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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2008

Canadian music execs schmooze up to Tokyo

The relatively small 33 million population of Canada, the world's second-largest country in terms of land mass, makes it nearly impossible for its musicians to maintain careers based on domestic support alone.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Nov 7, 2008

POW's diary reveals life in camp

David Moreton, 39, wants to publish the diary his grandfather, Albert, wrote during World War II.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2008

Pregnant Afghan women face deadly odds

KABUL — In Badakhshan, Afghanistan, for every 100,000 births, 6,500 young mothers die. This is a record unrivaled anywhere in the world. In other parts of Afghanistan, too, the rates of maternal mortality continue to be among the highest in the world.
COMMENTARY
Nov 6, 2008

The right kind of leadership

In these troubled times everyone is looking round for decisive and wise leadership. In particular the world is looking to America, as still the biggest and richest nation by far, despite its current financial problems, to make a better contribution to world peace and stability under its new president...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2008

Fukui town of Obama erupts in victory parties

Yes we did. That's what residents in the Sea of Japan town of Obama were chanting Wednesday during a boisterous celebration following Barack Obama's victory in the U.S. presidential election.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2008

Sorting out right from wrong when ethics lag

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Sure, it will all be over someday. Sleepy governments have woken up. Economists are starting to figure out the secret dimensions to this financial crisis, and look to be putting together, internationally, the bitter-tasting but probably necessary formula for the Long March out...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 3, 2008

Halloween in Japan: a commercial break from global nightmare

Since when was Halloween such a big thing in Japan? Admittedly, you could see it coming these past few years. But this autumn it is simply everywhere.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Nov 2, 2008

Probing the real Japan with Kenneth Pyle

Kenneth Pyle says his first memories of Japan were of watching war films when he was a child — "all the dogfights with Zero fighters and all that."
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2008

Japan, Hong Kong to boost tourism

Japan and Hong Kong will launch the Hong Kong-Japan Tourism Exchange Year campaign to boost bilateral tourism in 2009, tourism promotion bodies of the two economies announced Friday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Nov 1, 2008

Second time a charm for reunited couple

Michael Claxton, 61, and his wife, Rieko, 43, are living proof of the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2008

Hopes for next president

LONDON — Around the world, America's presidential election campaign has attracted as much attention as domestic political controversies in each of our countries. The interest the world has taken in America's vote is the best example of America's soft power, and a lesson in democracy from the world's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2008

'Homeless Chugakusei'

The homeless in Japan are mostly older men down on their luck, sleeping on cardboard in train stations or under blue tarps in public parks. Some are mentally disturbed or chronically ill, but their image in popular culture is surprisingly positive — ranging from the lovable loser to the ragged sage....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2008

Monoral feed on Halloween horror

'A lot of the companies we signed to disappeared, basically," says Ali Morizumi of pan-national rock duo Monoral, musing on the mysterious curse that has followed his band around.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2008

Dolphin activist keeps up fight against slaughter

OSAKA — Renowned American dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry has dedicated his life to freeing captured dolphins worldwide. In a new documentary, he hopes to educate both Japanese and international audiences about the slaughter of the mammals in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, and the hazards of eating dolphin...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2008

Europeans back Obama, Asians like McCain

PARIS — Could Europe be categorized as a U.S. Democratic Party "blue state" and Asia, a Republican Party "red state"?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 28, 2008

Head for the future

JEAN SNOW
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 28, 2008

WWII forced labor issue dogs Aso, Japanese firms

After evading the issue for more than two years, Taro Aso conceded to foreign reporters on the eve of becoming prime minister that Allied POWs worked at his family's coal mine in Kyushu during World War II.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2008

Strong yen takes a toll on visitors

The yen's recent surge is hitting many foreigners hard in the wallet.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2008

Merck exit from Japan drug research undermines government goal

Merck & Co.'s decision to close its drug-research laboratory in Japan undermines the government's goal of attracting overseas drugmakers to boost the global share of made-in-Japan medicines, according to Kiyoshi Kurokawa, the government's policy adviser.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2008

How Japanese mysteries evolved from imitation to adaptation

PURLOINED LETTERS: Cultural Borrowing and Japanese Crime Literature, 1868-1937, by Mark Silver. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 217 pp., $52 (cloth) Western-style stories of crime and detection began making their appearance in Japan from the mid-19th century, initially as translations of...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2008

New Taiwan envoy upbeat on Japan ties

As Taiwan's de facto ambassador to Japan, John Feng believes that strengthening ties between Tokyo and Taipei is vital to securing bilateral prosperity.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 26, 2008

The 'tough love' of sumo and the military can turn ugly

Euphemism is a required art for anyone who communicates with the public, be they politicians or PR flacks. The idea is to change or otherwise soften concepts that may be considered too blunt. Matters regarding sex, bodily functions and death are often euphemized so as not to offend delicate sensibilities,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 24, 2008

Master of wine selections at Conrad

The Conrad Tokyo has introduced a Grand Wine List selected by Ron Georgiou, its master of wine — one of the most respected wine qualifications in the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 24, 2008

Nissay Theatre celebrates 45 years

Nissay Theatre in Yurakucho, Tokyo, will present Leos Janacek's opera "The Makropulos Case" on Nov. 20, 22 and 24 to mark the venue's 45th anniversary.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 24, 2008

Film fest offers the Himalayas

The stunning snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas are certainly a joy to behold — or, for some, to climb. For those not up to the cost or exertion of such an endeavor, the Himalaya Film Festival from Nov. 1 to 3 offers an experience in armchair mountaineering.

Longform

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