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Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Nov 1, 2008

Second time a charm for reunited couple

Michael Claxton, 61, and his wife, Rieko, 43, are living proof of the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2008

Hopes for next president

LONDON — Around the world, America's presidential election campaign has attracted as much attention as domestic political controversies in each of our countries. The interest the world has taken in America's vote is the best example of America's soft power, and a lesson in democracy from the world's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 31, 2008

'Homeless Chugakusei'

The homeless in Japan are mostly older men down on their luck, sleeping on cardboard in train stations or under blue tarps in public parks. Some are mentally disturbed or chronically ill, but their image in popular culture is surprisingly positive — ranging from the lovable loser to the ragged sage....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 31, 2008

Monoral feed on Halloween horror

'A lot of the companies we signed to disappeared, basically," says Ali Morizumi of pan-national rock duo Monoral, musing on the mysterious curse that has followed his band around.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2008

Dolphin activist keeps up fight against slaughter

OSAKA — Renowned American dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry has dedicated his life to freeing captured dolphins worldwide. In a new documentary, he hopes to educate both Japanese and international audiences about the slaughter of the mammals in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, and the hazards of eating dolphin...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2008

Europeans back Obama, Asians like McCain

PARIS — Could Europe be categorized as a U.S. Democratic Party "blue state" and Asia, a Republican Party "red state"?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 28, 2008

Head for the future

JEAN SNOW
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 28, 2008

WWII forced labor issue dogs Aso, Japanese firms

After evading the issue for more than two years, Taro Aso conceded to foreign reporters on the eve of becoming prime minister that Allied POWs worked at his family's coal mine in Kyushu during World War II.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2008

Strong yen takes a toll on visitors

The yen's recent surge is hitting many foreigners hard in the wallet.
BUSINESS
Oct 28, 2008

Merck exit from Japan drug research undermines government goal

Merck & Co.'s decision to close its drug-research laboratory in Japan undermines the government's goal of attracting overseas drugmakers to boost the global share of made-in-Japan medicines, according to Kiyoshi Kurokawa, the government's policy adviser.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2008

How Japanese mysteries evolved from imitation to adaptation

PURLOINED LETTERS: Cultural Borrowing and Japanese Crime Literature, 1868-1937, by Mark Silver. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2008, 217 pp., $52 (cloth) Western-style stories of crime and detection began making their appearance in Japan from the mid-19th century, initially as translations of...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2008

New Taiwan envoy upbeat on Japan ties

As Taiwan's de facto ambassador to Japan, John Feng believes that strengthening ties between Tokyo and Taipei is vital to securing bilateral prosperity.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 26, 2008

The 'tough love' of sumo and the military can turn ugly

Euphemism is a required art for anyone who communicates with the public, be they politicians or PR flacks. The idea is to change or otherwise soften concepts that may be considered too blunt. Matters regarding sex, bodily functions and death are often euphemized so as not to offend delicate sensibilities,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 24, 2008

Master of wine selections at Conrad

The Conrad Tokyo has introduced a Grand Wine List selected by Ron Georgiou, its master of wine — one of the most respected wine qualifications in the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 24, 2008

Nissay Theatre celebrates 45 years

Nissay Theatre in Yurakucho, Tokyo, will present Leos Janacek's opera "The Makropulos Case" on Nov. 20, 22 and 24 to mark the venue's 45th anniversary.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 24, 2008

Film fest offers the Himalayas

The stunning snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas are certainly a joy to behold — or, for some, to climb. For those not up to the cost or exertion of such an endeavor, the Himalaya Film Festival from Nov. 1 to 3 offers an experience in armchair mountaineering.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2008

Kabuki mecca's days numbered

The Kabukiza Theatre, a Tokyo landmark and the mecca of the traditional performance art, will soon vanish to be replaced by a new office-theater complex despite pleas from architects to preserve the building.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Oct 19, 2008

Subaru continues to drive to a different beat

There is no brand in Japan with as much unused potential as Subaru. It is kind of like Apple Inc. was in the late 1990s before it came roaring back to prominence with the return of Steve Jobs.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2008

'Anime' biz taps new inspiration

Astro Boy, created by animation pioneer Osamu Tezuka, is a superhero robot with a soft, adorable face, a feature that partly explains his global fame.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 17, 2008

Art of Brazil on show

Japan is hosting a carnival of events to celebrate 100 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil this year, but Jacqueline Montagu has been promoting ties between the South American nation and Asia for more than two decades.
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2008

The challenge of compassion

I want to congratulate The Japan Times for the good points and observations made in the Oct. 12 editorial "Refugees in Japan." I live in Canada and have been involved with social and religious organizations on behalf of migrants and refugees for a number of years. I believe that, when it comes to humanitarian...
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2008

International beginning for sumo

Three sumo wrestlers from Russia have been dismissed on allegations of marijuana use and are set to sue the Japan Sumo Association over their dismissal. I feel that JSA is making these Russian wrestlers suffer for the bad press it has received because of recent scandals, including violence against sumo...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 16, 2008

Japan shines at Asia's top film festival

Acknowledged as the most important annual film event in Asia, Korea's Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF) opened its 13th edition on Oct. 2 under several clouds. The glittery opening ceremony, stuffed to the rafters with Korean celebrities, was more subdued this year owing to the same-day suicide...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 12, 2008

TV "champions" return, and Kamiji the clown takes on a drama

Yusuke Kamiji, the chief representative of the currently hot baka tarento (dumb TV personality) trend, lands his first starring role in a comedy series as one of the title characters of "Serebu to Binbo Taro" (The Celebrity and Poor Taro; Fuji, Tues., 9 p.m.).
CULTURE / Books
Oct 12, 2008

Sexy, dirty surrealism in the heart of Tokyo

LALA PIPO by Hideo Okuda, translated by Marc Adler, New York: Vertical, Inc., 2008, 288 pp., $14.95 (paper) Their recent list of contemporary Japanese fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels is making those Japanophiles at the New York publishing house Vertical Inc. Nihon otaku among Western publishing...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2008

Little Tokyo looks to get back its vibes with new development

The last time Little Tokyo tried getting back to its Japanese roots, it was in the early 1980s with the Japanese Village Plaza, a warren of sweets shops, tea stands and trinket stores under sloping glazed-tile roofs.

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