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Farmers in the city of Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, have begun planting rice in a district once designated a no-go zone because of radioactive fallout ejected by the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Recently I was asked to write a blurb for a new liquid plant-nutrient. As soon as I saw the name of the product, 早根早起 （Hayane Hayaoki), I smiled at this example of linguistic creativity.
Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...
Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune “Only Teardrops,” despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Juries and television viewers across Europe awarded the barefoot, ...
One team’s quest for a first title has ended. The other team’s fight will continue next season. The Yokohama B-Corsairs outplayed the Rizing Fukuoka in Sunday’s bj-league championship game, controlling the tempo for larger stretches and making enough timely baskets to fill an instructional ...
Mao Asada’s recent proclamation at the World Team Trophy that she “intends” to retire after next year’s Sochi Olympics took many by surprise, but I think the proclamation is far from set in stone.
It is as if time has stood still. Three years after her record-setting performance in winning the gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics, Kim Yu Na put on a sensational show in capturing her second world title last week in London, Ontario. It was ...
Japan’s strong showing at the recent Grand Prix Final in Sochi, Russia, set the table for what promises to be a fascinating 14 months leading up to the 2014 Olympic Games in the same city. With six of the 12 skaters in singles being ...
Two-time world champion Mao Asada will be looking to clinch her place in the Grand Prix Final at this week’s NHK Trophy in Sendai. Mao won the Cup of China two weeks ago in Shanghai and will bring momentum from that victory into the ...
The senior Grand Prix season began with a bang for Japan as Takahiko Kozuka, Yuzuru Hanyu and Tatsuki Machida swept the medals at Skate America last Saturday. The strong showing could be a harbinger of what lies ahead in the coming months for the ...
Kim Yu Na geared up for her much-anticipated return to competition this season by announcing her musical selections for her programs recently through her agency, All That Sports. The 2010 Olympic gold medalist has selected “Kiss of the Vampire” for her short program and ...
Great news descended upon the skating world last week when Kim Yu Na announced she was returning to competition with the goal of taking part in the 2014 Sochi Games. With Kim and two-time world champion Miki Ando sitting out last season, and Mao ...
Though much attention was placed on Mao Asada’s disappointing sixth-place finish at the world championships in Nice, France, it was still a fine showing for Japan. Taking three of the six medals in singles (Daisuke Takahashi —silver, Yuzuru Hanyu — bronze, Akiko Suzuki — ...
Mao Asada ended last year with a month of triumph and tragedy that are hard to imagine. Just two weeks after her mother Kyoko passed away at 48 on Dec. 9, Mao laced up the boots again and showed the heart of a true ...
The past few days have been very difficult. I’m fairly confident a lot of other folks share my sentiments. Late Friday evening we learned that Mao Asada’s mother Kyoko had passed away at the far too young age of 48. Though some within the ...
Just over one year ago, Mao Asada entered the NHK Trophy coming off her second world title and a silver medal at the Vancouver Olympics. The stage was set for a triumphant return at the Grand Prix event in her hometown of Nagoya. With ...
With the first two weeks of the Junior Grand Prix season in the books, Japanese skaters have posted encouraging results so far. Ryuju Hino started the campaign off on a high note by winning the JGP in Riga, Latvia, while teammate Sei Kawahara finished ...