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Reader Mail
Oct 12, 2008

Train distance in question

Regarding the Oct. 9 article "Japan punctuality lets duo go the Guinness 24-hour train distance": I enjoyed reading this article very much as I have been a fan of Japanese railways for 20 years. But I doubt that Corey Pedersen and Mike Kim set a new world record. My own calculation is that the duo covered...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 12, 2008

TV "champions" return, and Kamiji the clown takes on a drama

Yusuke Kamiji, the chief representative of the currently hot baka tarento (dumb TV personality) trend, lands his first starring role in a comedy series as one of the title characters of "Serebu to Binbo Taro" (The Celebrity and Poor Taro; Fuji, Tues., 9 p.m.).
CULTURE / Books
Oct 12, 2008

Sexy, dirty surrealism in the heart of Tokyo

LALA PIPO by Hideo Okuda, translated by Marc Adler, New York: Vertical, Inc., 2008, 288 pp., $14.95 (paper) Their recent list of contemporary Japanese fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels is making those Japanophiles at the New York publishing house Vertical Inc. Nihon otaku among Western publishing...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 12, 2008

In territory and war, it's hard to apologize

TROUBLED APOLOGIES AMONG JAPAN, KOREA AND THE UNITED STATES by Alexis Dudden. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008, 167 pp., $40 (cloth) Alexis Dudden engagingly explores how the nexus of politics, war memory and apology shapes contemporary trilateral relations between Korea, Japan and the United...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 11, 2008

Racist abuse continues to poison beautiful game

LONDON — Rio Ferdinand this week hit out at the inadequate punishment that one of world football's most respected authorities handed out for racist behavior.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2008

Nikkei tanks as fear grips Asia

A massive selloff on Wall Street and escalating fears of a global recession sent Asian stocks plunging Friday, with Japan's key index shedding nearly 10 percent to close out its worst week in history.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2008

Firms use free beer, pasta to lure housewives into becoming investors

Tokyo Gas Co. and Asahi Breweries Ltd., Japan's biggest gas utility and second-largest brewer, are using free beer and pasta lunches to lure housewives into becoming investors.
SOCCER / World cup
Oct 10, 2008

Japan held to draw

The United Arab Emirates stunned Japan with a goal from virtually its only attack of the game to claim a 1-1 friendly-match draw on Thursday night.
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2008

Asia not immune, Kuroda warns

The global financial crisis may force the Asian Development Bank to reduce next year's growth estimates for Asia's economies, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2008

Huge video game show kicks off

CHIBA — Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's biggest gaming events, kicked off Thursday with a record 879 software titles expected to attract 180,000 people during its four-day run.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 10, 2008

A sensitive grape for a superb wine

A delicate, thin skin, in constant need of attention, sensitive to extremes of climate: The Pinot Noir is the pampered princess of grape varieties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2008

'Shiawase no Kaori'

Here's an obvious but often neglected rule: Never see foodie movies — films that revolve around the preparation and consumption of scrumptious-looking food — on an empty stomach. Watching Gabriel Axel's Oscar-winning Danish movie "Babette's Feast" (1987) — the "Citizen Kane" of foodie movies —...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2008

Juvenile court opens up for a day

Minors are usually tried in family courts behind closed doors, but in an effort to give the public a better understanding of how these cases are handled, the Tokyo Family Court this week showcased a mock juvenile trial.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2008

Little Tokyo looks to get back its vibes with new development

The last time Little Tokyo tried getting back to its Japanese roots, it was in the early 1980s with the Japanese Village Plaza, a warren of sweets shops, tea stands and trinket stores under sloping glazed-tile roofs.
CULTURE / Music
Oct 10, 2008

Queen + Paul Rodgers "The Cosmos Rocks"

Ever since Freddie Mercury left us for a better place, guitarist-come- scientist Brian May has taken it upon himself to throw his weight around as the new demigod leader of Queen in all its myriad bastardized forms. And who can blame him — if the real Queen let you play the National Anthem on the top...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 10, 2008

'Get Smart'

After viewing "Get Smart," I understand why 80 percent of women in the developed world cite the following as the top problem in their personal lives: they'd like to change their jobs and start over, but they don't exactly know what to do. Call off the dogs: What most of us want to do, in the innermost...
COMMENTARY
Oct 10, 2008

Distressed Chinese dairy companies get help

HONG KONG — At a time when the United States — and now Europe — is acting to rescue financial institutions such as Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and AIG, it is interesting to note that Chinese authorities are offering a hand to distressed companies caught in the contaminated milk scandal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Oct 10, 2008

"Ikigami"

"Ikigami"
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 10, 2008

Pappa Tarahumara stages quirky take on 'Gulliver' tale

Hiroshi Koike, founder of the internationally renowned Pappa Tarahumara performing- arts company, says on its Web site that he has been interested in Irish satirist and cleric Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) for more than 20 years.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 10, 2008

Shinyuri Film Festival moves into new Kawasaki Art Center

Most Japan Times readers will know the frustration of hearing from friends overseas about some wonderful new film, and then waiting — ultimately in vain — for it to turn up in Japanese cinemas or video stores.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2008

Toyota forced to find alternative uses for U.S. workers

Idled Toyota Motor Corp. assembly-line workers in San Antonio are spending two weeks cleaning city parks, removing graffiti, painting benches and fixing fences instead of building pickup trucks.

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