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Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2008

Consider culling bull whales

A beached whale is synonymous with desperation. Pods have limited sources of krill and beach through hunger. Yet, historical records relating to Bass Strait, when pods were plentiful, mention large whales beaching singly and natives gathering to feast over many days. Now that marine life is significantly...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Dec 3, 2008

Knicks, Marbury need resolution

NEW YORK — When Pacers' president Larry Bird decided prior to training camp to support coach Jim O'Brien's fervent desire to exile Jamaal Tinsley, I thought it was a lousy idea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 30, 2008

Splendors for all: the best of Asia

It's all subjective of course, but read on for this traveler's picks of the places to go for (almost) anything you might choose to do in this splendiferous and ever-fascinating part of the world.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 30, 2008

Tsurube and Nakai's travels, Detective Takemura, and a famous cross-dressing spy

It's impossible to turn on the television now without seeing SMAP leader Masahiro Nakai, who is working overtime to promote his new movie, "Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai" ("I Want to Become a Seashell"). And since he was just chosen for the fifth time to cohost NHK's New Year's Eve song contest, "Kohaku...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 30, 2008

Gems of Asia: hotels worth the splurge

I admit to an incurable travel addiction, which I have been lucky enough to feed by journeying around Asia since 1980, driven by an abiding interest in the wonders and troubles of the region.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 28, 2008

A hideaway in Mito

The historic city of Mito in Ibaraki Prefecture serves as the transfer point to the JR Suigun Line, a narrow-gauge single-track line that runs along the scenic Kuji River en route to the Fukuroda Falls.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2008

'1408'/'Diary of the Dead'

"1408" is the latest story by Stephen King to make it to the big screen, and it's quite similar to one of the first King movies, "The Shining." There's a cynical writer — John Cusack this time, instead of Jack Nicholson — who goes to stay at a spooky hotel, but it's OK, because he doesn't believe...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Nov 26, 2008

Asia's first lady of the environment

If Barak Obama is serious about developing proactive environmental policies that are international is scope, he would do well to work closely with Japan.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 25, 2008

The long Japanese love affair with foreign words, from sake to sōpurando

I wouldn't blame some readers for assuming that an article about foreign borrowings in these times of economic crisis would delve into the subprimal world of international finance. But I write this week and next not about leverage but linguistics.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Nov 22, 2008

Even with best players out, Capello's England continues to impress

LONDON — The theory that international friendlies are a waste of time was blown out of the water by the score line from Berlin: Germany 1, England 2.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 22, 2008

The festival of the long distance runners

Old Man Winter is about to blast his icy breath down our collective necks, but at least we get to ring in the season of sniffles, frostbite and influenza with a great lineup of holidays, highlighted by Christmas and New Year's, and then my personal favorite, Nail-Clipping Day, on Jan. 7.
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2008

Disney parks target Chinese, others with cash

Oriental Land Co., the operator of Tokyo's Disney theme parks, is targeting wealthy Chinese and other overseas tourists to maintain growth as Japan's declining birthrate cuts its domestic market.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Nov 19, 2008

Sweet dreams in the forest

A gray wall of cloud is sweeping away my view, and the color is being leached from the mountains beyond Sapporo as the drabness of an early winter evening descends. A week of falling mercury, winds from the north and rainfall have whisked away most of this autumn's browning leaves. We seem to have been...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Nov 15, 2008

Taking a structural stance on culture

It was at the groundbreaking ceremony of Osaka's Breeze Tower in the spring of 2006 that architect Yuichiro Edagawa met a German woman by the name of Sybille Fanelsa and happened to tell her about his cherished plan to publish a photo book that would introduce the splendor of Japanese culture and tradition...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 14, 2008

Japanese women in the wine world

"A man's approach to drinking is totally different from a woman's: Men think about color, what grapes were used, compare the taste and consider its place of origin. Women think about what kind of food a wine will go well with, where we might like to drink it, the kind of company it'd be good to drink...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 14, 2008

'Happy Flight'

Films that purport to go behind the scenes of an industry or institution — with the enthusiastic support of the folks they are supposedly unmasking — are almost by definition PR exercises if not outright recruiting tools.
Reader Mail
Nov 13, 2008

Politics of currency declarations

Regarding M.J. Issott's Nov. 6 letter, "Rule, as is, discriminates": Issott still maintains that it is stupid to make him count up and declare his foreign currencies upon re-entry into Japan and feels that the government discriminates against him because Japanese nationals are exempt from this rule. ...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2008

Exec finds room to grow in NGO

Microsoft executive John Wood has made a name for himself as the founder of nongovernmental organization Room to Read, which has built more than 5,600 libraries in developing countries. Less well known is his right-hand woman, Erin Keown Ganju, who has been flying around, working closely with local staff...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2008

In tough economic times, tourism boss finds visitor boost a tall order

Japan's ailing regional economies can be revitalized by tapping the sightseeing potential of growing Asian countries, according to Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner Yoshiaki Hompo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 7, 2008

No more riots — Kaiser Chiefs get serious

In a few short years, Kaiser Chiefs, the cheeky indie-pop five-piece from Leeds in northern England, have seen their success on home turf swell from zero (as pre-Kaiser incarnation Parva) to their rebirth as stadium-ready, worldwide superstars. For this they can thank a string of chart-bothering singles...
ENVIRONMENT / IN BLOOM
Nov 5, 2008

Shibugaki (Persimmon)

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami