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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Oct 17, 2008

Meet a band 35,000 years in the making

When The Cro-Magnons played at this year's Fuji Rock Festival, you could have sworn the Big Quake had hit, with its epicenter at the main Green Stage. The ground shook, minor tsunami were recorded in the streams running through the site and squirrels fell unconscious from trees as about 15,000 punters...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Oct 17, 2008

Rakushokushu Maru: Modern kaiseki the Maru way

The simple truth has become a global cliche: It is hard to get a bad meal in Tokyo. Whether you're eating humble noodles or a rarefied kaiseki banquet, it's likely to be more than just satisfactory — there's a good chance it will be prepared with flavor and flair.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2008

'The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes'

The films of the Brothers Quay often seem less like movies in the conventional sense and more like half-remembered nightmares from the depths of the subconscious. Their films are quintessentially "not for everybody," in the same way that absinthe, fetish, and tantra aren't: You have to accept going "out...
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2008

A pregnant woman's decision

Regarding Bob Austenfeld's Oct. 12 letter, "Abortion makes rape sadder": I knew Austenfeld wouldn't agree with my previous letter ("Out of Gloria Steinem's league," Oct. 5), but I'm surprised at how poorly he seemed to understand it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2008

Muslim-Hindu relations explored in PIFF selections

In terms of box office, India has always been the best market for movies, though with its plethora of languages and regional tastes in entertainment, the country has been impervious to imports. In recent months, however, there have been deals struck between Hollywood and Bollywood that allow for movement...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2008

Japan shines at Asia's top film festival

Acknowledged as the most important annual film event in Asia, Korea's Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) opened its 13th edition on Oct. 2 under several clouds. The glittery opening ceremony, stuffed to the rafters with Korean celebrities, was more subdued this year owing to the same-day suicide...
EDITORIALS
Oct 15, 2008

Off the list and counting

The United States has removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after the North agreed on terms for verifying its nuclear programs. The U.S. made the decision in order to advance the stalled six-party talks on the North's denuclearization. The decision is a concession on the part...
EDITORIALS
Oct 12, 2008

Urgent and exceptional action

An action plan agreed Friday in Washington by finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven major economies states that they will "take decisive action and use all available tools to support systemically important financial institutions and prevent their failure." The plan calls...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2008

'The Punk Rock Movie'/'Rockers'

Back in the spring of 1977, Don Letts was the DJ at the Roxy, the legendary punk club located in London's Covent Garden. The Roxy was the one club where punk rock hadn't been banned, but the club's life span was a mere 100 days, as it faced a maelstrom of violence, noise complaints and police raids....
COMMENTARY
Oct 9, 2008

Criteria for good leadership

The argument that in a time of crisis experience in government is a necessary qualification for high office has some appeal, but it is not a conclusive reason for choosing a leader. This question became a focus of Britain's two main political parties recently at their respective annual conferences.
Reader Mail
Oct 9, 2008

Fortunes may hinge on one vote

I agree with Canadian lawyer Craig Martin's argument in his Oct. 5 article, "The fatal flaw in trying to impose a new interpretation on Article 9," that "reinterpreting" constitutional provisions to suit the political desires of the moment is unacceptable. But then he states: "Consider the issue of guns....
JAPAN
Oct 9, 2008

Public seen tiring of hereditary politics

Japan's history is one of family dynasties, from the Emperor's 1,400-year lineage to the father-son inheritance of kabuki theater roles. And then there's the Cabinet chosen by Prime Minister Taro Aso.
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2008

Beyond the Kyoto Protocol

One of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's notable achievements was when, as the chair of the Group of Eight summit this summer, he managed to get the G8 nations to broadly agree on efforts to fight global warming. Although the government has changed, Japan must strive with other countries to overcome...
BUSINESS
Oct 7, 2008

Utsumi pans rate cuts, dollar props

Makoto Utsumi, a former top currency official at the Finance Ministry, said he doesn't see the need for joint interest-rate cuts and coordinated intervention to support the dollar by the United States, Europe and Japan.
Reader Mail
Oct 2, 2008

Education remark on target

Regarding the Sept. 28 article "Nakayama to quit Cabinet after gaffes": It is interesting that former transport minister Nariaki Nakayama took heat because of his verbal gaffe about (among other topics) the teachers union in Japan. I'm a teacher in the United States and a member of a huge teachers union....
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2008

Ozawa reveals DPJ policy pledges, admonishes Aso

Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa kicked off the Diet debate Wednesday by concentrating on his party's policy pledges and lambasted Prime Minister Taro Aso for directing questions to the DPJ in his policy speech earlier in the week.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2008

N. Korea, viewed from the inside

North Koreans are aware of Kim Jong Il's reported illness and anticipating an end to his dictatorship, said a Japanese journalist who recently returned from the China-North Korea border.
COMMENTARY
Sep 28, 2008

Bush will go away as a true friend to China

HONG KONG — As the world prepares to bid farewell to U.S. President George W. Bush in a few months, his foreign policy lies in tatters. Wars continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, a crisis looms in Iran, relations with Russia are badly strained, and now North Korea is threatening to restart its nuclear-weapons...
Reader Mail
Sep 28, 2008

Sharing stories of the war

Thank you for the Sept. 18 editorial "Day of the war makers." I was one of those who suffered during the Japanese occupation of the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. My father was killed by the Kempeitai. But I fully agree that it is good to listen to each other's stories.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 27, 2008

Lower House majority is minimum goal: Hosoda

The Liberal Democratic Party and its partner, New Komeito, have set their sights on securing at least a majority in the Lower House in the next general election, LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.
Reader Mail
Sep 21, 2008

Shameful response to gropers

I lived and worked in Tokyo from 1996 to 2004. I agree with Sumire Shigehara -- the writer of the Sept. 14 letter "Women-only train cars are shameful" -- that Japan's public transportation is far superior to that of any city in the United States. However, while I understand that women-only cars may at...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Sep 19, 2008

Daimyos and deluge around the Kanda River

Most major stretches of greenery in Tokyo are tax-trimmed remainders of massive estates once owned by Edo Period (1603-1867) feudal lords, or daimyo. So, in the wake of this summer's torrential rain and dodging some early autumn typhoons, I set out to find a daimyo domain or two.
Reader Mail
Sep 14, 2008

Sumo wrestlers judged too fast

The Sept. 10 editorial "Put sumo back on course" is itself way off course. First of all, for some reason, Japanese Sumo has not had any organized system for drug testing, although it is likely that steroids have been used.
BASKETBALL
Sep 13, 2008

Broncos, Warren agree to deal

The Saitama Broncos have agreed to terms with standout power forward Reggie Warren, the bj-league announced Thursday. The muscular, hard-nosed veteran played the previous two seasons for the Takamatsu Five Arrows.

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