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Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2007

Church proposed for tangible cultural asset title

in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, and the Wakasa Bridge in Wakasa, Tottori Prefecture, are among the structures proposed Friday to receive government designation as tangible cultural assets. KYODO PHOTOS
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 21, 2007

Back to Roma

Gypsies are one of music's great cross-pollinators.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 20, 2007

Traditional China popped

After the end of the Opium War in China in 1842, Shanghai opened itself to trade with the outside world. A little after that, the Taiping Rebellion of 1850-64, which took place in southern China and Nanjing, funneled into the metropolis artists and scholars seeking refuge.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2007

Filipinos respectful of a star's conviction

BANGKOK — Joseph Estrada, the disgraced former president of the Philippines, faces the prospect of spending his remaining years in prison after a special court in Manila found him guilty of amassing around $15 million in bribes and kickbacks. During the 30 months he ruled his country, from mid-1998...
Reader Mail
Sep 19, 2007

Statistical generalizations miss

I feel that author Agnes Chan shows very limited knowledge about India. In her Sept. 6 article, she makes sweeping statements such as: "Fifty-four percent of Bombay's 16 million residents live in the slums. Only 25 percent live in what would pass in developed countries as apartments and houses."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 19, 2007

Japan needs global leaders: headhunter

Securing leaders with the experience to better manage local employees and their needs is becoming more urgent for Japanese companies that conduct business globally, said Paul Reilly, chairman of leading global executive search firm Korn/Ferry International.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 18, 2007

Looking on the bright side

Last in a two-part series
BASKETBALL
Sep 17, 2007

'Samurai' spirit drives AND1's Morishita

Determined and fearless on the court, Yuichiro Morishita exhibits a work ethic that basketball coaches want every player to possess. And yet it's his nickname, "Samurai," that's made him a household name far, far away from his hometown of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 14, 2007

Tokyo Pinsalocks

"Spoon Market" is more than just a music event. Organized by female new-wave/electro band Tokyo Pinsalocks and Holly, owner of live house Sangenjaya Heaven's Door, the event includes live music and DJs, as well as video, art, photography and craft exhibits, fashion, food and even "hair arrangement."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 13, 2007

An excess of curating

One of the key elements of the Istanbul Biennial is the city itself. Founded by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great in A.D. 330 as the first world's Christian capital, it was long the glorious center of the Byzantine Empire, before becoming the capital of the Ottoman Turks. Today, it's a megacity...
EDITORIALS
Sep 12, 2007

Mr. Abe tones down rhetoric

In his policy speech in the Diet on Monday, the first day of the extraordinary Diet session following his Liberal Democratic Party's devastating defeat in the July 29 Upper House election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe toned down rhetoric on his conservative political agenda and touched more on issues closely...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Sep 11, 2007

What should people volunteer their time for?

COMMUNITY
Sep 11, 2007

Have your say

The scapegoating of Asa Two thumbs up for James Eriksson and Debito Arudou on their article (Zeit Gist, Sept. 4), the first and only in Japan that actually looks at the facts of the whole (Asashoryu) situation and doesn't just follow the bandwagon of "Asa-bashing."
Reader Mail
Sep 9, 2007

When to break one's silence

I found the Aug. 26 Tokyo Confidential article "Time to dust off the swords" (Michael Hoffman's translation of a Sapio magazine article) to be highly thought-provoking because of the strong statements about Japanese ethics or norms, a rather sensitive issue to deal with. The focal point of the article...
EDITORIALS
Sep 9, 2007

Surviving in Net cafes

Over 5,000 people in Japan spend their nights at 24-hour Internet cafes every night, according to the first, but certainly not the last, survey on so-called Net cafe refugees by the labor and welfare ministry. On one hand, it seems that school refusers were first, then job refusers, now "home refusers,"...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 9, 2007

The Japanese diplomat in Britain

JJapanese Envoys in Britain, 1862-1964: A Century of Diplomatic Exchange, compiled and edited by Ian Nish. Global Oriental, 2007, 255 pp, 55 (cloth) Next year Britain and Japan celebrate 150 years of diplomatic relations, and just on cue comes this book, "Japanese Envoys in Britain (1862-1964)," which...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 7, 2007

Eating more than your fill in Osaka

Kuidaore! (Eat till you drop!) goes the old maxim about Osaka. The imperative tone of this statement seems perfectly in tune with the brashness of the culture here. So as a newcomer to Kansai, after a life spent between Kanto and Britain, kuidaore is exactly what I and a couple of friends set out to...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 7, 2007

Orbital adventures

Those who watch Phil Hartnoll at Clash26 will see one of British dance music's most influential artists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 6, 2007

Japanese tattoo art carves its mark in the mainstream

"It seems like every two or three days we are doing a koi (carp) half-sleeve or a dragon tattoo. People in the States are going nuts for Japanese. It's really blown up over the last two years," says American tattoo artist Lewis Hess of Atlas Tattoo in Portland, Oregon.
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 6, 2007

The magic of noh by firelight

At this time of year — and also in April and May, when it is neither too hot nor too cold for performers or audiences — takigi (firelight) noh is performed throughout Japan. Preferred venues are outdoor noh stages in the precincts of shrines, but as these are rare, special ones are often built in...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2007

Clock ticking as Councilor Kawada goes after what has long ailed Japan

Newly elected Upper House lawmaker Ryuhei Kawada was diagnosed with hemophilia soon after he was born.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 4, 2007

Japan's Shinto-Buddhist religious medley

Most in Japan may know Buddhism has something to do with controlling lust and anger, and is associated with funerals and graves, while Shinto involves venerating nature, and weddings. But many people have trouble making theological distinctions between the two or even telling a Buddhist temple from a...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Sep 4, 2007

"The Devil's Breath," "Mr. Putter — Tabby Spin the Yarn"

"The Devil's Breath," David Gilman, Puffin Books; 2007; 377 pp. Close on the heels of Charlie Higson's highly successful Young Bond series comes another adrenalin-pumping adventure story that reads like a Robert Ludlum thriller tailor-made for teenagers.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji