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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Dec 7, 2006

New forms of old traditions at the Japan Society

Over the past several years there have been quite a few exhibitions of Japanese ceramics overseas, but "Contemporary Clay/Japanese Ceramics for the New Century," which is now at the Japan Society Gallery in New York, is the most brilliant by far.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 5, 2006

Shelter reaches out to abuse victims

Her hands were clenched into fists, and patches of lightened skin mottled her skin up to her elbows. Addressing the four foreign women sitting in the office of the domestic violence shelter in Okayama City, the young woman quietly told us of the years of abuse she endured at the hands of her husband....
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Dec 5, 2006

"Bad Kitty," "Junie B. Jones ... is on Her Way!"

"Bad Kitty," Michele Jaffe, Puffin Books; 2006; 294 pp. It's ha-ha-hard being a teenager, particularly if you're Jas Callihan, all of 17, half-Jamaican half-Irish, with a height to rival King Kong's and a nonexistent chest. In author Michele Jaffe's hands, nothing could be more hysterical than the gaffes...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 28, 2006

The rules of the road

Obtaining a driver's license can be an expensive and frustrating experience, and doing so in Japan is no different in that regard. But for many foreign residents in Japan, transferring their home license into a Japanese one can be a fairly simple and inexpensive procedure, while for others it's an advisable...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 26, 2006

Fan power fails this time, as 'Guts' bolts Fighters for Giants

Despite the best efforts of those Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters fans who sought to convince star player Michihiro Ogasawara to remain with the club, the infielder decided to use his free agency and switch to the Yomiuri Giants.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 25, 2006

Living among aliens on Planet Japan

Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke Enomoto was going to pay $20 million to go into outer space. Not me. I can go into outer space anytime I want. All I have to do is walk out my door.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2006

National smoking rate falling: JT poll

Fewer Japanese are lighting up as the country tightens regulations on public smoking and health awareness among adults increases, according to a survey by Japan Tobacco Inc.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2006

Suicides lay bare bullying menace

Eight years ago, Shinichiro and Midori Komori's 15-year-old daughter, Kasumi, committed suicide.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2006

For entrepreneur, 21, being a 'gal' is pure fashion, not fringe

Shiho Fujita was once a typical "gal," as the tribe of deep-tanned, garishly dressed young women who wander the streets of Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district in search of the latest fashions are called. Now a company president, Fujita is at the forefront of what she calls a "gal revolution."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 17, 2006

Tale of two con men in kids musical

Every November, the volunteer, nonprofit organization Tokyo Theatre for Children present a children's musical at the Tokyo American Club in Nishi-Azabu to give English-speaking children a taste of live theater. Formed in 1974, the troupe has previously staged "Cinderella," "Aladdin" and "Alice in Wonderland"...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 14, 2006

Boyfriends of today bring out the prince in Genji

Boyfriend stories used to be boring.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 14, 2006

Beneath the surface

A converted bean storehouse in a Kyoto back-street is the unusual venue for an innovative introduction to traditional Japanese culture. During just one busy day, participants in the Origin Arts Program can try their hand at the ancient martial art of "Waraku," tea ceremony, calligraphy and Noh theater....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 12, 2006

Cameron Diaz presses all the right buttons for SoftBank

For some insight into the ruckus that SoftBank kicked up when it relaunched its mobile phone service with a zero-yen-per-call plan, check out its new ads and compare them with the competition's. NTT DoCoMo's ads showcase no less than seven famous personalities (eight if you count female comedy duo Othello...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 9, 2006

The art of the machine

The phenomenal success of MTV's "Pimp my Ride," a show in which everyday folk have their unglamorous vehicles jazzed up with chrome wheels, fancy paint jobs and state-of-the-art sound systems, has sparked huge interest in the art and practice of motor-vehicle customization. So it wasn't long before a...
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2006

Miyauchi the key schemer, Horie testifies

Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie denied in court Tuesday that he had control over accounting at Livedoor Co., saying he had no knowledge of day-to-day transactions that allegedly violated securities laws.
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.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 3, 2006

Noh finds inspiration in playwright

To mark the centenary of the birth of modernist Irish playwright Samuel Beckett, the Embassy of Ireland is organizing "A Beckett Evening" at the Tessenkai Noh Theatre in Aoyama, Tokyo on Nov. 4 and 5.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 28, 2006

Seguignol Shimmy, Shinjo's tears . . . and more

SAPPORO -- The Japan Series wrapped up Thursday in Hokkaido, and Japan Times baseball writer Stephen Ellsesser is taking the first train out of here, before hopping a plane for Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2006

Bullying still a school problem

Two recent student suicides due to bullying -- one in the town of Chikuzen, Fukuoka Prefecture, and the other in the city of Takigawa, Hokkaido -- have raised questions over the attitudes of educators. Teachers, principals, board of education officials and officials of the education ministry need to...
BASKETBALL
Oct 24, 2006

Ohba gets set to battle for starting spot on Apache

Yasuhiro Ohba tightens his shoe laces before taking the court, and checks the grip with the wooden floor so he can perform his best.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 22, 2006

Macha's return for MLB-NPB series off after firing by A's

Apparently it is a jinx to be the manager of the Oakland Athletics and be named to head a Major League All-Star tour of Japan. For the second time in four years, an A's skipper has been changed after getting the assignment to lead a visiting team in the nichibei yakyu.
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2006

Surrogate births raise complex issues

News that a woman in her 50s has acted as a surrogate mother for her daughter and her daughter's husband underscores the need to enact a law governing how to legally treat children born in this way. The guidelines of the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology prohibit doctors from engaging in surrogacy-related...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 20, 2006

On a trail out of the real world

The fellow passengers on the weekend "holiday special express" from Shinjuku to Okutama or Musashi-Itsukaichi -- an hour northwest of Tokyo -- are a strange melange: There are lots of young men -- often much the worse for wear -- going home after a night of heavy drinking; there are young girls heading...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Oct 15, 2006

Intimacy crusader strives to rekindle Japan's fires of marital passion

At first glance, 46-year-old Mayumi Futamatsu looks like a regular housewife. But as someone who's "seen both heaven and hell" in her two marriages, she's a woman with a mission to help all women to be happy -- through having better sex lives.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 13, 2006

Kabuki in Ginza at half the price

The International Theatre Institute is currently offering half-price tickets to foreigners living in Japan for its November 2006 Grand Kabuki, titled "Kaomise Kabuki (Show True Faces)," taking place Nov. 17-19 at the Kabuki-za Theater in Ginza, Tokyo. The program brings together four living national...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 6, 2006

Old school rappers look to new schools

Since hip-hop emerged in the late 1970s, it's been closely linked with basketball. But just as the United States is no longer the dominant force in international hoops, its dominance in the world of beats and rhymes is also waning.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past