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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 23, 2013

Reflections on two cities

Having written over 10 guidebooks myself, I speak from experience when I say that working on these projects is a mixed blessing. Writing a first-time guide to a little-known part of the world, with the freedom to innovate with format and content, can be a rewarding task, but where there is a rigid template,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 21, 2013

The bell tolls on Demon Pond

The sound of the temple bell of "Yashagaike (Demon Pond)" will ring for the first time at the New National Theatre, Tokyo (NNTT) — but it's the bell's silence that will reverberate for the characters of this new Japanese-language opera.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 20, 2013

'Leo Lionni: Book! Art! Book!'

Leo Lionni was an accomplished painter, sculptor and graphic designer, but he is best known as the acclaimed author and illustrator of popular children's books such as "Swimmy" and "Frederick."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 2, 2013

Taking anime too seriously

'Why study anime?' the author of this study of anime asks himself. Good question, thinks the reader. Why indeed 'study' a pop art whose appeal is less to thought than to mass, unreflecting, spontaneous enjoyment?
CULTURE / Books
May 5, 2013

Exploring a world of all things cute and the people who buy them

'Hello, Cutie!' is a cute book about cute things and the (sometimes cute) people who create those things.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 28, 2013

The story of the Occupy movements by one of the leaders

I'm torn. I can't work out whether the Occupy movements were responsible for their own demise; and I can't work out whether I've had enough of reading tomes about the brave new world of revolutionary consensus-building.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Apr 21, 2013

In 'Tsukuru Tazaki,' Murakami once again shifts his point of view

Two thousand and nine was a good year to be a Haruki Murakami fan. Seven years after writing his last epic novel, "Kafka on the Shore," with only the bite-sized 2004 "afterdark" to tide over his readership, the author published the massive two-volume "1Q84." Looking back now, it's also clear that Murakami...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2013

Margaret Thatcher and the 'Big Bang'

Americans have been surprised at the sharply divided views in Britain over the governance of Margaret Thatcher, a product with more appeal in export markets.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2013

Fans flock early to snag Murakami's latest book

Fans of Haruki Murakami lined up at bookstores from the wee hours of Friday morning to be the first to get their hands on the famed author's much-anticipated new novel.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2013

500,000 copies of latest Murakami book printed

A half a million copies of internationally acclaimed author Haruki Murakami's new book have been printed as excitement builds for the reclusive author's latest work, which goes on sale Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 3, 2013

Dispelling five myths about stress

Life coaches talk about working toward emotional fitness, as if we can judge our psyches. But some ideas about stress and its risks are simply wrong.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 31, 2013

Glacial change slow to heat up Japan's economy

The Japanese manager was once portrayed as a fearless samurai ready to take on the world. This was when Western companies and management scholars woke up to the presence of a potent competitor outside the Western world.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 26, 2013

If corporal punishment works, where are all the champions?

In the final scenes of Aaron Sorkin's powerfully written film "A Few Good Men," one of the U.S. Marines on trial for the murder of a fellow serviceman is bewildered as to why he has not been cleared of all charges after his commanding officer admits ordering the attack. "We did nothing wrong," cries...
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Mar 26, 2013

Consensus: Corporal punishment in sports misguided, demoralizing, backward

The following are some readers' responses to the March 12 Foreign Element column by Richard Parker headlined "Right or wrong, corporal punishment can produce winners." See many more in the comment section below the original article.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2013

Fin de siecle crime and prejudice

This year represents a watershed in the history of France's Belle Epoque — the period of unprecedented economic growth and extraordinary cultural foment that nation enjoyed between the centennial of the French Revolution in 1889 (an occasion commemorated by, among other things, the inauguration of...
CULTURE / Books
Mar 17, 2013

Memorable thriller melds spy, detective fiction

THE JACKAL'S SHARE, by Chris Morgan Jones. Mantle, 2013, 320 pp., $26.95 (hardcover)
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 12, 2013

Keep reading and add warmth to a room with books

I have noticed over the years that every so often magazines (and now blogs) feature beautiful spreads of book-filled rooms, with headlines like "Living With Books" or "The Pages of Our Lives." Usually the images feature poetic, far-off places where leather volumes fill 4.5-meter-tall, wood-paneled...
LIFE
Feb 24, 2013

An inclined view: The life and work of Donald Richie

It was with a heavy heart that I heard from Donald Richie's longtime friend and editor Leza Lowitz that he had passed away on the morning of Tuesday, this week. He was 88.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2013

Tokyo literary festival writes its opening chapter

Every time David Karashima took a Japanese author to New York or London to do a reading, the local audiences would ask two questions: "Who's the next Haruki Murakami?" and "Why isn't there an international literary festival in Tokyo?"
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 14, 2013

Japan still paying for war sins through international copyrights

If you're a copyright holder, you have a special reason to be happy if your work is sold in Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 3, 2013

Japan's medical system skewed toward men in treating depression

DEPRESSION IN JAPAN: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress, by Junko Kitanaka. Princeton University Press, 2011, 264 pp., $29.95 (paperback) Twenty-first century Japan is in the throes of a depression epidemic. Until the late 1990s, mental depression was not widely diagnosed or treated in Japan,...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 28, 2013

The first family: ordinary yet extraordinary

As President Barack Obama took the stage to deliver his acceptance speech on the night of his re-election, his younger daughter nudged his arm. He bent down to listen to 11-year-old Sasha. "Behind you," she mouthed. The president nodded and promptly turned to wave to the supporters at his back. Sasha...
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Jan 25, 2013

Snacking on squid guts and soybeans

Doritos and Budweiser, canapes and Champagne, jamon and Tempranillo — when it comes to happy hour, everyone has their favorite combination of booze and umami-infused treats.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2013

Stress gives presidents more than a few gray hairs

Time roughs up presidents. Photos of Barack Obama on election night in 2008 look like they were taken much longer than four years ago. Now his face has deeper creases and crow's feet, while his hair is salted with white.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 19, 2013

Epiphanies for characters, readers

WE, THE CHILDREN OF CATS, by Tomoyuki Hoshino, edited and translated by Brian Bergstrom with an additional translation by Lucy Fraser. PM Press, 2012, 266 pages, $20 (paperback)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2013

Patti Smith hopes 2013 is about rebuilding

By the time you read this, Patti Smith will have been in Japan for nearly a week. The iconic poet, author, painter and "Godmother of Punk" hasn't yet played a gig with her band; that will come later. First, Smith is reconnecting with a country with which her affinity runs deep.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 13, 2013

Exploring the past to makes sense of Meiji modernity

PILGRIMAGES TO THE ANCIENT TEMPLES IN NARA, by Tetsuro Watsuji, translated by Hiroshi Nara. Merwin Asia, 2012, 252 pp., $35.00 (paperback) In the Japanese original, "Koji Junrei" (1919), this book is a classic, much imitated and still quite widely read, although it has also been sometimes controversial....
CULTURE / Books
Jan 13, 2013

Americanized Buddhism

ZEN QUESTIONS: Zazen, Dogen, and the Spirit of Creative Inquiry, by Taigen Dan Leighton. Wisdom Publications, 2011, 312 pp., $17.95 (paperback) These essays and Dharma talks are meant to guide practitioners of Soto Zen meditation. The author is in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, author of "Zen Mind,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2013

Rockefeller calls time on dynasty

Jay Rockefeller's uncle Nelson was a vice president. His uncle Winthrop was a senator, as was his great-grandfather Nelson. But the great American electoral dynasty abruptly ended Friday when Rockefeller said he will not seek re-election in 2014 after nearly three decades in the Senate.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2013

U.S. imagination goes wild regarding Iranian 'threat'

Reading the text of a bill that was recently signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama would instill fear in the hearts of ordinary Americans.

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