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COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 25, 2008

An Obama for Japan: Yes, we can?

On the long, unwinding railroad, on the sixth day — the day that, according to Christian texts, God created Man — a great dissatisfaction seeped into me as I continued to bask in the pride of seeing the majority of my fellow Americans transcend race in the selection of the next president of the United...
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Let tenants know what's expected

A non-Japanese friend of mine got a very bad reputation from the landlord. Generally he was not interested in keeping his house clean, nor was his Japanese wife. They allowed the child to come in barefoot without washing. The tatami mats seemed sandy, and the couple apparently did not clean the bathtub...
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Reaction to 'Chinatown' mystifies

Regarding the Nov. 18 article "Merchants' plan for Chinatown in Ikebukuro faces resistance": As a former assistant manager of the Japan Center in San Francisco, I am extremely perturbed over the Japanese business community's reaction to the goodwill overture made by the Chinese business community in...
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Piece on pot says nothing new

Regardless of my views of marijuana use, I have to say that the Nov. 19 editorial "Students and marijuana" is a sad excuse for an editorial. Yes, in Japan, smoking marijuana is a crime; in other places in the world, it is not. This is a fact, and that this law was broken by a few people is another boring,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2008

Where are world's 'targeted' tourists visiting in Japan?

As part of the Visit Japan Campaign, the central government identified 12 "target" countries and regions on which to concentrate marketing activities. Have their efforts paid off? We asked industry insiders from each of the selected countries how Japan was perceived as a tourist destination.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2008

Looking for ways to lure more visitors to these shores

What are people who work in the domestic tourism industry — from tour operators to inn owners to regional tourism promotion offices — doing to attract foreign visitors? Here are the voices of marketers from across Japan:
Reader Mail
Nov 23, 2008

Tough work finding a guarantor

Regarding the Nov. 18 Zeit Gist article "Prejudice among obstacles facing non-Japanese tenants": I have heard of many foreigners who have complained of this situation. But then again, I have known non-Japanese who would rack up thousands of dollars in unpaid bills and just leave the country.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 23, 2008

Bite-'em-up exploits in lower Manhattan

YEAR OF THE DOG by Henry Chang. New York, Soho Press, Inc., 2008, 231 pp., $24 (cloth) Set in lower Manhattan's Chinese enclave, Henry Chang's latest novel is a sequel following the exploits of NYPD detective Jack Yu, who made his debut in "Chinatown Beat" in 2006.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 23, 2008

We're just playing ball

It's an open secret that TV news shows tend to go easy on big advertisers in their reporting. In the many tributes to journalist Tetsuya Chikushi, who died two weeks ago of lung cancer, no one mentioned that he was a heavy smoker. The dangers of cigarettes were never covered on his nightly TBS show,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 22, 2008

A firm grip on life by the handlebars

"Enjoy life and laugh," says cyclist Mio Yamasaki when asked her motto for living. "No, wait," she interrupts, as she ponders the question further. "Make other people laugh. This is the happiest way to live your life."
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2008

Paroled death-row inmate dies after decades-long fight for retrial

Kenjiro Ishii spent most of his life seeking a retrial. Still hoping for another court appearance, the paroled death-row inmate died on the morning of Nov. 7 at a hospital in Kumamoto Prefecture at age 91.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2008

Nippon Steel, JFE still eye Thai mills

Nippon Steel Corp. and JFE Steel Corp., Asia's two largest mills, remain interested in investing in Thailand despite the nation's political turmoil, Industry Minister Pracha Promnog said.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 22, 2008

The festival of the long distance runners

Old Man Winter is about to blast his icy breath down our collective necks, but at least we get to ring in the season of sniffles, frostbite and influenza with a great lineup of holidays, highlighted by Christmas and New Year's, and then my personal favorite, Nail-Clipping Day, on Jan. 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2008

Tibetans weigh limited number of options

HONG KONG — The latest round of talks between representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government predictably failed to make progress, and now hundreds of Tibetans are gathering in Dharamsala, India for a weeklong crisis meeting to discuss the way forward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 21, 2008

A Flowering Tree

American opera director Peter Sellars will stage the Japanese premiere of "A Flowering Tree" in Tokyo on Dec. 6.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 21, 2008

Juana Molina: 'Music overwhelms me'

On the cover of her latest album, "Un Dia," Juana Molina's face is distorted beyond all recognition; the effect is both intriguing and disturbing.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 21, 2008

Documentaries frame Berlin Philharmonic's past, present

Two documentaries about the famed Berlin Philharmonic are being showcased in a Japan roadshow that started last Saturday at Eurospace in Shibuya, Tokyo. Both films look into the state of this venerated ensemble, but during very different periods in its 126-year history.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 21, 2008

'The Bank Job'

"The Bank Job" is one of those movies that somehow winds up being far, far better than it has any right to be.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 21, 2008

LFJ's Martin to launch Chopin 'musical diary' in Tokyo

French producer Rene Martin is launching a new musical project titled Le Journal Musical de Chopin (The Musical Diary of Chopin) this month in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 21, 2008

'Tis a gift to be simple

The best holiday presents wrap themselves — in your arms, that is. The rest of your gift-list responsibilities, whether for Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Japanese oseibo (yearend gifts), can be taken care of near Asakusabashi Station. I'm usually way behind schedule getting presents together, but...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2008

Salaryman-turned-activist keeps island nation Tuvalu in the picture

Tanned and relaxed, 42-year-old Shuichi Endo has set himself a monumental task: Photograph 10,000 residents of the tiny Pacific nation of Tuvalu, nearly the entire population.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2008

Lehman demise an opportunity for new dawn, Nomura chief says

The head of Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest brokerage, had been itching to shake things up since he began his new job in April.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes