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MULTIMEDIA / JAPAN LITE
Jan 21, 2012

Hold the plastic grass — I want the real stuff

Holding the kama (scythe) at the hilt, I tore into the grass. This is the way we cut grass on the island. Not many people actually have grass, and I cherish my small 2 sq. meter patch. My neighbor Kazu-chan, who was watching me in the distance, calmly walked over and said, "Amy, you're doing it all wrong."...
COMMENTARY
Jan 20, 2012

Finessing the dramatic opening to Myanmar

Perhaps a democratic system of government will not prove the final answer for Myanmar. Just take a look at the Philippines if you're crazy about another possible "for sale" democracy in Asia. But considering what the good people of what used to be called Burma have had to endure — an intellectually...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 20, 2012

Players, coaches fired up by large turnout at All-Star Game

The largest crowd in bj-league history, 14,011, witnessed Sunday's All-Star Game at Saitama Super Arena, and the positive energy from that experience carried over to players from throughout the league.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2012

The Arab Spring: separating fact from fiction

When the Arab Spring began a year ago, the Western world was shocked. On the surface, it had seemed that liberty had bypassed the Arabs; they had seemed resigned to tyranny. But once unleashed, the upheaval knew no restraint, and there were mayhem and promise in the streets of the Arab world. Since then,...
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2012

The Syrian charade

There have been 300 days of protest against the government of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. They have made no dent in the government's resolve. Even the presence of an Arab League observer group has had no impact on Damascus's readiness to bring all its firepower to bear against civilian protestors....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 17, 2012

And then there was one?: Japan's right royal crisis

According to the Japanese Constitution, the Emperor is the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people. You could thus say it is symbolic that the Imperial household is now facing an unprecedented demographic crisis, one that may ultimately lead to a succession dilemma and possibly...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 15, 2012

Rigged online food reviews should come as no surprise

NHK has a regular travel series called "Quiz de Go," which sends TV personalities to far-flung corners of Japan and then asks them questions about the area's local qualities. Several weeks ago, three celebrities were exploring Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, and were turned on to a local delicacy called Curry-yaki....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Jan 14, 2012

Some cups of revisionist history

There's this guy I drink morning coffee with. Like me, he came to Japan as a young man and now wonders where the decades have flown. We sit at the window and watch the people rush past, so much like the years of our lives.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2012

GOP candidates dyeing their white collars blue

With attacks on Mitt Romney's career as a venture capitalist coming fast and furious from his primary opponents, the Republican presidential campaigns have entered strange new territory for the GOP: economic reality, or, more precisely, the economy that most people experience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 12, 2012

Artists always find ways to represent themselves

For the countless number of budding visual artists in Japan, 3331 Arts Chiyoda's "Independents" exhibitions, which are held in the event space's main gallery, offer the chance to publicly show works and get feedback from some of the most prominent artists, critics and curators in the country.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 12, 2012

Artists always find ways to represent themselves

For the countless number of budding visual artists in Japan, 3331 Arts Chiyoda's "Independents" exhibitions, which are held in the event space's main gallery, offer the chance to publicly show works and get feedback from some of the most prominent artists, critics and curators in the country.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 11, 2012

Players no different than in old days

On second thought, I was wrong to make it appear coach killers DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans of the Sacramento Kings — who paved the way for Paul Westphal's recent ouster — are more full of themselves than self-absorbed slugs back in the day.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2012

Hashimoto hunt for ward bosses finds 60 takers

Around 60 people, including many from the corporate world, had applied for 24 Osaka city ward chief positions as of Tuesday, one day before the deadline.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2012

Salafi challenge to an Egypt ruled without God

"We want democracy, but one constrained by God's laws. Ruling without God's laws is infidelity," Yasser Burhami, the second leading figure in the Salafi Call Society (SCS) and its most charismatic leader, recently said.
EDITORIALS
Jan 8, 2012

Thinner and thinner

Japanese girls weigh less than ever, according to an Education Ministry survey of 650,000 Japanese children aged 5 to 17. The average weight of girls in Japan was at its lowest since data started being compiled in 1948, even though average height has increased by five to eight centimeters. These worrisome...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 7, 2012

Market network helps community bounce back

On a bright, warm late November day, an open-air market hums with activity. Children dart among strolling tourists, vendors cry out their wares to visitors and locals alike, who are looking to stock up on produce, cheap clothes and handicrafts from around the country.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2012

When China rules, Chinese will not set the rules

For a European these days, thinking about the future is disturbing. America is militarily overstretched, politically polarized and financially indebted. The European Union seems on the brink of collapse, and many non-Europeans view the old continent as a retired power that can still impress the world...
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2012

Mr. Kim Jong Un's direction

There are signs that following the death on Dec. 17 of North Korean "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il, his youngest son Kim Jong Un is consolidating his power as the new leader. But it is unclear what direction his foreign policy will take. Japan should be prepared to flexibly cope with whatever moves North...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2012

Beginning of the world's end?

You may not believe so, but millions do. They're convinced that ancient Maya priests calculated Dec. 21, 2012, as the end of the world as we know it. These claims and warnings, prognostications and reassurances are on bookstore shelves, on websites, in museum exhibits and in tourist promotions. The global...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 5, 2012

Exposing new spins on old-school photography

For a truly fresh outlook on Tokyo, run, don't walk, to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography to see Sohei Nishino's exciting photo-collages of Tokyo and nine other cities, on display through Jan. 29 along with works by other up-and-coming Japanese photographers.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 5, 2012

Exposing new spins on old-school photography

For a truly fresh outlook on Tokyo, run, don't walk, to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography to see Sohei Nishino's exciting photo-collages of Tokyo and nine other cities, on display through Jan. 29 along with works by other up-and-coming Japanese photographers.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight