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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 17, 2009

East German backs Japan's public theaters

Peter Goesnner was born in Leipzig, in the former communist East Germany, in 1962. His dream was to be a great football player, but 40 years later, the witty, easy-going German is in Tokyo directing "Sekishoku Elegy" ("Red Elegy") by absurdist playwright Minoru Betsuyaku. Staged in 1980 for only one...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2009

Enter the dance-rock dragons Shikari

"We were really worried before they came over 'cos England's so s--t," says Rob Rolfe, the drummer from British post-hardcore/metal/dance fusion band Enter Shikari of their anxieties before embarking on a 2008 tour with their friends, the Japanese punk-metal group Maximum the Hormone.
COMMENTARY
Jul 15, 2009

China's false monoculture

By blanketing the oil-rich Xinjiang with troops, China's rulers may have subdued the Uighur revolt, which began in Urumqi, the regional capital, and spread to other heavily guarded towns like Hotan and Kashgar, the ancient cultural center whose old city is to be razed and redeveloped to help drain supposed...
COMMENTARY
Jul 14, 2009

Why is Japan introverted?

The number of students from China, South Korea and other Asian countries studying at American or European universities have, in general, been increasing over the years. Although there was a time when such a tendency was checked due to the increasing complexity of entry procedures into the United States,...
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 2009

Playing with goal numbers

Salient points of the government's 2020 target for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, announced June 10 by Prime Minister Taro Aso, are as follows:
COMMENTARY
Jul 12, 2009

It's up to the five powers to bottle the nuclear genie

LONDON — Speaking in Moscow on July 7, U.S. President Barack Obama was the very soul of reasonableness. The United States and Russia must cooperate to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons, he said, while keeping the goal of a world without nuclear weapons always in sight: "America is committed...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 12, 2009

Carp hoping Phillips will provide offense with jolt

The Hiroshima Carp are hoping newly acquired infielder-outfielder Andy Phillips will spark a flame that will ignite the team's offensive attack and help get the club back into playoff contention in the Central League standings. Manager Marty Brown wasted no time in getting his new player into action...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 12, 2009

A teenager in an infant's body may hold the key to eternal youth

We are constantly under attack. Chemicals in the environment, ultraviolet light, even cosmic radiation — our DNA is bombarded 24/7 by agents that can cause damage and mutations. But don't take my word for it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 11, 2009

$20 billion food aid vowed at G8

Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations and other countries pledged Friday to provide $20 billion over the next three years to increase food production in developing nations, up from an initial $15 billion target.
BUSINESS
Jul 11, 2009

Sekisui banks on subsidies to boost sales of solar houses

Sekisui House Ltd. expects sales of its small houses powered by sunlight to rise fivefold in two years as buyers take advantage of government subsidies encouraging the use of renewable energy.
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 10, 2009

Developing nations bring own agenda, demands to summit

ROME — Negotiations grew more complex Thursday at the Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila, Italy, as developing nations joined discussions on crucial issues such as climate change and the global economy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 10, 2009

Sabu masterfully helms a floating canning factory

After debuting as a writer/director in 1996 with "D.A.N.G.A.N. Runner," a kinetic comedy of three men chasing each other around, Sabu has been a regular on international film circuits, and is especially liked by the Berlin International Film Festival where he has had six films screened in the past, of...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2009

Sony CEO rebuffs Activision calls for PS3 price cuts

Sony Corp. Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer spurned calls by Activision Blizzard Inc., the world's largest video-game publisher, to cut prices of the PlayStation 3 because the $400 (¥37,000) console is unprofitable.
Reader Mail
Jul 9, 2009

Foreign-parent exclusion clause

My junior high school son came home from school last week all excited about the national English speech contest. I told him he couldn't enter because his father is a foreigner, but he said it was OK because the teacher had asked him personally to enter. The next day he came home and told me the teacher...
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2009

New Minamata relief law enacted

The Diet enacted a new law Wednesday that expands relief to victims of Minamata disease by loosening the redress requirements for one of the worst industrial pollution cases in Japanese history.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / GLOBAL ECONOMY AND LABOR SYMPOSIUM
Jul 9, 2009

Training key as Japan leans more heavily on its nonregular workers

The role of education and training in the labor market will become even more important as the number of nonregular workers not covered by on-the-job training increases, experts told the June 17 symposium.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 8, 2009

Climate unity a cloud on G8 horizon

This year's annual Group of Eight summit, hosted by Italy, is expected to focus on complex political and economic issues of immediate concern, ranging from North Korea and Iran to international economic and financial recovery.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 ITALY SUMMIT
Jul 8, 2009

G8 leaders' profiles

Italy Silvio Berlusconi Prime Minister
COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2009

U.S.-proposed 'green tariffs' raise Asia's ire

When U.S. lawmakers recently approved legislation to limit U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, it was widely hailed as an important new step in confronting climate change. Under the Bush administration, the United States refused to join other industrialized nations in capping...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jul 8, 2009

Ecological lights, clear sound and a way to digitize cassettes

Let there be light: Sanyo's latest addition to its Eneloop world is a lamp that looks like a flower vase and does double duty as a flashlight. The ENL-Y1S runs on a pair of the company's AA-size Eneloop rechargeable batteries, which are acclaimed for being environmentally friendly. In lamp mode, it sits...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2009

Pitching aroma puts firms on profit scent

Because advertisements are ubiquitous, it's hard to make them stand out.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2009

Aso unlikely to make much of a splash at G8

Birds of a feather will flock to L'Aquila, Italy, for the Group of Eight summit beginning Wednesday, with premiers in attendance including embattled British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the scandal-ridden Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi.
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2009

Don't make whales the scapegoat

According to the anonymous writer of the June 28 letter "Whaling subsidies are not wasted," whales are consuming a large majority of the fish in the oceans. Unfortunately, the author seems to have the facts wrong. There are innumerable accounts of oceans, bays and rivers teeming with fish before the...

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