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BUSINESS
Mar 5, 2011

Takefuji extends deadline for bids by investors

Takefuji Corp., the bankrupt consumer lending giant, has postponed a deadline for the submission of bids from potential investors by about 10 days from Thursday, sources said.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 4, 2011

Bunraku gets film treatment

Canadian filmmaker Marty Gross had been fascinated with Japan's traditional puppet theater, bunraku, since he saw a production during his first visit to Japan in 1970. But it was only later in that decade, when it was suggested that he make a film of a production, that he took the time to study the art...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 4, 2011

Playoff battle intense in competitive West

A gripping drama is about to commence in March and April as the bj-league's top seven Western Conference teams vie for six playoff spots. What's more, the seven teams are within seven games of each other in the standings.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2011

Activists may shift tactics in Taiji

TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. — In the fervor of the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday, last year's winners were a distant memory. Half a world away in the fishing village of Taiji, few will ever forget the film that won in 2010 for Best Documentary Feature.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / MAKING INROADS
Mar 3, 2011

PC titans' joint venture shakes up global market

On Jan. 27, the biggest personal computer maker in Japan joined hands with the world's fourth-biggest in planning to launch a new company in June.
COMMENTARY
Mar 2, 2011

The Arab world's revolutions, China and oil

LONDON — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's speeches grow ever more delusional: last Thursday he accused al-Qaida of putting hallucinogenic pills into the coffee of unsuspecting Libyan 17-year-olds in order to get them to attack the regime. But he also said something important. Defending his massacres...
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2011

New way of cheating

Somebody posted questions in Kyoto University's Feb. 25 and 26 entrance exams on an Internet site and third persons gave answers while the exam was going on. A similar thing also happened during the entrance exams of Doshisha, Rikkyo and Waseda universities. Cheating is suspected. What has happened undermines...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

U.K. pitch: free trade, Eurofighter and Hague

Japan can deepen ties with the United Kingdom in many areas, including via European free trade, efforts to mitigate climate change and purchase of the European mainstay fighter jet, said David Howell, British minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

The Nintendo 3DS faces stiff competition, and not just from other game consoles

In 2004, Nintendo released the Nintendo DS, a dual-screen gaming handheld that was revised several times over the next few years as the DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL (LL in Japan) and went on to become one of the most popular consoles ever. The Kyoto-based gamemaker is obviously hoping to repeat that success...
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2011

Saved miner triumphs as marathoner

Chilean miner Edison Pena said Monday he is ready to tackle more races and continue making "a positive impact on the world" after completing the Tokyo Marathon in a personal-best time the previous day.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2011

Kim's son likely to make high-profile visit to China

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's son and the hermit nation's heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, will probably visit China immediately following the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 14, according to a document recently seen by The Japan Times.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Mar 1, 2011

Foreignness, nationality and naturalization: readers' views

A selection of responses to "Naturalized Japanese: foreigners no more" by Debito Arudou (Just Be Cause, Feb. 1):
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2011

KDDI reveals WiMAX-ready phone

KDDI Corp. unveiled Japan's first smart phone compatible with the WiMAX high-speed network Monday, aiming to differentiate its lineup from other carriers' and keep pace with the smart phone trend.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 1, 2011

Solving parental child abduction problem no piece of cake

The Way of Cake is mysterious and paradoxical. A master of the Way can make his neighbors feel they have filled themselves with tasty cake without ever cutting off a piece. The Way allows its disciple to step outside the boundaries of rational thought by partaking of cake while continuing to possess...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Mar 1, 2011

Terahara could make big difference for Orix

As the promise of yet another spring swirled around him, Hayato Terahara took the mound for the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 1, 2011

Urawa's Petrovic draws inspiration from old friend

New Urawa Reds manager Zeljko Petrovic aims to emulate his friend and former international teammate Dragan Stojkovic by winning the J. League with the team he once played for — as long as the trigger-happy Saitama club has the patience to back him every step of the way.
Japan Times
Rugby
Feb 28, 2011

Sungoliath earn title

Rugby legend George Gregan finished his illustrious career in style, helping Suntory Sungoliath hoist the All Japan Cup on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 27, 2011

All hail the wonders of Japanese cuisine — if not what Japanese eat

Ask almost any Japanese living overseas what they miss most and they are more likely to say the food than their relatives. Ask virtually any tourist what excites them most about Japan and you are apt to be told "Japanese food."
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 27, 2011

Notes from the underground

When my yoga class was canceled recently, I decided to explore Yoga instead.
Reader Mail
Feb 27, 2011

Failure rate climbs in final year

Regarding Joergen Jensen's Feb. 20 letter, "Holding students' feet to the fire": Jensen's implicit assumption is that it is very easy to pass examinations at Japanese universities and that Japanese universities only collect tuition fees but don't teach much. These are false assumptions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Feb 27, 2011

Japanese TV funnymen target U.S.

In the popular U.S. TV series "Heroes," Japan-born actor Masi Oka played the role of Hiro Nakamura, who could travel through space and time. The series has now finished, of course, but Oka is still breaking down barriers that were once thought insurmountable — this time, however, he's doing it as a...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 27, 2011

Ditching materialism for the simple life

There's a new notion floating around. Perhaps you've heard of it: Danshari. Its three kanji characters signify, respectively, refusal, disposal and separation. Prosaically it means cleaning or tidying up, but there are psychological and religious dimensions, deriving in part from yoga, which suggest...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 27, 2011

Skipping the ads gets harder as shows become infomercials

In the late 1990s, I did piece work for a public relations company, translating achievement reports into English for its non-Japanese clients. The reports outlined how and where the company had secured mentions of its clients' products in various media, and included equivalent advertising value amounts...
JAPAN / ELEMENTARY ENGLISH
Feb 26, 2011

Are schools ready for English?

Come April, English classes will become mandatory for fifth- and sixth-graders, but a 29-year-old elementary school teacher in Tokyo has heard the concerns of her overwhelmed colleagues, especially the older ones, who have neither taught the language nor studied it since their university years decades...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Feb 26, 2011

Foreign sumo fans have their say on yaocho

In reaction to the yaocho (bout fixing) fracas enveloping sumo at present, many journalists in Japan and overseas have recently jumped on the sumo coverage bandwagon. Many have criticized the sumo association, the participants and their lifestyle and called for punishments, suspended basho and the like,...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’