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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 8, 2007

Nile Rodgers & Chic: 1970s disco freak out!

Looking back over a long and varied career, Nile Rodgers could pick any number of occasions as his finest hour. But instead of focusing on his chart-topping records with the band Chic or landmark albums he produced for Madonna and David Bowie, he highlights what would seem like a low point.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2007

Subtlety and humor in American art

It's strange to go to China — in the midst of a contemporary-art boom, or bubble as could be feared — and encounter a stunning exhibition of American art. But that's what Shanghai's Museum of Contemporary Art is currently offering visitors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Jun 5, 2007

'Takoyaki' czar looks to spread tentacles to U.S.

In Los Angeles last December, Morio Sase had a bout of nerves. What had made him think he could persuade Americans to cast off their culinary prejudices and warm to something with as great an "ick factor" as octopus?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 5, 2007

Japanese system stifles foreign scientific talent

Left unchecked, Japan's aging population and decreasing birthrate will reduce domestic economic productivity and, ultimately, affect the quality of life of all those who inhabit these islands.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / EAST ASIA SYMPOSIUM
Jun 4, 2007

U.S. presidential election casts long shadow

See related stories: Take your partners for economic integration Sustained economic growth is a question of balance for China
CULTURE / Books
Jun 3, 2007

The 'common sense' of a centrist

THE POLITICS OF NANJING: An Impartial Investigation, by Minoru Kitamura. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2007, 173 pp., $28 (paper) Professor Minoru Kitamura of Ritsumeikan University raises important questions about Japan's rampage in Nanjing in 1937-38, but sadly comes up with misleading,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 1, 2007

'300'

The long-simmering cold war between Hollywood and the critics has again flared hot with the release of "300," an effects-driven popcorn movie about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., when 300 Spartan soldiers went down fighting against a Persian horde.
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2007

Doing it her own way — Kawase's determined path to success

Naomi Kawase has been tagged as "Japan's leading woman director" since her first feature film, "Moe no Suzaku (Suzaku)," won the Camera d'Or prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2007

'Mourning' turns into celebration

"Mogari No Mori (The Mourning Forest)," the Japanese film that crept up from behind bigger-name productions to win the Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Film Festival, revolves around an old man's unswerving desire to find his wife's grave.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2007

Far from the end of the United Kingdom

PRAGUE — Three hundred years after the first Scottish Parliament voluntarily voted itself out of existence in 1707, the Scottish National Party has won a plurality in the devolved Scottish Parliament that is one of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's great legacies. Does an SNP-led government herald...
COMMENTARY
May 28, 2007

More compelling than common sense

The following statement appeared in an article on the opinion page of The Japan Times in July 2003: "The main result of the U.S. action (in Iraq) will probably be to turn a nation free from al-Qaida links into yet another hotbed of anti-U.S. 'terrorism,' and to push one of the few secular Middle Eastern...
BUSINESS
May 26, 2007

SLR pioneer missed jump to digital

As the first Japanese company to commercialize a single-lens reflex camera for 35mm film, Pentax Corp. has a storied history. But that history may have prevented it from advancing into the digital age and delayed a crucial decision to be absorbed by Hoya Corp. for its own survival.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2007

Dalai Lama's shattered dream for Tibet

MADRAS — Tibet looks like a dream shattered. You feel this when you hear the stories of horror told and retold by Buddhist monks and nuns who have escaped from Tibet and taken refuge in Dharamshala, the center of the Dalai Lama's government in exile in India.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 26, 2007

Before you whack or splat — consult the Insect Hotline

Some insects are highly revered in Japanese culture. While in the West, we may whack first and ask questions later, in Japan, you should really shouldn't go around indiscriminately killing insects. It may even be bad luck.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 26, 2007

In the darkness of our times

One night after visiting friends, I hopped on the local bus for a ride home. At the very first stop, the other passengers — a cane-clutching obaasan and a mother with her pre-schooler — stepped off, leaving me all alone as the bus barreled through the dark.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 20, 2007

Citizen journalists aim to serve all

For Kenichiro Masuyama, who lives in Matsumoto City in central Japan's scenic Nagano Prefecture, news that more foreign visitors than ever before are now coming to savor the region's delights is hardly a surprise.
Reader Mail
May 20, 2007

Personhood is an achievement

I was excited by the May 5 article "Activists push for chimp to be declared a 'person,' " largely because of the fascinating philosophical issues it raises and the currents in modern culture that it exposes. Personally, I disagree with the notion of animals -- even high-order animals like chimpanzees,...
CULTURE / Books
May 20, 2007

Listening to history's creaking bones

ORACLE BONES: A Journey Between China's Past and Present, by Peter Hessler. HarperCollins, 2006, 491 pp., $26.95 (cloth) Beside their obvious antiquity, why should heaps of cattle shoulder-blades and turtle shells dating from the 13th and 14th centuries B.C. be of such immense importance to today's...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 19, 2007

Mourinho's criticism of Ronaldo for diving is laughable

LONDON — If the Wembley gods are looking down on the first F.A. Cup final back at the rebuilt national stadium, they will decree that Manchester United takes an early lead against Chelsea.
BUSINESS
May 18, 2007

Rakuten refuses to limit TBS stake goal to 20%

Rakuten Inc. President Hiroshi Mikitani said Thursday that he won't limit his acquisition goal for shares of Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. to 20 percent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 17, 2007

"From Alps Architecture to Katsura Detached Palace"

Watari Museum of Contemporary Art Closes in 11 days
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 16, 2007

Documentary traces 'ritual' of Japan election campaign

In Japan, candidates who run for office generally don't rise naturally from the grass roots. Many are molded into politicians by extremely organized election campaigns.
SUMO
May 15, 2007

Sumo and an American woman's search for Hinkaku

The summer basho is underway and I, an American woman who has never been to Japan, am so excited.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2007

Pentax can let go of Hoya ties: camera exec

Backed by brisk earnings in 2006, a senior executive at Pentax Corp. said Friday the firm was confident it could go it alone without Hoya Corp.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 11, 2007

Peace is found in a historic town

Not since my Adidas-donning days in my hometown Croydon (famous as the breeding ground of chavs) in southeast London, have I ridden trams around town, and even then it was only to pick up a Chinese take-away and buy the odd large hoop earring. So, when I visited Nagasaki with a couple of friends, touring...

Longform

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