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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 25, 2010

Brilliant facets of Nishi-Ojima

Setting off to explore Nishi-Ojima (West Large Island) and Kita Suna (North Sand) in Tokyo's downtown Koto Ward, I know better than to expect a seaside resort.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jul 7, 2010

Nagoya Basho 2010 — a tournament that will live in infamy

For two months sumo has been rocked to its core by evidence of illegal gambling on baseball games, involvement with the Japanese underworld, and more recently claims by the man on the street that those in positions of power within the sumo association did precious little to stop this.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2010

Korean peace still elusive, six decades on

HONOLULU, EAST-WEST WIRE — The tragic Korean War, which began 60 years ago, resulted from the post-World War II division of Korea by the United States and the Soviet Union — intended to be temporary — and from the political struggle that developed between Seoul and Pyongyang. After the division,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jun 29, 2010

What does Team Japan have to do to advance further in the World Cup?

Somboon Phinichkusolchit, 45Textile merchant (Thai/Indian)The Denmark game was the best I have seen from Japan in years. To beat Paraguay it must be the same formation. Good results breed confidence, but Japan must beware of over-confidence. Go Samurai Spirit!
CULTURE / Books
Jun 27, 2010

Indomitable Karen of Burma

This is an impassioned book, the story of an insurgency in Burma drawn from interviews with those who experienced it. The narrative tells how the writer, Mac McClelland, traveled to Thailand to work as a volunteer with a group called Burma Action, and stayed for several weeks, teaching English.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2010

It is safe to bank on this hard-boiled man

Eiji Okuda doesn't fit into any of the usual boxes for actors in Japan — or anywhere else for that matter. He's had his share of leading roles over a three-decade career, often as a world-weary cop or gangster, but he's not what the local industry considers a star.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 16, 2010

Tokyo-based Mod forges a path for DIY publishing

The arrival of Apple's iPad at the end of last month sent shock waves through Japan's publishing industry. In the ensuing 2 1/2 weeks, dozens of publishers have announced plans to digitize magazine and other content, while others have set up think tanks to ponder their changed marketplace. Even the National...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 15, 2010

A light of hope for abused children

In the dock, Katsuyuki Okuno cut a strange figure as he listened baby-faced, chubby, graying, frightened and seemingly unable to understand what he had done.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2010

Trapped in 'Euroland'

TOKYO — The euro zone is sometimes dubbed "Euroland" by Americans (and some Asians). Given its echoes of "Disneyland," a place of fantasy, that is a far more mocking than useful nickname.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 30, 2010

Studies highlight a 'heartwarming' resu of the real thing in Japan

Nothing gets the circulation going like sex.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
May 20, 2010

Daburu Koron hit big time with pun-riddled riddles

Comedians live and die by popularity of their gags. With pun-riddled riddles, Daburu Koron have found a sweet spot.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 16, 2010

Building a new history in Tokyo

The first thing that occurs to you as you survey the dark wooden floorboards, high skirting boards, deep-colored walls, fireplaces and — until July 25 — the selection of Eduoard Manet paintings at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Marunouchi, Tokyo, is that on entering this grand redbrick building...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 20, 2010

Fire in the belly, passion in the eyes

Tania Luiz is a rare woman able to provoke hoots and screeches in a room packed with girls — and she does it all with her torso. The Osaka-based Portuguese belly dancing teacher and performer is profiting from a recent surge of interest in her art among Japanese females.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2010

Yosano faults Tanigaki rule, eyes LDP exit

Ex-Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano indicated Monday he may leave the Liberal Democratic Party and form a new party, saying LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki "is not qualified" to lead since he has failed to attack the current administration's shortcomings and thus hasn't attracted voters.
COMMENTARY
Feb 24, 2010

Three lessons from Copenhagen

The world now accepts that protecting our atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere and even cyberspace — the "global commons" — is the responsibility of all countries. Enforcing that norm is proving the difficult part.
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 14, 2010

Tiger of the snows

White flakes slip delicately down. Dusting the glow of graceful moss-clad forest relics rotting back into the ground, they illuminate the few giants still standing — majestic Japanese yew and lofty Korean pine. The ancient trees are silent; the only sound is from the hustle of our camouflaged legs...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 6, 2010

The ABCs of living in Japan

"A is for apple." Every Japanese person learns this when they learn the E nglish alphabet. But couldn't it be, just for once, "A is for antelope?" Or how about "A is for anarchy," "adult" or "aspirin?" Wouldn't that be more helpful? We could also use our own alphabet to teach Japanese culture and language...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 5, 2010

Spring blooms early in art world

Seasons play an important role in Japanese culture, which has long celebrated the appreciation of ephemeral beauty as a reflection of life itself. One of the most important seasons in Japan is New Year's, a time for families to gather and celebrate with several days of elaborate feasts. Traditionally,...
LIFE / Digital
Jan 27, 2010

Japan's techies strive to bridge culture gap

In November, more than 100 people met in Yokohama for a daylong "unconference" on technology and the Internet. Attendees addressed each other on topics of their choosing — the roster of speakers determined solely by whoever signed up fastest for time slots on a whiteboard.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 24, 2010

Adachi still lifes are sure to grow on you

Just 20 km east of Matsue, the impressive collection of paintings and ceramics at the Adachi Museum of Art in Yasugi City, Shimane Prefecture, is at risk of being upstaged by its six superlative landscaped gardens.
BUSINESS
Jan 15, 2010

A JAL-Delta tieup draws flak

As the world's two largest carriers vie to form a strategic tieup with crippled Japan Airlines Corp., opinions are split over whether a JAL alliance with Delta Air Lines, the biggest, would create unfair competition and sting consumers.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 25, 2009

Legendary, dirty samurai gets makeover

Singer and actor Masaharu Fukuyama hit the nail on the head when he said that Sakamoto Ryoma is the kind of person onto whom anyone can project themselves.
COMMENTARY
Dec 21, 2009

No such thing as classless

According to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the taxation policies of the Tory (Conservative) Party were decided on the playing field of Eton (one of Britain's top private schools). Thus, Gordon Brown, whose Labour government trails in the opinion polls behind the Conservative opposition, seemed from this...
CULTURE / Film
Dec 11, 2009

Let us celebrate the miracle of wondrously difficult movies

The more movies you watch the more you become convinced how they are wondrously difficult things to make. Billy Wilder didn't say that exactly, but he did say something about the job getting harder as he got older, so I figured it out. I'm always awed by the fact that so many incredibly watchable films...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2009

Inside Thailand's hidden separatist war

LEEDS, England — Thailand's former prime minister, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, recently ignited a furor when he proposed that the separatist campaign in his country's Muslim-majority southern provinces might be solved politically, with a form of self-rule. Thailand's ruling Democrat Party immediately called...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Nov 25, 2009

U.S. online strategy holds clues for Tokyo

Imagine befriending Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Facebook. Or getting "tweets" from Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Twitter. It could happen if Tokyo follows Washington's lead.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 14, 2009

Finding wisdom in fire and earth

Mishima, nestled at the foot of Mount Fuji, is certainly not a center for yakimono (ceramics), one of the most revered arts in Asia. But it is home to Robert Yellin, one of the foremost English-speaking experts on the craft.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 7, 2009

United clash gives Drogba chance to prove player-of-year credentials

LONDON — The prospect of Didier Drogba even being considered as the Footballer of the Year last season would have brought ridicule. The members of the Football Writers' Association have to judge the player who "by precept and example" they believe deserves the award and the Chelsea striker is on course...

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.