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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 15, 2011

What do you think of the proposed tattoo ban at Suma Beach from this year?

Ai Yamamoto
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 13, 2011

Has rice farming passed its expiry date in Japan?

Atsuo Aoki doesn't appear to be an irrational man. At 52, he works in the banking division of the Japan Agricultural Cooperative (JA) in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, an old castle city at the foot of the Japan Alps about three hours by rail north of Tokyo. He lives there with his wife and three children...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2011

'The Fighter'

"The Fighter" doesn't bring anything new to the boxing picture genre — but it's packed to the gills with all that reminds us why such movies enthrall.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 10, 2011

Zen psychology: Daisetz Suzuki remembered

Despite the gloomy global economy, the field of positive psychology is booming. Often described simplistically by journalists as "the science of happiness," it's actually a broad focus on our strengths and talents, virtues and peak experiences in daily living. The name for this specialty originated with...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2011

Entrepreneur: Turbulent times breed innovation

Growing up in California in the 1970s as the child of issei, William H. Saito recalls how his father imported math textbooks from Japan and insisted he study them extra hard to gain an edge over others.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 8, 2011

Domestic child abuse in spotlight

The Fukuoka District Court in January sentenced a 34-year-old mother to six years in prison for causing bodily injury resulting in her daughter's death, casting the spotlight anew on child abuse.
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Mar 8, 2011

Foreign hurlers face pivotal season after recovering from injuries

Seth Greisinger walked off the field at Tokyo Dome on Thursday looking relaxed and at ease. At the same time, Alex Graman had his glove tucked under his arm as he chatted with a reporter and teammate Dee Brown in front of the visitors' dugout.
Reader Mail
Mar 6, 2011

Socking away national treasures

Regarding the March 2 Kyodo article "Yakushiji pagoda (in Nara) open first time in 1,300 years": As a long-term resident of Japan, I have a very strong passion for Japanese history, arts and places of significant historical interest. I have found, though, on numerous occasions that historical places...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 6, 2011

Tadao Sato: 'Japan's single finest film critic'

Tadao Sato laughed an embarrassed laugh as he recalled that three years ago, in London, he had been referred to as a "legend." Though adding to his discomfort, I had to admit that in my university days I had thought of him in the same way. And I still do.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 6, 2011

LDP: fall of Japan's political machine

THE RISE AND FALL OF JAPAN'S LDP: Political Party Organizations as Historical Institutions, by Ellis S. Krauss and Robert J. Pekkanen. Cornell University Press, 2011, 318 pp., $26.95 (paper) Japanese politics is in a sad state these days with the media likening Diet debate to flatulence. Voters' expectations...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 5, 2011

Harmonia Opera marks milestone

Emiko Iinuma's voice has a distinctive sugared drawl, a sweet residue from her early years as a student at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. It is more than the drawl that attracts — her voice dances, leaps across decades, travels up and down pitch, whispers hardship and rises in forthright determination....
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2011

Half-baked reform won't cut it

The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office (SPPO) on Feb. 23 said that the special investigation squads at the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya district public prosecutors offices will start partial electronic recording of interrogations of suspects from March 18. At present, public prosecutors are recording a process...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 4, 2011

Bunraku gets film treatment

Canadian filmmaker Marty Gross had been fascinated with Japan's traditional puppet theater, bunraku, since he saw a production during his first visit to Japan in 1970. But it was only later in that decade, when it was suggested that he make a film of a production, that he took the time to study the art...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 4, 2011

'Of Gods and Men'/'Agora (Japan title: Alexandria)'

Just a quick glance at the headlines will reveal how many conflicts and massacres in our world find their roots in religious differences. While believers of any given faith are quick to blame the misguided and evil intentions of all those other religions, the wise will assert that all religions have...
Reader Mail
Mar 3, 2011

A perishable college education

Regarding Dipak Basu's Feb. 27 letter, "Failure rate climbs in final year": I am glad to hear that Basu is trying to keep high standards in the university classes that he teaches. However, I am sad to see that he seems detached from the reality that surrounds him. His argument that only 5 percent of...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 1, 2011

KDDI reveals WiMAX-ready phone

KDDI Corp. unveiled Japan's first smart phone compatible with the WiMAX high-speed network Monday, aiming to differentiate its lineup from other carriers' and keep pace with the smart phone trend.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 27, 2011

Notes from the underground

When my yoga class was canceled recently, I decided to explore Yoga instead.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 27, 2011

Minding the gaps

During the Senkaku/Diaoyu imbroglio following the Sept. 7, 2010 collision between a Chinese trawler and a Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel off disputed islands of those names in the East China Sea, some NHK and Asahi reporters emphasized that the anti-Japanese demonstrations in China were not only or...
JAPAN / ELEMENTARY ENGLISH
Feb 26, 2011

Chiba city gets the jump, boasts team approach

Fifth- and sixth-graders at elementary schools will get their first taste of English learning come April, setting off on a journey into a world of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2011

Jolie acts out a teenage crush in 'The Tourist'

"Of course I always wanted to work with Johnny Depp!" laughs Angelina Jolie. "What actress hasn't? I've thought he was the coolest thing for years. I practically grew up with him and had such a crush on him in 'Edward Scissorhands'!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 25, 2011

'The Tourist'

"The Tourist" is a dud but at least, um, it's a Milk Dud. These are chocolaty chunks of caramel guaranteed to wreak havoc on the body's calcium supply and most likely do damage to one's sanity. Still, they're great fun to chew on as long as they last — and that about sums it up for the movie as well....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 25, 2011

Artist-curated festival sets new rules

"It's Auschwitz with good music," jokes Nick Cave at the start of "All Tomorrow's Parties," a 2009 documentary released to mark the 10th anniversary of the music festival of the same name. It's a tasteless description for an impeccably tasteful event, one that has become a bastion for left-of-center...
Reader Mail
Feb 24, 2011

Dogs have a rich emotional life

I must beg to differ with Grant Piper's views expressed in his Feb. 20 letter. From my own observations and those of a number of respected authors, it is safe to say that many animals have a very rich emotional life and are capable of higher emotions such as empathy, sadness and joy. I dare say some...
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2011

Government shutdown in June?

As battles rage in the Diet between the ruling and opposition camps over fiscal 2011 budget-related bills, one dreadful scenario has emerged: The debt-ridden government may run out of funds by around June.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb