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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / ART BRIEF
Jun 11, 2010

'Yoshitomo Nara: ceramic works'

Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2010

From pretty-boy star to grizzled veteran

HOLLYWOOD — "My next movie is a sequel to the one I did where I play a guy trapped inside a video game," says Jeff Bridges, veteran of over 60 films.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 11, 2010

The Drums

Leading the way for a generation of American groups that are more indebted to the sounds of the U.K. than anything on their own doorstep, The Drums arrive for their first Japanese tour riding on a wave of incessant hype.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2010

Can Kan revive Japan?

HONG KONG — Naoto Kan, Japan's new prime minister, pledged to make the country's sickly economy his first priority and to pull Japan from its "quagmire of an ever- bulging debt." But that is easier said than done. It is not merely a question of when to stop the government stimulus and where to put...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jun 10, 2010

Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani

Toru Iwatani, 55, is the designer of Pac-Man, the classic video game that virtually kick-started the world market for the video-gaming industry. Released by Namco in Tokyo on May 22, 1980, Pac-Man made history as the first video game that appealed to both genders and to all age groups. Idea-man Iwatani,...
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 9, 2010

'Freshness' of Cabinet faces voter scrutiny

The Democratic Party of Japan was quick to see in weekend opinion polls a reversal in its sagging fortunes after Naoto Kan was voted in as its president. The new prime minister has formed a Cabinet whose ranks include opponents to scandal-tainted DPJ strongman Ichiro Ozawa, who quit as secretary general...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 9, 2010

Sakakibara says euro headed for parity with dollar

The euro may lose 20 percent or more against the dollar and fall below ¥100 as concern over Europe's debt crisis mounts, according to Eisuke Sakakibara, the former Finance Ministry official known as "Mr. Yen."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Jun 8, 2010

Divorcing couples seek solace in ring-smashing ceremonies

Who says a divorce isn't a reason to celebrate? A ring-smashing ceremony may be planting the seeds of a new tradition.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2010

It'd be wise to think about Japan

HONG KONG — U.S. President Barack Obama has so many things on his plate — including a spreading oil spill that threatens America's fisheries and wildlife, Democratic Party prospects in the midterm elections, the jobless recovery, repercussions of the financial crisis, relentless war in Afghanistan,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Jun 8, 2010

What do you think of the decision to move the U.S. Futenma base to Henoko in the north of Okinawa?

COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 8, 2010

Readers weigh in on U.S. military presence

Fear of breaking taboo During my 31 years in Japan I have appreciated The Japan Times' coverage of social issues such as discrimination against ethic and social minorities, which the vernacular papers give only passing mention to.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 6, 2010

The timing behind yakuza crackdown

The media has been filled with revelations of ties between professional sumo and organized crime. Since late May, the tabloids and gossipy "wide shows" on TV have made a huge flap over Sehei Kimura and one other stable master for allowing senior gang members to obtain box-seat tickets to the Nagoya Grand...
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2010

New Prime Minister Kan to 'rebuild trust'

Naoto Kan was voted in as prime minister by the Diet on Friday, shortly after the ruling Democratic Party of Japan elected him as its new president.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 4, 2010

'Entre les murs'

Times may have changed, but a few things remain stolidly the same — and one of them is the middle- school classroom. Whatever else is happening out there, the classroom continues to pack a bunch of teenagers into a confined space, prop a teacher at the head of the room, and shut the door hoping for...
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2010

Voters mixed over sudden resignation

Voters interviewed Wednesday by The Japan Times on the streets of Tokyo and Osaka had mixed reactions about the resignation of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, speculating the ruling Democratic Party of Japan was growing deeply worried about next month's Upper House election.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2010

Hatoyama quits as prime minister

Ending a turbulent eight months in office, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Wednesday he will step down to take the blame for his Cabinet's plunging approval rate, brought on by funds scandals and the row over relocating a U.S. base in Okinawa.
JAPAN / BOOSTING THE BIRTHRATE
Jun 2, 2010

Parental leave still finds dads in huge minority

Masato Yamada was a typical bureaucrat. He worked late, usually missing the last train home, and sometimes put in all-nighters. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the demanding job.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 1, 2010

Japanese Twitter marketing campaigns make some noise

New followers line up for the next creative Twitter campaign. Where will the tweeting flocks fly next?
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jun 1, 2010

Futenma is undermining Japanese democracy

Times are tough for the Hatoyama Cabinet. It's had to backtrack on several campaign promises. Its approval ratings have plummeted to around 20 percent. And that old bone of contention — what to do about American military bases on Japanese soil — has resurfaced again.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 1, 2010

Gunma city does battle with beards

I would like to draw readers' attention to the outstanding work of the municipal government of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. After receiving complaints that citizens find bearded men unpleasant, Isesaki — just as all levels of Japanese government often do — took decisive action to address an important...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
May 31, 2010

Greece's implications for Japan: the need to clarify the public debt

The storm that is the Greek debt problem continues to rage through the global markets. In an emergency meeting May 2, the finance ministers of the European Union agreed to work with the International Monetary Fund to provide 110 billion euro in loans to Greece over three years. The first batch was provided...
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2010

Futenma outcome disappoints

In a joint statement Friday, the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the United States declared that the replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, will be relocated to the Henoko area of Camp Schwab and adjacent waters in Nago, the northern part of Okinawa Island....
Reader Mail
May 30, 2010

How low should population go?

I appreciate the spirit in which Jeff Huffman wrote his May 16 letter, "Japan will become more livable." But Huffman seems to make some big claims without providing facts to back them up. He says that Japan, in relation to its usable land mass and resources, is probably overpopulated "by 25 million to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 28, 2010

Sober approach pays dividends for these puritans

Jack Barnett, the scrawny, intense singer/songwriter with English post-art rockers These New Puritans, is stood on a rest area off a German autobahn on his way to Freiburg. This can be an unedifying business at the best of times, but the banality of the situation seems a world away from the sonic sorcery...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 28, 2010

The goddesses are protecting Araki

"Is my shirt OK?" asks Nobuyoshi Araki as he straightens it to give me a good view. "I looked through my things, but this was the most newspaper-appropriate one I could find."
JAPAN
May 27, 2010

SDP walks a tightrope as it flirts with leaving coalition

When Mizuho Fukushima was re-elected president of the Social Democratic Party in December, she promised to pull the SDP out of the ruling coalition if the Futenma air base was relocated within Okinawa, as called for in a 2006 agreement with the United States.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 27, 2010

Okada's moment of weakness sets worst possible example

Whether Takeshi Okada's offer to resign as national team manager immediately after this week's defeat to South Korea was serious or merely a gesture of apology, the effect is still the same: The growing sense that Japan is heading for World Cup humiliation has now been endorsed by the team's own leader....

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