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Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 23, 2009

Snow and sculpting on show in Sapporo

Perhaps it's a sign of how peaceful the last 54 years have been for Japan. Since 1955, many of the giant snow sculptures that have made the Sapporo Snow Festival famous around the world have been constructed by members of the Ground Self-Defense Force, which have several bases in Hokkaido. For this year's...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 23, 2009

Snow and sculpting on show in Sapporo

Perhaps it's a sign of how peaceful the last 54 years have been for Japan. Since 1955, many of the giant snow sculptures that have made the Sapporo Snow Festival famous around the world have been constructed by members of the Ground Self-Defense Force, which have several bases in Hokkaido. For this year's...
Reader Mail
Jan 22, 2009

Insulting depiction of foreigners

What a load of hot air! I have lived in Japan for over 10 years and have greatly enjoyed the (bathhouses) and many other benefits of living in a safe modern society. Gregory Clark However, it is also a racist and xenophobic society and to paint non-Japanese as having an allergy against discrimination...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2009

Wii gives seniors therapeutic kicks

Blanche Betten, a 76-year-old retired restaurant owner, hammered Bob Warner, 85, with a flurry of punches, sending the World War II and Korean War veteran sprawling to the ground.
Reader Mail
Jan 18, 2009

Sports strategy for everyone

I read with amusement and sadness the Jan. 14 article "Plan afoot to raise Olympic athletes' medal prospects before '16." I've lived in Japan through five Olympics now, and it has been the same after each one: great frustration over the failure of Japanese athletes to do better than they did, mixed with...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2009

Japanese wine: unadulterated and ready to go abroad

The image most people have of Japanese wine is of the ¥500 plonk sitting next to the synthetic beer and sickly sweet chu-hi cocktails on the shelves of their local convenience store; of the cheap and decidedly dismal stuff of lost weekends and discarded personal dignity.
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Jan 11, 2009

Mao's poise under pressure proved decisive in 2008

Mao Asada capped off an incredible year by rallying for her third straight national title in Nagano on Dec. 27.
BASEBALL / SPORTS SCOPE
Jan 10, 2009

Pitching in Camden Yards will be a real challenge for Uehara

Former Yomiuri Giants pitcher Koji Uehara made his major league aspirations known early on.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Jan 1, 2009

Gamba overcomes Marinos, fatigue, schedule for one more tilt at glory

When Gamba Osaka takes to the field for the Emperor's Cup final on New Year's Day, fatigue could prove to be just as deadly an opponent as Kashiwa Reysol.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 1, 2009

Growing challenges to Asian stability

NEW DELHI — U.S. President-elect Barack Obama takes office at a time when a fundamental and qualitative reordering of power is under way in the Asia-Pacific, with tectonic shifts challenging strategic stability. The impact of such shifts on U.S. foreign policy is bound to be accentuated by America's...
EDITORIALS
Dec 31, 2008

A year of changes and dangers

If 2008 cannot be called an "annus horribilis," it is only because 2009 might hold even more shocks and surprises. Even outside the worsening economy, everything in Japan seemed a bit subprime in 2008. A midyear survey found that more than 70 percent of Japanese — the highest percentage ever — were...
COMMENTARY
Dec 30, 2008

No sign of a 'peace agreement'

More than six months have passed since the presidential election in Taiwan. After a hiatus of eight years, the Kuomintang is in power. This actually represents the restoration of the mainland-lineage forces for the first time in 20 years — if you count the Lee Teng-hui era as rule by non-mainland-lineage...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Dec 30, 2008

Koji Murofushi

Koji Murofushi, 34, is a two-time Olympic medalist hammer thrower — with a gold at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and a bronze in Beijing this year — and the Asian record holder at 84.86 meters (2003). He's been a national champion 14 times in a row, and at the Asian Games, his efforts earned him the...
Reader Mail
Dec 28, 2008

Apartment hunt shows the score

I am an American who has lived in Japan for the past eight years — five years in Osaka and three years in Tokyo. For the most part it has been a positive experience, but recent events have shown me Japan's underlying legalized racism toward foreigners living in Japan.
LIFE / Lifestyle / 2008 MEDIA ROUND-UP
Dec 28, 2008

Making sense of the strange changes of 2008

Every year, the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation selects a "kanji of the year." This year's is "hen," meaning "change" or, equally, "strange, peculiar."
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 28, 2008

Critics switched off over digital-TV plans

Yukichi Amano is one of Japan's sharpest media critics, so it was disconcerting to see him on NHK several weeks ago pimping for digital TV.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 26, 2008

Steady Webb gives Toyama big boost

The Toyama Grouses' 6-12 record is deceiving.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 26, 2008

High notes, low tones

The ups and downs of 2008 in music.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Dec 22, 2008

WBC organizers happy with event's progress

There's talk of revenge ahead of the 2009 World Baseball Classic and it's music to the organizers' ears.

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