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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 10, 2006

'Sovereignty has to be taken'

Cillian Murphy certainly has romantic-lead looks, but his filmography reveals an actor more committed to a diverse career. Many viewers will recall his portrayal of the twisted Scarecrow character in "Batman Begins," but he also played a determined survivor in Danny Boyle's "28 Days Later" and a transvestite...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 9, 2006

Tokyo National Museum shows Buddhist masterpieces

Living in a land still largely covered with forest, it is not surprising that Japanese have a special reverence toward wood. We see this particularly in traditional architecture, where wood is not only chosen to reveal its best qualities, but is largely left unpainted so that its beauty improves with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Nov 9, 2006

An unexplained howl

I don't much care for those explanatory texts we call "artists' statements," because if an artist has to explain a work of art, then it simply isn't standing on its own. Artists who spell out what their art means (and, in doing so, establish parameters regarding how one should see it), only succeed in...
EDITORIALS
Nov 8, 2006

Death sentence for Saddam Hussein

I raqi dictator Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death on Sunday. The trial was praised by some as justice long overdue, and dismissed by others as a political verdict that was pre-ordained, if not orchestrated, by outside powers. Some hope the execution of the former dictator will close the door on a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Nov 7, 2006

'When Santa Fell to Earth,' 'Brooklyn Rose'

'When Santa Fell To Earth,' Cornelia Funke, Chicken House; 2006; 173 pp. Timeless. That's the word for fiction of this sort. How else can a story originally published in German in 1994 Eand now translated into English for the first time Emake for such great reading? Cynics might say that it's got to...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 6, 2006

Giants agree 4-year deal with Lee

The Yomiuri Giants said Sunday the Central League club has agreed with a four-year, 3 billion yen contract with Lee Seung Yeop, which will give the South Korean slugger a hefty pay raise in 2007.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 5, 2006

Following the paper trail to a modern Japan

JAPAN IN PRINT: Information and Nation in the Early Modern Period, by Mary Elizabeth Berry. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press, 2006, 325 pp., $45.95 (cloth). The title of this book is to be taken literally. "Japan in Print" is not about Japanese prints or printing in Japan,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 4, 2006

Renewal of a commitment

On Oct. 27 the Diet approved extending for another year -- from Nov. 1 -- the special antiterrorism law that, among other things, allows Maritime Self-Defense Force ships to refuel navy ships of the United States and other nations in the Indian Ocean in support of the security campaign in Afghanistan....
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Nov 4, 2006

MVP Washington set to lead champ Evessa's bid for repeat

Want the primer for winning the hearts of fans and a prominent spot in a sport's history books at the same time?
EDITORIALS
Nov 4, 2006

Ideology ahead of education reform

The Diet is now discussing a bill to revise the Fundamental Law of Education, a carry-over from the previous session. The main point in the revision proposed by the government is to instill love of nation in children -- which carries the danger of imposing on children a particular view of the "correct"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 4, 2006

Hooked on the concept of sustainable fishing

Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market -- the largest in the world -- is oddly quiet early afternoon. Yet climb a steep flight of steps above a small warehouse and the pace is frenetic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 3, 2006

Mystery Jets

When multi-generational British band Mystery Jets walked on stage at Fuji Rock Festival this year for their first Japanese show, it was to a packed Red Marquee chanting "Zootime," the title of the band's 2005 debut single. When they followed the festival with a soldout performance at Tokyo's Liquid Room...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Nov 3, 2006

Benoit happy to impart wisdom from NBA days to Broncos

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- He played in arenas with 20,000 people rooting against him and his teammates.
COMMENTARY
Nov 2, 2006

Curbing the Iranian empire

LONDON -- The preemptive strike doctrine -- that is, hitting the other party quickly when it looks as though it is going to hit you -- is as old as mankind itself. History is strewed with accounts of daring raids to catch the threatening enemy unprepared, from the wars of Greek mythology to modern times....
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 1, 2006

NBA moving to crack down on Cuban

NEW YORK -- Behind closed doors at last week's NBA Board of Governors meeting, a special session was convened to chastise Mark Cuban for behavior unbecoming that escalated to an everyday low during the NBA Finals last June.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Nov 1, 2006

Bear-faced cheek and jumbo bugs

One of the best perks I get from the wild woods is honey. Mr. Matsuki, our forester up here at the Afan Woodland Trust in Nagano Prefecture, is a beekeeper who prefers to encourage wild Japanese bees -- whose honey has a very delicate taste -- rather than raise foreign varieties better-known for their...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 29, 2006

TV Asahi's "Quiz Presentation Variety Q-sama," Fuji's "Kinyo Prestige" and more

SLack of imagination has not stopped TV producers from coming up with new outlets for all the comedians looking for work. Every week TV Asahi's variety show "Quiz Presentation Variety Q-sama" (Mon., 8 p.m.) offers about a dozen comedians and other tarento the opportunity to present their own quizzes,...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 29, 2006

Is the sun setting on the future of Japan?

SHUTTING OUT THE SUN: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation, by Michael Zielenziger. New York: Doubleday, 2006, 352 pp., $24.95 (cloth). The strength of this book lies in its sensitive and poignant portraits of hikikomori, Japan's recluses. Their stories of withdrawal are etched with pain and anomie....
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 27, 2006

Asian prodigies perform under Luisi's baton

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will be in Japan from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, collaborating with record-breaking young Asian pianists under the baton of Fabio Luisi. They will also tour the country with conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, as part of Vienna Philharmonic Week in Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2006

Antidepressant drug raises new hopes

The news that Dallas Cowboys football player Terrell Owens had attempted to commit suicide because of depression alarmed sports fans worldwide, for whom he is one of the game's biggest stars. However, recent information on the uses of a drug with positive effects on depressed patients raises hopes that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Oct 26, 2006

Slow-motion revelations

A group of people who do not know one another, but are united in a common purpose -- possibly waiting for a bus -- stand together in a tightly cropped long shot. One is reading a book, another is listening to music through headphones. There are the young and old; whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians;...
COMMENTARY
Oct 26, 2006

Revisionists damaging Japan

LONDON -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has the reputation of being a tough nationalist. So far, however, he has shown himself to be a pragmatist in foreign-policy issues. His early visits to China and South Korea demonstrated that he wants to improve bilateral relations, which have soured in recent years....
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 25, 2006

Fighters move ahead

SAPPORO -- Takeda and Takeda sounds like a law firm in Marunouchi, but up north, it's a crack pitching tandem.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 25, 2006

Isiah clueless to world outside NBA

NEW YORK -- Isiah Thomas needs to spend more of his free time cutting grass, petting animals or getting involved in any form of mindless relaxation that allows him to clear his attic of cobwebs.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Oct 25, 2006

Wide-abdomen mantid

* Japanese name: Harabiro-kamakiri * Scientific name: Hierodula patellifera * Description: There are several species of praying mantids in Japan, and this is one of the smaller-sized ones. Males grow to between 45-65 mm long, with the females a bit bigger at 52-70 mm. Interestingly, it comes in two...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 24, 2006

Fighters-mania warms hearts in cold Hokkaido

SAPPORO -- Cold wind started blowing on the northern island last week. But there is a reason for the people up here to be warm in their hearts and flash smiles on their faces.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan