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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 8, 2007

Baby boy body parts and the next big, uh, 'thing'

The Japanese are fascinated with big body parts. Got a big foot? This will throw the Japanese into fits of laughter and exclamations of "Ooki, desu ne?" ("It's big, isn't it?"). The Japanese often refer to their own faces with amusement because they are generally bigger and rounder compared to the smaller...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2007

'The U.S. vs. John Lennon'/'Chapter 27'

This Saturday, Dec. 8, marks 27 years since ex-Beatle John Lennon was gunned down outside his New York City home. Fans of the singer — and he still has many — often mark this sad anniversary by playing his music, raising a glass to his memory, or lighting a candle in Strawberry Fields.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 7, 2007

Harlem Gospel Choir

Hail the festive season in true gospel style this year with the joyous sounds of Harlem Gospel Choir. The world-famous troupe from New York's Harlem district returns to Japan for the fifth time from Dec. 13-23 and promises an exultant performance of hand-clapping and foot-stomping. You may even get to...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2007

Japan climate effort needs rethink: experts

One of Japan's goals at the Bali conference on climate change is getting legally binding emission controls placed on developing countries, but many experts doubt the nation's ability to get its own house in order first.
EDITORIALS
Dec 6, 2007

The reality of bullying

A new education ministry survey shows that elementary, junior high and high schools saw about 125,000 bullying cases in fiscal 2006 — up 6.2 times from 2005. The increase is mainly attributed to the ministry's making the definition of bullying less strict.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2007

Suzuki shifts into overdrive in Indian car market

Despite intensifying competition, Suzuki Motor Corp. won't give up its 55 percent share of the market in India without a fight, company Chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki vowed Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2007

Hepatitis disaster another warning ignored

Ikuko Kuno gave birth to her first son at a maternity hospital in Ise, Mie Prefecture, in May 1988. The only thing different from when she gave birth to her daughter in 1986 was that the obstetrician gave her a blood-clotting agent to stop her hemorrhaging.
BASKETBALL
Dec 3, 2007

Balanced Five Arrows take over first place in West

The host Takamatsu Five Arrows took over sole possession of first place in the bj-league's Western Conference, earning a 78-56 victory over the Toyama Grouses on Sunday.
SOCCER
Dec 3, 2007

Becks superb in exhibition tour finale

WELLINGTON (AP) Even David Beckham was impressed with this virtuoso display.
Reader Mail
Dec 2, 2007

Dialects have their place

Regarding the Nov. 13 article "Dialect-rife Japan can be tongue-twisting": Let me make a few comments as a man who is keen on local dialects. From ancient times Japan has been a country of centralization. When Kyoto was the capital, the Kyoto dialect was standard and the rest were considered inferior....
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 2, 2007

Big-family sitcom, judo docu-drama, life makeover show

Teru Miyamoto's best-selling novel "Suisei Monogatari (Meteor Story)" (TBS, Monday, 9 p.m.) is brought to the small screen this week in a two-hour adaptation. The book focuses on a very large household containing 13 people and one dog, a beagle named Hook.
COMMENTARY
Dec 2, 2007

Stateside view of Australia's landslide

LOS ANGELES — In a parliamentary system of government, there are no guarantees. You can be in one day and out the next.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 2, 2007

'Godzilla' stomps on the competition

They called it "Godzilla" — and with good reason. When the original turbocharged Nissan Skyline GT-R emerged in 1989, it was hailed as the greatest ever Japanese sports car, a coupe to challenge Europe's top speedsters such as the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Testarossa. It was never officially exported...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 1, 2007

Company has visions of a brighter future

Have you heard of a sustainable plant that produces fuel as well as homeopathic medicines? Or a revolutionary process that turns garbage or plants into fuel?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Dec 1, 2007

Group helps volunteers get their hands on work

No matter how badly someone wants to put their good will to use, getting a handle on where to start is often the hardest thing to grasp. Realizing this difficulty, a group of U.S. volunteers in the late '80s got together to create New York Cares, an organization that helps link the ambitious aims of...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Dec 1, 2007

Winless Grouses shooting for turnaround

This is a tale of two expansion teams. One had a banner season in 2006-07; the other experienced growing pains from the get-go.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 30, 2007

Golden Kings' No. 1 draft pick Takushi realizing big potential

Ryukyu Golden Kings point guard Naoto Takushi, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 bj-league draft, is living up to the high expectations placed on him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2007

'Hannari — Geisha Modern'

Over the years, many people have asked me why I bother to review Japanese films, when so few non-Japanese-speaking foreigners can fully appreciate them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 29, 2007

Translator of the universal and the local

In his 1987 book "Ireland Kiko (Travels in Ireland)," the renowned historical novelist and essayist Ryotaro Shiba (1923-96) observed that "the typical Irish character could easily be dramatized," and that "Ireland is one of the richest countries for the literary arts, with people whose daily lives are...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 28, 2007

Hakuho notches another as the ozeki raise eyebrows

This year's Kyushu Basho, which ended Sunday, saw Hakuho stride through the muck and grime to claim the fifth title of his career with a 12-win, 3-loss record. When push came to shove, his class shined through. Hakuho, who is looking more and more like the second coming of the great yokozuna Futabayama,...
BASEBALL / SPORTS SCOPE
Nov 28, 2007

Ueda may excel on LPGA Tour where Miyazato has not

Not too long ago the general consensus was that Ai Miyazato would become Japan's first breakthrough star on an American golf tour. She may yet become a superstar, but there's another Japanese player that may get there first.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years