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Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Aug 10, 2009

Beetle mania

August signals an onslaught of beetle wars in Japan, for both kids and grown-up kids.
Reader Mail
Aug 9, 2009

Witnesses to atrocity and trauma

I wish to respond to Mariko Aoyama's July 30 letter, "Good, bad, ugly of Japan's war," to suggest some exceptional material that may answer her desire to learn more about some of the things that the Japanese military did during World War II.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 9, 2009

Enter a fantasy world of Zen-like bedroom gymnastics

A few weeks ago, BBC News ran a report on how love hotels were one of the few business sectors in Japan doing well in the current recession. The report stressed the unique trappings of these hotels and actually raised more questions than it answered about their socioeconomic significance.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 9, 2009

Contention over the tenno system

This collection of 14 essays by 12 scholars, ranging from academic, journalistic, speculative, to advisory, makes an excellent introduction to the scope of arguments presently made about tenno, Japan's "emperors."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 9, 2009

Channel surf

As the 64th anniversary of Japan's surrender approaches, the special memorial programs about World War II come faster and thicker. This week's big event is a docudrama called "Saigo no Akagami Haitatsunin" (The Last Red Letter Deliveryman; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.). "Red letter" refers to the draft notices...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 9, 2009

Humor may be universal, but Japan's is largely its smut-free own

Swedes crack jokes about Norwegians, Poles knock the Russians, and though everyone likes a good Italian joke, they're less funny than they used to be thanks to the genuinely grotesque antics of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
EDITORIALS
Aug 9, 2009

Public bikes in Tokyo

Free public bicycles will become available in Tokyo this fall, according to a recent announcement by the Environment Ministry. Following the example of free bike systems in European and American cities, the ministry, in conjunction with the Tokyo metropolitan government and a tour agency, will make several...
Reader Mail
Aug 9, 2009

Quit patronizing the lay judges

Regarding the Aug. 4 article "Language in court to be simple" (about the start of the first trial in Japan under the new lay judge system): I heard similar statements on television several times on Monday, the day of the first trial — "We'll be careful so that the 'people' can understand what we are...
Reader Mail
Aug 9, 2009

Security options worth pursuing

In his Aug. 3 article, "Angst over opposition rule," Robert Dujarric presents four choices for Japan with regard to its defense security: (1) pursuing unarmed pacifism, (2) switching sides from being a U.S. ally to a Chinese junior partner, (3) tripling or quadrupling its defense budget by ridding itself...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 8, 2009

Working humbly to serve everyone

Ian De Stains has a place in a decades-old British order of chivalry created by King George V in 1917. Yet after knowing him, this may be hard to believe.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2009

BMW vies for slice of global superbike pie

BMW AG will begin selling a high-performance bike in January to compete with dominant models from Honda Motor Co. and Suzuki Motor Corp.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 7, 2009

Big promises, but where's the funds?

Second in a series
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 7, 2009

Allowing ourselves to be deceived by art

Whether enjoying the sight of shadow puppets against a wall or the suggestive placing of objects in an Austin Powers movie, people have long delighted in the playful use of images.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2009

Crowe gunslings his way into Japan

"People think of Westerns as being quintessentially American," says New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe. "But they're quintessentially frontier stories. They're integral to anywhere with a frontier. Like Australia. I think the Westerns I've done could just as easily have happened in Australia."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 7, 2009

English teachers photographed in anthropologically minded study

If aliens were to arrive in Tokyo wanting to document its inhabitants, they might end up taking photos like those now on show at The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 7, 2009

Anna Tsuchiya's classic new world

"I find beauty in the dark side or in people's anger!" confesses a boisterous Anna Tsuchiya. Surprisingly, Japan's choice wild-child actress, model and singer did not talk about herself egotistically, but merely justified her love of Chopin over Mozart: "When I (first) listened to Chopin's 'The Revolution,'...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Aug 7, 2009

Kamei's play forces Giants to alter plans

Yomiuri Giants outfielder Yoshiyuki Kamei made one thing clear with his two-homer day against the Hiroshima Carp on Tuesday in Asahikawa, Hokkaido.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 7, 2009

'Transporter 3'

Luc Besson has taken it upon himself to build a little empire smack in the heart of the French film industry. It's a close approximation to a French Hollywood, specifically an action-genre Hollywood — and its getting bigger everyday. For mindless, gratuitous violence, nonsensical plots and endless...
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2009

Currency gains lift Kirin forecast

Kirin Holdings Co. has raised its annual forecast 5.3 percent on currency gains.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2009

Scholar interns at old bookstore

Students of literature often find themselves among old books in the dark reaches of a library. But Harvard University student Peter Bernard has taken another tack, spending most days for the past two months combing the antiquated works at a 106-year-old bookstore in Tokyo's Kanda Jinbocho district.
BUSINESS
Aug 5, 2009

Yamaha quadruples loss forecast

Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. quadrupled its forecast Tuesday to a full-year loss of ¥182 billion as the recession cuts sales in North America and Europe.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji