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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, resolved to end nearly two decades of deflation and revive the economy, explains his economic and fiscal policies to his fellow G-8 chiefs, turning "Abenomics" into an international commitment in the process.
About 45 minutes from Tokyo’s skyscrapers, resting in the hinterlands of Tachikawa there is a land of mist and dragons. It’s a place where rolling hills tumble toward an Aztec pyramid, and children bounce on clouds. The place is called Showa Kinen Koen, and ...
Edward Snowden, the fugitive former CIA employee and NSA contractor who leaked secrets about America’s spying operations, often hung out online with foreigners in Japan who shared his interests in anime, video games, martial arts, the stock market and the expat lifestyle. Snowden, who ...
Across the colorful show floor at last week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, there were games on display where players could become all manner of things, like a throat-slashing 18th-century pirate, zombie killer, a guardian of the last city on Earth, music-making sorcerer, ruthless Roman general, ...
Tuukka Rask watched most of the action at the other end of the ice. And when the Blackhawks did make a late charge, he was ready. The Bruins goalie stopped 28 shots for his third career playoff shutout, helping Boston beat Chicago 2-0 on ...
“Chasing Vermeer,” Blue Ballietta, Chicken House; 2005; 272 pp. Blue Ballietta’s debut novel, “Chasing Vermeer” has been called a ” ‘Da Vinci Code’ for tweens” and with good reason. “Chasing Vermeer” isn’t your typical whodunit about an art heist. True, a famous painting, “A ...
“Barkbelly,” Cat Weatherill, Puffin; 2005; 352 pp. Courtesy of canny marketing and the J.K. Rowling Effect, too many children’s books are being lauded as “magical” even when they’re short on the magic. Cat Weatherill’s debut novel, “Barkbelly,” is one of them. Barkbelly is a ...
“Cross Your Heart, Connie Pickles,” Sabine Durrant, Puffin Books; 2005; 247 pp. This one is for the girls! The book cover of Sabine Durrant’s debut teenage novel gives it straight: It promises “Boys, Bras and Ooh la las” and it delivers the goods packaged ...
THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity, by Amartya Sen. Penguin, 2005, 356 pp., £25 (cloth). “We do like to speak,” admits Amartya Sen, citing a well-known fact about Indians in the opening paragraph of “The Argumentative Indian.” But what the ...
“The Opal Deception,” Eoin Colfer, Puffin Books; 2005; 344 pp. There’s only one person on the planet who can have had more fun than I did reading “The Opal Deception” — the guy who wrote it. Eoin Colfer is back to tell us yet ...
“Silverfin,” Charlie Higson, Puffin Books; 2005; 372 pp. For James Bond’s legions of males fans (this possibly includes your father), Charlie Higson’s “SilverFin” is news of the best kind. Not for this reviewer, though, who belongs to the female half of the planet and ...
THE SARI SHOP, by Rupa Bajwa, W.W. Norton Company, 2005, 224 pp., $13.95 (paper). Indian-ness has ceased to be the flavor of the season, or at least that’s what they’ve been saying in Indian publishing circles. One only wishes this were true. The “Indian ...
“The Mermaid’s Manual,” Dawn Applerley, Bloomsbury; 2004; 14 pp. “The Mermaid’s Manual” should be a dream come true for many little girls out there. Its vibrant, glittery jacket has a neat press-button on it, which makes this picture-book look like a handy kit for ...
“Skinny B, Skaz and Me,” John Singleton, Puffin Books; 2005; 274 pp. It’s been decided: Children’s fiction has been treading the safe territory of witches, wizards and magic for far too long. John Singleton’s gritty novel, “Skinny B, Skaz and Me,” has no time ...
“The Whispering Road,” Livi Michael, Puffin Books; 2005; 336 pp. If you haven’t read Charles Dickens yet, what could be a better introduction than Livi Michael’s “The Whispering Road”? Michael’s first novel for older children imbibes Dickens’ influences, dramatic storytelling and colorful characterization without ...
“Pirates!” Celia Rees, Bloomsbury; 2004; 296 pp. Celia Rees’s “Pirates!” is a gripping read from page one: It gains on you like Blackbeard’s fearsome pirate ships, takes you hostage, and holds you without mercy till the last page. Her story of two young women ...
“The Time Wreccas,” Val Tyler, Puffin Books; 2005; 338 pp. Children’s fiction these days is so all-knowing, so cynical, even, that possibly only a first-time writer can bring back to it the naivete that it has all but lost. Perhaps Val Tyler, author of ...