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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 2, 2006

Buying U.S. out of Okinawa started a habit that is hard to kick

The bombshell that former Foreign Ministry official Bunroku Yoshino dropped last month hasn't had the explosive effect one might expect. Yoshino was in charge of the ministry's American Bureau at the time the United States handed Okinawa back to Japan in 1972, and in an exclusive interview in the Feb....
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2006

TV programs go mobile as One Seg services begin

Starting Saturday, many cell phone users may find their beloved handsets even more indispensable. In addition to tapping out messages to their friends and surfing the Net, people will be able to see digital broadcasts of their favorite TV shows wherever they go, on their mobiles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 30, 2006

21st-century ambient narratives

Mood rings, lava lamps, liquid oil color projections.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 26, 2006

Ambassador Schieffer still fond of baseball in role as diplomat

Over the years, several people have been called "baseball ambassadors" for their efforts in fostering friendly relations between Japan and the United
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 26, 2006

TV Asahi's 'TV Tackle,' NHK's 'Itsuka Au Machi' and more

Since TV exposure is a plus for politicians regardless of what they say, they can be put on the spot without any real loss of popularity. In fact, being humiliated can work in their favor in terms of PR.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 24, 2006

Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan "Ballad of the Broken Seas"

Isobel Campbell, formerly of the twee neofolk Glaswegian group Belle & Sebastian, has teamed up with Mark Lanegan, former lead singer of American grunge rockers Screaming Trees, for this unlikely collaboration. The appeal of the pairing lies in the contrast in vocal styles of the two singers -- Campbell...
BUSINESS
Mar 21, 2006

Veal blunder laid to bad communications

The veal shipment that arrived in January containing banned spinal cords was an isolated incident and "does not indicate weakness in the overall U.S. beef processing, inspection or export systems," the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report released Monday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 19, 2006

LaRocca provides even more punch to lineup of Swallows

The Hanshin Tigers have their "JFK" pitching relay, but now the Tokyo Yakult Swallows can counter with their "LIRR" quartet of sluggers. No, it's not the Long Island Railroad, but second baseman Greg LaRocca, third sacker Akinori Iwamura, left fielder Alex Ramirez and first baseman Adam Riggs.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 17, 2006

Bellydance partywith feast of sound

Tokyo band Tabla Kwaiesa will be injecting the plush Club Heights in Shinjuku with a whole lot of Arabic soul for "Tokyo Ihtifaal," an event taking place March 21. Some of Japan's top bellydancers, including Suran Negishi -- competition winner at Armani's Oriental Festival in Lebanon last year -- and...
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2006

How will delisting impact Livedoor?

The Tokyo Stock Exchange will delist Livedoor Co. on April 14, depriving the Internet company of the ability to raise capital on the market. How will the move affect Livedoor? Here are some questions and answers that address the firm's possible fate:
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2006

Net boards venue for faceless rightists

OSAKA -- They are called "Net uyoku," or Internet rightwingers.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2006

Final Livedoor directors of Horie era to resign

The remaining three members of the Livedoor Co. board of directors, who held seats when founder Takafumi Horie was running the Internet services company, will resign before a shareholders' meeting in June as the scandal-plagued firm tries to salvage its image, sources said Monday.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 12, 2006

Lefebvre has Team China improving

A few paragraphs to start off this week's column about Jim Lefebvre, manager of the China National Team which competed last weekend against Japan, Korea and Taiwan in the Asia Round of the World Baseball Classic at Tokyo Dome.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Mar 9, 2006

Collages catch a fire

Computer software has revived the term "cut and paste." We execute the commands when writing documents, treating images, or slipping stuff into an e-mail. Cutting and pasting is so simple that it's easy to forget that the actions were originally performed not in a flash with a cursor and a mouse -- but...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 5, 2006

Attention divided between WBC and NPB preseason

Kind of a strange atmosphere in Japan's yakyu world this week with the World Baseball Classic attracting a lot of attention, as it should but, at the same time, the 12 Central and Pacific League teams have concluded their spring training camps and are into the exhibition season, preparing for Opening...
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2006

Japan may hire controversial firm to dismantle camp in Iraq

The Defense Agency is considering hiring a U.S. firm to dismantle the Ground Self-Defense Force's camp in Samawah, Iraq, after the troops pull out by late May, informed sources said Saturday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Mar 4, 2006

What would the village hugger do?

Eons ago in an America light-years away, my wife and I stopped at the only eatery available in a town that hit the bull's-eye in the middle of nowhere. As we ordered coffee and toast, an old man shuffling past suddenly stopped and spoke to my wife. She may have been the first Oriental he had ever seen....
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 3, 2006

DJ gatecrashes VIP party

One of the biggest names in Japanese dance music, Mondo Grosso, returns to Club Yellow in Roppongi, Tokyo, on March 3 as a guest DJ for "Cyberjapan presents VIP Club."
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2006

Japan grows on those who pay visit: poll

South Korean and Chinese high school students who have been to Japan like Japan more than those who have never been, a survey showed Wednesday.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 3, 2006

Funny play, serious themesfrom Sometimes Y Theatre

Sometimes Y Theatre presents its latest production, George F. Walker's gritty comedy "Problem Child," at the Canadian Embassy Theatre in Akasaka, Tokyo, March 3-5. A not-for-profit theater company that has been active in Canada and Tokyo for almost a decade, Sometimes Y Theatre's latest production marks...
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2006

JAL boots, reseats serial e-mailer

A male passenger who refused to stop sending e-mail from his mobile phone caused a one-hour delay in a plane's departure from Kagoshima airport on Friday, Japan Airlines said Saturday.
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2006

Number of arrests for Web crimes hits record

The number of people arrested for Internet-linked crimes in Japan rose almost 52 percent last year to a record 3,161, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 25, 2006

Software aids communication in cultural context

Nils Plett, president and CEO of QE Tech, is tall. While angling my camera skyward to get his picture, walking alongside requires two steps to his every stride.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2006

Upgrade plan finds Shimokitazawa split

A popular Tokyo shopping and nightlife district is slated to get a major face-lift, and some local residents are resisting, saying they want their neighborhood to stay as is.
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2006

Japan Post Corp. names eight execs

The board of Japan Post Corp., the holding company formed in January to prepare for the privatization of the country's postal system, appointed its eight senior executives Tuesday, including Sakon Uda, principal at McKinsey & Co., and Akira Uno, former chairman of SMBC Consulting Co., company officials...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 22, 2006

S. Korean wetland faces doom

For those readers long ago numbed to the fraud, waste and environmental abuse that accompanies public works projects in Japan, here's one that might jump-start your ire: A project by the South Korean government to landfill and develop 40,100 hectares (almost 100,000 acres) of coastal waters and wetlands...
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2006

Mr. Koizumi's running on empty

The Diet is in turmoil over a fresh scandal. At a session of the Lower House Budget Committee last Thursday, an opposition party member alleged that Mr. Takafumi Horie, the disgraced former chief executive of the Internet company Livedoor, had sent an internal e-mail to subordinates before the Sept....

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