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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 6, 2012

Rebuilding lives in shattered Tohoku, one image at a time

As the minibus winds through the foothills of northern Fukushima, the Geiger counter flashes blue and buzzes loud alerts — but it doesn't distract Brian Peterson. The 35-year-old American holds up a boxy Konika Instant Press — what he calls his "magic camera" — then explains how to load it, set...
Japan Times
JAPAN / SPELLING BEE
Mar 5, 2012

A look back at the spellers who triumphed last year

Yuichi Yoshioka was crowned the winner of the second Japan Times Spelling Bee, held at The Japan Times headquarters in Tokyo in May last year, after he correctly spelled the word "presentient," landing a spot in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee contest the following month in the U.S.
BASKETBALL
Mar 4, 2012

B-Corsairs make point with tenacious defense

As has been the case throughout the season, defense fueled the Yokohama B-Corsairs' win on Saturday, a 66-59 road triumph over the Osaka Evessa.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE MONTH
Mar 3, 2012

89ers' Fitzgerald, Shimura share monthly honor for brilliance on offense

Success on offense begins with good shooting, good passing and good teamwork.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 3, 2012

Ice phenomenon warms up hearts in the Lake Suwa region

To the delight of local residents this winter, an elevated line of cracked ice appeared on the frozen surface of Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture for the first time in four years.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2012

Lighten the Emperor's workload

Two weeks have passed since the Emperor underwent coronary-artery bypass surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Feb. 18. We sincerely pray that his recovery will go smoothly and that he will be able to return to his normal daily life free from health concerns. Now 78, the Emperor had been saddled...
COMMENTARY
Mar 3, 2012

How to push reform forward

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has stated he would stake his political life on realizing integrated reform of the tax and social security systems. Japan's financial structure is worse than those of other advanced countries and even that of Greece, which was responsible for the euro crisis. Therefore it...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 2, 2012

Aomori's entry delayed a year by lack of sponsorship

By delaying its entry into the bj-league by a year, the Aomori expansion franchise will have more time to get its financial house in order. At least that's the basic assumption one has after last Friday's announcement made official what had been expected for several months.
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2012

Simpler life a welcome change

I enjoyed reading the sentiments expressed in Amy Chavez's Feb. 25 column, "Austerity — we've embraced it in the countryside." As an young American adult who went through adolescence in the transitional times of the 1990s and early 2000s, I feel that some of these ideas of simplicity ring true in my...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 29, 2012

In Iraq, done in by the Clinton-Lewinsky affair

The recent public-television documentary on the Clinton presidency has focused attention anew on the scandal involving Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Overlooked is the important role this affair played in the confrontation with Iraq in 1998.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 27, 2012

American safety tab in terms of drone deaths

Sometimes people make a startlingly mindless argument. One recent example is "Drones for Human Rights" (New York Times, Jan. 31).
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 27, 2012

The first rule of writing ate-ji: There are no rules

As a general rule, kanji (Sino-Japanese ideographs) are classified in dictionaries according to two readings: kun-yomi (native Japanese) and on-yomi (approximation of the original Chinese pronunciation). For example, 東, the tō in 東京 (Tokyo), meaning "east," is an on-yomi that came from the Chinese...
Reader Mail
Feb 26, 2012

Historical realities of getting old

In Craig Bowron's Washington Post article "At the end of a loved one's life, why is it so hard to let go?" (reprinted in The Japan Times on Feb. 22), certain impressions about life expectancy need to be further interpreted with examples from advanced societies other than the United States.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 26, 2012

Nakase says goal is to coach in NBA

Isn't it funny how likes and dislikes can shape one's future when you least expect it?
MORE SPORTS
Feb 25, 2012

Toyo stars to enter NYC Half Marathon

Kento Otsu and Yuta Shitara, star members of Toyo University's record-setting team at the 2012 Hakone Ekiden, have been invited to run the NYC Half Marathon on March 18, it was announced recently by New York Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 24, 2012

Knight still wonders why no team would give him shot

As the playoff chase picks up steam in the coming weeks, several bj-league general managers could be shaking their heads and asking themselves, "Why didn't I sign Billy Knight?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2012

'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close'

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was released last Christmas in the United States, slightly after the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. One would like to suppose that the filmmakers realized the crassness of opening a 9/11-themed film any closer to the actual anniversary, but I'd bet...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2012

Fiennes gets savage in Shakespeare's 'Coriolanus'

An angry mob of protesters waving banners and wielding bats advances on a government building protected by black-clad riot police. Hooded hotheads break open the gates and all hell breaks loose.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 23, 2012

akai ko-en try to avoid getting caught in the Web

With a layered sound that blends postrock dynamics and sprawling song structures with pure J-pop sensibility, akai ko-en is quickly becoming one of Tokyo's most talked-about new bands. But just try searching for the group on YouTube and see how far you get.
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2012

Grandparents stifle grief to raise orphaned boy

In the three prefectures hardest hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake last March 11, 1,580 children lost either one or both of their parents, according to a health ministry survey of Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi conducted at the end of last year.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Feb 22, 2012

Smith's track record cause for concern

On a one-week assignment with the Nuggets last season in full anticipation of Carmelo Anthony exclusively spilling his guts to me about every aspect of his life and forthcoming destination, I accompanied the team on its charter to Phoenix.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 20, 2012

Myth of the U.S. president as master of events

Americans are presidency-addicted. We can't get enough information about our commanders in chief, yet there is a woeful misunderstanding of the office.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WEEK 3
Feb 19, 2012

Avant-garde shamaness takes a poetic journey to the Californian suburbs

In a YouTube clip from February 2011, Hiromi Ito begins a reading of an excerpt from her narrative poem "I Am Anjuhimeko (Watashi wa Anjuhimeko de aru)" at the Museum of Modern Aomori Literature by banging the palm of her hand loudly and repeatedly on the desk in front of her. She sits down, squares...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Feb 19, 2012

Setoyama says team play has Kyoto on pace for Final Four

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Kyosuke Setoyama of the Kyoto Hannaryz is the subject of this week's profile.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2012

Reform means the world for Todai

When Japan's leading university announced in January that it intends to shift undergraduate enrollment from spring to autumn in line with colleges worldwide, the plan created waves far beyond the academic world.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2012

Store debuts Zambia bamboo bikes

A bicycle shop in Tokyo's Harajuku district has started selling bikes with bamboo frames made in Zambia, hoping riders hop on.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan