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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2008

Getting high and then horizontal in Langkawi

Ask any question you want in Langkawi and you will get a friendly response. But you may not get an answer. Take the following exchange I had with a musician who was leaving the Beach Garden restaurant as I was strolling in there in search of a late supper on my first night in the hot spot of Pantai Cenang:...
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
Jun 28, 2008

G8 security steps hit as dangerous precedent

KYOTO — Their region having played host to three Group of Eight ministerial conferences over the past month, many in Kansai are breathing a sigh of relief and hoping the security measures that residents, and even summit participants, found excessive are now in the past.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 27, 2008

Revel in Lock's fusion of dance

For more than 25 years, the Canadian troupe La La La Human Steps has been hailed as one of the world's leading and most radical contemporary dance companies since it was founded by Moroccan-born Edouard Lock in 1980.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 27, 2008

'Aruitemo Aruitemo'

Family drama is the default setting of serious Japanese cinema. No matter what genre first brings Japanese directors fame or fortune, be it Sci Fi/fantasy, yakuza epics or horror, they often end up making a family drama, especially if they want to establish their auteurist credentials. The Western used...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jun 24, 2008

Mag racks, Issey Miyake watches and a tidy little cellphone buddy

Label of love With pretty much anything now just a quick printout away, is there really still a place in the office or at home for the humble label writer? Looking at the Tepra Pro label writer from King Jim — a company mostly known for its colorful binders and filing systems — it becomes apparent...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 22, 2008

Grounded rulers of the sky

His sharp, calm gaze follows yet another aircraft swooping down from the cloudless sky, its tires screeching in clouds of blue smoke as it returns to Earth on Haneda's concrete runway. One more flight successfully completed, he thinks — and now the next.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 22, 2008

How can the press be free if it's used as a public-relations tool?

The Supreme Court's decision on June 12 to reverse a lower-court ruling that had found in favor of a women's group received a fair share of concerned media coverage. The suit involved a program NHK had produced about a 2001 citizens' tribunal, which prosecuted Japan's wartime leaders on behalf of sex...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2008

The rhythm is gonna Gotye

"There are just tons of bands in Melbourne, and I think there is a bit of a chip on the shoulder that too many of them are going unrecognized." So says Wally De Backer, aka Gotye.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 20, 2008

Yasaiya Mei: Bespoke veggies in Omotesando

It's been a very long time since we got excited about curry rice. In fact, this is certainly the first time that we've gone on record extolling the virtues of Japan's blanded-down version of the spicy stew that is British India's lasting contribution to the world of gastronomy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 2008

Kiyoshiro Imawano at Fuji Rock Festival

Legendary rip-roaring rocker Kiyoshiro Imawano — who bears the soul of Otis Redding and the flamboyance of Marc Bolan — hasn't had the best of times over the last few years. The keen cyclist first had his bicycle stolen, which seemed a threat to future Fuji Rock performances as he has been known...
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
Jun 15, 2008

Space modules for the space-challenged

According to the latest Japanese government statistics (from 2003), the average Tokyo apartment that is home to a four-person family allows them a measly 36.5 sq. meters to live in. That's just a bit more than a large shipping container.
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2008

Prepare for the worst

An expert panel of the government's Central Disaster Prevention Council recently projected that a major earthquake in the Kinki and Chubu region occurring at noon in winter would cause economic damage of ¥74 trillion and ¥33 trillion, respectively. Such an earthquake would shred heavily used traffic...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 13, 2008

Lady virtuoso 'sings' like a bird

Her music is as lovely as a song sung by a pretty bird. Of course, birds don't actually "sing," and neither does Kimiko Wakiyama. Like a bird, she whistles. In fact she's a champion whistler, who won the women's crown at the 2007 International Whistlers Convention (IWC 2007) in North Carolina.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 13, 2008

Fireflies set the nights alight

It seems no one really knows why the two predominant varieties of hotaru (firefly) in Japan are known as genji-botaru and heike-botaru.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2008

Nationwide skepticism

The outcome of Sunday's Okinawa prefectural assembly election dealt another blow to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's ruling bloc, following its April defeat in a Lower House by-election in Yamaguchi Prefecture's No. 2 constituency.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2008

One man, two worlds

Ryosuke Hashiguchi is one of the few gay filmmakers in Japan to have had a measure of popular success making films with gay themes. His third film, "Hush" (2002), about a gay couple whose life changes when one of them is drafted into becoming a father by a desperate woman, was an indie hit, as well as...
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2008

'Anyone' was a target

Sunday's brutal indiscriminate slaying of seven people in Tokyo's Akihabara district is both a tragedy and a horrific crime. It took a 25-year-old man about five minutes to commit the crimes as shoppers were enjoying Sunday afternoon in a temporary vehicle-free zone in the world's largest electronics...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 12, 2008

Actor Nomura brings noh to new audiences

If you've ever napped through a noh performance, you're not alone. But this 600-year-old Japanese theatrical genre is being updated to make it more of a 21st-century entertainment than a Japanophile's endurance test.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 12, 2008

The space to act out in Shizuoka

Shizuoka Performing Arts Center is Japan's first so-called European-style public theater. Founded by the Shizuoka prefectural government in 1997, it has its own company (also called SPAC) and an artistic director in residence when the norm is for public theater companies to share venues and for artistic...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2008

English guide looks to put Nara in reach

OSAKA — Those who live in Nara and welcome guests from all over the world are aware of how often arriving friends are surprised by what they see in the ancient capital, then disappointed that they hadn't budgeted enough time to explore.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 10, 2008

Health cover; donating clothes

Reader TJ writes:
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 6, 2008

Festival explores artistic side of Thai cinema

The realm of Thai cinema goes well beyond martial arts movies such as "Ong-bak" (titled "Mach!" in Japan), which was a hit here in 2004. Movie fans in Japan unfortunately rarely ever get a chance to experience much else from Thailand's vibrant film industry, which has more to offer that is surprisingly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUZZY LOGIC
Jun 6, 2008

Monster mash

Explosion, the livehouse in Kagurazaka, central Tokyo, must have been named with nights like this in mind. Billy Trash, who's covered in blood, has discarded his double bass and stripped to his tiny, gonad-garroting Batman underpants. He charges into the crowd, pouring water over his head, then smothers...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji