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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2009

Gauguin: 'I shall never do anything better'

Was he just a "Sunday painter" who abandoned his wife and five children for a bohemian life in a distant island paradise — where he died of syphilis and poverty in the arms of a teenage mistress?
SOCCER
May 14, 2009

JFA cancels women's soccer tour

The Japanese women's soccer team has canceled a tour to North America because of the swine flu outbreak.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2009

Obama's question for Netanyahu

RAMALLAH, West Bank — As the summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approaches, most of the discussion has focused on whether the newly elected Israeli leader will finally say that he backs a two-state solution.
JAPAN / Q&A
May 12, 2009

Historic change puts justice in public hands

With the "saibanin" lay judge system set to take effect May 21, Japan is gearing up for an important transition in its judicial system, in which citizens begin serving as de facto jurors in district court trials involving serious crimes.
BUSINESS
May 12, 2009

JAL must cut more: LDP group

Japan Airlines Corp., reeling from its biggest loss in five years, must cut more costs to receive emergency funding from the government, the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's aviation association has said.
Reader Mail
May 10, 2009

Media wield too much influence

Since graduating from college, I have worked at a travel company that specializes in handling trips to Korea. Sometimes I can't help feeling that we are too sensitive to the news from the media such as television.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2009

The audacity of optimism in the Middle East

SINGAPORE — The world will be enveloped in a heavy cloud of gloom and doom this year. Economies will sputter, governments will fall and companies will fail. But the biggest danger of all is a sense of hopelessness. Preventing this requires resolving some large and apparently intractable problem. Closing...
JAPAN
May 9, 2009

Lawmakers urged to act now to revise organ transplant law

People in need of organ transplants and their supporters urged lawmakers Friday to revise the transplant law during the current Diet session, despite the World Health Organization's decision to delay until next year enacting a resolution to restrict overseas travel for transplants.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2009

No place left to go after exiting Guantanamo

GUANTANAMO BAY — I write this from the U.S. Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay, where I have been held without charge for almost seven years.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2009

Warrior games lead charge into history

Following a trend isn't simply about getting ahead of the curve or owning the latest cutting-edge gadget. Revisiting the distant past has also been in vogue in recent years, especially with young women.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 3, 2009

Encore Matsuyama!

Nibbling a sweet mikan from Ehime, prime terroir for Japan's citrus, I decided to explore somewhere I had a vague feeling might be an interesting off-the-beaten ramble.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 2, 2009

Creating a catalyst for self-reflection

"One of the hardest missions for people is to face themselves in the mirror, to criticize themselves, to ask themselves really basic questions," says ex-Israeli soldier Avichay Sharon. "No one wants to touch sensitive nerves, no one wants to go underneath, scratch underneath within himself." Sharon is...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 1, 2009

'Bangkok Dangerous'

Why are 21st-century cinema assassins so jaded? Even James Bond (and let's face it, he does rub out people for money) isn't exactly full of pep, carrying around, as he does, a lot of emotional baggage and seeming always to be stifling a sigh.
BASKETBALL
Apr 30, 2009

Nippon Tornadoes set to open first IBL season

International Basketball League's Nippon Tornadoes open their first season on Friday against the Vancouver Volcanoes at the O'Connell Sports Center in Vancouver, Wash. The Tornadoes will play 16 more games in a short summer season, wrapping up play on June 3 against the Oregon Waves.
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2009

Japan takes measures to head off contagion

The government on Tuesday heightened scrutiny of incoming tourists, warned Japanese living in Mexico to leave, and told those planning to go there to think twice after the World Health Organization raised the alert level for a new type of influenza.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2009

Mexico flights to Narita face flu scrutiny

The government issued orders Monday for doctors and nurses to board aircraft from Mexico at Narita airport starting Wednesday to check passengers and crew for infection of a deadly new virus that combines swine, avian and human influenza.
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
Apr 27, 2009

Blunders with North show Japan still child at handling media

Earlier this month, when many in Japan were enjoying the arrival of spring and the accompanying cherry blossoms, something else was in the sky, something much more dangerous than a warm breeze: a three-stage missile, launched from North Korea.
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2009

Who thinks of these regulations?

I have often wondered about the origin of the odious, increasingly intrusive immigration-control regulations in Japan. Whether it be the airport biometric screening and fingerprinting, the fines and detentions for failure to carry passports or alien registration cards even when jogging or taking out...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 26, 2009

60-second success stories, Japanese baritone in Estonia, and tales of drifter Manjiro

Answers to questions that probably never occurred to anyone except the producers of this variety show are the subjects of "Jinsei ga Kawaru Ippun no Fuka-ii Hanashi" ("Profoundly Satisfying One-Minute Stories About Life-changing Incidents") (Nihon TV, Mon., 8:54 p.m.). Celebrities discuss anecdotes that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 24, 2009

Ryukyu Underground do it with feeling

"You should be able to go into any sort of club and not be sure exactly what to expect," says Keith Gordon of Okinawan-styled electronic duo Ryukyu Underground, as he sits drinking tea in his record label's office in Aoyama, central Tokyo. "You should be surprised every once in a while."
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 20, 2009

Aso's gift-tax cut for rich puts wealth gap issue on back burner

Who are the people that are suffering the most as this global depression unfolds? Clearly, it is the weakest members of society who are getting the worst deal. That, sadly, is the way it has always worked. There's not much that can be done about this particular fact of life.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2009

'Departures' passes ¥6 billion mark but Takita disappointed by pace

The Oscar-winning movie "Okuribito" ("Departures") passed ¥6 billion in sales over the weekend after pulling in an estimated 5.25 million viewers, producer and distributor Shochiku Co. said Thursday.

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