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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 15, 2008

'Dosokai'

Nostalgia keeps changing. The music, TV shows and junk food that leaves one generation misty-eyed are regarded by the next as quaint curiosities from a distant past, until they finally pass into that dead, hallowed realm known as history.
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2008

Limits of 'multiculturalism'

Regarding the recent flap over Debito Arudou's Aug. 5 article, "Once a 'gaijin,' always a 'gaijin,' " and, more specifically, the Aug. 10 letter response from Sandra Graves-Takahashi, "Unlikely material for a revolution": I must concur with Arudou regarding the treatment of foreigners in Japan.
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 14, 2008

Staffing decisions at the NNTT cause a stir in theater world

The Japanese theater world is currently in crisis over the question of to whom public theaters belong, since the decision by the New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT) to appoint new artistic directors for each of its three divisions. The disquiet has been caused by revelations following a June 30 announcement...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 13, 2008

Don't let looks sucker punch you

Daria Abramova is an instant knockout, boasting a stunning combination of dark blonde hair, light brown eyes and candy-colored lips.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Aug 12, 2008

Jimmy Choo, Mickey Mouse, Fred Perry and more

Fashion mouse Disney has inspired a lot of people, from little girls to Superbowl champions. Even designer Vivienne Tam has now taken inspiration from her childhood and decided to pay tribute to the famous mouse with a capsule collection of playful dresses for this fall/winter season.
OLYMPICS
Aug 10, 2008

Important message not quite lost in translation

BEIJING — Olympic blunder No. 1: For any writer making his first trip to the Olympics, the individual will make his/her share of silly mistakes: getting from Point A to Point B in time, misreading the event schedules, etc.
Reader Mail
Aug 10, 2008

Unlikely material for a revolution

Let me add a little historical context to Debito Arudou's ludicrous comparison of the white man in Japan with the black man in the United States. Long-standing racism in America begat the civil rights' marches and Martin Luther King, the Black Panthers, the Watts riots, the Last Poets, etc. As well,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Aug 10, 2008

Fiat's 'Bambina': a 'small car with a big heart'

Japan makes plenty of fun little cars, but it is far from having a monopoly on the aesthetic.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 10, 2008

Sharing Japanese poetry with the rest of the world

THE RABBIT IN THE MOON/TSUKI NO USAGI by Kayoko Hashimoto. Kadokawa-shoten, 2007, 260 pp., ¥2,667 (cloth) EARTH PILGRIMAGE/PELLEGRINO TERRESTRE/CHIKYU JUNREI by Ban'ya Natsuishi, English translations by the author and Jim Kacian, Italian by Luca Toma. Milan, Italy: Albalibre, 2007, 146 pp., 10.00 euro...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 10, 2008

Celebrity rules as the Olympics strays far from its ideal

The big story this year in competitive swimming is the LZR Racer swimsuit, which was developed by the British sportswear manufacturer Speedo. At least six world records have been set by swimmers wearing the suit. Studies have shown that its drag-diminishing properties lower racing times by 1.9 to 2.2...
OLYMPICS / 2008 BEIJING OLYMPICS
Aug 9, 2008

Beijing joyfully steps forward

BEIJING — There are numerous slogans plastered on walls and Web sites with equal frequency in Beijing. The "One World, One Dream" Olympic motto and "Light the passion, share the dream" theme for the torch relay are prominently featured.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Aug 9, 2008

Interpreter's trip to Britain translates into family of four

Alfie Goodrich and Hiromi Kumai first met in south Wales in 1999 when she was acting as an interpreter for her mayor's delegation to the town of Monmouth.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Aug 8, 2008

Hone science, tech abilities: education chief

Promoting science and technology is every bit as important as improving the education system in general, according to Tsuneo Suzuki, the newly appointed education, culture, sports, science and technology minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2008

First nurses arrive from Indonesia

Tri Yulianti, 23-year-old Indonesian, has worked as a nurse in Jakarta for two years and hopes to start caring for Japan's elderly early next year.
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2008

Terrorism and the Games

"Safety is our top concern," said China's Vice President Xi Jinping in late July, pointing to the deployment of 100,000 troops around Beijing and the surface-to-air missile batteries that protect the main stadiums as proof of the regime's determination to ensure that no terrorist attack would disrupt...
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2008

Say no to 'NPT' of climate change

Climate change has been correctly identified as a threat multiplier. Yet it has already become a divisive issue internationally before a plan for a low-carbon future has emerged.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 7, 2008

The Ventures: Still rocking after 50 years

The Ventures have just finished playing 33 songs in the space of two hours in front of some enthusiastic, though seated, middle-aged fans at the Hokutopia concert hall in Tokyo. Kazushi Kojima, who calls himself a "philosopher," is there with his son. He's been attending Ventures shows for 30 years....
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 6, 2008

Triumph of the totalitarian will in Beijing

MOSCOW — When the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games begins this week, viewers will be presented with a minutely choreographed spectacle swathed in nationalist kitsch. Of course, images that recall German leader Adolf Hitler's goose-stepping storm troopers are the last thing that China's...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2008

Horror of Hiroshima inspires Frenchman's haunting love story

Ever since he was little, Christophe Boubal, a French novelist, has been interested in writing and Japan.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Aug 5, 2008

Once a 'gaijin,' always a 'gaijin'

Gaijin. It seems we hear the word every day. For some, it's merely harmless shorthand for "gaikokujin" (foreigner). Even Wikipedia (that online wall for intellectual graffiti artists) had a section on "political correctness" that claimed illiterate and oversensitive Westerners had misunderstood the Japanese...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Aug 4, 2008

Keeping the global circus in business a matter of balance

Does the presence of a safety net make people too reckless, lazy and dependent? Or does it allow people to experiment, develop skills in a secure environment and prevent the penalization of healthy high spirits.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 3, 2008

Ibuki tells LDP to draft tax hike scenarios

Finance Minister Bunmei Ibuki said Saturday the ruling Liberal Democratic Party needs to propose a scenario on how and when to ask for a tax hike before it starts campaigning for the next general election.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 3, 2008

The new language of translated films

CINEMA BABEL: Translating Global Cinema, by Abe Mark Nornes. Univ. of Minnesota Press, 2008, 304 pp.,$22.50 (paper) Though foreign film is now seen by all, we are still dependent on translation to discover what is going on up on the big screen or on the little tube. This translation of dialogue can be...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2008

Fukuda reshuffles Cabinet, LDP leaders

To boost his acutely low popularity, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda reshuffled his Cabinet and Liberal Democratic Party executives Friday, replacing 13 of his 17 ministers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 1, 2008

Finding the edge at Fuji

New finds on the fringes

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?