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Reader Mail
Dec 15, 2011

A place where Santa falls short

Thank you for Amy Chavez's Dec. 10 column about the splashy holidays in Japan ("How does 'Come all ye Bodhisattvas' grab you?"). In 2005 I visited Japan in November and was surprised to see all the holiday lights going up. Having lived there as a child in the 1960s, it was a dramatic change. (Gen. Douglas...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 15, 2011

Having a laugh at the witch doctors of art

It's one of the most enigmatic questions of all time: What is art? Any gallery that holds an exhibition using that as its theme is either taking things very seriously indeed, or it's having a laugh.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Dec 14, 2011

Mao was blessed with a mother who gave it her all

The past few days have been very difficult. I'm fairly confident a lot of other folks share my sentiments.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2011

Five myths about presidential contender Ron Paul

Ron Paul is the Rodney Dangerfield of Republican presidential candidates. The 12-term Texas congressman ran for president on the Libertarian Party ticket in 1988 and was widely seen as a sideshow in 2008, despite finishing third in the GOP field behind John McCain and Mike Huckabee. Why, despite a small...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 11, 2011

Deng: China's tarnished visionary

DENG XIAOPING and the Transformation of China, By Ezra F. Vogel. Belknap Press, 2011, 876 pp. $39.95 (hardcover) Deng Xiaoping is one of the most influential men in modern history and here his dramatic story, one intertwined with elite intrigues in the Chinese Communist Party, is recounted in detail...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 11, 2011

Japanese artistry, by design, melds time and space into all its creations

Among the greatest of Japan's gifts to the world is surely the gift of design.
EDITORIALS
Dec 11, 2011

Is a girl or boyfriend worth it?

This year's Christmas date night might have plenty of vacant slots if a recent survey on Japanese relationships is correct. Fewer young people than ever before say they have a girlfriend or boyfriend.
JAPAN
Dec 10, 2011

Ichikawa, Yamaoka censured in Diet

The Upper House passed nonbinding censure motions Friday against Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa and consumers affairs minister Kenji Yamaoka, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration on the last day of the extraordinary Diet session.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 9, 2011

Using your noodle

On entering the minimalist five-story cube opposite the Yokohama Cosmoworld ferris wheel in Minato Mirai, it's hard to believe that the huge white-walled atrium, with its monumental wooden staircase and beech floors, is not the entrance to a modern-art museum. The blurb in the museum's guide, too, seems...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2011

Quake-stricken orchestra plays on in style

The Tokyo Symphony Orchestra faced a setback this year after Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall was severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, effectively leaving the musicians homeless.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Dec 7, 2011

Nintendo makes it through rough seas with flagship titles

For decades, Nintendo was known for its Mario games and Zelda games. Then something happened: Nintendo, which had long catered to traditional gamers, found a new audience that was not interested in Mario and didn't care much for Link. Nintendo began making games for old people and non-gamers. Its longtime...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 6, 2011

If you can't afford the land, why not just buy the house?

The real estate agent picked us up in a company car at Takayanagi Station in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, about an hour and 15 minutes commuting time north of central Tokyo. The car had long scratches on the side, probably incurred during attempts to park in unfamiliar spaces, and we drove to the property...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Dec 6, 2011

Uchikawa's MVP win shows voters favor team over player

If Seiichi Uchikawa's win in the race for the Pacific League MVP award says anything, it's that the ultimate individual honor is really a team award in disguise.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 5, 2011

Competition taking a bite out of dentistry schools' tuition schemes

Dentistry schools in cutthroat competition for new students.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2011

Gingrich, Romney, Obama share perspectives

According to the polls and the pundits, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are the two front-runners for the Republican nomination for president. That means both of them will spend the next few weeks trying to show that they are more competent, conservative and generally Reagan-like than the other.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 4, 2011

Exploring Yanagawa's watery world

The boatman sings a low-pitched, wistful air as he poles our craft down the watery freeway. Some of my fellow passengers obviously know the melancholic song, and join in on what passes for a chorus as we're propelled otherwise noiselessly down the wide canal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 2, 2011

'Yubiwa wo Hametai (Looking For a True Fiance)'

An average guy, I once read, could have a reasonably happy married life with any one of the thousands of single women out there on the streets of Tokyo. This, of course, is the opposite of the Platonic ideal embraced by Carrie, the heroine of the American series "Sex and the City," who, through dozens...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 2, 2011

Softbank joins Alibaba-led acquisition talks for Yahoo

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Softbank Corp. are in advanced talks with Blackstone Group LP and Bain Capital LLC about making a bid to buy Yahoo! Inc. in its entirety, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2011

Former Ozawa aide denies involvement in funds fraud

A former aide to Ichiro Ozawa claimed in court Wednesday that he was never involved in drafting or submitting the political funds statements of the Democratic Party of Japan power broker's political funds management body, despite holding the title of secretary in charge of accounting.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 28, 2011

Learning to live with the builders of America

During one week this month, the drivers of four taxis that I took hailed from four different countries.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 27, 2011

BayStars have chance for fresh start under new ownership

Last week, we examined the history of the Yokohama BayStars and discussed the impending sale of the Central League team and change of ownership from Tokyo Broadcasting Systems Inc. to the DeNA company, and we mentioned where TBS had tried to turn around the fortunes of the club in 2010 by hiring Takao...
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2011

Fujimura says 'stable' system of Imperial succession needed

A way has to be found to secure a "stable" accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Friday, expressing concern over the small number of successors to the crown.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 25, 2011

Nakase becomes first female head coach in bj-league

It's official: Natalie Nakase is the first female head coach in bj-league history.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight