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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 1, 2007

Words to win hearts and minds the Japanese way

Over the years, the Japanese language has been called many things: inscrutably ambiguous, frustratingly vague and positively untranslatable.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 1, 2007

Comedy interview variety show, Japan history cultural special, 'King Lear' modeled business drama

Life is a journey filled with questions, some of which the new variety show, "Megami no Hatena, (The Goddess of What is That)" (Nihon TV, Tuesday, 11:55 p.m.) will attempt to answer. These are not mind-twisting queries about the meaning of life or natural phenomena, but rather the kind of things that...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 1, 2007

French vote validated Euro-skepticism

PARIS -- Not long ago, an American political analyst compared France's loss of influence in Europe following its "no" vote in the 2005 referendum on the EU constitutional treaty with France's surrender in 1940. A provocative analogy, but is it apt?
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2007

Urban Kyoto tries on an old look

KYOTO -- First-time visitors to the ancient capital of Kyoto usually arrive expecting to see quiet temples and rock gardens or an abundance of old wooden buildings set against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains.
EDITORIALS
Mar 31, 2007

Iraq, four years later

This month marked the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. To the surprise of virtually all the war's supporters, coalition forces are still present in Iraq. They are working to stabilize a country that appears to be on the brink of civil war. The continuing chaos and ever-growing number of fatalities...
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
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....
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 29, 2007

Getting to 'yes' with Iran

BERLIN -- There is a wise American saying: "If you are in a hole, stop digging." The six governments that are considering the next steps to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb -- the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany -- should heed that advice. Otherwise, they could...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2007

Murakami testifies in his own insider-trading trial

Yoshiaki Murakami, Japan's best-known fund manager, took the stand for the first time in his own trial Tuesday, telling the court he initially owned up to insider trading to save other executives of his fund from being prosecuted.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Mar 28, 2007

Hail to the '3-alarm' Chief

It must be tough being Al Gore.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Mar 28, 2007

'Splume' -- Japan gets its own world of avatars

Judging by Newton's Third Law of Motion the great English scientist really must have gazed into a crystal ball and seen the Japan of today. His famous law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. For every anonymous concrete apartment block and crisp white shirt locked in...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 28, 2007

Tree sparrow

* Japanese name: Suzume * Scientific name: Passer montanus * Description: A small bird, some 12.5- to 14-cm long, it has a rich brown-colored head, with a hint of copper. There is a black patch on the cheeks and a double white bar across the brown wings. Males and females are almost identical in size...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2007

Life in the cloudy Imperial fishbowl

Although the media and insatiable public curiosity can expose the private secrets of superstars, the Imperial family remains largely out of view.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2007

Budget victory moves Abe a step closer to real goal

Reeling from scandals and falling public approval ratings, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet cleared a key hurdle in the Diet Monday by winning passage of the fiscal 2007 budget.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Mar 27, 2007

KOKUYO, MUJI, PILOT and MONO for spring

Spring is in the air, and that means two things: a city draped in the pink of cherry blossoms -- hey, pink is the new black, so get with it; and the start of a new school year. So I'll concentrate this month's picks on a few items that will make you more productive with a touch of a style.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 27, 2007

How can the government better spend its money?

SOCCER / J. League
Mar 25, 2007

Maki, Takahara power Japan past Peru in exhibition

YOKOHAMA -- Seiichiro Maki broke his scoring duck and Naohiro Takahara continued his rich vein of form with another goal as Japan beat Peru 2-0 in a friendly at International Stadium Yokohama on Saturday evening before 60,400.
MORE SPORTS
Mar 25, 2007

Miki, Mao place 1-2

After bombing in last year's Olympic Winter Games, Miki Ando was written off by just about everybody.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 25, 2007

Zuleta slugs slam; opener ends in tie

CHIBA -- They had already created a special chant and nickname for him (Samurai Julie, go Julio), but Chiba Lotte fans may have to start calling the newest Marine, Julio Zuleta, by a new name: The Rainmaker.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2007

Livedoor accountant first to do real time for fraud

The Tokyo District Court convicted two accountants Friday of knowingly certifying cooked Livedoor Co. financial reports, finding them negligent in their duty to provide accurate information to investors.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2007

Ishihara, Asano are in capital duel

Organizers of the 40th Annual Ome City Marathon were furious when Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara scheduled the first Tokyo Marathon for Feb. 18, the same day as their race.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2007

'Step Up'

If nothing else, "Step Up" is a great inducement to hit the gym. Or the barre. And the yoga mat. Anything in fact, to tighten those upper body muscles and get those abs to pop out.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 23, 2007

A treasure chest of tradition

The capital of Ishikawa Prefecture greeted me like it does most travelers: with a downpour. The train's rain-streaked windows blurred my first views of a city in a storybook setting. Kanazawa averages 178 soggy days a year, so it's fitting that the station's glass dome fans out like an umbrella.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2007

After Horie's fall, Nikko case seen smacking of favoritism

Japan has been abuzz with the unusually harsh prison term handed to former Internet mogul Takafumi Horie -- and the slap on the wrist given to scandal-tainted brokerage Nikko Cordial in another high-profile case of accounting fraud that, in monetary terms, was some eight times greater than Horie's firm....
COMMENTARY
Mar 22, 2007

Does religion do more harm than good?

LONDON -- In an opinion poll published in Britain recently, 82 percent of the people polled said that they thought religion does more harm than good. My first reaction, I must admit, was to think: That's what they would say, isn't it? It's not just that suicide bombers give religion a bad name. In "post-Christian...
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."

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