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CULTURE / Books
Aug 9, 2009

The ups and downs of global parenting

Reviewed by Katrina Grigg-Saito Not every parent faces the questions of what language to speak at home or in which hemisphere to raise children. Not every parent is faced with sorting through the morals, rules and customs of disparate cultures, and not every parent feels growing pains with their children,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Aug 8, 2009

Harley guide makes good on flight attendant's plight

David Macklin, a dual citizen of Australia and Britain, said meeting his future wife, Yoriko Suzuki, in Cairns, Australia, in May 1999 was a matter of fate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 7, 2009

Anna Tsuchiya's classic new world

"I find beauty in the dark side or in people's anger!" confesses a boisterous Anna Tsuchiya. Surprisingly, Japan's choice wild-child actress, model and singer did not talk about herself egotistically, but merely justified her love of Chopin over Mozart: "When I (first) listened to Chopin's 'The Revolution,'...
BASKETBALL
Aug 6, 2009

Perseverance pays off for Isohata's NBA cheerleading dream

Yoshimi Isohata took a bit of a detour. But she has no regrets and feels blessed to have this Golden opportunity.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Aug 4, 2009

Extracting the urine: no legal grounds for deportation?

Re: Last month's Just Be Cause column, headlined "Cops crack down with 'I pee' checks":
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2009

BeeTV shows coming to cell phone near you

BeeTV, a broadcast service for cell phones, is grabbing the spotlight in the mobile phone industry with aggressive promotions and original content featuring popular TV stars.
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2009

Big Brother behind the smoke

In the spring of 2008, the Tobacco Institute of Japan together with the associations of tobacco retailers and vending machine manufacturers introduced Taspo, "tobacco passport." At the time, the system seemed a reasonable enough solution to one of Japan's perennial problems — underage smoking. However,...
EDITORIALS
Aug 2, 2009

The Un-Cool Biz

Pity the poor Japanese office worker slaving away in the 28-degree heat. This year's Cool Biz program has swung into full gear just as summer temperatures and humidity hit their peaks. The voluntary program to have office workers dress lightly to accommodate the government standard 28 degrees sounds...
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2009

Questions fly over arrest of tourist

Brian Hedge's July 28 letter, "Pocket knife lands tourist, 74, in lockup," presented in the Hotline to Nagatacho column, relates what seems to be an unfortunate incident stemming from police being overly zealous to enforce a new law. However, the article also raises a number of questions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 2, 2009

Walking Osaka's 'aquapolis' ways

Osaka: the Venice of the East!
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2009

Kagawa slams China trademark quest for 'udon'

The Kagawa Prefectural Government announced Friday it will file a complaint with the Chinese trademark office over an application to trademark the kanji meaning Sanuki "udon," a specialty noodle named after a local region.
COMMENTARY
Aug 1, 2009

Tough times for politicians

Democratic governments everywhere are in trouble. In Britain, the Labour government is tottering. In Japan, defeat looms for Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party. In Italy, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is clinging on amid a sea of scandal. In France, hyperactive President Nicolas Sarkozy...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 31, 2009

Running around the many stages

If you want to get a sense of the sprawling possibilities at Fuji Rock, just look at Rafven's schedule. The former street band from Gothenburg, Sweden, managed to play no less than nine times during the festival, bringing their exuberant brand of gypsy-style revelry to a string of different stages both...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2009

Escape from propaganda

Artist, architect, designer, photographer, curator, writer, editor, activist — Ai Weiwei is many things. This multiplicity of means all serve a united end that centers on the existential question: What does human freedom mean in China today?
JAPAN / PARTY POWERS
Jul 29, 2009

Shii says JCP will play loyal opposition role

Japanese Communist Party President Kazuo Shii said Tuesday that if the Democratic Party of Japan takes control of the Lower House his party intends to be a "constructive opposition party" that will cooperate when policies overlap but will remain a vocal critic on points of disagreement.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2009

Pope's dream of heaven on Earth

HONG KONG — Of all the criticisms and critiques of the state of the world since the financial crisis that triggered global recession, the most devastating and yet the most profound and constructive came this month from such an unusual and unlikely source that many media ignored them. Yet the comments...
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2009

Flesh out the manifestoes

As Lower House elections near, each political party needs to accelerate the work of writing its "manifesto" or detailed election platform. As the coming election will be one in which voters choose a government, stuffing a manifesto with money-splashing projects is not likely to win people's hearts. It...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 25, 2009

Welcome to the caldron

"Atsui desu, ne?" (It's hot, isn't it?) This is the universal summer greeting in Japan. You can be in a crowd of complete strangers when someone will sidle up to you and, as an "ice-breaker," say, "It's hot today, isn't it?" And you agree with, "So desu ne." (Yes, it is).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Jul 24, 2009

A bar crawl up Center Gai

Shibuya, I once wrote, is the heart of Young Japan, and the street named Center Gai is its throbbing artery. Some people pay handsomely for cliches like that.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 24, 2009

'Amalfi'

Films produced by Fuji TV — one of Japan's five national TV networks — have regularly hit the top of the box-office charts in the past decade. Fuji's biggest franchise started in 1998 with "Odoru Daisosasen The Movie" ("Bayside Shakedown"), a thriller starring Yuji Oda as a rambunctious detective...
Reader Mail
Jul 23, 2009

Human trafficking into America

Regarding the July 18 article "Human-trafficking not addressed: U.N. envoy": Although this story focused on Japan alone, I thought you may be interested in knowing that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year as well. They come from places all over the world like...
Reader Mail
Jul 19, 2009

The overall approach to tourism

Regarding the July 14 article "Aso's 'manga museum' plan cool with Aussies": After all the friction over whaling between Australia and Japan, it's good to read about something that generates positive feelings among comics fans in both countries. Japan needs to attract millions of tourists every year...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 19, 2009

A bird's-eye view of Japanese arts

Books on the specifics of Japanese culture (as compared to those on cultural generalities) were not always as available as they are now. The concept of culture did not have the political intentions that are now so much a part of it. Books on the purported uniqueness of the Japanese "national character"...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jul 19, 2009

Tune in to nature's sounds

The phenomenal diversity of Japan, in its landscapes, climates, ecosystems, fauna and flora, has enthralled me for more than a quarter of a century. For part of each year I am extremely fortunate to be able to travel the length and breadth of the country seeking out its wilder places in order to experience...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2009

Enter the dance-rock dragons Shikari

"We were really worried before they came over 'cos England's so s--t," says Rob Rolfe, the drummer from British post-hardcore/metal/dance fusion band Enter Shikari of their anxieties before embarking on a 2008 tour with their friends, the Japanese punk-metal group Maximum the Hormone.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan