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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jan 3, 2010

Jake Adelstein: Insider reaching out

Author Joshua "Jake" Adelstein supposes that if he'd stayed home in rural Missouri and had never come to Japan, he'd probably have become a small-town lawyer or a very happy detective on the local police force.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 29, 2009

Stray observations on booming pet culture

Pets are big business these days. Cat and dog cafes, animal accessory shops, dog hotels and even aesthetic salons for animals are easy to find. On weekends, in the large park near my house, I see people walking what appear to be entrants in a pedigree dog competition: dachshunds in mini-sweaters promenade...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 27, 2009

Usual conformist cliches about the Japanese

NEW YORK — So Roger Cohen, a relatively new columnist with The New York Times, concluded after a brief stay in Tokyo earlier this month that Japan is a society laid low by "a tremendous conformity" and trivialized by "otaku" ("Japanese Obsessions," Dec. 14).
Reader Mail
Dec 24, 2009

Article about Gaza wall strays

Regarding Cesar Chelala's Dec. 18 article, "Illegal wall exacerbates disaster for Gazans": I don't understand this article. The headline includes "illegal wall," which is mentioned in other news articles worldwide. Good story on what the Egyptians are building, but the story only has a few lines about...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2009

Japan finds a little to crow about

COPENHAGEN — The political agreement on climate change formally recognized Saturday has been roundly condemned, but the Japanese government sees it as a diplomatic achievement for including China and the United States, the two largest emitters, and paving the way for a future framework to reduce emissions....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 20, 2009

Stunning book speaks volumes about the ravages visited on Tibet

Ten years ago, near the end of 1999, the Chinese author Wang Lixiong received a package from a young woman of Tibetan origin named Tsering Woeser. It contained several hundred black-and-white negatives.
COMMENTARY
Dec 20, 2009

Wake up a friend about China at Christmas

LOS ANGELES — Attention last-minute holiday shoppers: We have an easy-to-purchase gift to recommend. And we guarantee that it will fit all sizes, shapes and tastes. This is assuming your intended recipients are intelligent, literate and eager to learn about the world.
EDITORIALS
Nov 26, 2009

Worries about deflation

In its economic assessment for November, the government announced that the Japanese economy is in a state of mild deflation — the first time since June 2006 that the monthly report has referred to deflation. The very mention of it indicates the government's sense of crisis over a possible rise in unemployment...
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2009

Much ado about nothing

The so-called furor over the bow by the U.S. president is much ado about nothing. The major issue is that the Emperor is a figurehead without real power, and perhaps Barack Obama is in the same boat. Visitors of any stature coming to Japan want to do the right thing and don't understand the many nuances...
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 22, 2009

Our growing Earth?

The world is awash with wild theories, conjecture and speculation about everything you could imagine — and then some.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 22, 2009

Our growing Earth?

The world is awash with wild theories, conjecture and speculation about everything you could imagine — and then some.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 13, 2009

Tarantino returns to grind up Nazis

HOLLYWOOD — Quentin Tarantino is back, making another much-publicized and controversial splash similar to (but with more sociological implications) his one-two punch with "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" in 2003 and "Vol. 2" a year later.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 10, 2009

As status symbol, it tops the rest

The commercial-residential complex of Roppongi Hills opened six years ago, boasting offices, a museum, cinema, condominiums, restaurants and shops, becoming a popular tourist destination and a high-status residence in a part of central Tokyo otherwise known for its nightlife dens.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2009

Speaking out about domestic violence

Just a year into her marriage, Emi Yoshida realized she might not survive it. Her violent, drug-addict husband had tried to strangle her, then beat her unconscious outside their Tokyo home. When she came to, he was threatening her with a knife.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2009

Bush talks to Waseda about his life — in world of sports

Exactly a year after Barack Obama was voted in as president, his successor, George W. Bush, talked in Japan on Wednesday about his former life — in sports.
EDITORIALS
Oct 31, 2009

More doubts about Copenhagen

The prospects for success at the United Nations meeting in December in Copenhagen to devise a global accord to fight global warming appear to be receding. Ironically, one reason for the growing pessimism is the bilateral agreement struck by China and India, two of the world's leading producers of greenhouse...
SOCCER / World cup
Oct 10, 2009

Okada miffed about Scotland's lineup changes

National team manager Takeshi Okada has accused Scotland of short-changing his side ahead of their friendly on Saturday, after the Scots arrived in Yokohama minus 10 players selected for their original squad.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 9, 2009

A twisted path to true love

Born in Tokyo in 1950, Kichitaro Negishi got his start in the film industry making soft-porn movies for the Nikkatsu studio. He directed his first film, "Orion no Satsui yori: Joji no Hoteishiki" ("From Orion's Testimony: Formula for Murder") in 1978 and in 1981 made his straight-feature debut with "Enrai"...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 4, 2009

Mamoru Mohri: A spaceman speaks

When future historians document the story of Japanese space exploration, 2009 will likely figure as the year when the nation put two high-profile rocket launch failures, in 1999 and 2003, firmly behind it and, quite literally, took off.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 2, 2009

Lakestars excited about adding Joho

The Shiga Lakestars made a bold move this week, acquiring Masashi Joho from the Tokyo Apache for forward Reina Itakura.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 27, 2009

Yuri Geller tells all about M.J., adventures with Tamori and kyabakura drama

If you can't wait for the Michael Jackson concert-rehearsal movie that opens next month, maybe the three-hour special, "Sekai no Chokettei-teki Shukan! Ai to Yuki no Maruhi Eizo" (World Super Decisive Moments! Secret Images of Love and Courage; Nihon TV, Tues., 7:58 p.m.), will hold you over a bit.
Reader Mail
Sep 20, 2009

News about Taiji film appreciated

Regarding the Sept. 16 article "(Tokyo) Festival to screen Taiji dolphin-slaughter film": Thank you for keeping us informed about the film "The Cove" and giving us news related to Taiji — the kind of news that often gets censored by corporate media. I appreciate the integrity of The Japan Times on...
CULTURE / Film
Sep 18, 2009

Underground fruit

Peaches Film Festival organizer Atsuko Ohno talks to The Japan Times about a unique event, held every March since 2007, to produce and screen works by recent female graduates of the Film School of Tokyo (Eiga Bigakko).
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Puzzling non sequitur about India

Regarding Hugh Cortazzi's Sept. 11 article, "Shifting balances of power": In an otherwise thought-provoking piece, I was surprised to read this line about India: ". . . the country was for too long neglected by Japanese who were repelled by aspects of Indian life." Would Cortazzi care to elaborate exactly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2009

Back from extinction

Few rock bands in Japan are as legendary as Unicorn. From their inception in 1986 at the height of Japan's "band boom," which saw the balance of chart power shift from idoru (idol) pop to real bands, through to their split in 1993 and subsequent reunion this year, the Hiroshima five-piece have left a...

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?