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COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2011

Election season comes early in the Kremlin

In the highly controlled environment of Russian domestic politics, there are few surprises. Russia is a managed democracy in which political changes and election outcomes are carefully orchestrated by the Kremlin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 24, 2011

'Biutiful'

Ninety percent of the time, it's too much to bear even for the audience, so imagine what those people up on the screen are going though. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu revels in shoveling out far more than a fair share of atrocious luck and tremendous suffering to his characters, and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 23, 2011

Bedroom ears: Japan's new D.I.Y. ethic

The dimly lit Bar Fabrica is an appropriate place to meet the four artists from Cuz Me Pain Records, who describe their music as "quite dark" and are known for being shrouded in mystery.
COMMENTARY
Jun 22, 2011

Kissinger analysis key to understanding China

It is very tempting to proclaim "On China" as the most important new nonfiction book of 2011. But that it may well be.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 21, 2011

Media grasp for words to sum up post-3/11 grit

The disaster was "divine retribution (tembatsu)," proclaimed Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara just days after the Tohoku earthquake. "The Japanese have become a selfish (gayoku) people. We need to use the tsunami to wash away this egoism."
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jun 21, 2011

Kinpū

Dear Alice,I am fascinated by the elaborately decorated envelopes offered for sale in Japan. I know they are used for giving money, because the first time I came to Japan to study martial arts a friend taught me to put my lesson fees into an envelope, rather than just hand bills to my teacher. I'd like...
COMMENTARY
Jun 20, 2011

Living with national universities

In fiscal 2004, the state-run national universities in Japan were given the status of "corporations." The initial six-year "medium term" after this shift to "national university corporations" ended in fiscal 2009. The current fiscal year is the second year of the second medium term.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2011

Don't count Ozawa out until he is

Over the decades he's been dubbed the "shadow shogun," "the destroyer" and "the backroom fixer" for his powerful influence in the political arena and penchant for shaking up governments with his "strong hand."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jun 17, 2011

Hilton Tokyo starts children's club

Free dessert to brighten rainy days This month, the Hilton Tokyo started a membership program for children, called Little Hilton Club.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 17, 2011

French arts festival lifts any ennui in Yokohama

The relationship between Japan and France began in the early 17th century, when a Japanese ambassador and an accompanying samurai stopped off in Southern France on their way to Rome. They caused a stir with the locals. The infatuation must have been reciprocated because, 400 years later, Yokohama has...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 17, 2011

'127 Hours'

Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," released in 1960, famously terrified audiences to the point where a generation was checking the door locks before taking a shower. Stephen Spielberg's "Jaws," released in the baking summer of 1975, kept many people on the beach and out of the water. Now along comes "127 Hours,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 16, 2011

Rap artist Rumi stokes nuke fires

If you were in the Tokyo neighborhoods of Koenji on April 10, Shibuya on May 7, or Shinjuku on June 11, you might have seen (or more likely, heard) thousands of demonstrators weaving through the streets, waving signs and chanting slogans in opposition to Japan's atomic energy policies. In the past few...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 16, 2011

You're not alone in feeling lonely

For playwright and director Ryuta Horai, the last two years have been a nonstop whirl of activity since "Mahoroba" ("A splendid location") — his drama about four generations of women in a traditional rural family meeting up and feuding — won the highly prestigious Kishida Kunio Award for best play...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 14, 2011

Europe wields influence in the Arab Spring

Until now, and with few exceptions, the West has nurtured two distinct communities of foreign-policy specialists: the development community and the democratic community.
MORE SPORTS
Jun 13, 2011

Uchimura wins third straight NHK Cup

Reigning individual all-around world champion Kohei Uchimura captured his third consecutive NHK Cup title, while Koko Tsurumi achieved the same feat in the women's event on the final day of action on Sunday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2011

A life in the coal mines

This May brought unexpected news of the selection by UNESCO of annotated paintings and diaries by Sakubei Yamamoto of life in the Japanese coal mines for entry in its Memory of the World Register.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2011

New media keep old media honest

Ssecond of Two Parts
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 10, 2011

Toyama lantern festival provides bright opportunity for pictures

Still relatively unknown despite being historically famous, northwestern Japan will host one of the country's most enthralling events, the Tonami Yotaka Festival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / BY THE GLASS
Jun 10, 2011

Koshu wine gets uncorked abroad

On June 19, Shizen, a white wine made in Japan with the native Koshu grape, will make its debut at Vinexpo, Bordeaux. By exhibiting at one of the wine industry's most important events, Ernest Singer, the man behind Shizen and a project to improve winemaking in Japan, is declaring his confidence in Koshu...
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2011

Fukushima investigation

The Kan Cabinet on May 24 established a third-party panel to investigate the accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The move was extremely tardy, coming 2? months after the start of the nuclear crisis and nearly one month after Prime Minister Naoto Kan's announcement...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2011

Students credit survival to disaster-preparedness drills

March 11 started out as another ordinary Friday at Kamaishi East Junior High School, which stands by the mouth of the Unosumai River that runs through the city into Otsuchi Bay. Classes were over for the day and students were about to start their after-school club activities when the magnitude 9.0 earthquake...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 4, 2011

Mideast peace process and the Arab Spring

U.S. President Barack Obama's speech on the ongoing popular uprisings in the Middle East, followed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington, was intended to kick off a renewed effort to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Things are not turning out as planned....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 4, 2011

Navigating your way around Japan

Ever since I moved to Japan I've heard the Japanese say, "Nihon wa chiisai kuni desu" (Japan is a small country), with the underlying meaning that this fact is responsible for many of Japan's weaknesses. Foreigners are quick to point out that England is also a small country, yet has historically been...

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