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JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 9, 2011

Japan's year of triumph in space

So, it's goodbye to 2010, the Year of the Tiger, and hello to 2011, the Year of the Rabbit.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jan 8, 2011

Hakuho the benchmark for Hatsu Basho

2011 is now upon us. The first tournament of the year — the Hatsu Basho — begins on Jan. 9 running for 15 days before the Emperor's Cup winner is decided on the 23rd.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 8, 2011

Ex-MP revisits Okinawa's Koza Riot

On a mild December night in the city of Okinawa, Bruce Lieber, a 61-year-old Ohio native, found himself surrounded by a cluster of Japanese journalists. Photographers and TV crew jostled for position while reporters asked him how it felt to be back on the island.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 8, 2011

When you go shopping and nothing 'looks right'

Most people feel older on their birthday. Not me. I feel older on New Year's Day. Perhaps it's because I wake up a bit under the weather from the previous night's festivities. I look at myself in the bathroom mirror and think, Who's that?!
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2011

Dommune live-streams DJ sets to a growing fan base

The crowd bristles with excitement as the first DJ of the night winds down his set. An air of anticipation sets in around the room. As the next DJ enters the booth with his CD booklet in hand, the throng begins to swarm the tiny floor, no larger than your grandmother's basement. Four Tet is about to...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 7, 2011

Youth movement underway on bj-league sidelines

The bj-league's youth movement — essentially a cost-cutting measure for a league struggling to make money — brought in several new coaches for the 2010-11 season.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 7, 2011

Realizing the genius of Leonardo da Vinci

A temporary pavilion in Tokyo's Hibiya Park seems like an unlikely venue for showcasing the hallowed works of Leonardo da Vinci, but for this particular exhibition, the big top-like structure is appropriate. "Leonardo da Vinci: The Genius" is aimed straight at the general public. Designed, produced,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 7, 2011

'Taking Woodstock'

History has a sly way of happening when you least expect it. For example: A one-time dealer and savvy concert promoter teams up with a hip record-company exec to hold a music and arts festival in a rural setting, showcasing a few of the year's better bands. The promoters expect attendance of around 200,000,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 7, 2011

'The Social Network'

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in December and his upfront portrait photo on the cover echoed the upfront portrait photo of the "Social Network" movie poster. Though both show well-groomed guys in their 20s, there's something a bit creepy about the...
JAPAN / AT JAPAN'S EXPENSE
Jan 6, 2011

Japan far behind in global language of business

Last in a series
COMMENTARY
Jan 6, 2011

Crisis shows African Union's limits

LONDON — "It's not a bluff," said an adviser to Alassane Ouattara, the real winner in November's presidential election in Ivory Coast, who is now besieged in a hotel in Abidjan, the capital, under United Nations protection. "The (African Union) soldiers are coming much faster than anyone thinks." But...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 6, 2011

Apache prepare for tough homecoming schedule

After an awkward start to the season with more practice time than game time since mid-October, the Tokyo Apache now begin the full-scale busy portion of their nonsensical 2010-11 bj-league campaign.
JAPAN / AT JAPAN'S EXPENSE
Jan 5, 2011

Trade pacts one thing, immigrant labor another

Fourth in a series
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2011

EU's instability mechanism

MUNICH — By 2010, Europe was to be "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge- based society in the world." This was the proclamation in 2000 by the European Commission in the "Lisbon Agenda." Now, a decade after that bold pledge, it is official: Europe is the world's growth laggard rather than its...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2011

Japanese women 'can have it all'

As a female CEO in a nation known for its male-dominated corporate ranks, Kumi Sato says it is her mission to spread the message that despite the challenges posed by social and gender expectations, Japanese women could "have it all" if they wanted.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 4, 2011

Hawaii uses sports to attract Japanese

One of Hawaii's biggest traits is its Aloha Spirit. And the state is actively working on extending its warm-welcoming, positive state of mind through sports.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2011

Indian elephant too slow for the Chinese dragon

HONG KONG — The visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Delhi in December underlined the importance and immense diversity between the world's two once-and-future superpowers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 4, 2011

Arudou's Alien Almanac: 2010

No. 5: Renho joins Kan's Cabinet Japanese politicians with international roots are few but not unprecedented. But Taiwanese- Japanese Diet member Renho's ascension to the Cabinet as minister for administrative reforms has been historic. Requiring the bureaucrats to justify their budgets (famously asking...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2011

Post-Cold War era taps Turkey as the new indispensable nation

ANKARA — Turkey made its imprint as one of the most influential countries not only on 2010, but on the first decade of the third millennium.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 1, 2011

Liverpool faithful want Dalglish back

LONDON — Those of us who do not follow Liverpool could never truly understand the blind loyalty supporters showed Rafa Benitez until he was fired at the end of last season. Similarly, the level of vitriol and antagonism suffered by Roy Hodgson from the Anfield faithful leaves outsiders perplexed.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 31, 2010

Hill says Tyler, Apache both works in progress

Tokyo Apache coach Bob Hill sees the big picture: Forward Jeremy Tyler is an integral part of the team's championship aspirations.
CULTURE / Film
Dec 31, 2010

'Go' tackles Sengoku years from a female perspective

It's not surprising that NHK senior producer Yotaro Yashiki was pleased when he and his team came across a little-known princess named Go. Born in 1573, Go predates television by a good three centuries, but almost everything about her life suggests she was made for the medium, and, in particular, the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2010

DPJ's diplomatic weakness all too evident

2010 was a tough year in foreign relations for Prime Minister Naoto Kan and the Democratic Party of Japan as they scrambled to deal with one problem after another, including territorial disputes with China and Russia.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 31, 2010

Kansha: Living and eating Japanese cuisine with appreciation

A writer, author and longtime authority on Japanese cuisine, Elizabeth Andoh has been even busier than usual since the publication of her latest work, "Kansha: Celebrating Japan's Vegan and Vegetarian Traditions." Beside the extra demands of promotional commitments, for the past several years she has...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb