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JAPAN
Mar 30, 2007

Swedish queen urges more action to fight child porn

, the Swedish queen said she welcomed Japan's efforts to stop child porn but called for more regulations to stop the underground industry here. "Much more action is required to establish and enforce global child protection standards," she said, adding that the sexual exploitation of children has reached...
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2007

Osaka day-laborers lose registrations

OSAKA -- The Osaka Municipal Government purged the residence registrations of nearly 2,100 day-laborers Thursday, after concluding through a monthlong investigation that the men did not really live at the three welfare centers where they were registered.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2007

Abe: '69 talks with Yasukuni not illegal

The government did not violate the Constitution's separation of religion and state by discussing the enshrinement of Class-A war criminals at Yasukuni Shrine with shrine officials, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 30, 2007

Sapporo investors approve poison pill

Sapporo Holdings Ltd. shareholders Thursday voted two-thirds in favor of the company's proposed takeover defense measures.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 30, 2007

'Byosoku 5 Centimeters'

As the boundaries between animated and live-action films blur and finally become meaningless (see the graphic-novel look of "300" for a recent example), perhaps a new category is needed -- call it live-mation. In any case, animators in Japan are breaking free of whatever limits on theme and treatment...
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2007

Candidates out of the gate

The watershed Upper House election is a few months away. But local-level battles are in full swing. Election campaigns kicked off March 22 for gubernatorial elections scheduled April 8 in Tokyo and 12 other prefectures. Mayoral elections also are set that day in Sapporo, Shizuoka, Hamamatsu and Hiroshima,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2007

Guns N' Roses

In their prime, Guns N' Roses were all about excess: Substance abuse, controversial lyrics and inciting riots earned them the title "world's most dangerous band" in the late 1980s. However cliched, GNR's gloriously over-the-top sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll antics endeared them to millions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2007

Seafood cuisine to set you reeling

Being an archipelago of about 3,000 islands, Japan's best dining often revolves around fruits of the sea. The average Japanese person consumes a whopping 66 kg of fish each year, more than four times the world average. Though very tasty, seafood experiences in Japan can also be challenging, most typically...
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2007

Motocompo "Chiptop Lips"

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Tokyo technopop band Motocompo. Along with Polysics, the then-three-piece -- now reduced to a duo -- were co-architects of the Tokyo new-wave revival, updating the synthetic pop sounds of classic '80s bands like The Plastics and Yellow Magic Orchestra for a new...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2007

Lady Sov looks to scare the heavies at Def Jam

It's not surprising that Lady Sovereign draws comparisons to Eminem. Despite the 21-year-old British MC having a vastly different sound, being a foul-mouthed Caucasian rapper who likes to stir up trouble does bring Slim Shady to mind.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 30, 2007

Up, up and away

For the length of the Occupation of Japan, from defeat in 1945 to the return of sovereignty in 1952, the skies belonged to the Allies.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2007

The Ponys "Turn the Lights Out"

One of the hallmarks of postmillennial alternative rock is the tension that results from the conflict between aural texture and melody. On their first two albums, Chicago's post-punk revivalists The Ponys were admired for their mastery of the simple, indelible hook, but the blanket utilization of reverb...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 30, 2007

'Une aventure'

When reviewing a movie, critics tend to trawl through the elements that made it work, things like clever plotting, intense performances, lavish set design and the like. But we often seem to overlook one of the most essential elements of cinema: sex appeal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 30, 2007

The monster behind the mask

With their explosive metal sound and monstrous good looks, Lordi have become Finland's prime music export over the last year. Following a decade of grueling efforts, Lordi broke through internationally with their fourth album "The Arockalypse" after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, marking Finland's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 30, 2007

'Brick'

A woman with fur around her neck and her hair decorated by a huge corsage has her profile tilted toward a man. Her rouged lips are slightly parted and her lashes cast a seductive shadow on her cheek. This is it: a perfect 1930s film-noir moment. She could be Lauren Bacall; he could be Humphrey Bogart....
SOCCER
Mar 29, 2007

FC Tokyo's Hirayama sparks Japan past Syria

A devastating display of attacking soccer led by Sota Hirayama gave Japan Under-22s a 3-0 victory over their Syrian counterparts in a Beijing Olympics qualifier on Wednesday at Tokyo's National Stadium.
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2007

Bullying caused boy's suicide, high court rules

The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday expanded a lower court ruling and ordered Tochigi Prefecture and the city of Kanuma to pay a combined 8.6 million yen in compensation to the parents of a 15-year-old boy who committed suicide after being bullied at school.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo