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Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Mar 28, 2007

Good vibrations: Turning your skull into a speaker and manga electric guitars

VIBRATING BONES: Call me old-fashioned, but I feel attached to speakers. Innate pieces of metal and plastic vibrate in harmony to produce sound waves to caress the ear. The idea of substituting my body parts to carry out the vibrating bit of the business just doesn't hit the right note for me. But hey,...
Reader Mail
Mar 28, 2007

Limit to what language can do

I very much enjoyed the March 13 editorial, "Japan's ambivalent English," and I strongly agree with the argument that awareness of one's cultural identity comes as much from comparison as from knowledge of oneself. I know this is true from the years I spent in Britain as a postgraduate student and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 27, 2007

Life in the cloudy Imperial fishbowl

Although the media and insatiable public curiosity can expose the private secrets of superstars, the Imperial family remains largely out of view.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2007

Budget victory moves Abe a step closer to real goal

Reeling from scandals and falling public approval ratings, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet cleared a key hurdle in the Diet Monday by winning passage of the fiscal 2007 budget.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Mar 27, 2007

KOKUYO, MUJI, PILOT and MONO for spring

Spring is in the air, and that means two things: a city draped in the pink of cherry blossoms -- hey, pink is the new black, so get with it; and the start of a new school year. So I'll concentrate this month's picks on a few items that will make you more productive with a touch of a style.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2007

Strengthen U.S. trade ties

Japan is gearing up to conclude more free trade or economic partnership agreements with foreign governments. So far, Japan has been less enthusiastic about FTAs and EPAs than Western countries but is changing its tack due to difficulties expected in the new round of multilateral trade talks under the...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2007

A showdown in Pakistan

The removal of the chief justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court may have triggered the biggest political crisis yet for President Pervez Musharraf. The government claims Justice Iftikhar Chaudry is corrupt. His supporters counter that his real offense is his independence and argue that Pakistan's democracy...
Reader Mail
Mar 25, 2007

Hey, gaijin, give it a break!

I partially agree with Hidesato Sakakibara's Feb. 28 letter, "Term 'gaijin' has run its course," and Donald Seekins' March 7 letter, "Use 'expatriates,' not 'foreigner' " -- both of which decry use of the word "gaijin." As a Westerner, I have never had much desire to be addressed with this word by ethnic...
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 25, 2007

JFW: An outsider looks in

With 39 shows, the fourth Japan Fashion Week, from March 12 to 16, was the biggest to date. And, with several top brands announcing their imminent emigration to the runways of Paris,the cosmopolitan cachet was further enhanced by the presence of foreign journalists invited as official guests -- among...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 25, 2007

Traveling light at heart, heavy in mind

JAPANESE FOR TRAVELLERS: A Journey Through Modern Japan, by Katie Kitamura. Penguin, 258 pp., 2006, £7.99 (paper) When Katie Kitamura's parents left Japan for the United States they left behind three different generations: Katie's cousins, her aunts and uncles, and her grandparents. In "Japanese for...
MORE SPORTS
Mar 24, 2007

S. Korea's Kim leads after short program

South Korea's Kim Yu Na put on a dramatic performance Friday night to win the ladies singles short program at the World Figure Skating Championships.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2007

State's witness Miyauchi gets 20 months

The Tokyo District Court sentenced Ryoji Miyauchi, former Livedoor Co. chief financial officer, to 20 months in prison Thursday for falsifying financial statements at the Internet firm but let three other executives walk away with suspended terms.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2007

Gubernatorial poll campaigning starts

addresses supporters Thursday morning in Tachikawa, western Tokyo, as he opens his campaign for re-election in the April 8 poll, while former Miyagi Gov. Shiro Asano, considered his main contender, waves as he appears before voters in front of the metro government building in Shinjuku. KYODO, SATOKO...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 23, 2007

Two-edged sword of values

WASHINGTON -- Japan's recent decision to develop a foreign policy based on support for universal values is a step forward in the development of a more coherent, strategic vision to pursue its national interests. The new policy is likely to make coordination with the United States easier and allow Tokyo...
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2007

Race for Tokyo kicks off

Confident speeches and bold accusations flew Thursday as the campaign to elect the next Tokyo governor got under way, with national attention focused on whether the powerful incumbent, Shintaro Ishihara, can overcome scandal to win a third four-year term.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2007

Home sweet Hollandafter Hollywood hell

Director Paul Verhoeven is living, breathing proof of that old Hollywood adage, "You're only as good as your last film."
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2007

Try learning from a critical mistake

It was revealed last week that Hokuriku Electric Power Co. failed to report a "criticality accident" at a nuclear-power plant in Shiga, Ishikawa Prefecture, eight years ago. The accident involved a 15-minute uncontrollable fission chain reaction.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2007

Substance, not usual campaign noise

and Yoshito Hori, head of the Globis Group, look on at a March 2 event in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward promoting use of platforms known as manifestos in politics. PHOTO COURTESY OF WASEDA UNIVERSITY
Reader Mail
Mar 21, 2007

Japan's past already well known

If evidence ever existed that thousands of women were forced to work as sex slaves for the Japanese military in World War II, it may very well have been consumed in one of the countless bonfires used by Japanese military and civilian authorities to destroy incriminating evidence following Japan's defeat....

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