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Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 5, 2011

Harmonia Opera marks milestone

Emiko Iinuma's voice has a distinctive sugared drawl, a sweet residue from her early years as a student at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. It is more than the drawl that attracts — her voice dances, leaps across decades, travels up and down pitch, whispers hardship and rises in forthright determination....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2011

Geisha cuts into kimono market

Wearing a kimono can be a daunting task, where one must follow numerous steps and protocols steeped in tradition to prevent making a fool of oneself.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 2, 2011

English big business, and growing

When it comes to preparing for the April launch of compulsory English classes in elementary schools, the private sector appears to have a clear lead over public school teachers.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 1, 2011

Latest volcano show: Shinmoe

OSAKA — In late January, Mount Shinmoe, one of a cluster of volcanoes on a mountain range straddling Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, woke back up.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 1, 2011

Urawa's Petrovic draws inspiration from old friend

New Urawa Reds manager Zeljko Petrovic aims to emulate his friend and former international teammate Dragan Stojkovic by winning the J. League with the team he once played for — as long as the trigger-happy Saitama club has the patience to back him every step of the way.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 27, 2011

Indefensible costs of military one-upmanship

NEW YORK — I was recently surprised to learn that Singapore has 72,500 troops on active duty and plans to double the number of "combat-ready aircraft" to more than 200. It also plans to have 10 more submarines to add to the four it has today. Or so the Wall Street Journal reported ("Asia's New Arms...
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2011

Thriving arms industry

Global arms sales reached new heights, according to a recent report by a think tank in Sweden. Despite the global recession, the sales, both domestic and exports, of the world's most profitable arms-producing companies increased by nearly $15 billion from 2008 to 2009, reaching a total $400 billion in...
JAPAN / ELEMENTARY ENGLISH
Feb 26, 2011

Asian, European peers have big head start but success unquestioned

While all elementary schools in Japan are scheduled to start teaching English this April, other parts of Asia and Europe have been doing it for years.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 26, 2011

Committed to 'making it work' as foreign wife

Forty-five years spent living in the Kobe area as the American wife of a Japanese businessman must change a person. Yet Winnie Inui, 68, still welcomes visitors to her suburban home in Ashiya, Hyodo Prefecture, with a blanket of felicitous concern ("Enough tea, dear?") and a flair for storytelling that...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Feb 25, 2011

Hill's strategic use of Eaton paying off

For Tokyo Apache coach Bob Hill, the decision to move point guard Byron Eaton to a reserve role may turn out to be the smartest move he'll make this season.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 25, 2011

Delicious dishes that are fit for a princess

Makiko Itoh SPECIAL TO THE JAPAN TIMES March 3 is Hina Matsuri, also known as Girls' Festival or Momo no Sekku (Peach Day). This day was a traditional seasonal and religious event on the lunar calendar, during the period when peach blossoms were in bloom — around early April on the Gregorian calendar....
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2011

Softer touch with pandas

In October 1972, China sent two giant pandas — the male Kang Kang and the female Lan Lan — to Tokyo's Ueno Zoo to mark the normalization of the diplomatic ties between China and Japan. The bears, with their distinctive black and white markings, were a big hit with the Japanese public. On the first...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Feb 24, 2011

Tono set to recapture past glory on gridiron

A man once called a football "phenom" has risen once again.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Feb 24, 2011

Dr. Arihisa Fujimaki

Dr. Arihisa Fujimaki, 67, is the director of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) Hospital in Tokyo. An expert in reconstructive microsurgery, this orthopedic surgeon regularly performs operations to re-attach fingers, toes, hands and the occasional foot. Fujimaki is a hero to many, from construction...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2011

Egypt's economic future

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — For Egypt, the question of the day is whether the country will build an open, democratic political system or relapse into some form — new or old — of autocracy. But an equally important question — above all for Egyptians, but also for other developing countries (and for development...
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2011

'Morning after pill' approved

The health ministry approved Japan's first emergency contraceptive more than a decade after the so-called morning after drug debuted in Europe.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2011

Ueno Zoo's hopes up for panda cub

Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, where a pair of giant pandas have arrived from China, is already hoping for a newborn by summer.
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2011

Prospects of weakening yen seen aiding exports

NEW YORK — Prime Minister Naoto Kan's wish for a weaker yen is coming true as the strengthening global economy encourages Japanese investors to send more of their money overseas in search of higher yields.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 23, 2011

Aeon eyes China with Parco stake

Retailer Aeon Co. has bought a stake in department store operator Parco Co. as part of its plans to expand in Japan's urban areas and China.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 22, 2011

Latvian diplomat runs for closer ties

Latvian Ambassador Peteris Vaivars, 48, has been an avid marathon runner since he was posted to Japan five years ago. He has participated in the Tokyo Marathon for four consecutive years since the inaugural event in 2007 and is preparing for the fifth marathon to be held Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 22, 2011

NPO tax status threatened by Diet split

With the opposition camp trying to veto all budget-related bills in the divided Diet, the fate of legislation proposed by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government to enhance the tax-exempt status of nonprofit organizations is hanging in the air.
COMMENTARY
Feb 21, 2011

Swan dive into the strait dividing economic views

Since last April, I've been spending my weekdays in Hikone, a city of Shiga Prefecture located by Lake Biwa. One day, while driving to my university, I was surprised to find four black swans in the outer moat of Hikone Castle.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’