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CULTURE / Books
Oct 7, 2012

Exploring the garden of absolute infinities

Tenryu-Ji: Life and Spirit of a Kyoto Garden, by Norris Brock Johnson. Stone Bridge Press, 2012, 368 pp., $39.95 (hardcover) If the Western garden is bulging with organic matter, the Japanese one is animate with deities, allegory, symbolism and mythology, hinting at a greater depth, a place of divine...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 7, 2012

Seen through the victim's eye

THE STORY OF MY ASSASSINS, by Tarun J. Tejpal. Melville House, 2012, 544 pp., $27.95 (hardcover) Tarun J. Tejpal's "The Story of My Assassins" begins, "The morning I heard I'd been shot I was sitting in my office. ..."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 6, 2012

Government will take its time deciding on reporting standards, Nakatsuka says

New financial services minister Ikko Nakatsuka on Friday said the government still hopes to make a final decision on whether to adopt the International Financial Reporting Standards in the next few months, but only after it finishes weighing their potential impact on Japanese companies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2012

'The Samaritan'

One resounding truth about guys in the movies is this: They don't last. Five years ago I was fantasizing about dinner with, oh, Mel Gibson (I know, I know. Terrible taste). Or Jason Statham (even worse). While on-screen, these guys did what they do best, which is offing evil-doers in crowded public venues...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2012

DoCoMo shows off smartphone robot technology at CEATEC show

Everywhere a visitor turns at this year's CEATEC, Japan's biggest high-tech exhibition, smartphones are being used to connect to everything from TVs and microwaves to air conditioners and automobiles.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2012

Sagging business sentiment

The tankan survey of business sentiments for September by the Bank of Japan shows that uncertainty hovers over the Japanese economy. If necessary, the central bank should take additional monetary easing measures since injecting ¥10 trillion into an assets purchase fund Sept. 19. The government needs...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 5, 2012

The streets are alive with the sound of jazz

Shunzo Ohno is a man committed to his dream. Even after a motor bike accident and a battle with cancer, he can still play a mean trumpet.
Reader Mail
Oct 4, 2012

Memories of changing trains

With regard to Grant Piper's Sept. 27 letter, "Indulgence that appears to work": Piper's description of pedestrian traffic in Japan as a "treacherous and hair-raising obstacle course" brought many old memories rushing back. In the 1980s, I was living in Nerima Ward (Tokyo) and using public transportation....
Reader Mail
Oct 4, 2012

Loss of an art deco landmark

Regarding the Oct. 1 Kyodo article "Photos offer rare aerial views of Tokyo in 1922": I would like to see an article explain why Japan does not preserve historic buildings. I worked in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo in the 1980s and recall what a gem the Maru Biru was. Why did the government and people...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2012

Looking at art from a local perspective

In these recessionary times, any contribution to the arts is a cause for celebration. Such a state of affairs makes the opening of the Daegu Art Museum (DAM) in May 2011 in Daegu, South Korea, an especially joyous event.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 4, 2012

"The People by Kishin"

Kishin Shinoyama has always been at the forefront of Japan's photography industry. His perceptive insight and carefree disregard of social norms have made him both an admirable pursuer of avant-gardism and a target of conservative criticism. This exhibition is the first major retrospective of Shinoyama's...
EDITORIALS
Oct 4, 2012

Rethink Osprey deployment

Six of the 12 Osprey tilt-rotor transport aircraft stationed at U.S. Marine Corps' Air Station Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, were deployed at Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture on Monday, and three more Osprey aircraft flew from Iwakuni to Futenma on Tuesday amid Okinawans' concerns about the...
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2012

Cabinet reshuffle with no vision

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffled his Cabinet for the third time Monday. Although he changed 10 of the 18 Cabinet members, Mr. Noda has failed to present a long-term policy goal or a future vision for Japan as it faces a rapidly graying population and difficult diplomatic issues.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Oct 2, 2012

Tokyo: Which theater form — kabuki, noh or Takarazuka — would you say best represents modern Japan?

Sayuri Nakajima
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 2, 2012

What it means to be 'Made in Japan'

"Made in Japan" is a such a simple phrase, yet it instantly evokes an image of exceptional design and high-quality production. Japan today is known for creating some of the most stylish, innovative and whimsical products in the world.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Oct 2, 2012

Revisionists marching Japan back to a dangerous place

No doubt you've seen the news about the Takeshima and Senkaku disputes: Japan is sparring with China, South Korea and Taiwan over some specks in the ocean.
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2012

Sumitomo sees 'solar bubble' with rejection of nuclear power

As Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and billionaire Masayoshi Son lead a swarm of investors seeking to exploit Japan's solar power subsidies — the largest in the world — Sumitomo Corp. is betting on wind.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Oct 1, 2012

Flip-flop on no-nuclear energy policy bodes ill for the future of Japan

On Sept. 14, the Japanese government presented to the public a new national energy strategy. This long-awaited plan included as its focal point the objective of eliminating nuclear power by the end of the 2030s. Less than a week later, however, Japan's hopes for a nuclear-free world were dashed. In the...
Reader Mail
Sep 30, 2012

Limits of antinuclear credibility

The Sept. 16 Timeout article on antinuclear campaigner Arnie Gundersen, titled "The government could still save lives'," sadly delves into scaremongering. Gundersen's claims of massive casualties from xenon and krypton isotopes is not supported in scientific literature. That's because of a few factors:...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 30, 2012

"Forgotten and Neglected Brides"; Interviews with tourists in Japan; CM of the week: Tokyo Disney Resort

"Kyoko Kikoku: Wasuresarareta Yometachi" ("Forced Repatriation: Forgotten and Neglected Brides"; TBS, Monday, 9 p.m.), a Cultural Agency-sanctioned program commemorating the 40th anniversary of normalized relations between Japan and China, dramatizes a 1993 incident when a group of women from China staged...
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 30, 2012

Panasonic helped bring foreign players to Japan

Just as the Japan Basketball League is preparing to re-brand itself as the National Basketball League (NBL) for 2013-14, it is also coping with the planned loss of one of Japan's most successful basketball clubs, the Panasonic Trians.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 30, 2012

What nightmares may come, when we shuffle onto an immortal coil

"In 20 years human beings will neither die nor age."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 30, 2012

Whatever fanatics say, a nice cup of tea together beats a fight to the death

There is no doubt about it: We humans are, at best, a peculiar species. It seems that we feel obliged to display brazen hostility toward each other, to the point of engaging in violence, before we can reconcile to friendship.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Sep 30, 2012

Time seems to slow as Joei-ji Garden comes alive

"The whole countryside was full of snakes sunning themselves along the roads and swimming in the ditches and newly flooded rice-fields. ... Out in Sesshu's old garden behind the temple, the pond was starred with tiny twinkling water-lilies." Such was, in part, how Glenn W. Shaw described the rural outskirts...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Sep 29, 2012

Terry's legacy tainted by scandals

Four Games.
EDITORIALS
Sep 29, 2012

Mr. Putin's 'pivot' toward Asia

Russia is a huge country that spans eight time zones, stretching from the borders of Europe to the Pacific Ocean. For centuries it has grappled with its "Eurasian" identity, debating whether its national interest are best served by choosing between one half or the other or offering itself as a bridge...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 28, 2012

Uniqlo, Bic Camera open joint giant outlet called Bicqlo in Tokyo

Clothing retailer Uniqlo and electronics retailer Bic Camera Inc. together opened a giant new outlet dubbed Bicqlo in the Shinjuku shopping district on Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2012

Mr. Abe makes his return

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a political comeback on Wednesday as the elected new head of the leading opposition Liberal Democratic Party. This is the first time that a person who has resigned as prime minister has been re-elected as the top leader of a political party. A big question about...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 28, 2012

Food-themed festival serves up tasty films to chew on

Cinephile foodies, rejoice: The Tokyo Gohan Film Festival kicks off Oct. 6 and runs through Oct. 21. Now in its third year — and with a spinoff event in Osaka held Oct. 6-14 — it's a showcase of films all related to food. Not just one, lonesome movie such as "Dinner Rush" (though that's included...

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