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Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
May 31, 2008

Massage their main medium

KYOTO — Ted Taylor, 40, a native of New Mexico, was not planning on going to a farewell party held for someone he had never met. He was planning to return to Tottori Prefecture on that day in April 2006.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 27, 2008

Arbitrary rulings equal bad PR

Getting to know Japan is hard work: a complicated language, cultural esoterica, mixed messages about prudent paths to take. People who find their way around and assimilate deserve kudos and respect.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 18, 2008

Japan affords translators an elevated status not found elsewhere

Here's a little quiz for you.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 4, 2008

Japan's media plays nursemaid to nation's immature democracy

A major Japanese newspaper publishes an article denouncing the prime minister. Reporters hold a rally to criticize his Cabinet. The government responds by banning sales of the edition of the newspaper that carried the article, indicting its author for violation of the Newspaper Law. Rightwing agitators...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 25, 2008

It's hands-on in Kyoto

The standard visit to Kyoto is a test of endurance: you stay until you are sick of temples. This comes as a shock to first-time visitors, for while the city is rich in beautiful tourist spots, a true understanding of the nation's cultural heartland remains as elusive as a maiko (apprentice geisha) scurrying...
COMMENTARY
Mar 27, 2008

Prolonged unrest in Tibet could unravel China's monocracy

NEW DELHI — The monk-led Tibetan uprising, which spread across Tibet and beyond to the traditional Tibetan areas incorporated in Han provinces, marks a turning point in communist China's history. It is a rude jolt to the world's biggest and longest surviving autocracy, highlighting the signal failure...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Mar 22, 2008

Life's a smooth cruise for modern Tanabata couple

The stars aligned for Miki Otsuka and Cameron Scholes on July 7, 1997, in a chance meeting at a record store in Toronto.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 8, 2008

'Midori by Moonlight' sure to raise smile

Wendy Tokunaga is a role model for writers struggling to get into print. Her debut novel, "Midori by Moonlight," is the fifth she has written, having survived "hundreds and hundreds" of rejections from agents over a 12-year period.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 4, 2008

Dusting off the A-word

Causes are what activists take up as a matter of course. But in Japan, just doing that is a challenge, given the general aversion towards activism here.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 29, 2008

Slow-food movement creeps to Japan

Enjoying good food is a fundamental pleasure. But the slow-food movement asks whether "good food" can mean more than simply the flavor and presentation of a meal.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 24, 2008

New values rise from the ashes of conformity

Second of two parts
Reader Mail
Feb 3, 2008

Facebook adds to the isolation

Thank you for the editorial on the keitai culture. But it may be a case of too late. As the keitai culture has now "blossomed" into Facebook culture, we truly are on the road to further isolation. Weren't increasing advancements in technology meant to keep us closer together? anthony kimbley
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 10, 2008

Expat artists 'making a home' in NYC have little in common

For many Japanese artists who want to make it in the art world, New York City has yet to shake its image of being an art utopia where anyone can succeed: You'll find representation by a hip gallery! Share cerebral discourses with art star Jeff Koons! And work in a loft of immense dimensions in the Lower...
Reader Mail
Dec 23, 2007

'Research' can't hide self-interest

Once again I am amused at how Japanese work to conceal their self-interest in hunting whales in the Southern Ocean while claiming to engage in "scientific research." And it has been reported here that the official word from Tokyo is that Australia should be "calm." Meanwhile, the Japanese whaling ships,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 6, 2007

Look back in anger

One way to learn what happened in one of history's most noxious but disputed episodes is to ask Satoru Mizushima. After what he calls "exhaustive research" on the seizure of the then Chinese capital Nanjing by Japanese troops in 1937, estimated to have cost anywhere from 20,000 to 300,000 lives, Mizushima...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 4, 2007

A cute and kind of sexy guide to Japan

Manga has conquered America. Or so declares the November issue of the U.S. tech magazine Wired, which carries a 10-page manga story describing how manga is reshaping American pop culture. Booming manga sales — which, according to the magazine, account for almost two-thirds of the $330-million graphic...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 17, 2007

Hopi activist brings two messages to Japan

Playing drum and chanting an eagle song, Ruben Saufkie Sr. — a Hopi messenger and silversmith — brings East and West into balance at the leading shrine in Zushi, Kanagawa Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
Nov 16, 2007

Shopping rules tourists

Tourist-wise, Japan has a somewhat divided character. Despite Japan's fascinating history and vast cultural treasures, tourists apparently come here primarily to go shopping. A recent Japan National Tourist Organization survey found that nearly 35 percent of the visitors were in Japan for the shops....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2007

New MOT curator aims to do a lot with a little

Yuko Hasegawa delivers instructions to her staff in an even, polite manner that often belies the burden they impose. It's a style perhaps more suited to a corporate boardroom than an art museum. But, since she took over as chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT), in April last year,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 30, 2007

Lean, green and no hippy aftertaste

Imagine a lasagna without the meat. Now drop the cheese and pasta too. Not much left?
EDITORIALS
Oct 29, 2007

China and Japan

Despite recent statistics, China may not ever dominate Japan in the way many alarmists fear, but the balance of power between the two countries will undoubtedly continue to shift in the near future. The readjustment in relations, though, may occur in unexpected ways that are less obvious than government...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Oct 28, 2007

Design climbs into the driver's seat

Japanese automakers' attention to the style stakes is on display at the Tokyo Motor Show, but they still need to shift it up a gear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 25, 2007

'Afro Samurai': anime international

On paper, the making of "Afro Samurai" reads like a recipe for an identity crisis. An animation about an African-American swordsman in a futuristic feudal Japan, it sprang from the mind of a Tokyo illustrator and was brought to fruition in English by a Japanese-U.S. production team, A-list Hollywood...
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2007

Design meets art at 'Roppongi Crossing'

The world loves Japanese design. Because of this, Design Week, coming up next month, is arguably one of the most successful international events in Tokyo. By contrast, Tokyo Fashion Week and Tokyo International Film Festival hardly generate in those fields' fans the rabid excitement that the designers'...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 14, 2007

Illustrating Japan's top cover star

For more than 30 years, Masamichi Oikawa has drawn the cover art for Pia magazine, reports staff writer Edan Corkill
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 7, 2007

Disparate values may still a democracy make

US President Lyndon B. Johnson used to say of people, "Once you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 2, 2007

Cultural affinity bodes well for growing ties with India

Legend has it that in ancient times a mask made its way from India to Japan. One look at today's Noh mask called Beshimi would confirm this legend: Its tea-colored complexion, large eyes and ample nostrils certainly make it look nothing like a Japanese, but like a native of India.

Longform

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