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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 27, 2011

Quake workers bolstered by training

Following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku, staff members of the Tokyo-based nonprofit organization Tokyo English Life Line felt they needed to help not only the survivors, but also the volunteers, NGO and welfare workers who supported the hard-hit people in the affected areas.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 25, 2011

Fantasy alive in the real world

Fantasies are central to several of the best books published in the last year. These works are not, of course, tried and tired swords-and-lords style epics, but rather books that tackle the imaginings that have made and molded the world in which we live.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 25, 2011

'Takeshi Art Beat' on tap dancing; New Year's Eve TV roundup; CM of the week: Dorea

Ever wonder where director/star "Beat" Takeshi Kitano got the idea of the big tap-dancing finale for his 2003 remake of the samurai classic "Zatoichi"? It came to him after he saw the American dancer Savion Glover, who the program information says influenced Michael Jackson's Moonwalk.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 25, 2011

Interest heats up for new-look BayStars

Merry Christmas to all readers of the Baseball Bullet-In, and the fans in Yokohama should have a relaxing holiday season now that their team has been sold, it has a new manager, new owner and a new look after limping through a few — shall we say — less-than-spectacular seasons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Dec 23, 2011

2011 trends: Korean boom spreads to a new generation

The love of all things Korean continued to grow in 2011, and along with it, a bit of a backlash.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 23, 2011

Western Conference squads enjoying success on road

If this season's first 20 games have proven anything, there's no such thing as home sweet home for the Miyazaki Shining Suns. Nor is there a home-court advantage for coach Koto Toyama's team.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 23, 2011

Quiz rally puts young heads in high gear

The two-week winter vacation surrounding New Year's Eve is great news for kids and a little extra work for parents. The idea of giving your brain a break from school might not be the healthiest way to spend this time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 23, 2011

New venues made Tokyo tastier in '11

Another year comes to an end, with the usual round of Christmas and bōnenkai "drink the old year to oblivion" parties. Except, of course, it was not just another year. And though we will all be glad to put it behind us, 2011 will not be easily forgotten.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 22, 2011

Seeking solace in artistic responses to March 11

What can art do? What role can it play when the whole world seems suddenly unstable, unsure?
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2011

BOJ warns recovery has 'paused,' keeps rate policy

The Bank of Japan said Wednesday it will maintain its zero interest rate policy but gave a somber assessment that a pickup in economic activity has "paused."
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2011

Economy sees first signs of nasty drop

Kiyohito Okuda is a businessman and an optimist, and so he has found at least one redeeming angle to Japan's slow-motion economic decline: Never has the pain felt too acute to bear.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Dec 21, 2011

2011: The year when Japan went global over social networking

Over the past year, major U.S. social-media services have made some serious inroads into Japan. Here are some recent developments.
LIFE / Digital
Dec 21, 2011

Going loco for the PS Vita

On Dec. 17, the PlayStation Vita, Sony's followup to its PSP gaming handheld, went on sale in Japan, and across the country gamers lined up to get their hands on one. Is it a worthy successor to the PSP? In two words: Oh yes.
BASKETBALL
Dec 19, 2011

Tyner gives Evessa a big lift in triumph over Northern Happinets

The Osaka Evessa needed a spark on Sunday.
BASKETBALL
Dec 18, 2011

Murray insists firing due to bogus reasons

The Saitama Broncos have been consistently bad or mediocre since the bj-league's inception in 2005. Despite being one of the league's two original teams, along with Niigata's JBL-defecting squad, the Broncos have never managed to finish above .500 and never advanced to the playoffs.
LIFE / WEEK 3
Dec 18, 2011

Lone holdout's first nuclear winter looms in Tohoku

As bitter winds blow around cesium and other radioactive particles spewed from the nearby Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant's reactors, Naoto Matsumura lights a cigarette, which he considers relatively good for his health.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Dec 18, 2011

Santos ready for duel against mighty Barca

Santos manager Muricy Ramalho has vowed to stand up to Barcelona and fight fire with fire in the Club World Cup final on Sunday night.
Reader Mail
Dec 18, 2011

Olympus belongs on vulture watch

Last week a Reuters news report, headlined "Woodford says (he) could win fight for control of Olympus (Corp.)," quoted former Olympus CEO Michael Woodford as saying that he had a realistic chance of winning a battle for control of the scandal-hit company, that he had the support of two major shareholders,...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 16, 2011

Losing streak by Five Arrows nearing epic proportions

Considering their recent history, it's no surprise the Takamatsu Five Arrows are piecing together a season that resembles a comedy of errors. But the fact that the team has made zero roster upgrades or additions in recent weeks may come as a shock to even the biggest of cynics.
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2011

Fed paying a price in current round of revisionism

The further we get from 2008, when the American economy flirted with another Great Depression, the more people forget what happened and create stories that satisfy some political, ideological or journalistic urge. Among the biggest losers in this revisionism is the Federal Reserve. Although it helped...

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers