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CULTURE / Books
May 27, 2012

Life and death north and south of the Korean DMZ

The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson. Random House, 2012, $26.00 464 pp., (hardcover) Mr. Kill, by Martin Limon. Soho Crime, New York, 2011 $23.00 375 pp., (hardcover) A North Korean will instantly recognize that the young man called Pak Jun Do was raised in an orphanage; the name is a generic one...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 27, 2012

For some, jail is the best place for aged care

So it's come to this: "Prison is heaven, freedom is hell." A country of which this can reasonably be said is in sad straits. Can it be reasonably said of Japan? It's the subhead of a recent article in Shukan Shincho magazine whose main title is "Happy prison life." Prison life is not happy, unless in...
Japan Times
LIFE
May 27, 2012

Japan's Everest timeline

Japan has had a tumultuous, and at times controversial relationship with Mount Everest. Its history features the first woman summiteer, a heated race to claim the crown of oldest person to the top, a disastrous early expedition — and one of the mountain's most infamous casualties.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2012

Subaru maker Fuji goes against grain with local output hike

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. is making a contrarian bet: The maker of Subaru cars is cranking up domestic manufacturing at a time when its domestic rivals are expanding overseas to escape the strong yen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 25, 2012

Skytree waiting list too long? Some hotel packages include tickets

The masses unable to visit the newly opened Tokyo Skytree without a reservation due to the extreme demand to check out the capital's latest landmark may have caught a break.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2012

'Men in Black 3'

How do you feel about men in black suits? Black shoes? Narrow (but not too narrow) black ties? Call me strange, but I've always had a weakness for that look, ever since Jake and Elwood Blues of "The Blues Brothers" perfected the mode in 1980. Always trust the guy in the suit, as my granny used to say....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 25, 2012

View Tokyo Skytree over a buffet

On May 22, in commemoration of the opening of Tokyo Skytree, the Asakusa View Hotel, the tower's "official friendship hotel," opened Musashi, a new buffet restaurant and bar on its 26th floor.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 25, 2012

Namizato involvement casts cloud over Golden Kings' win

Ryukyu Golden Kings' 2011-12 championship memorabilia are now proudly displayed throughout Okinawa, what with the team dethroning the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix in Sunday's title game. At the same time, the long summer of discontent has already arrived.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2012

'Mada, Ningen (Still Human Beings)'

Young indie filmmakers have it tough everywhere, but in Japan the hurdles they face are only getting higher. The so-called mini theaters (art houses) that once screened domestic indie films have been closing their doors or changing their programming to more populist fare. Meanwhile, a growing number...
EDITORIALS
May 25, 2012

Christening of Tokyo Skytree

Tokyo Skytree, the world's tallest broadcast tower, opened to visitors Tuesday, and Tokyo Skytree Town, which includes the tower, is now in full swing. The opening of the tower is a bright spot for Japan, still reeling from the effects of the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear...
Reader Mail
May 24, 2012

Drivel from populist politicians

It is my experience in Japan that there is a common tendency of people to make mountains out of molehills and to complain about things that are practically nothing at all. It's not universal, of course, but it is common enough that I think it must be a deliberate strategy to manufacture an excuse to...
BUSINESS
May 24, 2012

Mazda tying up with Fiat, plans new roadster

Mazda Motor Corp. said Wednesday it will form a business tieup with Italy's Fiat, a step that could help it climb out of the red ink it has been mired in since 2008 amid harsh global competition.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2012

Beijing's North Korea policy only emboldens Pyongyang

Discussions in Beijing about North Korea are always frustrating. It's not so much due to the sharp divergence in U.S. and Chinese thinking about how to deal with Pyongyang; the two sides differ on many issues. No, the real problem, from our perspective, is the illogic of the Chinese position. Indeed,...
JAPAN
May 24, 2012

Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building set to reopen

An "old and new" landmark will soon be back up and running at JR Tokyo Station.
BUSINESS
May 24, 2012

Sony, Samsung ask U.S. retailers to curb TV discounts

Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. have asked U.S. retailers to maintain minimum prices for TVs to boost profitability as global demand declines.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2012

Areas braced for mass turnout, traffic nightmare

The thousands of people who flocked Tuesday to Tokyo Skytree on its opening day saw police and municipalities scrambling to handle the throng.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
May 23, 2012

DoCoMo shuns iPhone, pushes Android options

DoCoMo last week unveiled its new lineup of mobile phones at a press conference in Tokyo. The most notable was the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S III, the headliner of the DoCoMo NEXT series of high-end smartphones.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 22, 2012

Newton, Golden Kings know what it takes to excel

Seven seasons are in the record books now, and the only numbers that truly resonate are championships.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2012

All seems in limbo until Greek polls

The butterfly effect triggered by Greek voters left its mark on Japan's economy last week as stocks took their sharpest drop of the year and the yen soared against the dollar amid deepening concern over the eurozone's debt crisis.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
May 22, 2012

'Cutest' girl counsels 'distinguished' Ohioan to aisle

Nicholas Canalos, 31, from Ohio, and Akiko, 29, who hails from Saitama Prefecture, both studied and aspired at university to become English teachers — in their respective home countries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 22, 2012

Yokohama: What's the most annoying thing Japanese people say to you on a regular basis?

JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 22, 2012

Once one and only, Sony seeks to regain that status

Despite reporting a record ¥457 billion annual loss last year, Sony Corp. earlier this month said it would return to the black in fiscal 2012 with a ¥30 billion profit.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years