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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 13, 2010

'Secret'

Korean suspense thrillers are a little like Korean soccer games: rough, provocative and erupting with violence. Ultimately though, the scenes — like the soccer plays — are rigorously disciplined and calculated down to the tiniest detail. It goes without saying that both are extremely watchable. ...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 13, 2010

Finding fun in Summer Sonic's odd lineup

In May, Japanese Web site Netallica reported that advance tickets for two of the big rock festivals, Fuji and Summer Sonic, were not moving. Both feature foreign artists, and Netallica implied that the latter added the grand old man of Japanese rock, Eikichi Yazawa, and best-selling J-pop hip-hop group...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 13, 2010

Man Ray: The bright ideas of an original

"Unconcerned but Not Indifferent" reads the gravestone epitaph of American-born artist Man Ray, who was buried in his adopted hometown, Montparnasse, Paris. The same phrase is used for the title of an exhibition of the enigmatic artist now showing at the National Art Center, Tokyo. It can be applied...
EDITORIALS
Aug 11, 2010

Good start for cluster bomb ban

An international treaty to ban the use and stockpiling of cluster bombs entered into force Aug. 1. Cluster bombs are ghastly weapons. They are air-dropped or ground-launched and eject a number of small bomblets. Many fail to explode on impact and continue to kill or maim civilians — especially children...
COMMENTARY
Aug 7, 2010

The NPT's uncertain future

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty's coming into force. Despite its central role in shaping the global nuclear order, the NPT's future looks anything but promising.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2010

'No One Knows About Persian Cats'

Persian cats may be the next cool thing, but don't be misled: We're not talking about the feline kind.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 6, 2010

Boltanski's hearts don't skip a beat

There are few places more remote. I wander along an overgrown path humming with birds and lined with rice fields before finding myself in front of a house on a small beach.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 6, 2010

Corgan hails Summer Sonic's '90s vibe

"The positive reaction to what we're doing right now musically and the emotion coming off the stage has just lit a fire back up," says Billy Corgan — guitarist, vocalist and sole remaining original member of alternative titans The Smashing Pumpkins. "I haven't seen a reaction to the band like this...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2010

'Jennifer's Body'/'Zombieland'

"Jennifer's Body" is pretty straightforward in its intentions: mix this season's hot teen genre, the vampire flick, with that old standby the high-school movie. Cast smoking hot Megan Fox as the bitchy bodacious queen bee, Amanda Seyfried as her nerdy best friend, and throw in some snarky teen-speak...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jul 25, 2010

Death of 'The Boss' huge news in U.S., not in Japan

I'm just back from a summer trip to the United States with time in northern New Jersey, where the big news last week was the death of New York Yankees owner George "The Boss" Steinbrenner on July 13, and the press coverage was extensive.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 25, 2010

Wherefore art thou, corporate social responsibility?

As an American lawyer, I know a bit about working in a profession that has had serious image problems.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2010

Murderess as VIP guest puzzles media

OSAKA — Overseas reaction to Kim Hyon Hui's four-day visit to Japan to discuss the abduction of Japanese nationals to North Korea ranged from puzzlement to surprise as to the government's motives, since she had already been questioned on what she knew.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 23, 2010

Hikashu to take 'pataphysics to Fuji Rock

On the face of it, the lineup for this year's Fuji Rock Festival has not been kind to Japanese artists, with representation on the higher profile stages confined to such stalwarts as melodic punk rocker Ken Yokoyama and dance duo Boom Boom Satellites. The lack of any real challenge to these oldies' dominance...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 23, 2010

Events spur on a new generation of sake drinkers

At 5:30 p.m. on a recent Saturday evening, the line of people at the entrance to the Smile Nihonshu sake event was six deep. Inside the bar, groups of young people in their 20s and 30s clinked glasses and nodded along to a bouncy rendition of Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier" under a green-lit disco ball....
JAPAN / GROWING OLD ALONE
Jul 21, 2010

Neighbors, more than kin, face onus of keeping tabs on seniors

Retired cabby Juzo Omata, 65, was depressed and lonely when he tried to hang himself. His suicide attempt failed only because the tree he selected couldn't take his weight.

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