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Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Apr 6, 2011

Postquake, Japan's game companies put titles on hold

Japan is still reeling. The devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 11 left thousands dead and many more homeless or unaccounted for. Prime Minister Naoto Kan called the quake the worst crisis Japan has faced since the end of World War II. The earthquake's very real impact has been felt everywhere...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2011

France's hard right embraces soft populism

PARIS — The central paradox of French politics was confirmed once again March 27. In a nationwide vote to select local authorities (the so-called Conseiller General), the far-right National Front gained 11 percent of the votes cast, but secured only 0.1 percent of the seats.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 27, 2011

Point guard Sako, 'Japan's Mr. Basketball,' decides to retire

It's always sad when a great player calls it quits. Especially a guy like Kenichi Sako, who was called "Japan's Mr. Basketball" over the years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2011

Knightley learns about life from Ishiguro adaptation

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Keira Knightley, at age 26, has proven herself much more than just a pretty face. Born March 26, 1985, she requested a showbiz agent at age 3 — not all that surprising, considering that her father, Will Knightley, is an actor and her mother is the acclaimed playwright Sharman...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2011

Disaster analysis you may not hear elsewhere

The seemingly limited information being provided by both the government and the operating company, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), about the ongoing disaster at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is a source of widespread public concern.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2011

'Never let Me Go'/'Away We Go'

The challenge this week is how to convince you to go see "Never Let Me Go" without ruining its surprises for you. The film looks deceptively normal: It's a love triangle with Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan set in 1970s and '80s England. But — and this is a huge but — there's...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 14, 2011

Hamaguchi's steady hand on tiller steers 89ers in right direction

KASUKABE, Saitama Pref. — It's no shock that the Sendai 89ers are once again one of the most consistent, quality clubs in the bj-league. Above all, it begins with good coaching.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2011

World Red Cross chief: Japan has crucial aid role

In November 2009, Tadateru Konoe, Japanese Red Cross Society head, became the first Asian president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BY THE GLASS
Mar 11, 2011

Savor the taste of bottled sunshine

Last year's World Cup gave Japan the opportunity to discover more about South Africa than just vuvuzelas: In 2010, packaged wine exports from South Africa to Japan grew by an impressive 11 percent. While the noise of the hornlike instrument is happily fading away (hopefully never to be heard again),...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2011

Activist fighting for LGBT rights

Harvey Milk is part of U.S. history but Japan has yet to see anyone like him 32 years after his assassination, according to Taiga Ishikawa, an openly gay candidate running for the Toshima Ward Assembly in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2011

Rise in food and oil prices

Political turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East triggered by the change of government in Tunisia is pushing up crude oil prices. Crude oil prices, which were rather stable in the range of $70 to $80 per barrel the past year, are now hovering above $100 per barrel.
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 5, 2011

Grampus favored to repeat as J. League champions

The following is the second of a two-part J. League preview for the upcoming season. Team-by-team previews of the nine top-ranked teams competing in the first division are listed.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 2, 2011

Ono, Ghotbi confident S-Pulse will be contenders

Given the changes that have taken place at Shimizu S-Pulse over the winter, new manager Afshin Ghotbi could be forgiven for playing down expectations in Shizuoka ahead of the new season.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2011

JAL revives crane logo in return to basics

Japan Airlines Corp. on Monday resurrected its red crane logo hoping it will bring new lift once the revised symbol is formally readopted April 1.
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Mar 1, 2011

Terahara could make big difference for Orix

As the promise of yet another spring swirled around him, Hayato Terahara took the mound for the Orix Buffaloes on Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 26, 2011

A troubling trend on roads

Although the annual traffic fatality rate has dropped from a peak of 16,765 in 1970 to 4,863 in 2010, the number of fatalities involving people aged 65 and over has been rising. In 2010, 2,450 people in this age category were killed in traffic accidents, accounting for 50.4 percent of all traffic accident...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 25, 2011

Hill's strategic use of Eaton paying off

For Tokyo Apache coach Bob Hill, the decision to move point guard Byron Eaton to a reserve role may turn out to be the smartest move he'll make this season.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2011

' Taiheiyo no Kiseki — Fokkusu to Yobareta Otoko (Oba: The Last Samurai)'

Japanese mass-audience movies about the country's military during World War II are usually melodramatic, sentimental or blatantly nationalistic. But their pure-hearted tokkotai (suicide squad) pilots flying to certain death are hardly representative of the typical Japanese soldier who, as the war entered...
COMMENTARY
Feb 25, 2011

Deciphering Russian aims

The Russian prime minister's surprise visit to the Northern Territories and subsequent Russian hard position on the territorial issue have triggered a series of reactions in Japan, which in turn have hardened the Russian position and thereby spoiled Japan-Russia relations.
BUSINESS
Feb 25, 2011

Steel merger to save ¥100 billion in costs: analysts

Nippon Steel Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd.'s deal to create the world's No. 2 steelmaker may shave as much as ¥100 billion off costs as the companies consolidate operations, according to analysts.
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 2011

Economy is key to security

SINGAPORE — Gemba Koichiro, the minister tasked with devising ways to revive Japan's sagging international influence, recently drew a link between the economic power of a nation and the readiness of other countries to challenge its security interests.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 21, 2011

Interfaith tolerance challenges Indonesian Islam, democracy

BEPPU, Oita Prefecture — During the heat of the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, which successfully toppled the respective autocratic regimes of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, some incidents in Indonesia appear to have dimmed the prospect of democracy on this side of the Islamic world....
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 20, 2011

The trouble with today's youth is nothing new

Here we go again. "Young people," frets Sapio magazine, "are rapidly becoming stupid." They can't read, can't calculate, can't communicate. They have no manners, no ambition, no interest in anything; no consideration for other people, no knowledge of world affairs. New technology enabling instant communication...
Japan Times
Features / WEEK 3
Feb 20, 2011

Aspiring animator comes to Japan to chase her dreams

It's fun to walk down the street or get aboard a train with Tracey Seals and watch how Japanese people react. Once they notice the blue-eyed, bespectacled 21-year-old redhead from Mississippi in their midst, some break out in smiles. And others do double-takes, as if they've just seen an anime character...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2011

Go on, just say his name

Miyavi is a guy you can read like a book — literally.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2011

EeL pumps out electric pop for common people

The title track from EeL's new album "For Common People" is likely to make you feel like you've just overdosed on candy.
EDITORIALS
Feb 17, 2011

Steel merger aims for survival

Nippon Steel Corp., Japan's biggest steel maker, and Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd., the nation's third-ranked steel maker, announced Feb. 3 a plan to merge in October 2012. The merger, if it materializes, will bring about the world's No. 2 steel maker after Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, which produces...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan