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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 19, 2010

DJ Krush spins some tales

After 20 years in the DJ game, DJ Krush is widely acclaimed as the king of Japanese hip-hop, and, as a much sought after turntabilist, his impeccable skills have impressed crowds all over world.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 19, 2010

Talk of New York, artist Chuma comes home

If mentions in The New York Times are taken as a measure of fame, then contemporary dancer/choreographer Yoshiko Chuma is running neck-and- neck with musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. Each has notched up around 500.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2010

Learning Japanese via 'manga'

"Manga" comic books and "anime" films are building up interest around the world in learning Japanese.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 18, 2010

Tracking the recession with the Moyashi Index

The Moyashi Index: When bean sprout consumption goes up, it means grocery spending is down. And yes, families are eating more moyashi these days.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 16, 2010

Steeped in tradition, Shinto, sumo is also scandal-stained

The national sport of sumo traces its origins to an early Shinto ritual to pray for a bountiful harvest, and the professional tournaments of today date to the 17th century during the Edo Period.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 13, 2010

Shopping — a bitty of the kitty in all of us

One of the most popular hobbies in Japan is shopping. Shopping as a hobby? Although shopping includes "window shopping" (you don't apparently have to buy anything to be "shopping"), there is a large contingent of those who purchase such "material" things for themselves.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2010

Skyliner to get quicker but pricier Narita link

Keisei Electric Railway Co. will offer faster, more direct Skyliner rail service between Tokyo's Nippori Station, next to Ueno, and Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture beginning in July.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 12, 2010

Phoenix fired up for Japan

"If I knew the answer to that, I would have done it earlier," jokes Thomas Mars, singer with French electro- poppers Phoenix, when asked how his band of perennially stylish underachievers has been transformed into a mainstream, gloriously out-of-place Grammy winning act of the moment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 12, 2010

The magical mystery tour of 'media artist' Yuri Suzuki

The youngest artist showing at "Cyber Arts Japan," 29-year-old Yuri Suzuki, is among the generation that grew up immersed in the culture that informs so much of new media art today. He has received honorable mentions in Ars Electronica's interactive art division for two pieces — "Prepared Turntable"...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2010

Critical role for bureaucrats

HONG KONG — Some political commentators are suggesting that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is preparing to make Britain his model for reforming Japan's government system so that ministers — and not bureaucrats — make the important policy decisions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2010

U.S. friends in high places involved in Toyota probe

WASHINGTON — Toyota has friends in high places in Washington, including some of the very people now investigating the carmaker.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Feb 9, 2010

What do you make of yokozuna Asashoryu's shock announcement that he will retire?

EDITORIALS
Feb 7, 2010

The economics of eating in

The economic downturn continues to affect all parts of Japanese society with long-term repercussions for some. Restaurant operators in Japan saw a 1.5 percent drop in total sales in 2009. That figure may seem small, but it's the first decline in six years. This survey by the Japan Food Service Association...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 7, 2010

To resolve its 'core issue' Beijing needs to take heed of Dalai Lama

"From the perspective of Chinese Communist Party ideology, China was a victim of Western imperialism from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and, as a result, the Chinese tend to remember the humiliations they suffered while rarely considering their own nation to be an imperial power."
CULTURE / Books
Feb 7, 2010

Different folks, different strokes

Can Japan's corporate system withstand globalization? Once considered the source of the nation's competitive strength, traditional practices such as lifetime employment and seniority-based pay have in recent years been increasingly attacked as contributors to poor performance. The postbubble slump eroded...
BASEBALL
Feb 7, 2010

History, tradition helped to undermine Valentine

Fourth in a four-part series
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2010

Nara fears 1,300th anniversary flop

NARA — The ancient capital of Nara is celebrating the 1,300th anniversary of its founding throughout 2010 with hundreds of events that officials hope will bring in nearly 13 million visitors and raise the city's profile domestically and internationally as a historical and cultural tourism center.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 6, 2010

Fujita proud to discuss family's Japanese heritage

Standing 196 cm, Scott Fujita is one of the tallest linebackers in the NFL. But that fact alone doesn't make him a rare kind of player.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 6, 2010

The ABCs of living in Japan

"A is for apple." Every Japanese person learns this when they learn the E nglish alphabet. But couldn't it be, just for once, "A is for antelope?" Or how about "A is for anarchy," "adult" or "aspirin?" Wouldn't that be more helpful? We could also use our own alphabet to teach Japanese culture and language...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Feb 6, 2010

My views of Japan after a trip home

On a quick trip to the United States last winter, I had my sister pull over as we sped down a country road. This road provides a convenient link to the local interstate and my family members use it almost every day. I did too, back in my distant youth.
EDITORIALS
Feb 3, 2010

Sending more help to Haiti

The government will dispatch some 300 Self-Defense Forces members to join the U.N. peacekeeping mission in quake-devastated Haiti. This is a substantial addition to the 39 SDF members currently engaged in U.N. peacekeeping operations (PKO). Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said that the expanded mission...
COMMENTARY
Feb 2, 2010

Cities robbing their people

NEW YORK — When observing the chaotic growth of the modern city, the more erudite of urban planners will reminisce wistfully on how different it is from its ancient Greek counterpart, the polis, which Italian architectural historian Leonardo Benevolo once described as "dynamic but stable, in balance...
BUSINESS
Feb 2, 2010

JAL's new bosses neutral on tieup pick

Japan Airlines Corp.'s new management team said Monday they will examine from scratch alliance talks with U.S. carriers American Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 31, 2010

Notes on the end of the department store (as we know it)

Seibu department store has called it quits in Yurakucho. Should we be surprised?
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2010

Our duty to remember Auschwitz

"Let us remember that we are on the site of the most gigantic cemetery in the world, a cemetery where there are no graves, no stones, but where the ashes of more than one million people lie."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 30, 2010

The culinary art of feeding the soul, with zest of Zen

Soothing sunlight fills the peaceful living space; arrayed atop a bamboo leaf, a slice of yuzu and mikan tart beckons, complemented by a steaming cup of herbal tea. In the Spartan abode of Valerie Duvauchelle, a French cooking teacher and zazen practitioner, nothing indicates her former life as an executive...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2010

Guiding hand for Indonesian nurses

Cultural barriers faced by Indonesian nurses who come to this country to work are gradually being lowered, but the government has yet to help the Japanese hospital staff adapt, according to Keio University professors who recently launched an in-house training program to teach the employees how best to...

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