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Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 26, 2009

'Manga': heart of pop culture

From "One Piece" and "Naruto" to "Doraemon" and "Sazae-san," comic books have been the heart of Japanese pop culture.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 24, 2009

The beat goes on in Japan's jazz hub

As one of Japan's longest-standing maritime gateways to the world, Yokohama has absorbed many cultures from the West over the last 150 years — not least its abiding love of jazz.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2009

Sony plans to slash suppliers in major test of CEO's mettle

Sony Corp. said Thursday it will halve the number of parts suppliers to slash costs under a turnaround plan that is testing the mettle of Chief Executive Howard Stringer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 22, 2009

Hard rockers Detroit7 return with dirty tales

'In Croatia, we played in a huge club and we were the only band, but around 200 people came along to see us and went totally crazy. Everybody there loves alcohol, and so the toilets were filthy!" laughs Miyoko Yamaguchi, drummer with garage-rock band Detroit7. "The toilets around Europe were all dirty....
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2009

California dream-makers in the driver's seat

LOS ANGELES — Sometimes it's not that easy living in Los Angeles. Despite splendid weather, sprawling beaches and gorgeous mountain ranges — not to mention the well-tanned Hollywood stars — you face the unrelenting, withering scorn of smug colleagues long established in New York and Washington....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 17, 2009

Oh! To have a married life

Last week, during an NHK discussion about the future prospects of people who are presently 35 years old, an announcer casually dropped a statistic that said 82 percent of all 35-year-olds in Japan make ¥2 million or less a year. These are the people who are now supposed to be the core purchasers of...
BUSINESS
May 15, 2009

Sony logs ¥228 billion loss, sees more red ink

Sony Corp. suffered a record ¥227.78 billion group operating loss for the business year that ended on March 31, blaming plummeting global demand and the yen's surge against other currencies.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 10, 2009

Kawasaki risen from the grit with plenty to offer

Back in December 1972, having just taken a job with a Japan Airlines subsidiary, I moved into the company's bachelors dormitory at Miyauchi 2-chome in Kawasaki's Nakahara Ward.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 8, 2009

A traditional dance form from India's north

Dancers swathed in colorful silk saris with bells jangling from their ankles will perform a passionate and exotic dance form from northern India in Tokyo on May 12 and 13 in an event titled "Amurut Manthan #2," organized by an Indian-dance group based in the capital.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 3, 2009

Encore Matsuyama!

Nibbling a sweet mikan from Ehime, prime terroir for Japan's citrus, I decided to explore somewhere I had a vague feeling might be an interesting off-the-beaten ramble.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Apr 28, 2009

Women, know your place: some readers' responses

Following are readers' responses to Kris Kosaka's March 31 Zeit Gist article, "Women, know your place":
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Apr 26, 2009

Locating the Navitime Navigator on the map

Before actor Ian Moore gets on any train in Tokyo, he's careful to peek inside and check the carriage. Chances are his face is plastered on an advertisement in there somewhere, not quite sufficiently hidden behind the mustache and green-and- white helmet that for the last six years have transformed him...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2009

Eisler: international author of mystery

Start with an image. A man walking down a street in Tokyo. Steep, like San Francisco. Maybe Daikanyama. As the man walks toward Shibuya, two men follow in the shadows.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 18, 2009

Final weeks promise intriguing story lines

LONDON — This is as good as it gets.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2009

'Nisesatsu'

Counterfeiting is one of those movie crimes that, by the laws of script writing, is doomed to fail, like the overelaborate heists that end with the thieves either dead or captured and their loot billowing up in clouds of green from an open briefcase.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 14, 2009

Finnish cell phone maker targets well-heeled with luxury handsets

The mobile phone made of platinum and black ceramic has a sapphire crystal display and a scroll key made of a diamond. The most expensive model in the shop in Tokyo's Ginza district costs ¥6 million.
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2009

Slow train coming in Shizuoka

Standing on the platform at Kanaya Station in Shizuoka Prefecture, the enthusiastic crowd — myself included — watches with fascination as the train pulls in. Because this train is different. It's not a sleek, aerodynamic bullet train; nor is it one of the ubiquitous, striped JR jobs. Rather, the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2009

Slow train coming in Shizuoka

Standing on the platform at Kanaya Station in Shizuoka Prefecture, the enthusiastic crowd — myself included — watches with fascination as the train pulls in. Because this train is different. It's not a sleek, aerodynamic bullet train; nor is it one of the ubiquitous, striped JR jobs. Rather, the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

'Who Killed Nancy? The True Story . . .'/'Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains'

When Nancy Spungen, groupie girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist and punk icon Sid Vicious, was found dead in the couple's room at New York City's Chelsea Hotel on Oct. 12, 1978, few were surprised. Vicious was known for his explosive outbursts, Spungen for her grating personality, and both for their serious...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

'Red Cliff: Part II'

Was it worth the six-month wait? The answer is a resounding affirmative. John Woo's second and final segment of the epic battle extravaganza "Red Cliff" picks up with a monstrous, 800,000-strong army led by invading warlord Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) about to close in on Jiangdong, the province of young...
CULTURE / Film
Apr 10, 2009

'Red Cliff: Part II'

Was it worth the six-month wait? The answer is a resounding affirmative. John Woo's second and final segment of the epic battle extravaganza "Red Cliff" picks up with a monstrous, 800,000-strong army led by invading warlord Cao Cao (Zhang Fengyi) about to close in on Jiangdong, the province of young...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2009

Comedian's TB spreads disease fears

Fear is quietly spreading in the entertainment world on the heels of a report that Haruka Minowa of the popular comedian duo Harisenbon has contracted tuberculosis.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 5, 2009

Deciphering 'A Page of Madness'

Teinosuke Kinugasa's "A Page of Madness" ("Kurutta Ichipeiji," 1926) was long thought lost. Only some 75 years later did the discovery of the missing negative allow the picture to be finally viewed by the present generation. At the same time there emerged a critical need to evaluate it because it seemed...

Longform

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