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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2009

Irina Mejoueva

Irina Mejoueva, a Japan-based Russian pianist, always appears on stage with scores — but not because she can't memorize the pieces she performs. "I am a performer. Since I am not a composer, the piece exists only in the score," she remarks with a smile. Mejoueva looks at the score when she plays the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Sep 18, 2009

"Showa Boys SF Guide"

Yayoi Museum Closes Sept. 27
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 18, 2009

A chiaroscuro of Belgian artistic expression

Looking at the Tokyo listings, I see that there are a couple of exhibitions focusing on bygone civilizations — a not uncommon theme for exhibitions in Japan. The National Museum of Nature and Science is presenting "The Golden Capital of Sican," which looks at one of the South American societies that...
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Festival to screen Taiji dolphin-slaughter film

Bowing to international pressure, the Tokyo International Film Festival announced Wednesday it will screen the controversial award-winning American documentary about the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, at the nine-day event in October.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Politicians to lead but knowhow of mandarins vital: Hatoyama

New Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama vowed Wednesday to create an administration that will break the strong grip of bureaucrats on policymaking and budgets.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Fukushima has fought for women, foreigners

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, has long been active in dealing with humanitarian and women's issues, ranging from sexual harassment to domestic violence to foreigners' rights.
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2009

Big changes to budget process expected under DPJ

Ending more than half a century of almost unbroken Liberal Democratic Party rule, the administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan that was formed Wednesday is expected to bring major changes to the nation's governance.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2009

Hatoyama ushers in new era in politics

Japan saw the dawning of a new political era Wednesday as Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama became prime minister, ending five decades of almost unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party.
Reader Mail
Sep 17, 2009

Abuse of North Korean good will

In his Sept. 13 letter ("Where is North Korea's good will?"), Geoff Dean writes that Gregory Clark owes us more conclusive evidence of rightwing interference and of North Korean good will. Dean also writes that, as prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi made some progress toward better relations with North...
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2009

Nissan 2009 China sales to exceed forecast as stimulus spurs demand

Nissan Motor Co. said sales in China this year will beat its previous forecast as government stimulus measures spur demand.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2009

Few answers for language market

Japan's language-related business sales have been on the decline, falling for the fourth straight in year in fiscal 2008, according to a market research firm.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2009

Rousing children's curiosity

There is concern that Japanese children generally are not as interested in science as they used to be. Although the government has adopted countermeasures, it seems that they are not producing the desired effect.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 15, 2009

Community groups provide lifelines in many ways

If you spot a festival or sporting event taking place in your neighborhood, chances are it was organized by the local neighborhood association.
BUSINESS
Sep 15, 2009

'Recession proof' gaming industry now struggling

Despite its reputation for being recession-proof, the domestic video game industry is having a tough time and first-half sales are looking weak, industry experts said Monday.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 13, 2009

ANA looks to sky as JAL hangs head

In a TV commercial aired all last summer, airline passengers are shown relaxing when the pilot comes on the PA to make the usual announcement about travel times and weather. Nobody seems alarmed when they learn that the skipper is teen golf sensation Ryo Ishikawa, who isn't old enough to drive a car...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 13, 2009

Tribute to novelist Mukoda, Takeshi's World Summit, and the origin of family names

If she were alive today, novelist and teleplay writer Kuniko Mukoda, who died in a plane crash in Taiwan in 1981, would be 80 years old. Her birthday is being commemorated this week with a revival of one of her most beloved family stories, "Haha no Okurimono" (Mother's Gift; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.).
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2009

Consequences of fuzzy targets

LONDON — Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, is a "soft" fascist who does not rant in the 1930s style. But he came pretty close to the old style two months ago when, newly elected to the European Parliament, he called for "very tough" measures to stop illegal African migrants from...
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2009

Recovery slower than expected

The economy grew less than initially reported in the second quarter due to a greater-than-anticipated fall in private inventory and capital investment, revised data released Friday by the government showed.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 12, 2009

What gomi problem?

There is a growing concern in Japan about gomi yashiki, or trash houses, created by people who hoard useless stuff. Eventually, their collections start overflowing from their houses onto the streets. Such people often have more feline friends than human. I never realized that cats shared this same predilection...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2009

Breaking fairy-tale conventions of beauty

Against the tradition of bijinga (beautiful women pictures) that runs through Japanese art, there is an antithetical stream that draws attention to a grotesque and timeworn femininity. In noh plays, the celebrated early 9th-century beauty of the Heian Era, Ono no Komachi, is sometimes portrayed after...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 11, 2009

Back from extinction

Few rock bands in Japan are as legendary as Unicorn. From their inception in 1986 at the height of Japan's "band boom," which saw the balance of chart power shift from idoru (idol) pop to real bands, through to their split in 1993 and subsequent reunion this year, the Hiroshima five-piece have left a...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past