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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 29, 2010

Math rockers Toe take it slow

Toe have their own record label, Machupicchu Industrias. It's not so much to flaunt a punklike DIY ethic, they're basically just slow.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 24, 2010

Angels fans excited about Godzilla's move to Southern California

We can expect to see a lot more Los Angeles Angels games than the New York Yankees on NHK and J Sports in 2010 because of Hideki Matsui, especially when the Angels play the Seattle Mariners with Ichiro Suzuki.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Jan 23, 2010

Bookoff chief guides firm out of attitude bind

Hiroshi Sato took the helm of Bookoff Corp., the nation's largest secondhand book store chain, in 2007, when the company's corporate survival was in doubt after weekly magazines broke news that the firm had rigged its accounts.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2010

JAL may spark major revamp in pension finance

Japan Airlines Corp.'s $25.5 billion bankruptcy may be the impetus for such companies as Hitachi Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's biggest private employers, to shore up their deficit-ridden pension plans.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 20, 2010

'New' hope, anxiety in Japan's Kanji of the Year

As the first decade of the 21st century drew to a close, the Japanese Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation conducted its 15th annual Kanji of the Year poll, inviting the nation to decide which single kanji best symbolized 2009.
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.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2010

Treaty withstands strains of time, politics

OSAKA — A half century after it was signed, the 1960 Japan-U.S. security treaty remains the foundation for bilateral cooperation, even as the world it was forged in has changed drastically.
JAPAN
Jan 19, 2010

As security pact with U.S. turns 50, Japan looks to redefine relations

The Japanese-U.S. security treaty in its current form turned 50 Tuesday. Throughout the decades, the two nations have had their ups and downs and occasional tension, but together they weathered the Cold War and entered a new era and new century.
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2010

Indian Ocean mission ends

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean ended Friday, upon the expiration of the relevant law. The mission was in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan that began in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2010

EU consumers to foot bill for protectionism

LONDON — The European Union imposed 89 new trade barriers in 2009 and rounded off the year by prolonging tariffs on shoes from China and Vietnam, originally due to expire in 2008. The EU needs to understand that trade barriers limit growth and economic recovery — as well as harming its own companies...
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2010

Learning from tragedy

Fifteen years have passed since the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit Kobe and adjacent areas on Jan. 17, 1995. The magnitude-7.3 quake originated in the northern part of Awaji Island. In Kobe, the seismic intensity measured seven on the Japanese scale, the highest level. The quake took the lives of more...
EDITORIALS
Jan 18, 2010

More trade 'noodles'

Little noticed at the beginning of the year was the introduction of several more strands into the "noodle bowl" of Asia-Pacific trade agreements. On Jan. 1, several new free trade agreements went into effect. These trade deals are by no means perfect. In fact, they represent distinctly second- or even...
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2010

Japan's cultural heritage

Japanese traditional culture received a big boost late last year when UNESCO added 13 Japanese cultural assets to its Intangible Cultural Heritage List. This worldwide list details cultural arts, traditions and practices that deserve safeguarding for humanity's future. Japan should be proud that it has...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 17, 2010

Time is now for MLB, NPB to act on 'True World Series'

The proposal by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to Nippon Pro Baseball Commissioner Ryozo Kato for a "True World Series" seemed to come out of the blue but is a most welcome idea and, as many would say, it is about time.
TENNIS
Jan 16, 2010

Agassi's book disappoints Sampras

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Pete Sampras would like a sit-down with longtime American rival Andre Agassi away from the tennis court to discuss Agassi's harsh words about the 14-time Grand Slam champion in his recent autobiography, "Open."
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2010

Hope and peril for Sudan

ALGIERS — The future of Sudan hangs in the balance. National elections are due in April. A referendum on the future status of the south of the country is supposed to follow in 2011. Both were key ingredients of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended 20 years of civil war between north...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 16, 2010

Calm reflections on a turbulent life

In a diminutive wooden house tucked behind the tile-topped white walls surrounding Tenryuji Temple, a World Heritage site in Kyoto's Arashiyama district, lives Henry "Seisen" Mittwer, 91, a Japanese-American Buddhist priest, author, ikebana and ceramic artist.
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2010

Airport wars roil Kansai region

OSAKA — Two years into his term, Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto continues to enjoy high popularity among voters, with some local media polls showing his approval rating at almost 70 percent, due largely to his personality and cost-cutting steps.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 15, 2010

'Kondo wa Aisaika'

Japanese film marriages are as diverse as the real things, ranging from the uncommunicative couple of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's "Tokyo Sonata" (2008) to the doting pair of the "Tsuri Baka Nisshi" ("Dairy of a Fishing Fool") series (1988-2009), though the easy-going wife of the fishing-mad salaryman hero has...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 15, 2010

Dorantes performs original take on flamenco

You might be forgiven for thinking the primary instrument for flamenco is guitar. David Pena Dorantes, however, creates the music with a piano.

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