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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 15, 2012

'Act of Valor'

Ten minutes into "Act of Valor", I could practically hear the voice of Homer Simpson in my head, delivering his own critique of the movie: "Ooh, propatainment!"
CULTURE / Music
Jun 14, 2012

Rocker Hotei hears London calling

Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee celebrations are never complete without a rock star wielding an axe to inaugurate proceedings. For the Golden Jubilee in 2002 it was Queen's Brian May atop Buckingham Palace. And for The British Embassy in Japan's Diamond Jubilee party this month, the sword fell on the broad...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 14, 2012

In the light of Rinko Kawauchi

It's quite surprising to find out that "Kawauchi Rinko: Illuminance, Ametsuchi, Seeing Shadow" is Rinko Kawauchi's first solo exhibition in Tokyo. For a winner of prestigious photography prizes, who has published multiple books — not to mention held major exhibitions overseas — this mid-career show...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 14, 2012

Max Ernst: The artist who raised eyebrows with 'pictorial' texture

Despite several major exhibitions of his work that have been held in Japan since the 1970s, Max Ernst is still widely considered here to be one of the most difficult and obscure of the Surrealists. Constantly exploring new ideas, methods and materials, his art is perhaps less instantly recognizable than...
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2012

Mainali case exposes flaws, bias in judicial system

Facing retrial, exoneration and freedom after spending 15 years in prison for the 1997 murder of a Tokyo woman — a crime for which he was initially acquitted — Govinda Prasad Mainali could be a case study in the flaws in the nation's judicial system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2012

The fax of life: Japan refuses to part with aging device

In Japan's businesses and bureaucracies, in home offices and hulking companies, the fax machine is thriving.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 12, 2012

Dormant accounts eyed for Tohoku

The government began in February looking into ways to make good use of billions of yen in so-called dormant bank accounts, particularly to help fund reconstruction of areas in the Tohoku region devastated by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2012

Don't delay justice any longer

The Tokyo High Court on June 7 decided to retry a Nepalese man serving a life sentence for the 1997 robbery-murder of a 39-year-old woman in Tokyo on the strength of new evidence and he was released at the court's order. But the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office immediately filed an objection. The...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 10, 2012

It's not that easy to quit

"If you don't like it, quit."
CULTURE / Books
Jun 10, 2012

Okinawa: a long history of hardship

THE OKINAWAN DIASPORA IN JAPAN: Crossing the Borders Within, by Steve Rabson. University of Hawai'i Press, 2012, 312 pp., $55.00 (hardcover) Okinawa, mainland Japan's subtropical playground, is no paradise to Okinawans. Ryukyu, the archipelago's original name, means "circle of jewels." Lush appearance...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 10, 2012

Taking a look at positives, negatives of NPB

A friend recently brought up the subject of the appeal of Japanese baseball.
EDITORIALS
Jun 10, 2012

Exporting 'Japanland'

The government's Cool Japan strategy of promoting the country abroad has taken another step as the trade ministry plans to recreate trendy districts of Tokyo in cities across the globe. The plan is aimed at promoting Japan and encouraging exports by organizing areas for Japan-style shops, restaurants...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 9, 2012

Anti-aging tips for the elderly — don't let the society age you

I can never remember my mother being younger than 50. I'm sure she was born 50, and married my father at 60. Then they went to a store and bought me when they were both 63.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2012

Fugitive hid in city, in plain sight

Police have been hunting Katsuya Takahashi since Aum Shinrikyo waged its nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995, mobilizing thousands of officers over the last 17 years.
EDITORIALS
Jun 9, 2012

Disappointing Baghdad talks

The most recent round of nuclear negotiations with Iran began with optimism. The previous round of talks appeared to make headway and there was hope that a breakthrough could be achieved when the seven parties — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council or P5 states (Britain,...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jun 9, 2012

Matsuda eyes rematch against Olympic legend Phelps

An athlete can tell you a tale with words that are as relevant as live action. Use your imagination to fill in the details.
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2012

Olympus to cut 2,700 workers, restructure

Olympus Corp. said Friday it will cut 2,700 jobs and restructure plants as it seeks to recover after writing down assets following an accounting-fraud scandal involving more than ¥100 billion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2012

'Michi — Hakuji no Hito (Takumi: The Man Beyond Borders)'

Millions of Japanese have become fans of things Korean, from weepy TV dramas to perky girl pop groups, since the start of the hanryu ̄ ("Korean Wave") popular-culture invasion over a decade ago. Many of the younger generation, however, have only a hazy awareness, if that, of the dark period between...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2012

'The Divide' / 'Bellflower'

Shibuya's Theater N may not exactly fit the definition of a grindhouse — its polite staff and lack of dodgy-looking stains on the seats rule that out — but any cinema doing a late-show revival of 1978's notorious "I Spit on Your Grave" earns the comparison. Theater N has been getting good mileage...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2012

Refugee pines to go back to, help Myanmar

When Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi announced her trust in President Thein Sein last August, Tin Win Akbar decided it was time to return home after spending almost 16 years as an exile in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2012

'We Bought a Zoo (Japan title: Shiawase e no Kiseki)'

The latest on the Japanese dating-scene bulletin says ikumen are it. And what exactly are ikumen? These are men (perhaps the first in the history of this nation) willing to nurture and raise children, and actually profess to enjoy it. Coming from a family whose male members would have all chosen ritual...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 7, 2012

Tsunami-spoiled pics given new life

Of all the many and varied recovery and repair efforts now under way following the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, few would be as fiddly as the Rikuzentakata Disaster Document Digitalization Project.
EDITORIALS
Jun 7, 2012

New class of vehicles

The government plans to promote a new category of "microcompact" vehicles, the first new category of vehicle to be established under the Road Transport Vehicle Law since 1963. These new cars will likely appeal to elderly people and others who will use them for shopping or visiting places near their homes....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jun 6, 2012

Moldy Mos Burger confirms kōji boom

Mmm, mold. How an old spore found new life in Japan's kitchens.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jun 6, 2012

Durant, Green show class of West's best organizations

Kevin Durant cannot possibly be, as commonly portrayed, as great a guy as he is a player, right?

Longform

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped