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Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 10, 2007

In praise of morning's glory

Hima Furuta sits across the table from me in a cafe in the Marunouchi business district of central Tokyo. It's only 10 a.m., and although he looks fresh and full of life, he's almost finished his main work for the day.
LIFE
Jun 10, 2007

When and how you slumber is not as simple as it may seem

Getting up early is one of those things that people older and wiser always say is "good for you.''
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2007

In exile for six years, Burger King is back

To the sounds of a saxophone and keyboard fanfare, Burger King officially re-entered the Japanese market Friday with the opening of its first outlet in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 8, 2007

Short film festival reaches for the stars

They may run short, but to the directors of the films screening at the International Pleaides Film Festival, each is "a complete, miniature work of art," according to the festival's Web site.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2007

Burger King stages return under new management, realities

Six years after withdrawing from the Japanese market, American fast-food chain Burger King is back, bringing with it the concept of a premium big hamburger in hopes of winning over consumers bored with typical fare.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Jun 1, 2007

To infinity and beyond

At the southern end of Edogawa Ward, Kasai Rinkai Koen Seaside Park dips its toes in the Pacific Ocean. From there, it's possible to see Tokyo Disney Resort across the water in Urayasu.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jun 1, 2007

On the lamb in Amsterdam

The band plays. And they rock. They've got two guitarists — that's not new. And two drummers, which is pretty cool.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 1, 2007

Amerie "Because I Love It"

Amerie's "1 Thing" was the great summer single of 2005, an infectious hiccup of abandon that took the stuttery beat of Beyonce's hit "Crazy in Love" to its logical freaked-out end. Both songs were produced and co-written by Rich Harrison, who oversaw Amerie's first two albums.
CULTURE / Film
May 31, 2007

Doing it her own way — Kawase's determined path to success

Naomi Kawase has been tagged as "Japan's leading woman director" since her first feature film, "Moe no Suzaku (Suzaku)," won the Camera d'Or prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.
LIFE / QUEUING
May 27, 2007

Patience pays off for firms on standby to queue for you

With queuing playing such an important role in Japanese life — just watch any breathlessly excitable TV magazine program fearlessly reporting any day of the week on long lines outside noodle shops or dog groomers — there are even those who cash in on the phenomenon directly.
LIFE / QUEUING
May 27, 2007

All together now: Let's form a line

It is 11:15 on a sunny Sunday morning across the road from Shinjuku Station in central Tokyo. The Southern Terrace there is already thronged with shoppers like all the city's other retail districts. And then, as you walk past fashion stores and coffee shops, a long line of men and women of all ages materializes...
Japan Times
LIFE / QUEUING
May 27, 2007

Disney bids to make the waiting fun

If you are looking for some long, hot lines, Tokyo Disney Resort, comprising the Disneyland and DisneySea theme parks, surely beats all others as your destination of choice.
CULTURE / Books
May 27, 2007

Ethnic cop caught between cultures

CHINATOWN BEAT by Henry Chang. New York: SOHO Press, 2006, 214 pages, $22 (cloth) Well before Sax Rohmer created his sinister villain Dr. Fu-Manchu in 1911, Chinatowns figured prominently in British and American popular fiction. These are chronicled by such scholarly works as William Wu's "The Yellow...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
May 25, 2007

The Passing Show: The Life and Music of Ronnie Lane

Director: Rupert Williams and James Mackie Language: English
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE
May 25, 2007

Sangenjaya's warm afterglow

Astrophysicists may bicker over whether the universe is exploding or imploding, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that in the microcosmic world of Tokyo, expansion is the overriding force at work. Proof of this would be clearly visible from space — especially at night — as one after...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 24, 2007

Tale of treason

In 1582, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-98), a man of humble origins, became Japan's taiko (prime minister) after the death of the warlord Oda Nobunaga. But the taiko in "Ehon Taikoki (Records of the Taiko)," a bunraku (traditional Japanese puppet) play written by Chikamatsu Yanagi and collaborators in 1799,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 24, 2007

Marilyn Manson

Feared in America as the Satan-worshipper who inspired the Columbine massacre, but widely regarded elsewhere as a camp standard-bearer for goth culture, Marilyn Manson talks about marriage breakups, murder and makeup
COMMENTARY / World
May 23, 2007

How Japan fuels financial instability

NEW YORK — Over the past several years, much attention has focused on the role of China's trade surplus in creating today's global financial imbalances. But too little attention has been paid to the role of Japan's policy of near-zero interest rates in contributing to these imbalances. As global financial...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 23, 2007

Mitten crab

* Japanese name: Mokuzu gani * Scientific name: Eriocheir japonica * Description: A curious-looking crustacean, colored light brown or olive green, the mitten crab does indeed appear to be wearing a furry pair of gloves, with dense tufts growing on the claws, which have white tips. Adults and large...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 22, 2007

Toyota engineers reflect as Prius approaches 10th birthday

TOYOTA, Aichi Pref. — In January 1994, engineers at Toyota Motor Corp. gathered at the head office in Aichi Prefecture to brainstorm the car of the future.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 20, 2007

Caring team helps retie life's loose ends

We have all had one or two unforgettably heartfelt encounters in our lives, whether long-lost first loves or more distant crushes whose intensity it is still possible, years later, to reconjure with ease.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 17, 2007

Wong's mood a delicious match for Jones' melancholy

You can be sure organizers of the Cannes Film Festival had knotted stomachs ahead of Wednesday night's scheduled screening of Wong Kar-wai's "My Blueberry Nights." WKW films are always born in chaos, and he's delivered a few wet prints to Cannes in the past: "In The Mood For Love," which won two prizes...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 15, 2007

Sweltering in matsuri mayhem

As the temperature rises and languid, lazy days melt into humid nights, Japan shifts gear, readying itself for the plethora of local matsuri ceremonies that blossom across the nation in the months ahead.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 13, 2007

One culture's dirty old man is another's dandy

Despite the close proximity of the world afforded by the Internet and global media conglomerates, intercultural ignorance is still pretty common. Richard Gere almost got himself arrested in India when, during an AIDS-awareness event last month, he grabbed Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty and kissed her....
Japan Times
LIFE
May 13, 2007

Daisuke's graduation

The first two e-mails that I sent to my ex-wife went unanswered. That came as no surprise. I had become used to the silent treatment from her since our return from our honeymoon in Hawaii 12 years ago. But this time I was not about to put up with being ignored.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 10, 2007

Looking at the garish and the free

Let's face it, there really is nothing like the face. Lovers dream of faces, poets stretch and struggle to juggle the words so that they might capture and communicate a countenance. Even businesspeople, the ultimate pragmatists, will travel across towns or oceans — when a telephone or e-mail could...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
May 9, 2007

Four-spot midget

* Japanese name: Hinuma itotombo * Scientific name: Mortonagrion hirosei * Description: "Four-spot midget" is an odd name for an insect, but in this case it is entirely accurate. This is a tiny animal, just 25-mm in length with four distinct spots on the top of the thorax. Males and females are the...

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami