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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 20, 2009

An exhibition's critical charge

"In Japan, the city consists of parts perfect in themselves, but lacking a sense of or connection to the whole," observes curator Shino Nomura while discussing the work of Swiss architectural firm Diener & Diener.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 20, 2009

Nemuri-an: Austere, obscure, entirely Japanese

At the recent Tokyo Taste World Gastronomy Summit, the super-chefs assembled at Tokyo International Forum paid fulsome homage to Japan and its influence on their own creative vision. Their well-honed, technologically enhanced presentations were leavened throughout with buzzwords such as dashi soup stock,...
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009

People who can revitalize Japan

Many foreign residents, including myself, are angered at the Japanese government's insular, isolationist worldview, most recently reflected in the Justice Ministry's decision to deport a Filipino family, the Calderons, who have lived here since the early 1990s ("Filipino parents told to leave").
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2009

Myanmar refugees to try resettling

As Japan prepares to take in Myanmarese from Thai refugee camps, it is important that the communities they resettle in fully support their integration into society, experts said at a recent Tokyo symposium held by the Foreign Ministry.
COMMENTARY
Feb 18, 2009

Face up to a common threat

Despite a spreading jihad culture, U.S. President Barack Obama has ended America's global "war on terror" as dramatically as his predecessor had initiated it. With the stroke of his pen, Obama has effectively terminated the war on terror that President George W. Bush had launched to defeat terrorists...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WEEK 3
Feb 15, 2009

Keio's man ahead of his time

Next time you come by a ¥10,000 bill, take a look at the face of Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901) that appears on the front, for he was a most remarkable man.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 15, 2009

Rebuilding sacred secrets of ancient Omi Province

Tourists might be attracted by Japanese temples and their gardens, but have you ever thought what it takes to preserve their timeless beauty?
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Feb 15, 2009

Eco-sweepers get to push their dust in the ancient way

In the future, when some oddly inclined academic sits down to pen the definitive history of the broom in Japan, several key years will stand out like piles of dust littering the corridors of time. One of them could be 2009.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 14, 2009

Choked with visitors, Kyoto takes slow road toward eco-tourism

The ancient capital of Kyoto conjures up many images among international tourists, ranging from quiet rock gardens and temples to performing geisha.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 14, 2009

Hauling in the souvenir binge

An Australian friend and I recently had the opportunity to show two of our good Japanese friends around Australia. Even though my native country is the United States, just being a gaijin who can speak Japanese was good enough for my Japanese friends, a couple (both 53 years old) who had traveled to other...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 14, 2009

Painting pictures from an artistic lyrical palette

As a narrative goes, lyricist Chris Mosdell's story is anything but a straightforward one.
COMMENTARY
Feb 13, 2009

Blaming bankers' bonuses

LONDON — U.S. President Barack Obama has called for an annual salary cap of $500,000 for directors of banks receiving government funds. (It is worth noting that this sum is $100,000 more than the president's salary.)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2009

An abandoned history of Chinese influence

Edo Period (1603-1868) paintings from Osaka have been relatively neglected in comparison with paintings from Tokyo and Kyoto. A canonical list of works and a historical framework were written up in Tokyo in the 1890s in a series of influential lectures by scholar Okakura Tenshin, setting the directions...
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Feb 10, 2009

Talking around and about art

Trying to understand contemporary art is difficult in the best of times. It is sometimes abstract, obscure or just plain odd. The question of how to enjoy an exhibit is made all the harder to answer if you're in Tokyo and your artistic attachments aren't matched by your Japanese language skills. Japan...
EDITORIALS
Feb 8, 2009

NHK 24 hours worldwide

NHK last week began its new worldwide 24-hour all-English TV service. The expanded broadcasting will now extend into some 70 countries via satellite, cable and the Internet. That means more people in more places will now be seeing Japan much more of the time.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Feb 8, 2009

World Baseball Classic's controversial 13th-inning rule problematic

The Steering Committee of World Baseball Classic, Inc., has approved a controversial rule to help break a potential tie in a long extra-inning game during next month's WBC tournament, and it does not sit well with at least one Italian fan.
Japan Times
LIFE
Feb 8, 2009

Japan charts a new course on refugees

Beginning in 2010, Japan will inaugurate a three-year pilot program to accept 30 refugees a year from camps nestled along the remote border between Thailand and Burma.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2009

'Anime,' 'manga' grab spotlight at major exhibition

At the Japan Media Arts Festival, prepare to jet into the sky like Superman and dance with speakers blasting at your hips, as the nation's largest showcase of cutting-edge "anime," "manga" and high-tech arts gets more interactive.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2009

'20-seiki Shonen Dai-2-sho: Saigo no Kibo'

Movies based on popular long-running manga commonly cram in too much, from story lines to characters. This confuses nonfans, while often failing to satisfy fans, who complain about omissions — though the original comic may have run for thousands of pages in dozens of volumes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 6, 2009

Simple beauty

Fashion photographer Aram Dikiciyan recognizes that his work is hard to define. "I can't really decide if I'm a fashion photographer or an artist," he explains over coffee in Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando district.
MULTIMEDIA
Feb 6, 2009

Simple beauty

Fashion photographer Aram Dikiciyan recognizes that his work is hard to define. "I can't really decide if I'm a fashion photographer or an artist," he explains over coffee in Tokyo's fashionable Omotesando district.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 6, 2009

Primary approach adds up for GO!GO!7188

"Last year we toured Japan with bands such as Mongol800, and while we were messing around with the other bands on stage, we came to rediscover how much fun it is to just make a noise," says Akiko Noma, better known as Akko, bassist with off-kilter rock band GO!GO!7188.
Reader Mail
Feb 5, 2009

Caregiving comes from the heart

Regarding the Jan. 30 article "Indonesian caregivers start work at nursing homes": I am a caregiver myself, having taken the "level 2" lessons. I have two grown boys, live with my husband, and have lived in Japan for more than 20 years. I have never learned the language, but can read hiragana and write...
JAPAN
Feb 4, 2009

Murakami's sentence suspended

The Tokyo High Court on Tuesday upheld fund manager Yoshiaki Murakami's two-year prison term for insider trading but suspended it for three years, calling the original ruling too harsh.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 3, 2009

What would the locals do?

In Japan, paper advertisements hang from the ceilings of train cars. In how many other countries would that be a viable advertising option? Certainly not in my hometown of Melbourne. Back in Australia, the majority of those ads would not survive any given Saturday night.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 3, 2009

2channel: the bullies' forum

Bullying in Japan is a big problem. The victims have limited recourse. Too often they are told to suck it up and self-reflect. Or if they fight back, they get criticized for lashing out. It's a destructive dynamic, causing much misery and many a suicide.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Feb 3, 2009

Yokohama Chinatown lions roar in new year

With the beating of drums, the clang of cymbals and the popping of firecrackers, Yokohama's Chinatown welcomed in the new year, with festivities reaching a peak on Chinese New Year's, Jan. 26.

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