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COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 18, 2011

Their spirit seems willing but young Japanese are hesitant to get hitched

Back in the days of "there's gold in them thar hills," one of the prospectors' doleful refrains boasted the title "My Girlfriend's a Mule and a Mine." Across the Pacific and some 150 years on, I wouldn't be surprised if an echo of that plaintive air were not about to catch on among young Japanese males...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 18, 2011

Comic books of compassion

Two new and welcome comic anthologies join the wide range of work that has sprung in response to the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 15, 2011

Having a laugh at the witch doctors of art

It's one of the most enigmatic questions of all time: What is art? Any gallery that holds an exhibition using that as its theme is either taking things very seriously indeed, or it's having a laugh.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 15, 2011

X Japan's Yoshiki seeks a second coming

The setting is an upscale hotel ballroom. On a stage in the center of the room sit two crystal-clear transparent pianos, facing each other, and a mic stand. In a circle around the stage, facing inward: an audience. We'll come back to them in a minute. An octet and backing band occupy sub-stages on opposing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 9, 2011

'The Ditch' / 'Sacrifice'

In 1949, the revolution of Mao Zedong infused revolutionaries worldwide with hope. In France, existentialists Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre singled China out as a nation with the potential to set all other nations free. Then in 1956, Chairman Mao made a public declaration to encourage free...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2011

Without U.S. funds, UNESCO strikes downbeat

I cannot imagine a world without music, art, film, dance, theater and books. It would be a dreary and colorless existence, with little cooperation and communication among citizens. The arts are the glue that holds us together, the cultural fabric of our lives, and they sow the seeds for inventive, universally...
CULTURE / Art
Dec 9, 2011

"The World of ISHIKO Junzo : From Art via Manga to Kitsch"

Fuchu Art Museum is taking the unusual stance of focusing on an art critic rather than on artists for its latest exhibition, which presents aspects of Japanese culture of the 1960s and '70s — a time of rapid economic growth and dramatic societal change.
EDITORIALS
Dec 7, 2011

A milestone for Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just concluded a historic trip to Myanmar. Her visit heralds a breakthrough in relations between the two countries, and a shift in political dynamics in Southeast Asia could be anticipated. While optimism is warranted, it should be tempered by caution; Myanmar...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 6, 2011

Comic anthologies offer visions of hope after 3/11

In the wake of March 11, artists, writers, letterers and colorists based in Japan and across the globe have been hard at work crafting stories and images of solidarity, concern and, above all, hope for two fundraising books: "Spirit of Hope" and "Aftershock: Artists Respond to Disaster in Japan."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 4, 2011

U.S. base plan reveals obsequious Australia's frail sense of nationhood

"The unbreakable alliance." That is how U.S. President Barack Obama characterized the tie between his country and Australia in a speech to the Australian Parliament on Nov. 17, 2011.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 4, 2011

Mass media not clean in soap-allergy controversy

Two weeks ago, the health ministry announced that at least 471 people have suffered severe allergic reactions related to the use of a facial soap called Cha no Shizuku. Sixty-six of these people have also been hospitalized. In May, Yuuka, the direct sales company that markets the soap, started recalling...
Reader Mail
Dec 1, 2011

Olympus scandal is no surprise

I recently read an editorial in The Japan Times contemplating the damage that the Olympus scandal could have not only on the company itself but on the reputation of Japan Inc.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 1, 2011

Producer Miyahara wants more J-pop on the world stage

Tucked away in a cozy corner of Tokyo's Setagaya Ward, million-selling singer and rapper Soulja twirls an unsmoked cigarillo in his fingers while nodding his head to a hip-hop beat. "Yeah, that's good. I like that," he says to the man beside him, who is seated in front of a sound board and a colossal...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Nov 29, 2011

Thanksgiving: food, family, but hold the 'chong chew' turkey

We are flying what seems like dangerously low over Boston Harbor. From my window seat, I see waves crash into rocks, spraying foam, and colorful boats with flapping sails. After touching down safely in the city, the pilot wishes us all a happy Thanksgiving.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 29, 2011

What do you do when the kids think Colonel Sanders is Santa?

Foreign parents in Japan are faced with the task of trying to reconcile their own childhood memories of Christmas with the different take that Japan has on the holiday season.
EDITORIALS
Nov 27, 2011

Inspiration from Bhutan

The king and queen of Bhutan were in Japan from Nov. 15 to 20, and they made quite an impression on the Japanese people. Among the heads of state and their wives who have visited Japan in recent years, they probably have left the most amiable impression. Their traditional Bhutanese clothes, looking somewhat...
COMMUNITY
Nov 26, 2011

Tohoku kids to get Irish cheer

Irish musicians will bring songs, drawings and messages to encourage and give hope to survivors of the March 11 catastrophe — especially the children — in the Tohoku region from Dec. 6 to 8.
EDITORIALS
Nov 25, 2011

A gambling problem for Japan Inc.

Tokyo public prosecutors on Tuesday arrested Mr. Mototaka Ikawa, former chairman of Daio Paper Corp., on suspicion of causing financial damage to four subsidiaries by taking out massive loans from them for personal use on gambling. The arrest came two months after he suddenly stepped down.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 25, 2011

Irish culture extravaganza to come to Aichi

After performing here on a sold-out tour in 2009, The Ragus Show will return to perform their brand of Irish dancing at Nagoya's Aichi Prefectural Art Theater.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2011

Noda seeks to appease party foes to TPP talks

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda held a meeting Thursday with lawmakers from his Democratic Party of Japan in an effort to ease their opposition to Japan taking part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 25, 2011

Sweet dreams of a childhood winter warmer

The mournful chant of the ishi-yakiimo-ya or stone-roasted sweet-potato seller advertising his wares is a cherished part of the late fall and winter landscape in Japan. The sing-song chant is often accompanied by the thin, penetrating tone of a whistle, which seems to echo the sound of the wind. Braving...
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 24, 2011

Late-night dancing should not be a crime in Japan

Imagine a town where playing rock music is under a curfew and police crack down on unlicensed late-night dancing. Are you thinking of the town from the film "Footloose"? Or are you thinking of Fukuoka? Kumamoto? Yokohama?
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Nov 23, 2011

Coach K's winning formula is a lesson for all sports teams

What leads to long-term team success in team sports?
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2011

Syrian uprising victimized

Syrians continue to be victimized, not only in violent clashes with the Syrian military, but also by regional and international players with various agendas.
COMMENTARY
Nov 22, 2011

Guess who's suddenly inviting Uncle Sam to dinner?

Real-life diplomacy reveals, as Lord Palmerston, twice British prime minister (1855-8, 1859-65), famously put it: "We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow." Over the decades the Palmerston Principle...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan