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Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2010

Would foreign vote hurt governor?

Regarding the Jan. 20 article "Ueda against letting foreigners vote": I assume that Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda and others gladly accept the tax contributions made by foreign permanent residents — but not their right to participate in local elections.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 24, 2010

Angels fans excited about Godzilla's move to Southern California

We can expect to see a lot more Los Angeles Angels games than the New York Yankees on NHK and J Sports in 2010 because of Hideki Matsui, especially when the Angels play the Seattle Mariners with Ichiro Suzuki.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 24, 2010

Eschewing the cheerlessness of modern-market memoirs

Those who have read Donald Keene's 1996 memoir "On Familiar Terms" may wonder whether it was necessary for him to bring out another that covers much the same ground. One suspects that Keene published "Chronicles of My Life" simply because he had been asked to write a series of columns about his life...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 24, 2010

Become a slave to rhythm

In the introduction to the first English translation of her work, Takako Arai refers to poems as vacant lots, alluding to the economic suffering of her hometown Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, and to the open spaces left by terrorism and bombs in New York City and Belgrade.
JAPAN / Media
Jan 24, 2010

Movie about balloon dad could clear him

LOS ANGELES — Once Richard Heene admitted in court that he wrongly sent authorities on a wild goose chase across Colorado to save the son he thought was aloft in a runaway balloon, friends and supporters seemed to take off just about as fast as that balloon.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jan 24, 2010

Saving the planet through its trees

Negotiators at the COP15 conference in Copenhagen didn't see eye to eye on much last month, but almost everyone agreed on one thing: To protect the planet we need to save its forests.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 24, 2010

Once mighty Apache in complete disarray

First in a two-part series
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2010

Bargain-price retailers leading deflationary trend

Mieko Watanabe wanted to buy a soft white dress to wear around the house, but the ¥6,000 price tag at apparel shops put off the 23-year-old office worker. Then she saw what she wanted at a Uniqlo outlet for less than ¥3,000.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2010

'Crossing' bares North defector fate

Every year, poverty-stricken North Koreans risk their lives crossing the border into China to escape the repression and starvation plaguing their hermit homeland.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2010

Hatoyama reaffirms innocence

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama again proclaimed his innocence Thursday in a political funds scandal involving donations from his mother, telling the House of Representatives Budget Committee that he is ready to resign if the facts prove otherwise.
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2010

Narrowed gap in Ukraine

LONDON — Yulia Tymoshenko, Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych were once called the "eternal triangle" of Ukrainian politics, but eternity is not what it used to be. One side of the triangle has disappeared.
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2010

Akiba gives peace plea to mayors in the U.S.

WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba said Wednesday that the will of the people will be a decisive factor in bringing about a nuclear-free world as called for by President Barack Obama last year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 22, 2010

'Surrogates'/'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus'

"Surrogates," the new Bruce Willis sci-fi flick directed by Jonathan Rostow, sketches out a brave new world where the plasticky digital-airbrush aesthetic of Photoshop and Ayumi Hamasaki album covers has triumphed over the imperfections of the meat body; humans lie in "Stim-chairs" all day plugged into...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 22, 2010

'Frozen River'

Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo) is not a pretty sight. One of the first shots of "Frozen River" shows her slumped in a chair in the early morning hours, and the camera moves slowly and meticulously over her features, ravaged by age and nicotine, the crisscross lines around her eyes testifying to what seems like...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 22, 2010

Royal Park stay with flavor of old Edo

The Royal Park Hotel in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, is offering a plan that combines a one-night stay in an executive floor room and dinner in one of the area's long-established Japanese restaurants, through March 31.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 22, 2010

January goes out like a lion

Japan's lion dances, and there are about 7,800 of them, all have their own style but the purpose is mainly the same. The shishi (lion) dances act as a prayer to ward off evil spirits.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2010

Desperate wives tap 'secret savings'

Housewives' "secret savings" fell about 20 percent last year as households were forced to tap these reserves to cover living costs amid falling family income, according to a survey by Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 22, 2010

'Subete wa Umi ni Naru'

MARK SCHILLINGMost commercial films in Japan, as elsewhere, fall into clearly marked boxes, from genre (horror, romcom) to story (zero-to-hero, teen love/tragic death). Indie films here also follow familiar thematic patterns, with miscommunication and alienation being favorites.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jan 22, 2010

Sweat to a girl riot; soak up Gypsy jazz

"What's that smell in here?" I ask The Harpy's in the dressing room of the livehouse Motion, which lies at the butt end of the sleazy Kabukicho entertainment area in Tokyo's central Shinjuku district.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Jan 22, 2010

'108 Heroes of the Suikoden'

Tokyo Vanilla Gallery
Reader Mail
Jan 21, 2010

Big mistake to write off Japan

In response to Hiroaki Inui's Jan. 14 letter, "Japan too fossilized to change," I admit there are a lot of things that need to be done to make Japan a better place to live, but if Inui (of Atlanta) is suggesting that America is the answer, he could not be more wrong. I currently live in New York City...
COMMENTARY
Jan 21, 2010

Citizens lose in Google vs. China

The challenge thrown down by Google last week seemed unequivocal: Either China accepts uncensored information on Google.cn or the Internet giant will shut down its operations in the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 20, 2010

Imperial Palace resides in otherworldly expanse

Like a nature reserve surrounded by Tokyo's concrete jungle, the Imperial Palace, or Kokyo, home to the Emperor and Empress, is a moated, otherworldly forested expanse where once stood a castle.

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