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Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jan 24, 2013

'Fasting guys' not interested in women — at all

Remember the herbivore men? Japan's 'fasting men' make them look ambitious.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 24, 2013

'Pi' among 'unfilmable' books conquered at last on the screen

There are certain novels they say just can't be filmed, but guess what? Most of them have been. "Dune"? "Naked Lunch"? "The Virgin Suicides"? "The 120 Days of Sodom"? "Ulysses"? All done — "Ulysses" twice, even.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jan 24, 2013

A monk's teenage angst can be monstrous

Monsters and runaways aren't usually the kinds of problems teenagers face, but a Tokyo-based theater troupe thinks these are the kinds of conundrums that await teenage monks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 24, 2013

With 'Desh,' Khan proves you can go home again

If art's purpose is to ask the relevant questions, then British-Bangladeshi dancer Akram Khan successfully interrogates humanity — and himself — with his latest production, 'Desh.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2013

Shortcake Collage Tape "Spirited Summer"

Creating music meant to purposely evoke the past can be tricky. Recreate the sounds of a specific decade too closely and the music becomes too nostalgic, pining for a time the artist never even knew existed. On the other hand, approach bygone times too cynically — as the Internet-born microgenre "vaporwave"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 23, 2013

"What We See"

Today, advances in technology and globalization have left few artistic boundaries uncrossed, including that between reality and the imagination. Digital-imaging software and computer-generated graphics, for example, now allow artists to realize their visions for others to see.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 23, 2013

BOJ agrees to uphold Abe's 2% inflation target

The Bank of Japan on Tuesday adopted a 2 percent inflation target, caving in to pressure from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, while calling for closer coordination and implementation of bold measures to fight deflation in a joint statement released with the government.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 23, 2013

Garnett an enigma despite unquestioned greatness

So why are so many people applauding a guy who makes fun of cancer patients, calls other men's wives sluts and punches opponents in the groin?
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 23, 2013

New Osaka coach Cartwright brings major credibility

"I remember when I was in college, people told me I couldn't play in the NBA. There's always somebody saying you can't do it, and those people have to be ignored."
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 22, 2013

The blunt, blue-blooded Aso is back

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be the face of the new government led by Liberal Democratic Party, but Finance Minister Taro Aso is also a force in the LDP to be reckoned with.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jan 22, 2013

Tokyo: What do you think of AKB48's no-love-life clause?

I can understand their handlers want to keep the girls potentially available, just as I'm sure they want their stable to concentrate on their performances, not boys. It works to prevent any scandals too, while maintaining a pure image in a very Japanese way, where the puppet masters keep a very tight rein.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 22, 2013

Sharing assets with same-sex partner: a tax, legal minefield

A reader writes: "I'm a foreigner in a long-term same-sex relationship with a Japanese national. The deed to our house is registered in the name of the Japanese national. Is it possible to have my name put on the deed so that I am not rendered homeless should my partner not survive me? A rather cold...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 21, 2013

Obama officially sworn in at quiet White House ceremony

Barack Hussein Obama officially began his second term as the 44th president Sunday, setting the stage for him to lay out his vision in an inaugural address on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr., Day.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 21, 2013

German gun owners quiet as national firearms registry starts

Imagine a vast registry that details every legal gun owner in the country, along with information about all of their firearms.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 21, 2013

A nagging Japanese riddle: Who's 'left' and who's 'right'?

In the Dec. 16 Lower House election, the Liberal Democratic Party won a resounding victory while the Democratic Party of Japan suffered a crushing defeat, bringing about a change of government after three years and three months of DPJ rule.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 21, 2013

Japan's leaders must see the need for sustaining a fiscal Big Bang

With Japan's stock market surging even before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled his plans for economic stimulus, we would have expected the usual anti-stimulus critics to be silent, at least for a while. But no. Already we hear the usual complaints — more printing of money, more public debt, more...
Reader Mail
Jan 19, 2013

Concern for Fukushima people

I want to express my appreciation for The Japan Times' coverage of Dr. Masaharu Tsubokura's work monitoring internal radioactive contamination of people living in Fukushima, as reported in the Jan. 10 article "As radiation fears dwindle, so do checkups."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 19, 2013

Share house lovers; "Tonbi"; CM of the week: Open House

A "share house" is a relatively new concept in Japan: unrelated people sharing a rented residence. The new drama series, "Shea Hausu no Koibito" ("Share House Lovers"; Nippon TV, Wed., 10 p.m.) puts the inevitable romantic spin on it.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / WEEK 3
Jan 19, 2013

Nanjing remembers; disputes fester

Young Chinese marking the 75th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre are baptized in battles over war memory that shape bilateral relations.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 19, 2013

Zen and the cross-cultural art of tree-climbing

In the upstairs meeting room of a camping lodge in Komagane, Nagano Prefecture, two women and about 20 men walked slowly and intently in circles one rainy day last November. At the front of the room, a weathered and wiry Englishman intoned the sort of instructions a yoga aficionado would find familiar....
EDITORIALS
Jan 19, 2013

Revitalizing rural Japan

A population decrease is the biggest crisis Japan is facing because it will threaten not only the existence of many local communities in Japan but also the existence of the nation as we now know it.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 19, 2013

Lance Armstrong and the art of public confession

There are no free rides out of paradise. As a disgraced sporting legend, Lance Armstrong, who for the most part came clean to Oprah Winfrey on American television this week, could be forgiven for thinking he has trespassed in the Garden of Eden, or perhaps gone sunbathing on the rock usually occupied...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jan 17, 2013

Tango orchestra to tour country

A renowned Argentine tango orchestra and dancers will bring their passion for the art to audiences in more than 30 cities across Japan through March.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 17, 2013

'Cesare Deve Morire'

Roberto Rossellini once said that a good movie has the power to change the world, and here's a film made by his compatriots (octogenarian Italian brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani) that may prove him right. It certainly alters the way one looks at the world, at history and how art can lock people in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 17, 2013

When the connections are as crucial as the art

Amid the hurry of daily life it is easy to forget what lies below our feet. To most of us, it may appear to be just cement or dirt, but to artist Kenji Yamada there are profound mysteries contained on the ground, in things as simple as our own footprints in the snow. His installation artworks are born...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 17, 2013

"Blue"

Western-style painter Ei Nakau's preferred style is abstraction. In 1968, he began a series titled "Cielito Lindo," a project to which he still contributes 40 years later. As is evident in the way he pours paints directly onto the canvas, Nakau values unpredictability and favors experimentation with...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 17, 2013

Mary Evans on 'Seishun Zankoku Monogatari (Cruel Story of Youth)'

"Seishun Zankoku Monogatari (Cruel Story of Youth)" is the second film directed by 28-year-old Nagisa Oshima and, while hardly the year's best Japanese film, it is nevertheless of more than usual interest. A young girl (Miyuki Kuwano), restless, wanting excitement and experience, takes to accepting...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 17, 2013

Ian Buruma on 'Ai-no Borei (Empire of Passion)'

Nagisa Oshima is the best film director in Japan still making good movies. There are other good directors (Kon Ichikawa), but they are reduced to doing company hack-work. Oshima can still do the films he likes, partly because he gets financial backing in France from Argos Films, the producer of both...
Reader Mail
Jan 17, 2013

Violence lurks below the veneer

It was interesting to see that The Japan Times happened to publish three directly connected items in the Jan. 13 edition. On the front page was the Kyodo article "High school coach tries to justify abuse of boy" plus a photograph of Japanese Shinto devotees enduring a self-purification test in which...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear