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Reader Mail
Dec 13, 2009

Helpful 'ambassador' appreciated

Regarding the Nov. 15 article "Opening a 'window' to Japan": It's refreshing to see that Japan has such helpful personnel as Yuka Tsujimura at the Narita Airport Tourist Information Center. Especially in a recession, when people travel less, it is more important that the first impression be pleasant...
Reader Mail
Dec 13, 2009

Food self-sufficiency comes first

I agree with Takamitsu Sawa's remarks in his Dec. 7 article, "Agriculture must be rebuilt ahead of oil's 'noble' limits." Japan's industrialization in the 1960s had a crucial flaw: Mild areas where farmers could cultivate crops year-round were industrialized while farming continued in areas that had...
Reader Mail
Dec 13, 2009

Senseless idling of engines

Regarding the Dec. 2 article "Polls' built-in bias may skew climate views": I was dumbfounded by the assertion in the article that Japanese are among the world's most educated when it comes to the realities of climate change. From my observation, Japanese appear to be among the world's most uneducated...
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2009

Emperor will meet China's Xi Tuesday

Emperor Akihito will meet Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, waiving a customary rule that he be notified a month in advance of such visits, the Imperial Household Agency said.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 12, 2009

The most annoying Japanese word

Several weeks ago a poll from the Marist Institute of Public Opinion — one that was slingshot quickly across the Internet — listed "whatever" as the most annoying of all English words.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 11, 2009

Mono

Considered one of Asia's top postrock acts since their 2001 "Under the Pipal Tree" debut and now a decade into their career, Tokyo's Mono are listed alongside the global leaders in their genre. Taking full advantage of their continually growing stature, the instrumental quartet invited a 28-member chamber...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Dec 11, 2009

'CONSTELLATION 2'

Yuka Sasahara Gallery
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Dec 11, 2009

'Bless You'

SCAI Bathhouse
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 11, 2009

Don Quixote gets punked

The contemporary Japanese dance scene has recently drifted to a more fragmented situation where groups delve deeper into their own particular take on performance, but one exception to this is Pappa Tarahumara. Founded by Hiroshi Koike (freshly back from a discussion presentation with Laurie Anderson...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 11, 2009

Clavichord gives Kobe taste of past

Kobe is set to host a rare clavichord concert titled "Patterns of Plants; Fragile Sound Tapestries Played on the Clavichord"on Dec. 13.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 11, 2009

Rody exhibition offers holiday gift hints

When the Rody pony was first trotted out from an Italian toy company in 1990, its intention was to help children between the ages of 2-5 develop balance and coordination skills.
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2009

Asia's new strategic partners

The recently concluded India-Australia security agreement has come at a time when tectonic power shifts are challenging Asian strategic stability. Asia has come a long way since the emergence of two Koreas, two Chinas, two Vietnams and a partitioned India. It has risen dramatically as the world's main...
JAPAN
Dec 8, 2009

Hong Kong looks to Japan's automated tombs

Hong Kong, one of the world's most densely populated areas, is looking to Japan for a solution to a perennial issue — what to do with the dead.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 8, 2009

In Osaka, a place the homeless call home

It was no surprise to many who know the area that Tatsuya Ichihashi, facing charges of murdering British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, has a connection with Osaka's Nishinari Ward.
COMMENTARY
Dec 8, 2009

Sexual liberation taking tragic turn in India

CHENNAI, India — As sexual freedom sweeps across India, women are increasingly finding that the price they have to pay in this euphoric atmosphere is very heavy.
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2009

Coalition freezes Japan Post share sale

The first extraordinary Diet session held under the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama adjourned Friday after the ruling bloc used its majority to ram through the Upper House a law to freeze the state's planned sale of shares in Japan Post Holdings Co. and its banking and insurance units.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 4, 2009

Countdown Japan

The main difference between this year's four-day, end-of-year, all-Japanese-artist rock festival, Countdown Japan, and last year's is that this year it will only be held in Chiba. For the last three years it was also held simultaneously in Osaka, just like Summer Sonic is in August, but according to...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 4, 2009

Edo Period puppet troupe opens 'behind-the-strings' exhibition

The Edo Marionette Theater Youkiza, a traditional Japanese marionette theater, sprung to life this week.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 4, 2009

Whole family can go for a spin at Cycle Mode International

C ycle Mode International 2009 is coming to Tokyo from Dec. 11-13. Whether you are a cycling fanatic or still on training wheels, the anual event is worth checking out as it teaches you pretty much everything you need to know about the carbon-free, fat-burning vehicle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 4, 2009

Nature's way of perceiving things

Born in Denmark to Icelandic parents, Olafur Eliasson is best known for large-scale works that, in recreating natural phenomena, ask viewers to reconsider how they perceive their daily environments. In the "Weather Project" (2003), Eliasson installed a blinding sun — made of hundreds of mono-frequency...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 4, 2009

Beyond the cliches you will find Lautrec

The most noticeable thing about the paintings of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is not their often lurid colors or the ukiyo-e-influenced compositions. Nor is it their renowned subject matter: the lively, sordid, effervescent world of fin-de-siecle Paris.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 4, 2009

Under the guise of medical history, the Mori gets radical

Don't be distracted by the big names showing at "Medicine and Art: Imagining a Future for Life and Love" — Da Vinci, Okyo, Damien Hirst — the jewels of the show lie in the obscure — timeworn or contemporary.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 4, 2009

Market adds holiday cheer

Marche de Noel, a Christmas market with over 400 years of tradition, is coming to Tokyo from Dec. 11-25.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Dec 3, 2009

'Prototype' documents the birth of designers' ideas

The creative process is on display at the Prototype exhibition, which showcases the works of Japanese architects and designers.
Reader Mail
Dec 3, 2009

Papal declaration on euthanasia

In his Nov. 18 article, "Slippery slope of doctor-assisted euthanasia," professor Peter Singer criticizes the Catholic Church's opposition to euthanasia, stressing that neither Pius XII — address to the Congress of the Italian Anesthesiological Society, 1957 — nor the Vatican's Declaration on Euthanasia,...
COMMENTARY
Dec 2, 2009

AIDS takes increasing toll on women's lives

AIDS is posing an increasing threat to women, especially in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization, AIDS is the leading cause of death and disease among women of reproductive age in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes