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JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 26, 2007

Prison reforms seen as too little, and way too late

In May 2006, the government revised the prison law in the first attempt at broad reform since 1908. The Law Concerning Penal Institutions and the Treatment of Sentenced Inmates, as the legislation is formally known, went into effect June 7.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 1, 2007

'Shaberedomo, Shaberedomo'

Japanese are often stereotyped (and tend to stereotype themselves) as bad communicators — or just plain silent. Men, especially, are praised for being miserly with words, though their wives may long for something more than the furo, meshi, neru (bath, food and sleep) that is said to be the sum total...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2007

Marilyn Manson

Feared in America as the Satan-worshipper who inspired the Columbine massacre, but widely regarded elsewhere as a camp standard-bearer for goth culture, Marilyn Manson talks about marriage breakups, murder and makeup
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.
COMMENTARY
May 14, 2007

Cherry-picking an identity

LONDON — Political leaders nowadays are fond of talking about national identity and culture, but do we know what they mean by either identity or culture, and do they know themselves what they mean?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 12, 2007

The freshman wears Prada

"Because I want to make a statement," says the girl. "And my statement is that I am unique, which my choice of fashion demonstrates."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 19, 2007

Works beyond Osaka's sun

If your knowledge of Taro Okamoto's work begins and ends with the sculpture "Tower of the Sun" that he created for the 1970 Osaka Expo, a visit to "Taro Okamoto and His Contemporaries in the Post-War Era," now at the Setagaya Art Museum, is in order.
EDITORIALS
Apr 18, 2007

Medical care for the terminal stage

The health ministry has formulated a guideline on terminal care stipulating that respect for patients' wishes is "the most important principle" when carrying out medical treatment for those in the terminal stage. The guideline, aimed at preventing single-handed decisions by doctors, is the first government...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Apr 6, 2007

Where mod confronts odd

Several decades ago, commuters riding the Mekama Line into Meguro Station were tagged country bumpkins. Today, developers pack the ward with suburban homes as fast as they can pour cement. Old dwellings with gardens give way to duplexes with flowerpots, and chic furniture stores now clog Meguro Avenue...
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2007

Ambassadors manga and anime

Walk into any bookstore around the world and you will find a new, large section for one of Japan's best-known representatives -- manga. Likewise, in DVD stores, drama, comedy and action have been pushed aside for Japanese anime. All around the world, people of all ages are pouring over translations of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 22, 2007

Meeting his muse -- Tamasaburo Bando

'Iwrote this play with Tamasaburo Bando in mind for the role of Chujohime," says Haruo Moriyama. "I have been his fan ever since I saw him enacting Shiranuihime in Yukio Mishima's 'Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (Adventures of Minamoto no Tametomo)' at the National Theater in 1969."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 24, 2006

Ongoing Vietnam tragedy revives ghosts of a Christmas past

Christmas brings to mind many wonderful memories for most of us. But history has bequeathed to some of us a most awful little two-word phrase blackening those memories like a stain. That phrase is "Christmas bombing."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 14, 2006

Camping it up: The pride of pop's history

Scissor Sisters have been described as a band who play "camp pop." The camp bit is arguably a redundant designation since it derives from the French "camper," which means to pose in an exaggerated fashion. All pop music is a pose -- a good deal of it an exaggerated one. A narrower definition of camp...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 3, 2006

Women on top -- where they belong

BAD GIRLS OF JAPAN, edited by Laura Miller and Jan Bardsley. New York: Palmgrave/Macmillan, 2005, 222 pp., photos XI, $26.95 (paper) What makes a "bad girl" bad? -- that is the question posed in this book. "The answer is that badness is attributed to such females by a sexist and male-dominated society...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 16, 2006

An ambassador of enlightenment

When I was a teenager living in New York some 20 years ago, I bought a tiny introduction to Zen Buddhism from a bookstore in midtown Manhattan. A $1 clearance-sale copy, it was so small that I could slip it into my back pocket.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 14, 2006

Beneath the surface

A converted bean storehouse in a Kyoto back-street is the unusual venue for an innovative introduction to traditional Japanese culture. During just one busy day, participants in the Origin Arts Program can try their hand at the ancient martial art of "Waraku," tea ceremony, calligraphy and Noh theater....
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 14, 2006

Van Cleef & Arpels' 'Treasures,' Kate Moss in Tokyo, Oakley on Cat Street . . .

Sleeping beauties When Estelle Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef opened their first boutique on Paris' hallowed Place Vendome in 1906, one of France's most revered jewelry maisons was born.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 1, 2006

Dolphin kill dogged by mercury, activists

Nearly every day since the first week in September, fishermen have been driving pods of dolphins into quiet coves near the village of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, to kill them for their meat, whatever the mercury content, or sell them to marine parks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 27, 2006

Dub pioneer Lee Perry talks God, ganja and Japanese gadgets

Musical resumes don't get much more impressive than Lee "Scratch" Perry's, the Jamaican maverick credited with inventing both dub and reggae.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 6, 2006

Beat is back

Spawned by the energy of punk, a new crowd of British bands known collectively as the ska revival, or the two-tone movement, emerged in the late 1970s around the Midlands area. Unlike the mainly white punk groups, bands such as The Specials, The Selecter and The Beat were comprised of both black and...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2006

May the least undesirable candidate win

WARSAW -- The late British Prime Minister Harold Wilson used to quip that "a week is a long time in politics." In the 30 or so weeks between now and the next French presidential election, any prediction made today could be reversed, and reversed again, before the vote.
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 21, 2006

Osim gets taste of victory after Abe fires late winner

CHIBA --Home, sweet home. Finally.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Sep 21, 2006

Tokyo Art Beat makes audience artists

After two years as the city's best source for museum and gallery listings, Tokyo Art Beat (TAB, www.tokyoartbeat.com) is now getting involved in the production of exhibitions. In conjunction with Mozilla, creators of the popular Firefox browser, TAB and their associate entity Gadago are organizing a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 14, 2006

People of one voice

Michael Franti seemed to be everywhere at the 2003 Fuji Rock Festival, and since he stands as tall as a volleyball player and sports long dreads, it was impossible to miss him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 31, 2006

The search for 'nihonga' clouds artistic judgements

While proponents of contemporary Japanese art do not seem quite as preoccupied with attempts to shock as their Western counterparts, for curators and creators with an eye on finding fame and fortune overseas, courting controversy can seem almost like an obligation.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 23, 2006

Bottled water and problems that flow

Having just spent several weeks in the United States, I can report with confidence that, more than ever before, Americans have their hands full.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Aug 9, 2006

Drone beetle Kanabun

* Scientific name: Rhomborrhina japonica * Description: Large, handsome and sturdy insects, drone beetles have distinctive antennae that end in a club that can be fanned out to form a leafy antenna with a large surface area -- the better to detect odors carried in the air. The beetles are around 4...
SUMO
Jul 25, 2006

Dominance, Underperformers and Yogurt!

Exactly what happened on Sunday evening at the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium is simple -- Asashoryu won his 17th Emperor's Cup to date and his second this year, Hakuho came up short despite his victory over the yokozuna and will not be promoted to yokozuna for the September tournament in Tokyo and Miyabiyama...
SOCCER / World cup
Jun 29, 2006

Records far from Ronaldo's thoughts

DORTMUND, Germany -- Ronaldo may have broken Gerd Mueller's long-standing World Cup goals record on Tuesday, but the Brazilian said he hadn't given it much thought.
SPORTS / MULLY'S MISSIVES
Jun 26, 2006

Mully passes out some first-round hardware

MUNICH -- As the second round begins, Mully's Missives looks back at the World Cup so far and dishes out some awards.

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.