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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2012

'Safe House'

Watching "Safe House" reminded me of something a savvy girlfriend once said to me: "When a guy tells you that his top-secret real job is working for the CIA, get out of the relationship as fast as you can." Not because of the obvious risks such a job may involve, she said, but because "the guy is a big...
BUSINESS
Sep 6, 2012

Skytree helps Tobu cut costs to refinance

Tobu Railway Co., the owner of Tokyo Skytree, cut the cost of refinancing to less than a third of what it paid five years ago on expectations that admission tickets and souvenir sales at the world's tallest tower will boost profit.
COMMENTARY
Sep 5, 2012

Paralympics a smash success

The general feeling after the London Olympics was that the excitement was over. The Paralympics would, it was feared, be a damp squib after the games. In fact the Paralympics have attracted large and enthusiastic audiences. The media have given the competitions almost as much coverage as they did to...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Sep 4, 2012

Lions pounce at right time to take control of Pacific League

All season the Seibu Lions have put the 'cats have nine lives' theory to the test, and so far the Pacific League's resident felines are still kicking.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 31, 2012

'I'm Flash!'

Religious con-men have probably been around as long as religion itself, though we have no way of knowing what scams fake shamans were running in the caves.
Reader Mail
Aug 26, 2012

Don't be shy about drinking up

Regarding Greg Blossom's Aug. 16 letter, "Wasteful ways to quench thirst": Putting pressure on people to hydrate "less wastefully" is more of the same sadomasochistic pressure Japanese people are already under to bear up under the heat. Thirty-nine people are reported to have died of heatstroke in July....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Aug 26, 2012

All the fun of the fair — and that's just the temples

Inspired by this summer's Olympic quest for gold medals, I opt to go for the gold myself. Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo's northwestern Nerima Ward is home to Carousel El Dorado, one of the world's oldest hand-carved wooden merry-go-rounds. Named for an imaginary city of gold sought by 16th-century...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 26, 2012

Material girls: Japan's preteen model boom

AKB48 has reshaped the landscape of youth culture in modern Japan. The pop-idol group's rapid rise to stardom across a wide array of formats has provided the country's children with a fairly straightforward path to commercial success: fame is ultimately achieved by attracting a broad fan base via popular...
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 14, 2012

Japan exceeded expectations during London Games

Sixteen action-packed days of competition — plus a few days of soccer that began before the Opening Ceremony on July 27 — delivered a better-than-expected performance for Japan at the 2012 London Olympics.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 13, 2012

Bolt, Farah, Felix win more gold in electric night on track

The two most recognizable stars heading into the 2012 London Olympics were American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 12, 2012

Diving into Ise-Shima's ancient womanly traditions

The hut of the pearl divers is more modern than I'd expected. Here, in the village of Osatsu along the craggy coast of the Ise-Shima region in Mie Prefecture, the small concrete building named Hachimankamado blends in with its 21st-century surroundings. But inside the hut the traditions are age-old,...
OLYMPICS
Aug 11, 2012

Bolt completes historic sweep with 200 victory

Jamaica had a run for the ages on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 10, 2012

'Kirishima, Bukatsu Yamerutteyo (The Kirishima Thing)'

High schools are mercilessly hierarchical societies. At mine in rural Pennsylvania varsity basketball players occupied the summit. (Football players didn't because we didn't have a football team.) For a mere honor student to absent-mindedly sit in the "reserved" seat of one of these titans in the lunch...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 10, 2012

1936 water polo medalist enjoying action at 98

It's been said that age is nothing but a number.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 9, 2012

Grenada's James provides Olympics with feel-good story

Some events are worth repeating in print shortly after the story originally appears, moments that highlight the best of the human spirit.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Aug 9, 2012

Time to expand hoop tourney to 24 nations

Yao Ming's success in the NBA, short-lived but significant, sparked widespread interest in basketball in China. Furthermore, India has placed a growing emphasis on growing the sport at all levels.
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 8, 2012

Bolt's growing legend makes for good reading

My maternal great-grandmother used to wash the linens every Monday. She considered it a good tone-setter for the week.
COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2012

Autopsies shine light on NFL's deadly problem

Are you ready for some American football? First, however, are you ready for some autopsies? The opening of the NFL training camps coincided with the closing of the investigation into the April suicide by gunshot of Ray Easterling, 62, an eight-season NFL safety in the 1970s.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / LONDON POSTCARD
Aug 7, 2012

U.K. track success gives games 'signature day'

Looking back at the second evening of athletics at Olympic Stadium, so many images and sounds are flashing through my mind.
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 7, 2012

Olympic spirit pushes Murray to tennis glory

No one is insisting that the Olympic tennis tournament becomes an unofficial fifth Grand Slam once every four years. It is, however, the closest thing to a major tournament in 2012 away from the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and upcoming U.S. Open.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Aug 7, 2012

For nikkei immigrants in Japan, it doesn't have to be a bug's life

As Beto awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his futon into a gigantic cockroach.
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 6, 2012

Phelps makes remarkable look routine

Let's be honest, nothing Michael Phelps has accomplished as an Olympic swimmer should surprise us. Not after his perfect eight-for-eight gold medal quest in Beijing.

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