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Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 14, 2009

Is a national 'Manga Museum' at last set to get off the ground?

When it was announced in April that ¥11.7 billion had been set aside in 2009's supplementary budget to create a new National Center for Media Arts (NCMA) — a museum for manga, anime, video games and technology art — the news was greeted in the same way that most cultural-policy issues are in Japan....
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jun 10, 2009

Sony sorts out the PSP; netbooks get a dose of speed

Small game: Technology companies have an easy way of dealing with mistakes — don't admit them, just quietly stop using the failed innovation. Sony sticks to this dogma with the latest version of its PlayStation Portable gaming devices. Previously, Sony has used universal media discs, a kind of miniature...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2009

An entrepreneurial ambassador

PALO ALTO,, Calif. — The announcement of Silicon Valley attorney and Barack Obama fundraiser John V. Roos as U.S. ambassador- designate to Japan has sparked questions about what this appointment means for the U.S.-Japan relationship. Is the choice of a Washington outsider with no obvious Japan experience...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2009

Educating Americans about Muslim voices

NEW YORK — President Barack Obama has extended an open hand of friendship in his landmark Cairo speech to the Muslim world — seeking to engage Muslims with a commitment of mutual respect. No one can doubt his sincerity. From his first days in office, he has emphasized the importance of embarking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2009

The future begins here for Pine in 'Star Trek'

The new "Star Trek" movie, with its tagline "The Future Begins," may indeed begin a new phase in the careers of two of its stars, Winona Ryder and Chris Pine.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2009

Regional challenges await Indian government

LONDON — With India facing a regional security milieu in which all states on its periphery, barring Bhutan, are engulfed by crises of various kinds and magnitude, the new government has little time to waste in the realm of foreign policy.
Japan Times
LIFE
May 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Yokohama!

For untold generations it was a muddy little fishing village on present-day Tokyo Bay. Then the destiny of Yokohama (meaning "broad beach") changed forever when a U.S. naval squadron led by Commodore Matthew Perry dropped anchor there in February 1854.
JAPAN
May 23, 2009

Flu policy given more flexibility

The government adopted a new policy Friday that designates infected regions under one of two categories so local governments, hospitals and schools can react with greater flexibility.
JAPAN
May 22, 2009

Lawmakers question 'saibanin' system

A group of nonpartisan lawmakers gathered Thursday, the first day of the new lay judge system, to call for a moratorium on the new criminal trial system that every political party voted unanimously to institute five years ago.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 22, 2009

Tattoo you — Mika's call to arms

"I believe in my voice as a singer," declares Mika Nakashima, alluding to the three words tattooed in English around her right wrist. " 'Trust your voice,' in a broad sense, means we should accept everything and believe in many things. I learned this in New York and developed myself in many ways that...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 22, 2009

Collector steps into the void

How a psychiatrist from Yamagata came to possess one of the world's most important collections of Japanese contemporary art — meaning art made in the last 15 years — is almost embarrassingly simple. Ryutaro Takahashi had the savings and liked the art, so he bought it. As far as the 62-year- old is...
JAPAN
May 19, 2009

Virus could reach Tokyo anytime

With more than 130 new cases of swine flu detected in Hyogo and Osaka prefectures, an expert on infectious diseases warns the new virus could reach Tokyo within days.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2009

A story line to push the economy

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Since hitting bottom in early March, the world's major stock markets have all risen dramatically. Some, notably in China and Brazil, reached lows last fall and again in March, before rebounding sharply, with Brazil's Bovespa up 75 percent in May compared to late October 2008, and...
COMMENTARY
May 17, 2009

California dream-makers in the driver's seat

LOS ANGELES — Sometimes it's not that easy living in Los Angeles. Despite splendid weather, sprawling beaches and gorgeous mountain ranges — not to mention the well-tanned Hollywood stars — you face the unrelenting, withering scorn of smug colleagues long established in New York and Washington....
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 17, 2009

1989: A year of hopes turned sour that we all must live with today

Anniversaries do sometimes matter, but it's not often that the anniversary of an entire year deserves noting and celebrating. However, the year 1989, now 20 years past, marks a crucial turning point in history.
JAPAN / CITIZEN JUSTICE
May 16, 2009

Like lay judges, court interpreter system still in nascency

Last in a series
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
May 14, 2009

Say hello to Belgium's best, aptform, the Land of Tomorrow and Forever 21

Bold Belgium "Avant garde" doesn't even begin to describe some of the amazing creations that have come from the Belgian fashion capital of Antwerp over the years. Intelligent designers from the city successfully fuse fantasy with reality, and the "6+ Antwerp" exhibition at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 10, 2009

Gained in translation: bringing Asian poetry to the English language

SONGS OF LOVE, MOON AND WIND: Poems From the Chinese, translated by Kenneth Rexroth, selected by Eliot Weinberger. New York: New Directions, 2009, 90 pp., $12.95 (paper)
JAPAN
May 4, 2009

Experts say Japan can handle flu

While Japan has yet to see a confirmed case of swine flu, experts believe it won't be long before someone will be infected.
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2009

Indonesian Islamic politics sees changing of the guard

SINGAPORE, OPINION ASIA — The current spotlight is on the search for a future coalition in Indonesia, but attention should also be given to the fact that the polls have led to a historical change of guard among the ranks of Islamist parties. This change concerns not only the Unity Development Party...
LIFE
Apr 26, 2009

A literary loner

In Tokyo and even in the Occident, I have known almost no society except that of courtesans. — Nagai Kafu There's not much left of Kafu today. Among the major Japanese writers of the early 20th century, he scarcely ranks as a survivor. Natsume Soseki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Junichiro Tanizaki are the...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Apr 19, 2009

A plea to address pro basketball's future in Japan

Dear Prime Minister Aso,
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 11, 2009

International school built to serve

Early last year, Masayasu Kano, a seasoned schoolteacher, quit his local private high school to take on a new challenge. He had only a couple years left until retirement.
LIFE / CLOSE-UP
Apr 5, 2009

Hiroshi Mikitani: Retail revolutionary

On a bitterly cold mid-February day, in the midst of an even harsher economic climate, Hiroshi Mikitani — founder, president and CEO of one of Japan's largest online retailers, Rakuten Inc. — shook off a slight cold to announce at a concise news conference that in fiscal 2008 his company had achieved...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Apr 1, 2009

TomoToday can broaden your social-media circles

The Web has been praised for taking publishing to new heights, but it's also pioneered new ways for people to connect and reconnect. In Facebook, Mixi, MySpace and hundreds of other large and small online communities, we're learning new modes of socialization.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / SOUTH KOREAN JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Apr 1, 2009

Global crisis forces change on S. Korea

The global economic crisis will test whether South Korea can gain long-term competitiveness by changing its heavy reliance on exports and a limited number of big companies, veteran journalists from the country told a recent symposium in Tokyo.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo