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COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Feb 1, 2011

Rural alien attacks 'insult' in Arudou almanac; 'Love it/leave it' lacks logic

Following are responses to "Arudou's Alien Almanac" by Debito Arudou (Just Be Cause, Jan. 4):
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Feb 1, 2011

Going choo choo for Japanese railways

All aboard the trainspotter special!
JAPAN / Media
Jan 30, 2011

'LED smiles': How a nonexistent Japanese schoolgirl craze became a meme

A nonexistent Japanese style trend turned into Internet meme this past week, thanks to a New York Times blog, the online version of The Guardian and other news websites. If the report — which was passed verbatim from site to site, tweet to tweet — was to be believed, the latest craze among Japanese...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 30, 2011

Poetry in motion

SKY=EMPTY, by Judy Halebsky. New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2010, 83 pp., $15 (paper) Ernest Fenollosa started it, then passed it on to Ezra Pound, who influenced Kenneth Rexroth, Allen Ginsberg, Philip Whalen, Robert Creeley, Gary Snyder, Jack Spicer, Cid Corman and Jackson Mac Low. Quite a list: encompassing...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2011

FCCJ retools to remain relevant

With the Internet pressing down on traditional media and interest in news from Japan apparently in decline, many foreign journalists say reporting with a Tokyo dateline is increasingly becoming a challenge.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 29, 2011

Nagoya 'Tokyo Girls Collection' set to target cash-flush women

Young Japanese males may no longer be interested in buying new cars, brand-name clothes or other expensive items, but their female counterparts appear less reluctant to part with their money, and retailers are tuned in.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 29, 2011

New Yorker finds success within himself in Kyoto

American restaurateur Charles Roche, 62, credits his love of feting others to having grown up in the warm and noisy embrace of an extended Italian-American family in the Bronx. As part of a food-loving clan he jokingly refers to as "the Sopranos without the crime," he remembers splitting chestnuts and...
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jan 28, 2011

A Valentine's day out with the girls

Should Japan be alarmed about sagging libidos and the rise of Valentine joshikai?
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jan 28, 2011

Japan's indie acts need to break domestic scene's 'glass ceiling'

There's a feeling in the air these days, not least on these pages, that Japan is becoming more culturally insular. Japanese video games are losing out to South Korea and the West in the race to explore the online frontier; animation, once the standard-bearer of "cool Japan," has retreated into a self-congratulatory...
COMMENTARY
Jan 26, 2011

Universal values do matter

NEW DELHI — With a Nobel Peace Prize to his credit, U.S. President Barack Obama was widely expected to advance universal values. Yet he has signaled that promotion of human rights is a tool to be used only against the small kids on the global block who hold no major economic benefits for the United...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 25, 2011

Waiting for the WikiLeak dam to break

Like a giant dose of salts to a bloated and constipated patient, "Cablegate" has scoured its way through the post-9/11 United States empire, exposing its internal workings to merciless scrutiny: In Iraq, U.S. forces and their Iraqi subordinates kill civilians and journalists while their commanders turn...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jan 25, 2011

Carnet crucial when doing Japan in a van

Diana and Peter were pleased to find the column "How to do Japan — in a VW camper van" (Lifelines, Nov. 16) on the Japan Times website.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 21, 2011

Hill, Blackwell poised for All-Star Game clash

Coaches with contrasting careers will lead their respective conferences during the bj-league's 2010-11 All-Star Game on Sunday in Osaka.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 21, 2011

'The Green Hornet'

They say that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. That pretty much sums up me and superhero movies; I keep going to see the damn things, attracted by the latest tantalizing hook, only to wind up feeling like Dr. Doom has trapped me in some...
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jan 19, 2011

Japanese Web outlook and predictions for 2011

Last year saw many changes for Japanese Internet users as people began to shift from Japanese social networks to international ones, and from regular cellphones to smart phones. The international influence was felt in other web-based areas too. So what can we expect for 2011?
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2011

Groupon chief sorry about 'osechi' fiasco

The chief executive of Groupon, the rapidly growing online coupon provider, apologized to Japanese customers Monday for a New Year's deal gone wrong that highlighted the difficulties the company faces in managing its global expansion.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 17, 2011

Unusual souvenirs deliver Japan in a can

Looking for a one-of-a-kind Japanese souvenir? Good chance you might find it in a can.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 16, 2011

Almost time for Japan to break out the bubbly for bubble 2.0

Remember the bubble? In case you don't, Shukan Gendai (Dec. 20) reminds us that the economic bubble of the late 1980s was an era of rocketing salaries, stock prices and property values, yet accompanied by little inflation. Wealth was seen everywhere. Catching a cab downtown at night required flashing...
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Jan 13, 2011

A winter touchscreen solution that fits hand in glove

We don't need no stinkin' meat styluses. We've got conductive fingertips.
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2011

DoCoMo, Dai Nippon to debut e-bookstore

Mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Dai Nippon Printing Co. announced Tuesday they will jointly launch an e-bookstore starting Wednesday to expand their business in the growing business.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jan 12, 2011

A tiny digital camera, video memos made easy and a cat-shaped hand warmer

A tiny camera for tiny photographers. From the folks over at Green House comes a fun new toy camera. With a classic design available in three colors (black, brown and white) the new GH-TCAM30C (right) is the latest of the company's diminutive Mini Digi cameras. This could be a perfect camera for kids,...
LIFE / Style & Design / Japan Pulse
Jan 8, 2011

Lucky bags give away secrets before purchase

Fukubukuro: It's all in the luck of the draw.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 8, 2011

Ex-MP revisits Okinawa's Koza Riot

On a mild December night in the city of Okinawa, Bruce Lieber, a 61-year-old Ohio native, found himself surrounded by a cluster of Japanese journalists. Photographers and TV crew jostled for position while reporters asked him how it felt to be back on the island.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2011

Penalties pay off for New Year's resolutions

MELBOURNE — Sometimes we know the best thing to do, but fail to do it. New Year's resolutions are often like that. We make resolutions because we know that it would be better for us to lose weight, or get fit, or spend more time with our children. The problem is that a resolution is generally easier...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 31, 2010

2010 top movies: 2-D vs. 3-D, actors vs. avatars

Even though it was released at the tail end of 2009, it was clearly "Avatar" that defined cinema in 2010. While this critic was lukewarm about it — "Dances With Wolves" in space, basically — plenty of nongeeky people I know truly loved it, so I've begun to reconsider my stance. One convincing argument...
CULTURE / Music
Dec 31, 2010

Websites, blogs pick best albums of 2010

The staff at The Japan Times office couldn't agree on which album we liked best in 2010. We did agree, however, that we are really enjoying the thrill of finding new music websites and blogs that focus on local artists. With the list of online resources growing, we hope that more voices will help make...

Longform

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