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EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2011

Local bellwether elections

The results of coming local elections in Osaka and Aichi prefectures could have a great impact on the shape of Japan's local government. The people concerned need to carefully watch and consider the moves of two men — Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto and Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura.
EDITORIALS
Jan 9, 2011

An embarrassment of riches

Japan's rich past is of course a national treasure, but the sheer volume of items to be cared for and preserved for future generations can be overwhelming.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 9, 2011

Are Japan's fish lovers eating tuna to extinction?

Pick up a newspaper in Japan these days and you'll almost always find a story in it about the state of bluefin tuna somewhere in the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 7, 2011

Fill up on Morimura's unusual 'side dishes'

Some artists are accorded such historical importance that virtually everything they do or have done comes under close scrutiny. Other artists are effectively known for a single thing, such as the nominal Italian Surrealist, Giorgio de Chirico, who is primarily known for his so-called "metaphysical paintings,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2011

Buzz overseas spells success at home

For Japanese music acts, success abroad has traditionally been the reserve of noise-rock bands such as Boredoms and Melt-Banana, for whom potential barriers like language or cultural disparities do little to hinder their pursuit of abstraction. More conventional Japanese indie bands have traditionally...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 7, 2011

Realizing the genius of Leonardo da Vinci

A temporary pavilion in Tokyo's Hibiya Park seems like an unlikely venue for showcasing the hallowed works of Leonardo da Vinci, but for this particular exhibition, the big top-like structure is appropriate. "Leonardo da Vinci: The Genius" is aimed straight at the general public. Designed, produced,...
Reader Mail
Jan 6, 2011

Plea bargains aid organized crime

The Jan. 3 editorial, "Problematic prosecution report," suggests at one point that prosecutors offices "make a concrete proposal for introducing the plea bargaining system while accepting electronic recording of the entire interrogation process."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 6, 2011

Massage away the blues with sensory therapy

A pot of tea brews next to a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table. Three flying porcelain ducks hang on the wall. A pile of books sits on the shelf. And somewhere in the distance, the sound of bird song mingles with the chime of church bells.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 1, 2011

Your 108 misleading karmas

Happy New Year! Did you visit a temple (or shrine) on the first of January, and ring the bell 108 times, per Japanese tradition? The ringing of the bell represents the 108 bonno — defilements of man. Have you even wondered what exactly the 108 bonno are? Here is a list:
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2010

Drinking down great fiction

Writers often gather in exotic places, finding inspiration in the unknown. Suzanne Kamata, long-term Japanese resident and writer, honors this literary tradition by editing an annual anthology of work by writers connected to Asia. Titled "Yomimono" (literally, reading thing), Kamata first published the...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 24, 2010

Ueno Museum celebrates its new look

The Tokyo National Museum in Ueno Park is ready to show off its new look.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Dec 24, 2010

'The World of Red and White'

Hasegawa Machiko Museum Closes Feb. 13
CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2010

Counting out 2010 with the best beats across the country

Over drinks with a former Tokyo-based promoter recently, our conversation turned to the state of the city's nightclub scene. In Europe, nightclubs can usually guarantee a certain number of patrons to show up on any given night, which is great for DJs who are scouted to perform at those clubs. In Japan,...
EDITORIALS
Dec 21, 2010

Dubious referendum in Nagoya

Mayor Takashi Kawamura of Nagoya led a signature collection for a referendum to recall the city assembly because it opposes his policies. Last month, the city's election management commission decided that many of the some 465,000 signatures collected by a group supporting the mayor were invalid and that...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 19, 2010

Final word on the year's best reading

Like the ancient Greeks who were outnumbered by Persian hordes at the battle of Thermopylae, a motley gathering of British and Indian troops was almost overpowered at Kohima, but managed to resist the Japanese forces intent on taking India. Only a regiment, not a whole division, of Japanese soldiers...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Dec 10, 2010

'Dominique Perrault: Urban Landscape'

Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 10, 2010

Ho ho ho and a bottle of Bordeaux

It's easy to feel sick of Christmas before it's even started. Shops are so desperate to tap into your Christmas spirit by piping the same stale old songs ad nauseam that by the time the actual event rolls around, most of us have built up an immunity to even the simple charms of tinsel and fairy lights....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 10, 2010

When followers outdo the master

R. D. Laing, the leading light of the 1960s anti-psychiatry movement, believed that mental illnesses were natural responses to the unnatural stresses and strains of modern life. Something similar can be said about Surrealist art, which, at times, seems like an artistic reaction to a world that throws...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Dec 9, 2010

The fast track to love in Aomori

Aomori makes a big push to boost tourism with a romantic 'My First Aomori' campaign.
COMMENTARY
Dec 6, 2010

Frankly, says the diplomat

LONDON — There is not much in the latest batch of Wikileaks that should come as a surprise to most well-informed people. It is surely common knowledge that the present Russian government has close connections with Mafia-style criminals. No one could have been surprised by reports of the concerns of...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Dec 5, 2010

Anyone for a great green gourd?

Copying a Canadian friend, during spring for the last two years I have built tepee frames, not conventional trellises, for my cucumbers to trail around as they grow.
COMMUNITY
Dec 4, 2010

American artist's creativity never stops in Kyoto

Daniel Kelly's immaculate central Kyoto atelier is empty upon arrival, but soon the artist comes bounding in, extending warm greetings before leading a quick tour of the two-floor studio-living quarters. Then we're off again, dashing around the corner to check out his kura (warehouse)-cum-art storehouse...
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 28, 2010

Eats, shoots and leaves in Hakusan

It's hunting season in Tokyo. I kit up and trek out to the Hakusan area of Bunkyo Ward, hoping to shoot (with camera) the wild shades of autumn.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 26, 2010

Looking beyond art's boundaries

Art, it is often said, is a lens through which to see the world differently. "Differently" could mean more intensely, or more clearly, or in a new and unfamiliar way. This inevitably requires a separation between the artwork and the world. Art so understood thus sets up territories and borders, the lines...

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