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Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 6, 2009

J. League also-rans looking to change gear

The following is the first of a two-part J. League preview for the upcoming season. Team-by-team previews of the nine bottom-ranked teams competing in the first division are listed.
COMMENTARY
Mar 6, 2009

Genteel pastime reaches end of innocence

WATERLOO, Ontario — In recent years, Australia, England and New Zealand have canceled cricketing tours of Pakistan because of concern for the physical safety of their teams. At best, Australia agreed to play Pakistan in the neutral venue of Abu Dhabi next month.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2009

Lessons from history for abduction policy

To the delight of the Aso administration, Hillary Clinton not only first made Japan her first foreign visit as U.S. secretary of state, but she met with families of Japanese abducted by North Korea. Unfortunately, by giving the impression that she agrees with Japan, her gesture may prevent a much-needed...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2009

DPJ's way out is to pick new boss

The Tuesday arrest of Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa's chief secretary was an unexpected blow for the largest opposition party but observers say the damage can still be contained ahead of a general election later this year — if Ozawa quits his post.
Reader Mail
Mar 5, 2009

Relative reality of feeling 'safe'

Regarding Amit Chaturvedi's Feb. 26 letter: The perception of safety is one that is personal. If you are comfortable in a place, you have the perception of safety and security. The unfamiliar can seem frightening and stressful. Therefore, to say that a place is "safe" states only that this is one's...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 5, 2009

Well-edited shopping for discerning travelers

While Japan might not have invented the idea of the "select shop," it has certainly refined the idea to an art form. The original models for Japanese shops such as Ships and Beams, which opened in the 1970s, were Barneys in the United States and Brown's in the U.K. — outlets that offered a special...
BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2009

Honda, Mazda eyeing state loans

Honda Motor Co. may ask to borrow money from the government to lend to U.S. car buyers after suffering a 38 percent plunge in U.S. auto sales in February, the company said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 4, 2009

Future of 'anime' industry in doubt

After graduating from Tokyo Animator College, Yuko Matsui began working at a midscale animation production agency.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2009

Clinton's mistake on tour was to skip India

SYDNEY — There was excitement throughout Asia last month when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton chose the continent for her maiden international voyage in her capacity as America's top diplomat, bypassing the more traditional choices of Europe or the Middle East.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 3, 2009

Of toadies, vultures and zombie debates

If there's one thing execrable in the marketplace of ideas, it's "zombie debates" — discussions long dead, exhumed by Dr. Frankensteins posing as serious debaters.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 3, 2009

Kremlin too blinkered to save its monopoly

CAMBRIDGE, England — Ever since Vladimir Putin came to power a decade ago, the Kremlin regime has relied on two pillars: the security forces and energy exports. By suppressing internal rivals and absorbing their assets, the regime created a dual monopoly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 3, 2009

What's your all-time favorite Japanese film?

Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 2, 2009

Supporters driving force behind Finke's Reds reclamation project

New Urawa Reds manager Volker Finke might not have been smitten with the team he saw play twice last season, but the German admits his first taste of the Saitama Stadium crowd was love at first sight.
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2009

Where do the restrictions stop?

The Feb. 21 editorial "Third strike against smoking" was informative and nonjudgmental until the last part. There, the editor expressed his hope that, through the voices and spending habits of worried parents, smoking would be even more restricted than it already is.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
Mar 1, 2009

Lions rout Samurai Japan

The World Baseball Classic finally made its return to Tokyo. Unfortunately for Samurai Japan, so did the Seibu Lions.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 1, 2009

Importance of being a top middleweight

Reviewed by Anthony Fensom Striking with a magnitude of 6.8, the severe earthquake that struck Niigata Prefecture and its surrounds on July 16, 2007, left a trail of destruction in its wake, killing seven people, injuring over 830 and destroying 500 homes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / GRAND OLD HOTELS
Mar 1, 2009

Following the footsteps of the famed in Nikko

Behind the front desk of the Nikko Kanaya Hotel hang photos of an unlikely trio: James Curtis Hepburn, Isabella Bird and Zenichiro Kanaya. Hotel President Takayasu Akiyama connected the dots over a cup of java in the Maple Leaf Lounge.
LIFE / Travel / GRAND OLD HOTELS
Mar 1, 2009

Following the footsteps of the famed in Nikko

Behind the front desk of the Nikko Kanaya Hotel hang photos of an unlikely trio: James Curtis Hepburn, Isabella Bird and Zenichiro Kanaya. Hotel President Takayasu Akiyama connected the dots over a cup of java in the Maple Leaf Lounge.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Mar 1, 2009

Our woodland trust just keeps on growing

Last month, thanks to a very generous donation, we were able to add another whopping 119,088 sq. meters to our Afan Woodland Trust down the road from my home in the Nagano Prefecture hills outside Kurohime. This brings our total to 296,070 sq. meters — about twice the area we had when we set up the...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 28, 2009

Man United poised to add to trophy case

LONDON — Manchester United goes in search of the second leg of its bid to win the Quintuple on Sunday when it plays Tottenham Hotspur in the League Cup final.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 28, 2009

'Hafu' focuses on whole individual

"I always found it really strange," says Natalie Maya Willer, 30, a photographer based in London, "how I thought I could spot half-Japanese people in the street. . . . Then at the same time, with me not really looking Japanese, I also wondered if there really isn't a half-Japanese look after all!"
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2009

'Temp' protests warp face of egalitarian Japan Inc.

Fired engine plant worker Kouichirou Fukudome shouts slogans with dozens of protesters outside truck maker Isuzu's towering headquarters, all demanding they get their jobs back.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Feb 27, 2009

True icon of indie

The Wedding Present's latest album, "El Rey," is one of the best records I've heard over the last few years and has also been widely lauded in the British music media. Criminally, it has not been picked up for distribution in Japan. But you'll be able to hear the new songs at the band's upcoming Japan...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2009

'This is England'

The gang-movie genre tends to follow a fairly predictable arc: Impressionable youth is seduced by gang life, enjoys the wild times and camaraderie that follow, then inevitably winds up disillusioned with the lifestyle. Whether it's the mods and rockers of 1960s London in "Quadrophenia," or the favela...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 27, 2009

One pricey bowl of soup noodles

A bowl of noodles at a typical Tokyo ramen joint is cheap — usually around ¥800 — and served in a convenient location. Fujimaki Gekijo, situated between Nakameguro and Yutenji in Meguro Ward, is neither. And the owner and chef, Shoichi Fujimaki, would have it no other way.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 27, 2009

One pricey bowl of soup noodles

A bowl of noodles at a typical Tokyo ramen joint is cheap — usually around ¥800 — and served in a convenient location. Fujimaki Gekijo, situated between Nakameguro and Yutenji in Meguro Ward, is neither. And the owner and chef, Shoichi Fujimaki, would have it no other way.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 27, 2009

Ivan Ramen, ready in an instant

The success of Ivan Ramen, a noodle shop founded in 2007 by U.S.-born chef Ivan Orkin, has been well documented in the press over the past year. Indeed, it is not unusual for the 10-seat restaurant in Minami Karasuyama, Setagaya Ward, to have dozens of people waiting outside its doors to try the handmade...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 27, 2009

Linking video games to their visual history

Think of post-World War II popular culture in Japan as it relates to contemporary art, and you invariably arrive at Murakami Takashi and his Kaikai Kiki company/studio. But a new generation that draws from Japanese pop culture — and yet has no close connections to Murakami's art stable — has emerged...
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2009

Deadline nears for Filipino family

Opponents of the deportation order against an undocumented Filipino family in Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, are mounting a last-ditch effort to win a reversal.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat