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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 1, 2007

Scriptwriter talks about Japan hit 'Letters'

Scriptwriting is something seemingly everyone in Hollywood does, from cab drivers to this year's Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres, who jokingly presented director Martin Scorsese with a script during the telecast. But the percentage of first-time scriptwriters who succeed in getting a feature film made is...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 28, 2007

Stepping up the heat on energy use

After years of frustration (and quite a bit of ranting to anyone who would listen), it is reassuring to see that the issue of climate change is at last making regular headlines in the United States.
BUSINESS
Feb 27, 2007

McDonald's, DoCoMo team up on marketing

McDonald's Holding Co. announced Monday it will form a joint venture with NTT DoCoMo Inc. to use the cell phone company's services to distribute e-coupons and gather customer information for marketing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2007

Mag on foreigner crimes not racist: editor

"Now!! Bad foreigners are devouring Japan," screams the warning, surrounded by gruesome caricatures of foreigners who look like savages, with blood red eyes and evil faces.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 21, 2007

The Samurai Dolphin Man

Ric O'Barry is one of the world's best-known environmentalists. A former U.S. Navy diver, he later trained the five dolphins that played Flipper in the hit 1960s TV series of that name, before turning against dolphin captivity in 1970.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Feb 21, 2007

Kimura fulfills dream in bringing pro hoops to Okinawa

"Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.'' --
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 20, 2007

Upping the fear factor

The government and media would have you believe that Japan has lost its mantle as a safe country. Apparently we live amidst a spree of heinous crimes. Accurate? Not very, according to a new academic study. But before we get to that, let's take stock of one alleged cause of this "crime wave," this decade's...
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2007

Author of book on Masako slams Kodansha for backing out

The author of a book on Crown Princess Masako criticized a Japanese publishing house Saturday for its decision to cancel a translation of his biography following protests by the government, calling the step a "blatant attack on freedom of speech."
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Feb 18, 2007

Solo initiative turns used dentures into a goldmine for needy children

Isao Miyoshi runs a dental laborato ry in Sakado, Saitama Prefecture. Every day, he visits the dentistry department at the local Meikai University Hospital, where he collects dozens of plaster impressions of people's gums and their remaining teeth. Back at Miyoshi's lab, his 12 dental technicians then...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 17, 2007

My sense of meiwaku

It's the morning rush and the only train that can get you where you need to go on time will be hissing to the track in two minutes. Meanwhile you have to buy a ticket.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 9, 2007

Pottering around with pop music

When Tori Kudo was a 13-year-old growing up in Matsuyama, Shikoku, he didn't spend his evenings at cram school like classmates, but instead played cheesy piano in nightclubs as a member of a professional big band.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 6, 2007

Dispute over police actions compounds traffic tragedy

On March 25 last year, Michael Laws was driving a minivan full of children for an English-language playschool in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, when he hit a scooter. The rider was another foreigner, Patrick Alford, who died at the scene.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 1, 2007

"Where to for the Big Museums -- A New Strategy for Survival"

Mori Art Museum Feb. 9, 5-9 p.m.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 30, 2007

Welcome to Misery Park

Shinjuku's Kabukicho is among the world's largest adult entertainment districts, with thousands of bars and sex clubs providing a cornucopia of nighttime entertainment options.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 30, 2007

Lend an ear to an ancient practice

The tools and rules of hygiene are generally cut and dry: Brush your teeth at least twice a day, floss once, remember to bathe, and clip your nails to meet your own taste. But what about cleaning your ears? For some people, once every couple of weeks is enough, but others like to do it every day.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 26, 2007

Son boasts fashionable, functional '07 handset line

Fashionable may be the best word to describe the 2007 mobile phone industry, at least according to Masoyoshi Son, chief executive officer of Softbank Mobile Corp.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 26, 2007

The punks descend

How much impact do surroundings have on a group? According to guitarist Lindsay McDougall of the Australian band Frenzal Rhomb, plenty.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 24, 2007

One dive at a time

They say time and tide wait for no man, and it's safe to say that few people understand this truism as well as diver and explorer Dr. Greg Stone, one of 12 individuals recently named a National Geographic Adventure Hero of 2006.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 23, 2007

Gender identity transformed from 'freak' into rights issue

'When I was a child, I had a feeling I wasn't satisfied with being a human being. To be a human being didn't seem like a beautiful existence to me," says Otojiro Toriyama.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 21, 2007

Personal style gurus for common people

When Japan's star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka inked a $52 million deal to play for the Boston Red Sox in mid-December, one of the most memorable comments he made in a packed news conference on his return from the United States was that he was frustrated with having to go through an agent in the negotiations....
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 19, 2007

Lots of good records

"We don't play any cr*p records," say Bobby Gildea and Richard Colburn of indie-pop group Belle & Sebastian when asked to define their DJ music policy via e-mail from their Glasgow base. The two musicians will take a break from the day job to play an exclusive DJ set at Shibuya Game on Jan. 19.
LIFE / Language
Jan 16, 2007

Buzzword book taps into zeitgeist language

Since 1948, a huge compendium (about 1,700 pages in its 2007 edition) of words, phrases, slang, jargon and acronyms in dozens of categories titled the "Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words (Gendai Yogo no Kiso Chishiki)" has made its annual appearance.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 14, 2007

Kudo, Big Unit proof there is no quit in players in their 40s

The Yokohama BayStars decide to take 43-year-old pitcher Kimiyasu Kudo instead of cash as compensation from the Yomiuri Giants after the Kyojin signed a former Yokohama player, free-agent hurler Ken Kadokura.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 13, 2007

English foibles bear humorous and educational manga

It's New Year's Day and the Yamada family, dressed in kimono, gather around the table for a feast, and to review English phrases they learned the previous year, like "take a breather" or "playing hooky."
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2007

Mercury level acute; store pulls dolphin

A large supermarket chain in western Japan has permanently discontinued sales of dolphin meat after learning that mercury levels in a sample purchased at one of its outlets greatly exceeded government safety levels.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji