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JAPAN
Apr 24, 2009

Lower House passes bill widening MSDF antipiracy role

The Lower House passed an antipiracy bill Thursday to create a permanent law enabling the Maritime Self-Defense Force to protect ships of any nationality against pirates, amid strong protests from opposition parties.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 24, 2009

Sake goes abroad, brings back fans

Times are tough for the sake industry. Gone are the days when Japan's once-beloved national beverage held a place at every table; now, in a market flooded with beer, wine and shochu, sake struggles to compete. Domestic consumption has fallen every year since 1995, hitting a record low of 700,000 kiloliters...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Apr 23, 2009

Serial blood donor Wataru Takekuma

Wataru Takekuma, 36, is a government worker in Toyama Prefecture's Kurobe City. With a population of 43,000, Kurobe is one of the four areas in Japan that made it to the 2008 UNESCO list of the 12 most abundant subsurface water resources in Asia. Takekuma was born and raised in this town where people...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 22, 2009

Time is right for a LeBron-Kobe showdown

NEW YORK — Last season the NBA and its fans got what they sold their souls for, a showdown between the Celtics and Lakers . . . the league's two most venerated and decorated franchises.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2009

Attack on bureaucrat pay ousts city mayor

Shinichi Takehara, mayor of Akune, Kagoshima Prefecture, was ousted by lawmakers after criticizing bureaucrats' pay, saying most earned more than three times the average salary of the city's 24,000 citizens.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 20, 2009

Looking for a new leader

David Cameron, the leader of the British opposition Conservative Party, is the envy of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is in desperate need to find someone to replace or succeed Taro Aso, whose popularity remains low despite a political scandal involving the Democratic Party of Japan —...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 19, 2009

Soviet-era trove shows that photos never lie, except when they do

"I have not taken a single step, spoken a single word, written a single line, or had a single thought which I need conceal from the party, the central committee, and you personally . . . I implore you to believe my word of honor. I am shaken to the depths of my being."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 17, 2009

Cafe Hai: MOT goes Vietnamese

It's always a pleasure to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (MOT) out in Koto Ward. The surrounding park is calm, the architecture of the museum exemplary, and the exhibitions invariably well curated.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Apr 11, 2009

Good students eat their English lessons

With many Japanese parents pulling their children out of private English language schools to save money these days, I recommend that they try home schooling. There is no reason why parents can't give their kids English lessons at home by leaving the teaching to food.
BASKETBALL
Apr 8, 2009

Tabuse, Orimo named to national team roster

Link Tochigi Brex point guard Yuta Tabuse and Rera Kamuy Hokkaido sharpshooter Takehiko Orimo headline the 22-player roster for the Japan men's national basketball team's training camp this week, the Japan Basketball Association announced on Tuesday.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 5, 2009

Looking at history: the argument for facts over theory

Positivism in historiography means an emphasis on facts over theory, documentary evidence over deductions from premises. It may also be called "nitty-gritticism," George Akita suggests in "Evaluating Evidence," a book that recounts the author's dealing with primary sources and the problems he has come...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / INSIDE LOOK
Apr 5, 2009

Dreaming of a hoop career back in Japan

NEW YORK — Editor's note: After appearing in 105 games for Columbia University and ending his college career third on the school's all-time 3-pointers made list (173), shooting guard K.J. Matsui took time away from his busy academic workload to reflect on his playing days and look ahead to the future....
BUSINESS
Apr 3, 2009

Citigroup taking bids for Nikko Asset; Mizuho interested: sources

Citigroup Inc., the recipient of three U.S. government bailouts, is seeking bidders for its Japanese asset management unit, four sources said.
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2009

20 politicians worried by lay judge system form nonpartisan group to delay it

With less than two months before the start of the lay judge system, about 20 Diet members formed an informal nonpartisan group Wednesday to postpone its launch, noting some potential jurors may not want to participate, or don't feel qualified.
BUSINESS
Apr 2, 2009

Tokyo law firm is top-ranked M&A adviser

Nishimura & Asahi, which helped Mitsubishi Estate Co. convert Towa Real Estate Development Co. into a wholly owned subsidiary, was the nation's top-ranked legal adviser on mergers and acquisitions last quarter.
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2009

EBay to provide translations for Japanese sellers

EBay.com Inc., the most-visited U.S. e-commerce Web site, will begin offering a translation service this week for Japanese sellers wanting to list products on its English-language service to encourage cross-border trade, the company said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 30, 2009

Here we go again: coaxing the North to shoot straight

HONOLULU — North Korean "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il is a hard person to like; he is even a harder person to ignore. At a time when the rest of the world would prefer to focus its attention elsewhere, the North Korean leader is trying his best to shine the spotlight on the one area of the world where...
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 29, 2009

Bodies beautiful

At 2 a.m. on a spring morning in 2002, photographer Mitsuhiro Mouri received a phone call from the most famous actress in Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Between modernism and modanizumu

When reading William J. Tyler's anthology, "Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938," one realizes that "modanizumu" (modernism) is a very broad term. It seems to mean, for Tyler anyway, any work produced during the years he designates that is not absolutely reactionary in its style or concerns....
CULTURE / Books
Mar 29, 2009

Between modernism and modanizumu

MODANIZUMU: Modernist Fiction From Japan, 1913-1938, compiled and edited by William J. Tyler. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 605 pp., $47 (cloth). When reading William J. Tyler's anthology, "Modanizumu: Modernist Fiction from Japan, 1913-1938," one realizes that "modanizumu" (modernism)...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 28, 2009

Practicing for the Olympics

My grandmother used to reminisce about spending the first five minutes of Spanish class practicing rolling her r's. My grandmother would be proud — the ESL classroom doesn't just spend five minutes on English pronunciation, we spend an entire class on it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2009

Utada cracks top 20 list on iTunes

After a humiliating setback in the United States, a Japanese diva has staged a comeback.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 27, 2009

'Then She Found Me'

"Then She Found Me" wants to be a romantic comedy for older chicks (once a chick, always a chick!), but it's strangely dry and brittle and unfunny — a plate of al dente pasta that needed three more minutes on the stove and a dollop of olive oil or some kind of um, lubricant.

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