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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 27, 2007

Innovations make navigating in Second Life more lifelike

You can always spot the novices in the virtual reality world of Second Life: Their online characters, or avatars, stumble around awkwardly and walk into objects as their real-world users fumble with the keyboard controls.
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2007

New wine in old bottles

Seasons change in Japan in two ways, according to nature and according to marketing. This last week started the season for Beaujolais Nouveau, the freshly harvested wine that has become an annual worldwide phenomenon. Marketing and traditional values, the two major forces on Japanese consumer behavior,...
EDITORIALS
Nov 14, 2007

The dollar tumbles

There is something weirdly appropriate about the fact that it took a supermodel and not an economist to draw attention to the plight of the U.S. dollar. Reports that Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen allegedly refused to be paid in greenbacks and insisted on euros had markets aflutter and highlighted...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 9, 2007

Maizuru, Kyoto: For those with an interest in Cold War spy novels

Located less than two hours from central Kyoto city, the port town of Maizuru is a world away from ancient capital of Japan.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 29, 2007

Sovereign vultures look Adam Smith in the eye

When Adam Smith wrote "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" in 1776, the industrial revolution had entered its second decade and the relationship between nations and their wealth was still relatively straightforward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 25, 2007

A legacy in question as Pop artist gets animated

Artists can never be 100 percent sure of their legacies. Some die famous and confident they'll be remembered for generations. If they're lucky, they might be right.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2007

Design meets art at 'Roppongi Crossing'

The world loves Japanese design. Because of this, Design Week, coming up next month, is arguably one of the most successful international events in Tokyo. By contrast, Tokyo Fashion Week and Tokyo International Film Festival hardly generate in those fields' fans the rabid excitement that the designers'...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2007

A role for Japan in Myanmar

HONG KONG — If any good is to come from the murder of cameraman Kenji Nagai on the streets of Yangon, it must be that Japan recovers its moral voice. So far there has been a small stirring of conscience and murmurs that aid may be cut as a mark of dissatisfaction with the murderous Myanmarese military...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 10, 2007

Disparate tale of two Asian dictatorships

PRAGUE — Myanmar and Pakistan are both Asian countries whose military rulers are in trouble. But they are heading in opposite directions, because, whereas Pakistan understands why Asia is rising, Myanmar does not.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 7, 2007

Ando falters as U.S. shocks Japan

YOKOHAMA — Led by world junior champion Caroline Zhang and veteran Johnny Weir, the United States pulled off a surprising sweep of Japan in their International Counter Match at Shin-Yokohama Arena on Saturday evening.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2007

China can change Myanmar

HONG KONG — Buddhist monks, the most pacific of dedicated religious people, marched through the streets of Myanmar's main cities Yangon and Mandalay last week in protest against years of hardship, gross mismanagement and corruption inflicted on their long-suffering people.
TENNIS
Sep 23, 2007

Japan hammers Romanians in Davis Cup doubles match

OSAKA — Takao Suzuki and Satoshi Iwabuchi rolled back the years as Japan took a 2-1 lead in its Davis Cup World Group playoff against Romania on Saturday, the doubles pair steamrollering Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in straight sets.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 20, 2007

Faces of the screen queen

The screening of "I'm Not There" at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this month left many in the aisles whispering "Academy Award" in reference to just one member of the ensemble cast — Cate Blanchett.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 6, 2007

The magic of noh by firelight

At this time of year — and also in April and May, when it is neither too hot nor too cold for performers or audiences — takigi (firelight) noh is performed throughout Japan. Preferred venues are outdoor noh stages in the precincts of shrines, but as these are rare, special ones are often built in...
SOCCER
Aug 2, 2007

Adu reaches deal to play with Portuguese Super Liga club

LISBON, Portugal (AP) Freddy Adu, the American phenom who was among the highest-profile stars of Major League Soccer, has agreed to play for Benfica and trained with the Portuguese club Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2007

U.S. owes A-bomb apology

Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma recently got himself into trouble by saying the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Japan toward the end of World War II "couldn't be helped." He made the gaffe ahead of the Aug. 6 anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Kyuma was forced to resign, despite Prime Minister...
MORE SPORTS
Jul 15, 2007

Germany survives four fumbles to best Sweden in downpour for bronze medal

American football is a wild sport. And it gets wilder when the two teams in a great rivalry clash under wild weather conditions.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 15, 2007

U.S., Japan in title clash

Two-time defending champions Japan versus the motherland of football, the United States — it couldn't have been a better matchup to conclude this tournament.
EDITORIALS
Jul 15, 2007

The wonder of wonders

The votes, 100 million of them, are all in. The most wondrous human constructions in the history of the world have been determined by an elaborate and multilingual online voting system. The results for these new Seven Wonders of the World, splashed across newspaper headlines worldwide, reveal a great...
COMMENTARY
Jun 30, 2007

Britain's future tied to Europe

LONDON — The recent European summit in Brussels reached a compromise on a treaty that would replace the proposed European constitution rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands.
COMMENTARY
Jun 28, 2007

Put yourself in China's shoes

LONDON — The United States is off the hook: last year China overtook the U.S. to become the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. "The tall tree attracts the wind," and from now on China will be the main target of the criticism that used to be directed at the U.S. for refusing to accept binding...
COMMENTARY
Jun 26, 2007

China aims for bigger share of South Asia's water lifeline

NEW DELHI — Sharpening Asian competition over energy resources, driven in part by high growth rates in gross domestic product and in part by mercantilist attempts to lock up supplies, has obscured another danger: Water shortages in much of Asia are beginning to threaten rapid economic modernization,...
EDITORIALS
Jun 17, 2007

Crime in Akihabara is no game

A report released earlier this month by the Metropolitan Police Department found that crime is rising in innovative and trendy Akihabara. Bag thefts, shoplifting, and sales of restricted goods and illegal services have reached a worrying level that cannot be ignored. It is hoped that, in this case, Akihabara...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jun 6, 2007

Reflecting on life's amazing twists and turns

I came to Japan in October 1962 to learn martial arts.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 5, 2007

De La Hoya-Mayweather has all the makings of a classic

Believe the hype.
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2007

Asia's latest great power joins the game

The test would hardly have made the news outside of India if the local air-traffic controllers had posted a warning in advance, but when an Indonesian airliner had to turn around in Indian airspace last Thursday and return to Jakarta to avoid flying into the missile's path, it was bound to draw attention....
BASEBALL / MLB'S EFFECT ON JAPAN
Apr 11, 2007

Is the MLB destroying Japan's national pastime?

Best-selling author Robert Whiting, who has penned such classics as "You Gotta Have Wa," "The Chrysanthemum and the Bat" and "The Meaning of Ichiro," has written an exclusive four-part series for The Japan Times on the effect Major League Baseball is having on the Japanese pro game, and how the poor...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Apr 1, 2007

Most fans frozen out of skating worlds

It was a great show, but it could have been better.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan