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COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 19, 2008

Ozawa bets on a takeover

Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the No. 1 opposition Democratic Party of Japan, has long been known as a gambler, both at the casino and in the political arena. When he was his 40s, he often went to London to study British parliamentary politics, which he regarded as a model of political reform. While there,...
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2008

'Iron Man'

Hollywood likes big, loud comic-book movies and the critics mostly don't, and that's just the way life is, like cats and dogs, or cows and McDonalds. But lately the studio execs who package these "branded media products" are getting downright devious. They've always wanted these movies to be all things...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2008

'Lou Reed's Berlin'

During my youth I decided that one day in decrepit middle age I would aim to become one of three people: Mother Teresa, Fyodor Dostoevski or Lou Reed. Then I grew up and got real — the first two were impossibly lofty, but Reed was a goal to strive for. With his public moods that fluctuated between...
CULTURE / Music
Sep 19, 2008

The Cool Kids "The Bake Sale"

The story goes that Chicagoans Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish got into hip-hop with the idea of producing simple jams to sell to MCs. But as often happens, the two couldn't help but add their own raps over the tracks they made, and then they posted some of them on the Internet. People liked what they...
JAPAN
Sep 19, 2008

DPJ OKs merger with minor party

The Democratic Party of Japan's leadership agreed Thursday to merge with Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), DPJ leader Naoto Kan told reporters.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2008

Tokyo Comedy Store ups the laugh factor

Live comedy about the absurdities of living in Japan and off-the-wall improvisation are showcased every month by the English- language performance troupe Tokyo Comedy Store.
Reader Mail
Sep 18, 2008

Russian roulette with food supply

The tiny Sept. 13 Kyodo article "Inedible rice barred" -- about the tainted rice debacle -- includes the following gem: "Imported rice that fails to qualify as edible . . . is sold . . . for use in . . . animal feed." Where is the alarm in Japan? What kind of animals are eating it? Cows and pigs? The...
Reader Mail
Sep 18, 2008

Merits of archery-only hunting

I grew up on venison and have hunted deer all my adult life. I am 46. People are now discovering what hunters have known for ages: Eating wild game is healthy. While it may be difficult to promote hunting in Japan because of gun laws and fear of guns, I have never understood why Japan doesn't have an...
CULTURE / Art
Sep 18, 2008

Artistic director Tsutomu Mizusawa delves into his 'Time Crevasse'

For the last two years, Yokohama native Tsutomu Mizusawa has been juggling two jobs — chief curator of the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura and Hayama, and artistic director of Japan's biggest exhibition of contemporary art, the Yokohama Triennale. The Japan Times caught up with him on the first day...
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2008

Lehman-linked losses could hit ¥245 billion

Japan's banks and insurers, including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., announced a combined ¥245 billion of potential losses tied to the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2008

Ties to Japan must persist: Chinese official

Strategic and mutually beneficial relations between Japan and China should not be harmed by any changes in Japan's political situation, a senior official of the Chinese Communist Party said Wednesday at a forum in Tokyo.
TENNIS
Sep 17, 2008

Russian Olympians fight to stay focused after success in Beijing

Olympic gold-medal winner Elena Dementieva admits she is having trouble focusing on her game after the euphoria of Beijing, but losing finalist Dinara Safina has no such problems heading into this week's Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2008

BOJ adds ¥2.5 trillion to markets

The Bank of Japan added ¥2.5 trillion to the financial system and China cut interest rates as Asian central banks attempted to calm markets after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2008

DPJ and Kokumin Shinto join up on postal issue

A fundamental review of postal privatization will be included in the platforms of both the Democratic Party of Japan and Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) for the general election expected later this year, they agreed Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2008

Europeans draw wrong lesson from Munich

NEW YORK — Seventy years ago this month in Munich, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed a document that allowed Germany to grab a large chunk of Czechoslovakia. The so-called Munich Agreement would come to be seen as an abject betrayal of what Chamberlain termed "a far away country of...
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2008

Lessons from Libya

Ignored amid the feverish speculation over Japan's next prime minister and the rumored illness of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was a development of real significance: the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Libya. Her stopover marks the highest-ranking U.S. visit there in over half...
Reader Mail
Sep 14, 2008

Women-only train cars shameful

When I stayed in the United States, I realized how advanced public transportation is in Japan. But there is one thing about our train system that I am ashamed of: the women-only passenger car. India also has this system, but Indians adopted it for religious reasons. In Japan, it was adopted because of...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Sep 14, 2008

Kitanoumi epitomizes all that is wrong with sumo

Every time I hear somebody refer to sumo as "Japan's national sport," I just have to shake my head in amazement.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Sep 14, 2008

Tokyo's catwalks at last purr with pizazz

"Is Tokyo really the world's fifth fashion capital after Paris, New York, Milan and London?"
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 14, 2008

Atelier Bravo, 'What's So Bad About Dictatorship' and 'Shanghai Typhoon'

Atelier Bravo is an artists collective based in Fukuoka whose eight members are developmentally disabled.
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2008

Takeover to stem the tide?

The decision to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac signals an unprecedented intervention in U.S. financial markets. The move, by a conservative administration no less, is an indication of the concern surrounding the two mortgage companies and the impact of continuing uncertainty on global financial...

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight