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SUMO
Apr 17, 2007

Springtime sumo: giving it back to the people

Sumo in late March and throughout April each year is about pressing the flesh -- literally.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Apr 15, 2007

Okabayashi bridges communication gap for HeatDevils on, off court

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with figures in the bj-league -- Japan's first professional basketball circuit -- which is in its second season. Kyoko Okabayashi of the Oita HeatDevils is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 2007

'The Queen'

"The Queen" is, in one sense, a film like so many others these days, trading in the currency of celebrity, using the hook of quality actors doing fine impersonations of famous people to show its pedigree. This is a successful and award-winning proposition for films -- see "Ray," "Capote," et al. -- but...
BUSINESS
Apr 13, 2007

MOS burger makeover, coupons eyed for revival

MOS Burger will start a big campaign Friday to try to win back customers who have drifted away in the increasingly competitive fast food industry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 2007

Not afraid to mention the war

Filmmaker Roland Suso Richter grew up in Berlin at a time when the Wall and all its connotations had full impact on its citizens. "Being a child in Berlin meant growing up entrenched in war and history. There was no escape from it, it was a part of life," Richter says.
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2007

Australia's anti-China pact

Australia does some strange things in its foreign policies. The latest "security" (read "military") tieup with Japan is no exception.
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 1, 2007

"Rebel" cartoonist Rieko Saibara

Rieko Saibara is a catoonist known for her work that has both a lyrical and "rebellious" side to it. While regarded as a rebel in the cartoonist world, at times shocking her readers with indecent expressions, she also brings them to tears by her portrayal of hopeless poverty, affection to her children...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 1, 2007

Drawing on experience

Cartoonists in Japan are as abundant as the cherry blossoms at this time of year -- but Rieko Saibara is probably the only one who has both a lyrical and rebellious side to her work -- along with an astonishing power and what has been called a "lethal poison.''
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 1, 2007

Buchanan powers Hawks past Marines

CHIBA -- One of the favorites to win the Pacific League, the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks are known for their vaunted pitching staff, making the offensive display they put on in Chiba Marine Stadium all the more impressive.
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Mar 24, 2007

Baker has learned nuances of game from 'Jellybean'

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players in the bj-league -- Japan's first professional basketball circuit -- which is in its second season. Dameion Baker of the Tokyo Apache is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 23, 2007

B-girl boppers

'Maybe they can smell something on us!" says Halca, 18, one half of hip-hop- meets-J-pop duo HalCali.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2007

Home sweet Hollandafter Hollywood hell

Director Paul Verhoeven is living, breathing proof of that old Hollywood adage, "You're only as good as your last film."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 19, 2007

Advice for Japan as it returns to the jungle: Don't feed the animals

The Japanese economy is now a fully signed-up member of the global jungle.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 11, 2007

J. League's Onitake optimistic about future

The Japan Times recently visited J. League chairman Kenji Onitake at his office to find out about his vision for the future of the league and soccer in Japan.
BASKETBALL
Mar 8, 2007

Assistant coach Boettcher hopes to find more like Nakayama

Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series on Utah Valley State's connection to Japanese basketball. The Wolverines' season concluded Saturday.
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Mar 4, 2007

Garrison: Hard work key to success

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with players in the bj-league -- Japan's first professional basketball circuit -- which is in its second season. Matt Garrison of the Niigata Albirex BB is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 2, 2007

McCoy Tyner looks back on Coltrane and a lifetime in jazz

McCoy Tyner ranks as one of the most important piano stylists in post-war jazz. His recordings with the John Coltrane Quartet, such as 1964's "A Love Supreme," remain high points of musical improvisation and spirituality. The mid-'60s music created by Coltrane, Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer...
COMMENTARY
Feb 23, 2007

Airports foretell the future

LONDON -- It is at airports that one can tell that most of East Asia is merging into one gigantic business and market entity, a crisscrossed latticework flow of people, goods, ideas, lifestyles, relationships -- of such size, speed and intensity that it is beyond the power of any governments to check...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 22, 2007

Beirut dramatist seeks new strategy

Lebanese dramatist Rabih Mroue returns to Tokyo International Arts Festival this year with the world premiere of his new play, "How Nancy Wished that Everything was an April Fool's Joke," three years after making his TIF debut. It is a work that reflects the fluid situation of Lebanese society after...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Feb 21, 2007

Kimura fulfills dream in bringing pro hoops to Okinawa

"Dreams come true. Without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them.'' --
BASKETBALL
Feb 19, 2007

89ers ride free throws in rout

If he had occupied the tiny speck of real estate known as the free-throw line any longer, the authorities would've demanded that Mamadou Diouf start paying rent, and rightfully so.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Feb 18, 2007

TIRED OR EMOTIONAL: A space robot knows

Office meetings occasionally flit between two extremes. Either they're so tedious that you want to sleep, or they take an interesting turn when someone gets hot under the collar and starts ranting without listening to anyone else.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 16, 2007

Rappers Jurassic 5 happy with where they're at?

'My favorite cut is 'Where We At,' because it's literally about where we are at as a band at this stage in the world of hip-hop," says Jurassic 5's DJ Nu-Mark on the phone from Los Angeles while playing miniature golf with his son.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 14, 2007

Brain-scanning gets closer to reading minds

Is the world inherently good or bad? You might believe that people are essentially good. Then again, you might believe that most people just pretend to be good -- and some don't even bother to conceal that they're not. You might complain that it's a stupid question in the first place.
MORE SPORTS
Feb 11, 2007

Remarkable return: Hingis happy with comeback

Former world No. 1 Martina Hingis won a record-breaking fifth Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last Sunday, adding the title to the ones she won in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002. It was her third Tier 1 title since returning to the WTA Tour in January 2006 after coming out of a three-year retirement because...
Reader Mail
Feb 11, 2007

Value outside of making babies

Recent comments by health minister Hakuo Yanagisawa were very disappointing, but they really got me thinking nonetheless. According to his view, I, too, am a "baby-making machine." I am a healthy male, capable of reproduction, even good with kids. However, the big difference is that my value as a human...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2007

Asia's honored sailor sets sights on eighth circumnavigation

An angler yanks a fish out of the drink and it flops and flaps on the deck of a boat, pop-eyed, its gills wondering where the water went.
BUSINESS
Feb 8, 2007

Mixi ready to face MySpace in Japan market: president

The president of Mixi Inc. expressed confidence Wednesday the country's most popular social networking Web site will not be beaten by the world's biggest site, MySpace, which has 140 million members worldwide.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 8, 2007

Free from schools with Zen's help

In a society where group dynamics, deferred gratification, and sticking to the plan have always been paramount, the occasional cross current that tells you to live in the moment, do the unexpected, and seek truth directly, blows like a real breath of fresh air. This explains the appeal of Zen, and the...

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb