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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2010

Tokyo Jihen "Sports"

Given that she writes the majority of the songs in both projects and works with many of the same musicians, it's bizarre that Shiina Ringo's finest moments come not in her solo work but with her band Tokyo Jihen. Last year's long-anticipated solo release "Sanmon Goshippu" ("Superficial Gossip") was a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 12, 2010

Chatmonchy go south by southwest

"We want to establish our reputation as a rock band rather than a 'female' rock band. But I've noticed there are big differences in feeling between men and women, and it seems to be easier to convey how we feel and get into the rhythm as girls."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 12, 2010

Chicken Head Maker

Many bands dream of combining various musical styles to create a completely new sound, only to discover that it's a bit like trying to make bechamel sauce; if you're not careful the creamy concoction you dreamed of will curdle into an evil-looking slop. Chicken Head Maker, who happily converged on the...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2010

The best way to rebuild Haiti

WASHINGTON — In the wake of the devastating earthquake, there has been an outpouring of international support for Haiti. The first priority has been saving lives. That means getting water, food, shelter, medicine and other basic supplies to victims. The first rush must be backed up by an ongoing logistics...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 7, 2010

To resolve its 'core issue' Beijing needs to take heed of Dalai Lama

"From the perspective of Chinese Communist Party ideology, China was a victim of Western imperialism from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and, as a result, the Chinese tend to remember the humiliations they suffered while rarely considering their own nation to be an imperial power."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 5, 2010

'Kazura'/'Boys on the Run'

The odds of two brilliant Japanese comedies opening the same day are high but not impossible, somewhat like the odds of the same director (James Cameron) making two all-time worldwide box-office hits ("Titanic" and that other film about blue aliens).
JAPAN
Feb 3, 2010

Tolls to be lifted on 1,626 km of highways

The transport ministry Tuesday unveiled a plan to make 1,626 km of the nation's expressways toll-free in fiscal 2010, an experiment in accordance with the ruling party's key election promise to eventually remove user fees from most rural expressways.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 1, 2010

Okada's 4-point intervention sparks West to bj-league All-Star victory

RIFU, Miyagi Pref. — All-Star games are a collection of highlight-reel plays and fan-friendly events — lots of autographs, fans and players posing for pictures, light-hearted competition — and everyone's agenda is required to include one item: plenty of smiles.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 31, 2010

Sorge's spy is brought in from the cold

Toshiko Tokuyama was 14 years old when she found out that her uncle had been a spy, and that he had just died in a prison in Tokyo. It was 1943 then, and she was too young to really know what the word "spy" meant, let alone allow it to alter her impression of the man she respected like a father.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 30, 2010

The culinary art of feeding the soul, with zest of Zen

Soothing sunlight fills the peaceful living space; arrayed atop a bamboo leaf, a slice of yuzu and mikan tart beckons, complemented by a steaming cup of herbal tea. In the Spartan abode of Valerie Duvauchelle, a French cooking teacher and zazen practitioner, nothing indicates her former life as an executive...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 29, 2010

Blooming successes flower in artwork

East Asian flower-and-bird painting emerged as a genre in China around the 8th century and the tradition has survived through to the present. Its resonances for modern and contemporary Japanese artists are currently the theme of two very different exhibitions: "By the Water-lily Pond" at the Asahi Beer...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jan 28, 2010

Design for keeping everything warm and just so

Drastic desk changes Hopefully you're still keeping your New Year's resolutions, and if one of them was to pay more attention to the little things in life, such as your desk space, then the latest from Japanese stationery brand Craft Design Technology can help fulfill those good intentions. Released...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 24, 2010

Once mighty Apache in complete disarray

First in a two-part series
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Jan 22, 2010

'108 Heroes of the Suikoden'

Tokyo Vanilla Gallery
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jan 19, 2010

8-bit sound goes above ground

For some, 'retro' is the clang and twang of electric guitars; for others, it's the primitive chirp of a computer chip: that crazy 8-bit sound.
Reader Mail
Jan 17, 2010

Retire the foreign player limit

Regarding the Jan. 8 article "NPB, MLB commissioners to discuss prospect of true World Series": At the start of the 2009 Major League Baseball season, there were 229 foreign-born players on team rosters, comprising 28 percent of all players. Thus, MLB teams, with their collection of so many of the best...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2010

Limits on 'Allah' amid paradise's blessings

HONG KONG — An ad shown on the BBC and CNN channels portrays a Caucasian couple frolicking in a paradise on Earth, enjoying jungle greens filtered through dancing sunlight, scantily clad on a pristine golden beach undisturbed except by turtle tracks, snorkeling through vivid clear blue underwater life,...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2010

Seen in a Beijing minute

Jonathan Tel, in "The Beijing of Possibilities," reminds us that megalopolises such as Beijing are inexhaustible, and therefore offer endless possibilities. In good ways and bad, they never cease to surprise. One is much more likely to see, for example, a gorilla pedaling a bicycle through urban streets...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 16, 2010

Unlimited resources keep Man City in hunt

LONDON — The balance of power in Manchester is changing.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2010

Tokyo library reaching out to foreign community

Whether to read a Pulitzer Prize-winning author in English, flick through global editions of Vogue magazine or delve into foreign encyclopedias, the Tokyo Metropolitan Library wants more foreigners to visit and take advantage of its free multilingual resources.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 15, 2010

Habsburg treasures celebrate art history

It seems anachronistic and a little too culturally remote to call Rudolf II (1552-1612) a culture otaku, but that's how the catalog for the "Treasures of the Habsburg Monarchy," now in its second staging at Kyoto National Museum until March 14, describes him. The reclusive Rudolf had diverse interests...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
Jan 14, 2010

Affordable Issey Miyake, Guild Prime, mook freebies, A&F in Japan and men's briefs

24 Issey Miyake
EDITORIALS
Jan 13, 2010

Restoring trust in pensions

The Social Insurance Agency (SIA), criticized for its shoddy handling of pension-related records, has been reinvented as the Japan Pension Service, a corporation with semi-governmental status. It is hoped that workers of the new body will do their best to restore people's trust in the nation's pension...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Jan 12, 2010

Gachapon grows up

Capsule-toy machines attract collectors like moths to a flame and as cheap thrills go, the novelty of gachapon is still burning brightly.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 8, 2010

Coach says Phoenix players focus on team

With 20 games in the books and 17 victories to date, the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix are on pace to have the finest season in bj-league history. The Ryukyu Golden Kings went 41-11 in the 2008-09 season en route to the team's first championship.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 26, 2009

Be wild in the Year of the Tigress

The Year of the Tiger won't be as black and white as 2009, the Year of the Cow. But with the Tiger leading, it may be a year that promises more golf, sex and misadventure, which you have to admit, is something.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Dec 26, 2009

Be wild in the Year of the Tigress

The Year of the Tiger won't be as black and white as 2009, the Year of the Cow. But with the Tiger leading, it may be a year that promises more golf, sex and misadventure, which you have to admit, is something.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 25, 2009

The decade's most influential

Last week, The Japan Times picked Hikaru Utada as the most influential artist of the past decade. This week, our writers ask various figures in Japan's music scene who they thought were the most influential artists of the noughties. We asked them to choose one Japanese artist and one non-Japanese artist,...
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.

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