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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 10, 2010

Nabeshima ware: made to order

Talk about a nightmare of a client. They expect deliveries tailored to their precise instructions — once every year. They send missives along the lines of, "You should be a bit more creative with your designs," and then append them with casual reminders that they will be happy to vet any innovations....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Sep 10, 2010

'What's Going on in Your Head When You're Dancing'

Laforet Museum Harajuku
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Sep 8, 2010

Mystery surrounds Kim-Orser breakup

The intrigue surrounding the split between South Korean Olympic gold medalist Kim Yu Na and coach Brian Orser seems to know no end.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2010

Greenpeace pair guilty; no prison

The Aomori District Court sentenced two Greenpeace Japan activists Monday to suspended one-year prison terms for trespassing and stealing whale meat from a transport company branch in Aomori Prefecture in April 2008.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 7, 2010

U.S. Navy 'Friendship Festival' draws line at the French

Could it be that the Friendship Day festivals held at the U.S. Navy Negishi Housing Base are not as friendly as the name suggests?
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2010

Battle for Turkey's constitution

ISTANBUL — On Sept. 12, Turks will vote on a set of constitutional amendments proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been in power for eight years. Since the vote falls on the 30th anniversary of the 1980 military coup, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is portraying...
COMMENTARY
Sep 5, 2010

The yin and yang of human rights in China

HONG KONG — The only lady vice minister in China's Foreign Ministry is Fu Ying, a well-coiffed, mild-mannered 57-year-old, an ethnic Mongol who speaks flawless English, who has served as ambassador to the Philippines, Australia and Britain, and who is known for her media skills.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 5, 2010

Fertility issue pregnant with discord

In 2004, Diet lawmaker Seiko Noda wrote a book titled "Watashi wa Umitai" ("I Want to Give Birth"), which chronicled her years of infertility treatments and the subsequent pregnancy that ended in miscarriage. Two years later she ended her six-year relationship with fellow politician Yosuke Tsuruho, who...
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Sep 4, 2010

Ozawa milks challenger role

The battle between Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa comes at a time when Japan is struggling with a slumping economy, strong yen and numerous other issues requiring prompt attention.
EDITORIALS
Sep 3, 2010

Mr. Kan vs. Mr. Ozawa

After some meanderings, the campaign for election of the next president of the Democratic Party of Japan officially started Wednesday, with Prime Minister Naoto Kan and former DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa vying for the post.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 3, 2010

From 'Dawn of the Dead' to the live-and-kicking golden 'oldies'

Shu Matsui's innocent smile is familiar. He's always beaming on TV ads, whether he's plugging a washing softener, playing a gentle new father or promoting mobile phones in the guise of a young doctor. But if you were to see any production by Sample, the theater company Matsui founded in 2007, you'd be...
EDITORIALS
Sep 2, 2010

Habitat for military aircraft?

The Japanese and U.S. governments on Tuesday disclosed details of a technical report on a replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, now set in a crowded residential area of Ginowan in the central part of Okinawa Island. A 2006 Japan-U.S. accord called for building two, V-shaped...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2010

'Rakugo' pro crosses borders with humor

Humor, it is said, rarely crosses borders. Culture-specific references and ingrained social norms often mean jokes that leave audiences rolling in the aisles in the country of origin are greeted with puzzlement, incomprehension and even hostility when translated for foreign audiences.
COMMENTARY
Sep 1, 2010

Not China's coastal waters

Would someone please provide the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) spokesman with a map! Over the last few months, since it was rumored, then denied, and then confirmed that the George Washington aircraft carrier would be involved in naval "show of force" maneuvers off the west coast of South Korea,...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2010

Futenma replacement report leaves runway question open

Japan and the United States released a joint report Tuesday on construction details of the contentious relocation base for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa but without coming to an agreement on runway options.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL: KEYES' POINT
Sep 1, 2010

Believing the unbelievable causes goshin fears

The fat, ungainly kensatsukan (検察官, prosecutor) rises and, without speaking, niramu (にらむ, glares at) the hikokunin (被告人, defendant). For a fleeting instant the chinmoku (沈黙, silence) in the hōtei (法廷, courtroom) is so deep that when Reiko Keyes, one of the six saibanin (裁判員,...
EDITORIALS
Aug 31, 2010

Vote of no confidence in Australia

There is little for Australian politicians to be proud of as they contemplate the results of last month's parliamentary elections. The vote was almost perfectly divided, resulting in the first hung Parliament since 1940. At this point, the two major parties are courting the four independents to see who...
BUSINESS
Aug 31, 2010

BOJ ups bank-loan program; yen unfazed

Under growing pressure to act, the Bank of Japan announced Monday it will ease its monetary stance further by expanding a ¥20 trillion lending program to ¥30 trillion, aiming to lower short-term interest rates and curb the yen's rise against the dollar.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 30, 2010

Do you know Yucho?

Japan's post office launches a campaign to promote the convenience of opening postal savings accounts. City folk, too, might want to look into it.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Aug 30, 2010

Chinese labor strife frames larger fight over ideology

Since May, a number of factories in China have been hit by strikes and other forms of labor disputes, and an end seems to be nowhere in sight. Most of the plants targeted by the strikers are subsidiaries of overseas corporations. Especially hard hit have been the subsidiaries of Japanese companies, including...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 29, 2010

No country for millions of Canada geese

NEW YORK — The State of New York plans to "gas" or otherwise kill 170,000 Canada geese to reduce the number from 250,000 to 85,000.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 29, 2010

Tightened credit rules threaten to spawn 'loan refugees'

Japan may be in the midst of a silent epidemic of kinketsu-byo ("lack of money disease"). The source of the infection is a new statute that bans many borrowers from obtaining unsecured loans.
JAPAN / Q&A
Aug 28, 2010

Shedding light on death penalty

Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, who will probably be replaced next month because she lost her Diet seat in the July 11 Upper House election, allowed journalists for the first time Friday to enter the Tokyo Detention House's execution chamber.
JAPAN
Aug 28, 2010

Demand for autopsies reflects suspicions over causes of death

A vast majority of the public thinks more autopsies are necessary to determine if a death was due to foul play, according to a Cabinet Office crime survey released Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2010

Foreigners can vote for DPJ leader

As the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election nears, an interesting fact has surfaced regarding internal regulations on who gets to vote for the ruling party's leader — and effectively the prime minister.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2010

Downside of a yen haven

HONG KONG — Is the world economy about to enter the second part of a double dip, or is it merely bumping along the extended bottom of what will eventually be a U-shaped recovery, or is it a long L with no real upturn in sight? Or is there no clear pattern of who's up and who's down?

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