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COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2008

At least India can look dissent in the eye

MADRAS, India — When I was at Deauville recently to cover the Asian Film Festival, I was surprised to see Tibetan protesters carrying placards urging independence for their homeland.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 30, 2008

The big mysteries behind small things

THE ART OF SMALL THINGS by John Mack. London: British Museum Press, 2007, 224 pp., with 200 color illustrations, £19.99 (cloth) Here is a splendid catalog of the world made small — miniature works in the collection of the British Museum: Elizabethan rings, Benin masks, Netherlandish rosary beads,...
COMMENTARY
Mar 29, 2008

Flaws in criminal justice

LONDON — The criminal justice systems in Britain and Japan have flaws, but there are worse systems.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 28, 2008

'Kung Fu Kun'

A "kids movie" in the current Japanese film business almost always means anime. It wasn't always thus — kids were the biggest fans of the Godzilla series and dozens of other nonanimated homegrown monster movies now vanished from the screens. They've also flocked to the "Spy Kids" films and similar...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2008

When natural beauty just isn't cutting it . . .

Ines Ligron is the ultimate Miss Universe insider, and she does not believe much in secrets. One of her favorite stories is of a contestant who could have won but opted for last-minute cosmetic surgery, and thus was barely able to lift her arms when she went before the judges.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 25, 2008

Nendo's cabbage chair, Trico's ashtub and more

Next in line
COMMENTARY
Mar 23, 2008

Nonbelievers in the 'existential threat'

LONDON — When Adm. William J. "Fox" Fallon was chosen to replace Gen. John Abizaid as the commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in March 2007, many analysts didn't shy away from reaching a seemingly clear-cut conclusion: the Bush administration was preparing for war with Iran and had selected...
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

Old cliche about sensitivities

I was surprised that Alice Gordenker, in her March 18 "So, what the heck is that?" column, used a classic Nihonjinron cliche to explain why bells are popular in Japan. She quotes professor Tomiko Kojima of the National Museum of Japanese History as saying: "If you consider that most people were engaged...
MORE SPORTS
Mar 22, 2008

U.S., Japan set to battle in Global Challenge Bowl

KAWASAKI — At first glance, it looks to have replaced its predecessor. But the main concept actually offers a whole lot of new excitement to the young participants.
COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2008

Tibet and Olympic Games

Events in Tibet have turned ugly. Once again we see the harm caused by Beijing's heavy-handed bureaucracy, and its panicky, untrained soldiers used for crowd control. But even when combined with all of Beijing's other alleged sins — Darfur, pollution, human rights and other issues — does Tibet justify...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2008

Alice Cooper's psycho vaudeville

Alice Cooper, veteran rock star and all-around showbiz maven, is on the phone from Melbourne, Australia, where he plays two concerts before continuing on to New Zealand and then Japan. The singer promises that his Psycho Drama tour contains "all the hits," as well as the stage theatrics he's notorious...
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 21, 2008

Shinsuke: A sip of sake in shitamachi

Slowly but surely word is getting out to the rest of the world: Japanese restaurants don't have to be formal, exquisite and jaw-droppingly pricey. Quite the opposite, in fact: Eating out in Tokyo can be casual, friendly, affordable and fun.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 20, 2008

Photos preserve architecture that's disappeared with time

Unless blessed with unlimited time and resources, visiting all the buildings around the world that you would like to see is rather unlikely. Even if you do manage to reach some of them, entrance inside may still be prohibited or restricted.
Reader Mail
Mar 20, 2008

Tale of two independence struggles

Most people would not hesitate to give a helping hand to a hapless kindergarten pupil being bullied by peers. But would they do the same if they came across a man under attack from a group of well-built aggressors with baseball bats? Probably not. The difference between the two situations is analogous...
CULTURE / Art / INSIDE ART
Mar 20, 2008

Curating shows in a foreign language

"It was like being put in a boxing ring and bashed from all sides," says curator Mami Kataoka with a burst of laughter.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2008

No Tibetan independence

LONDON — The monks who marched through Lhasa on March 10 to mark the anniversary of the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959 did not want to wreck China's Olympic year, but they knew that Chinese troops would be less likely to shoot them this year than most. And so it proved: the monks were...
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Mar 19, 2008

Mutant Frog

Mutant Frog Travelogue is the blog of Adam Richards, Joe Jones and Roy Berman, three friends who met while studying in Japan. The eclectic subject matter includes posts on technology, law, culture, politics and plenty more. With the three writers living at various times in Japan, Thailand, the U.S. and...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 16, 2008

Car industry hitting the bumps as wheels lose their cachet of cool

Anew TV commercial for insurance company Tokyo Kaijo Nichido features two newborns lying next to each other in a hospital maternity ward, telepathically discussing the "pleasures" that await them in life.
COMMENTARY
Mar 14, 2008

Burma sanctions don't work

NEW DELHI — Burma today ranks as one of the world's most isolated and sanctioned nations — a situation unlikely to be changed by its ruling junta scheduling a May referendum on a draft constitution and facilitating U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's third visit in six months.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 14, 2008

Perfume "Fan Service ~ Prima Box"

Formed in Hiroshima in 2001, moving to Tokyo in 2003 and hitting the big time in 2006, Perfume are an idol-pop phenomenon, notable for how their music combines elements of house and electro with a futuristic, Akihabara-friendly image.
Reader Mail
Mar 13, 2008

Activist's contribution valuable

Regarding Lance Braman's March 9 letter, "An activist's means to an end": I found his criticism of the pro-active stance taken by Debito Arudou unrealistic. Braman has not advised how "responsible people" would achieve their desired ends. Should anyone who disagrees with aspects of "Japanese culture"...
Reader Mail
Mar 13, 2008

Beyond a 'functional' world

In his letter of Feb. 24, "Critique of culinary culture," Grant Piper confesses to being a "food barbarian." How, and why, a "food barbarian" can criticize top chefs in the Feb. 21 article "Tokyo's samurai chefs devoted to their craft" is a bit confusing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 13, 2008

An exciting liquid dance

Called the "Queen of German Dance Theater," Pina Bausch is one of the most influential avant-garde figures of our time. She is returning to Tokyo this month with her Tanztheater Wuppertal dance company for their 11th tour since 1986.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLEWISE,ON: FASHION
Mar 11, 2008

Stella McCartney, Anna Antoniades and more

Anna Antoniades in Nakameguro
EDITORIALS
Mar 11, 2008

A frozen Garden of Eden

They call it the "doomsday vault," but it is intended to save humankind, not menace it. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which opened Feb. 26 in Norway, will serve as a repository for billions of seeds. It is designed to protect biodiversity and the people and cultures that depend on it. It is one of...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2008

Freedom and music go hand in hand

NEW YORK — North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is one of the world's most oppressive, closed and vicious dictatorships. It is perhaps the last living example of pure totalitarianism — control of the state over every aspect of human life. Is such a place the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / COSPLAY CULTURE
Mar 9, 2008

A global dress-up

"I get e-mails all the time from Brazil and the United States," said Tatsumi Inui, a staffer at Japan's largest kosupure ("cosplay" or "costume play") Web site, Cure.

Longform

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