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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Dec 19, 2010

Hopson hopes Sendai a stop on way to NBA

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Mac Hopson of the Sendai 89ers is the subject of this week's profile.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 17, 2010

Butoh legend dances to a different beat

Though much younger than the late Kazuo Ohno and the late Tatsumi Hijikata, two legends of butoh, Akira Kasai was also a pioneer of the art form in the 1960s and '70s. He was even dubbed the "Nijinsky of butoh."
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2010

'Made in the world' notion no answer to U.S. prayers

HONG KONG — Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization, recently made an interesting and thoughtful plea for a new approach to trade, with the idea that "Made in the world" could often be a more accurate description than one that put a purely national label on a product.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 12, 2010

New Year's cleaning; a four-legged soldier; CM of the week: Paburon

There are many customs and traditions associated with New Year's, but housecleaning tends to get overlooked since it isn't very sexy. However, this week the quiz show "Wafu Sohonke" ("Head Family of Japanese Style"; TV Tokyo, Thurs., 9 p.m.) will look at New Year's cleaning traditions in detail.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 5, 2010

Privacy is losing its very meaning

Words come and words go. Times change, language evolves.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Nov 28, 2010

Nakanishi draws on vast experience to help Rizing

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players and other individuals from the bj-league. Rizing Fukuoka guard Jun Nakanishi is the subject of this week's profile.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 26, 2010

Accordionist brings his Argentine roots to French musette

Sitting in the same room with Argentine accordionist Raul Barboza, you start to notice that even the way he speaks is musical.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 21, 2010

Children chasing their dreams; falconry with Tamori; CM of the week: Solmac

The two-hour travel documentary special "Chikyu Show Gakko" ("World Elementary School"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.) presents children living under difficult circumstances while "working toward their dreams" in various places throughout the world.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 21, 2010

Tossing our leaders to the lions

In Tokugawa days (1603-1867), criticizing the government was a capital offense. Rulers, not only in Japan but the world over, expected to be — and generally were — not only obeyed but revered, sometimes as gods, sometimes as beings only slightly less exalted. "God," wrote the French bishop and political...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2010

Van Gogh: Sanity behind madness

In recent years there has been a sea change in the official cult surrounding the Post-Impressionist Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). For the masses he is still the archetypal "crazy artist": razor blade in one hand, severed ear in the other, and a lovely picture of sunflowers on the easel...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 14, 2010

Revealing looks at a 'phantom chef' and city sparrows; CM of the Week: Lotte Xylitol gum

You've been thrilled by the skills of "Ryori no Tetsujin (The Iron Chef)" and impressed by the knowledge revealed by "Ryori no Meijin" ("The Master Chef"). Now you can enjoy the unique talents of "Ryori no Kaijin" ("The Phantom Chef"; TV Tokyo, Wed., 9 p.m.).
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 12, 2010

Theater with a hint of human truth

Yumi Suzuki co-founded the Jitensha Kinqureat theater company with friends at Nihon Joshi Daigaku (Japan Women's University) in 1982, and it was not long before the Tokyo troupe gained a prominent reputation and a keen following for its true-to-life plays in colloquial language about the lives of young...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 12, 2010

Kojoe and Raye 6

In a city filled to the brim with music festivals of various shapes and sizes all year round, there's nevertheless something uniquely intriguing about Yume Fest, which takes place this Saturday in Tokyo's Harajuku district. The festival is keen to stress its grassroots origins, reflected in its refreshingly...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 31, 2010

Japan's Afghanistan news blackout in the spotlight

Veteran freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka was finally freed last month by kidnappers after five months of captivity in Afghanistan. Though the Japanese media reported the kidnapping when it happened last April, and then Tsuneoka's release on Sept. 6, any details about his confinement or what he was...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Oct 26, 2010

Plans for public space need the public's input

Dear Prime Minister Naoto Kan,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2010

Is Tokyo staging the next major theater festival?

Festival/Tokyo, which launched last year with two sets of events in spring and autumn, is in a bid to join the ranks of the world's top-flight theater festivals — such as Edinburgh's annual spectacular in Scotland, Avignon's in the South of France and Adelaide's in South Australia. The question is,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2010

First-time director takes on Murakami

Many filmmakers say the difficulties of adapting a best-selling novel to the screen can be daunting. How about the challenge of adapting a story by a foreign best-selling author ("All God's Children Can Dance" by Haruki Murakami) from a country one had never visited (Japan) and to choose the project...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 20, 2010

Ramen chain widens definition of 'new graduates'

A ramen chain causes a stir by dropping the tradition of hiring from only this year's pool of graduates.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2010

U.S. is no role model for prosecutor reform

The revelation of an "ace" prosecutor's criminal misconduct in Osaka, and of a coverup by his bosses and peers, have led to one of the most serious scandals in the history of Japanese criminal justice — and to many calls for reform of Japan's prosecution system.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Oct 17, 2010

Homegrown swordplay hits the mark

With the sizzling summer heat replaced by cool breezes and mild temperatures recently, it's a great time to contemplate adding a new exercise to your weekly routine. If you are interested in a homegrown sport that is recreational and relieves stress, sports chanbara lets you kill two birds with one stone...
JAPAN / Media
Oct 17, 2010

Pusan festival delivers rich lineup of movies despite budget slump

Earlier this year, Kim Dong Ho announced that the 15th Pusan International Film Festival, which ran from Oct. 7 to 15, would be his final one as the event's director. Kim launched PIFF in 1986 and quickly made it the most important Asian film event of the annual calendar. As a farewell gesture, the traditional...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 15, 2010

A modern twist for Japan's National Ballet

It doesn't seem quite right to mention hirsute, mustachioed actor Tom Selleck and baseball legend Bobby Valentine in the same breath as David Bintley, the new artistic director of The National Ballet of Japan. However, if you're unlucky enough to have seen Selleck's 1992 film "Mr. Baseball" or know of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 1, 2010

'El Topo'

A lot of times you'll see movies that a look a lot like all too many other movies you've seen before. Odd-couple buddy cops, one last heist, boy meets girl who hates him at first, the "chosen one" heroic quest, band of dysfunctional misfits who learn to pull together and triumph . . .
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 24, 2010

Donato Dozzy finds groove at Labyrinth

Italian DJ Donato Dozzy wowed disciples of dance music at The Labyrinth, a three-day dance-music festival, in Naeba, Niigata Prefecture, last weekend.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 24, 2010

African pianist to jazz up Tokyo, Kyoto

Combining smooth jazz with elements of African style, Abdullah Ibrahim has drawn comparisons with musicians such as Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. The South African pianist will give jazz fans in Tokyo and Kyoto a taste of this combination when he returns to Japan on tour this week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 24, 2010

The 'plucky pioneer' of photojournalism

At 96, Tsuneko Sasamoto, Japan's first female photojournalist, remains a remarkable force of energy, creativity and inspiration. Dubbed a "plucky pioneer" and "the Annie Liebovitz of her day," Sasamoto has photographed some of Japan's greatest personalities and historical moments during her 70-year career....
EDITORIALS
Sep 19, 2010

Mr. Kan picks new Cabinet

Prime Minister Naoto Kan got off to a fresh start Friday, three days after his re-election as head of the Democratic Party of Japan in a contest with former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. He extensively reshuffled his Cabinet by replacing 10 of the 17 members. Before that, he installed new party...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Sep 18, 2010

Thierry's table offers bountiful taste of France

The cartoon character adorning ads and menus for the Kyoto restaurant Le Table de Thierry, it turns out, is a pretty good approximation of the owner himself: an upbeat, grande-size French-Togolese chef with a passion for demystifying French cuisine.
OLYMPICS
Sep 12, 2010

English, Japanese and translation

The recent decision by two Japanese companies to make English their language of business has unleashed a complicated mix of emotions. It is undeniable, though, that English has become the world language and that being able to communicate through English is increasingly important in an age of globalization....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Sep 10, 2010

New dining at 45 floors above Tokyo

The Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, opened two new restaurants on Sept. 4, replacing the all-day dining outlet Forty Five on the 45th floor.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building