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BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 4, 2010

Softbank's Inomoto bids for spot on first team

The nail that sticks up will be hammered down.
COMMENTARY
Aug 3, 2010

Drug use is fueling AIDS epidemic in Russia

NEW YORK — Russia has one of the world's most serious epidemics of injection drug use, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS. It is estimated that Russia has 2 million injecting drug users (IDUs), 60 to 70 percent of whom have HIV-related illnesses. In the past decade, the number...
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 31, 2010

Aichi looking to host Flower Expo by 2020

Flower-growers in Aichi Prefecture have started campaigning to bring the International Garden and Horticulture Exposition, better known as the Flower Expo, to Aichi by around 2020.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 29, 2010

Fresh vegetables in heart of the city

O n Saturdays and Sundays, a small group of vendors sets up stalls filled with fresh vegetables and fruit outside the Kotsu Kaikan Building, a shopping complex in front of Yurakucho Station, in central Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. The Kotsu Kaikan Marche, which started in April, is the latest of a growing number...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 25, 2010

Brilliant facets of Nishi-Ojima

Setting off to explore Nishi-Ojima (West Large Island) and Kita Suna (North Sand) in Tokyo's downtown Koto Ward, I know better than to expect a seaside resort.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 24, 2010

Nagoya zoo holds its annual night event

Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Chikusa Ward, Nagoya, is running its Night Zoo & Garden event from Aug. 6 to 8 and 13 to 15.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 23, 2010

Westin Tokyo brings out the Best

Acclaimed Australian chef Mark Best will bring a taste of his world-class restaurant Marque — one of the top eateries in the world and winner of the Breakthrough Award in this year's San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants survey — to The Westin Tokyo from Aug. 1-7.
COMMENTARY
Jul 22, 2010

Pond scum could save the world

Do we really need to keep pushing the frontiers in the search for oil? Must we venture into ever deeper and more dangerous waters, and into areas on land where technical challenges and political risks are rising? Some leading multinational energy companies evidently believe there may be a promising alternative...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 18, 2010

Will Edo Castle's tower rise again?

What does Tokyo have as a genuine landmark?
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 17, 2010

Aichi biker gangs up but downsized

The number of rowdy motorcycle gangs, or "bosozoku," rose in Aichi Prefecture for the third straight year last year, to about 2,800, the worst in the country, according to the National Police Agency.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 16, 2010

Latest in world of toys on display at Big Sight

Tokyo International Toy Show 2010 kicked off Thursday, showcasing a wide variety of products ranging from classic to educational to high-tech.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 16, 2010

Colombian specialties visit Tokyo

The Hilton Tokyo and the Embassy of Colombia will jointly host the Colombian Gastronomic Journey, a special gourmet promotion taking place at the hotel's buffet restaurant, Checkers, from Aug. 4 to 8.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 11, 2010

Media fixated with China's new wealth

With the World Cup, sumo's baseball betting scandal and Sunday's Upper House election dominating the media's attention, some readers may have not noticed the extensive coverage also being devoted to China. And we're not just talking about crowds at the Shanghai Expo, but the crowds of visitors to Ginza,...
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 10, 2010

Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper' album cover mystery a piece of Japanese history

Who owns the Sony TV that appears on the cover of the Beatles' famous "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 9, 2010

Watch the Jingu fireworks in style

For those wanting a great view of a popular fireworks festival in Tokyo, the Hotel New Otani Tokyo has some accommodation plans just for that purpose.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 9, 2010

Kreva keeps Japan's hip-hop heart beating

The last thing anyone expects one of the country's leading hip-hop artists to say about the scene he's part of is that it's uninspired. But for Japanese hip-hop veteran Kreva, that's the unfortunate truth. "There's not really anyone I'm excited to listen to right now," explained the artist offhandedly...
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 3, 2010

Foreigner suffrage, separate surnames stir passions in poll runup

Whether to grant permanent foreign residents voting rights for local-level elections and allow married couples to keep their respective surnames have become contentious issues ahead of the July 11 Upper House election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 2, 2010

'Let the Right One In'

With the cinematic love story on the endangered species list (SATC has a lot to answer for), it's truly gratifying when something as romantic, lovely and sweetly satisfying as "Let the Right One In" appears on the horizon. It restores your faith in men. In dating. In the whole myth that someone special...
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2010

World's tweet is Japan's 'mumble' on hit Twitter

Twitter is a hit in Japan, succeeding where other social networking imports like Facebook have foundered as millions "mumble" — the translation of tweet — and give miniblogging a distinctly Japanese flavor.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jun 29, 2010

Morning ramen, breakfast of Tokyoites

Ramen. It's what's for breakfast.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jun 27, 2010

Cool (old) Japan flourishes along flowing rivers of Edo

In blistering midday heat, traffic blasts by, spitting out exhaust and grit at the busy intersection of Yotsume and Shin Ohashi Avenues. I've exited Sumiyoshi Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line, eager to find Sarue Onshi Park, said to be pretty with streams and water features. About to produce a water...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 27, 2010

Asahiyama's natural touch

Ivan the polar bear has been having relationship problems recently.
LIFE
Jun 27, 2010

Predator-prey relationships play large part in zoo's setup

For animals in the wild, life is defined by the relationship between predator and prey — but incorporating that dynamic into zoos can be extremely difficult.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 26, 2010

Aichi's Radio-i soon to just be static

The recent news Aichi International Broadcasting Co. will terminate its FM radio service at the end of September because of a large deficit has sent shock waves through the industry in the Tokai region.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2010

BBC World Service's vices

HONG KONG — If there is one global voice that has a deserved reputation for truth, honesty, fairness, awareness, understanding and balance, it is the BBC, as almost everyone knows the British Broadcasting Corp., and its World Service radio programs.

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40