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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 8, 2010

Loud Park

Now in its fifth year, Loud Park has carved out a reputation as Summer Sonic's noisy younger sister. Arguably more "loud" than "park," the festival amasses the heavyweights of metal over two days at Saitama Super Arena. This year the event also boasts a one-day leg at Kobe World Kinen Hall, giving metalheads...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2010

Matsumoto to focus on global green efforts

With less than a month to go before the convention on biological diversity in Nagoya, newly appointed Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto said he is doing his best to make the international meeting a success.
MULTIMEDIA
Sep 26, 2010

Recruit founder revisits a scandal that shook the nation

Remember the infamous Recruit scandal of the late 1980s that brought down a government, tarnished the reputations of Japan's movers and shakers and left the public convinced that the government was rotten to the core?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 26, 2010

Home truths: To buy or not to buy?

During a recent sojourn in the United States, I talked with friends and relatives about the housing situation, specifically the value of their homes in the wake of the subprime fiasco of 2007-08. Those who bought high just before the bubble burst are feeling queasy now that property values have descended...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 24, 2010

'Jusannin no Shikaku (13 Assassins)'

Takashi Miike's rise is complete: This one-time director of cheapo shock pics — which he churned out like sausages and were beloved by foreign Asian Extreme fans — is now a proven hit-maker and recognized auteur, with his new samurai swashbuckler "Jusannin no Shikaku (13 Assassins)" screening in...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 16, 2010

Gillard has her work cut out

SYDNEY — With the Labor Party back in power by the skin of its teeth and with the Greens holding the whip, countries buying essentials from Australia should expect to negotiate more carefully with suppliers of coal, iron ore, uranium and foodstuffs.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2010

Indictment under unjust scenario

The Osaka District Court on Sept. 10 declared Ms. Atsuko Muraki, a former head of the welfare ministry's Equal Employment, Children and Families Bureau, innocent of a charge that she issued a fabricated certificate to recognize an organization as a group for the disabled, thus enabling it to use a postage...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 12, 2010

Could public polls sway DPJ vote?

According to major media opinion polls, if the choice of who will lead the country was up to the populace, Prime Minister Naoto Kan would retain his position against fellow Democratic Party of Japan member Ichiro Ozawa's challenge to the party presidency and the premiership.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2010

Will nationalistic pursuits doom European Union?

WASHINGTON, THE WASHINGTON POST — The European Union is dying — not a dramatic or sudden death, but one so slow and steady that we may look across the Atlantic one day soon and realize that the project of European integration that we've taken for granted over the past half-century is no more.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2010

Greenpeace pair guilty; no prison

The Aomori District Court sentenced two Greenpeace Japan activists Monday to suspended one-year prison terms for trespassing and stealing whale meat from a transport company branch in Aomori Prefecture in April 2008.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2010

Judgment draws near in whale-meat trial

In 2008, two officials of Greenpeace Japan presented to prosecutors what they described as evidence of a Japanese whaler's embezzlement of whale meat and asked them to investigate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 31, 2010

Does Japan's affair with tuna mean loving it to extinction?

Japan is known as the biggest consumer of tuna. Be it raw for sushi or sashimi or fried, broiled or canned, tuna is an important element of the food culture.
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2010

Vote of no confidence in Australia

There is little for Australian politicians to be proud of as they contemplate the results of last month's parliamentary elections. The vote was almost perfectly divided, resulting in the first hung Parliament since 1940. At this point, the two major parties are courting the four independents to see who...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 29, 2010

Anyone for tennis?

If you've ever had a tennis lesson, your coach likely told you to block, rather than swing at your volleys. That knowledge makes it all the more thrilling to watch someone like the athletic 16-year-old Sanae Ota rush in from the back of the court, leap up to a high, floating ball — before it bounces...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 29, 2010

Tightened credit rules threaten to spawn 'loan refugees'

Japan may be in the midst of a silent epidemic of kinketsu-byo ("lack of money disease"). The source of the infection is a new statute that bans many borrowers from obtaining unsecured loans.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2010

Foreigners can vote for DPJ leader

As the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election nears, an interesting fact has surfaced regarding internal regulations on who gets to vote for the ruling party's leader — and effectively the prime minister.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 27, 2010

'About Elly'

"About Elly" is the kind of ensemble film that recalls Robert Altman ("Pret a Porter," "Gosford Park") or an early Kenneth Branagh ("Peter's Friends"). A group of characters come together on screen, casual conversation is tossed about, relationships are forged or renewed or become strained — and with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 19, 2010

Problems getting off the ground

In this age of perpetual "War on Terror," we have gotten somewhat accustomed to "disrobing" ourselves at airports. Taking off our watches, necklaces, belts or sometimes even shoes, has become routine when we go through security gates.
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2010

Budget cutters target JET

Every year for the past two decades, legions of young Americans have descended on Japan to teach English. This government-sponsored charm offensive was launched to counter anti-Japan sentiment in the United States and has since grown into one of the country's most successful displays of soft power.

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