long pincers. Worse still, information acquired by The Japan...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2009

'Slumdog' Boyle celebrates beating the odds

At first glance, you could hardly find a more unlikely candidate for a Best Picture Oscar than "Slumdog Millionaire." With no stars and a cast of mostly Indian unknowns, a director best known for a controversially hip film about junkies, and — God forbid — subtitles, that would normally be three...
Reader Mail
Apr 16, 2009

Way to victory in Afghanistan

While I was reading Ted Rall's April 4 article "U.S. can't afford Afghan war," I had an epiphany of what was needed to be done for Afghanistan. The United States needs to provide the people of Afghanistan with something that the "insurgents" cannot provide: a way out of poverty (40 percent unemployment...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2009

Study of iPS cells draws nearer to finding cures

Jason Burnett and his 10-year-old son, Andrew, both born with a genetic defect, have been recruited into an experiment designed to transform bits of their skin into stem cells that may someday hold the key to a cure.
Japan Times
LIFE / JAPAN FASHION WEEK
Apr 12, 2009

Focus on: Yasuko Furuta

For Yasuko Furuta of Japanese womenswear brand Toga, inspiration comes from many different sources but includes an assimilation of complicated elements deconstructing and reconstructing styles to forge a strongly defined but harmonized collection.
Japan Times
LIFE / JAPAN FASHION WEEK
Apr 12, 2009

Tokyo hots up for autumn / winter '09

The length of a fashion show averages about 10 minutes, a short span during which design prodigies can be born while others fail, dragging small fortunes into fashion oblivion with them.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2009

Japan Web site a life-time labor of love

When Stefan Schauwecker first launched japan-guide.com in 1996 while still a student in Canada, the Web site only featured an A to Z section on Japanese culture — "just a basic intro to Japan, a guide to look up cultural stuff and a little bit of history," the Swiss native recalled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 10, 2009

A taste for the unusual leads to excellence

Since the Heian Period (794-1185), landscapes have served as the inspiration for generations of Japanese painters. Many followed the standards and styles of a particular school, while other — often encouragingly eccentric — individuals broke with all conventions to wield their brushes in a completely...
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2009

Aso reveals new plan to create 2 million jobs

Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged Thursday that the government will try to create 1.4 million to 2 million new jobs in the next three years by spurring ¥40 trillion to ¥60 trillion in new demand.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

'Crows Zero II'

Japan has its share of teenage punks, but compared with their scarier counterparts in the United States, they are rather tame. Instead of spraying enemies and strangers with automatic weapons, they settle their disputes with methods usually far less lethal, from fists to head butts.
Reader Mail
Apr 9, 2009

An admirable Japanese export

Regarding the March 25 article "Japanese give Paris tidiness lesson": It is nice to learn that the Japanese are trying to spread their culture of cleanliness to other places. Every time I returned to my country after spending a year in Japan, I used to get a shock when I saw the difference. Some people...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Apr 5, 2009

Ireland says values of Asian culture were key at WBC

Much has been written and said about the reasons two Asian teams played in the recent World Baseball Classic final and why Japan came out on top against South Korea.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Apr 5, 2009

Swapping snow for a rain forest

Although there was very little snow this winter here where I live in the Nagano Prefecture hills, it was still good to have an excuse to get away from the cold, and the excuse this time was to present a prize for the writer and illustrator of a book for little children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Apr 4, 2009

Childhood friends, partners for life

KYOTO — Dan Bertuzzi, 39, and his wife, Asuka, 31, have a relationship that's a fairy tale come true.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Apr 3, 2009

Tokyo prepares for feast of Kissin

Classical music fans will be delighted to attend the first performances in Japan by the former child prodigy Evgeny Kissin since 2006, as the Russian pianist continues his steady rise toward virtuoso status.
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2009

Women should lead Russia

Do not underestimate Russia. That is just what many commentators are doing these days as they look at its declining population, its collapsing stock market, its dangerous reliance on oil and gas exports, the dismal style of its political leadership, its docile parliament, its aggressive foreign policy,...
Reader Mail
Apr 2, 2009

Ingrained cultural divide at work

Regarding Debito Arudou's March 24 article: We live in a world of instant media distribution. The Japanese culture to a large extent is fueled by the exportation of film and print that stereotypes some cultures as bad while portraying others as superior. Back in 2007 when the English-language teaching...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2009

Will pay gap at Nomura go toxic?

Nomura Holdings Inc. is paying college graduates originally recruited by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. more than twice as much as those it hired on its own, two sources said.
COMMENTARY
Apr 1, 2009

China versus the Dalai Lama

On the 60th anniversary of his escape to India, the exiled 14th Dalai Lama stands as a bigger challenge than ever for China, as underscored by Beijing's stepped-up vilification campaign against him and its admission that it is now locked in a "life and death struggle" over Tibet.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2009

Imperial Hotel, Halekulani sign up for synergy

It may sound a bit odd to hear about an iconic Hawaiian resort hotel joining forces with a landmark Tokyo inn, but the two share top-flight status and hope to create synergy amid the global recession.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 31, 2009

Women, know your place

Every time I open a newspaper or click on the Internet, yet another article appears bemoaning the same tired trend in Japanese society: the falling birthrate. Citing everything from sexless marriages to inequality in the workplace for women, these articles all skirt the real problem — Japanese women...

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