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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 20, 2009

New art council jumps right into the action

Two years: That's how long it took Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara to set up a new "arts council," extract from it a range of new policy ideas and get his staff to start putting them into action. It's not rocket-paced, but in a country famous for the slowness of its bureaucracy, it passes for commendable....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 20, 2009

Worst Taste: as stupid as they wanna be

"I like bands that are energetic and stupid. And with no sense of fashion. We hate fashionable bands whose music is no good."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 20, 2009

An exhibition's critical charge

"In Japan, the city consists of parts perfect in themselves, but lacking a sense of or connection to the whole," observes curator Shino Nomura while discussing the work of Swiss architectural firm Diener & Diener.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2009

Israel's resurgent right

It still is not clear who will be Israel's next prime minister, but the winner of last week's vote is plain: Israel's right will now pace the country's politics. The violence and insecurity of daily life pushed Israeli voters toward hardline solutions to national security. They have tired of promises...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2009

Bent Hamer nails another odd story

N orwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer is a generous man. At the end of our interview, while waiting for the next journalist to arrive, Hamer began putting together media kits that were piled up on a desk to be sorted out by the staff of his film's promotion company. Told not to bother, he kept at it with a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 20, 2009

Ego-Wrappin' and The Gossip of Jaxx "Ego-Wrappin' and The Gossip of Jaxx"

When Ego-Wrappin' performed on Asahi TV's "Music Station" show in July last year, singer Yoshie Nakano started their set by planting a kiss right on the camera lens, leaving a smudge of lipstick behind. It was the kind of insouciant gesture that the band do well: While their fusion of jazz, rock and...
CULTURE / Music
Feb 20, 2009

Ego-Wrappin' and The Gossip of Jaxx "Ego-Wrappin' and The Gossip of Jaxx"

When Ego-Wrappin' performed on Asahi TV's "Music Station" show in July last year, singer Yoshie Nakano started their set by planting a kiss right on the camera lens, leaving a smudge of lipstick behind. It was the kind of insouciant gesture that the band do well: While their fusion of jazz, rock and...
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2009

Nippon Life to up Principal stake

Nippon Life Insurance Co., Japan's biggest life insurer, plans to raise its stake in Principal Financial Group Inc. as it seeks expansion abroad, a source said Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2009

Nissan to tap European markets for cash

Nissan Motor Co., facing its first loss in nine years, plans to tap European capital markets, win government loans and sell real estate to maintain the cash it has on hand.
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2009

Building machinery shipments to dip

Factory shipments of construction machinery will probably fall 22 percent next fiscal year as a deepening recession prompts builders to halt projects, an industry group said Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 20, 2009

Asahi: Japan meets Jamaica: ital soba in Tokyo

What is it about handmade noodles, young chefs, minuscule restaurants and hard-to-find locations? Here's another highly idiosyncratic craft-noodle shop that opened recently, which is every bit as hard to find as Nemuri-an.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 20, 2009

Nemuri-an: Austere, obscure, entirely Japanese

At the recent Tokyo Taste World Gastronomy Summit, the super-chefs assembled at Tokyo International Forum paid fulsome homage to Japan and its influence on their own creative vision. Their well-honed, technologically enhanced presentations were leavened throughout with buzzwords such as dashi soup stock,...
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009

Kyoto got what it asked for

Regarding the Jan. 13 article "Respect 'maiko' privacy, don't act like paparazzi, Kyoto tells tourists": All of Kyoto has aggressively promoted tourism to the international community. The city.kyoto.jp Web site provides a pamphlet that dedicates two pages to the maiko (apprentice geisha), the same amount...
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009

Shuichi Kato will be missed

Regarding the Feb. 12 article "Pacifist, cultural critic Kato remembered": The day the honorable Dr. Shuichi Kato passed away was indeed a sad day for Japan. We have lost a very truthful man, a man of honor who saw wrong and tried to right it, who saw human suffering and tried to heal it, and who saw...
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009

Job cuts for amakudari crowd

Regarding the Feb. 10 article "The uphill battle against 'descent from heaven' ": While it is commendable that people in Japan are ready to condemn the amakudari practice of retiring bureaucrats and to do something about it, the measures recently proposed by the Aso administration will be ineffectual. ...
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009

Tokyo indeed is photogenic

Regarding the Feb. 13 article "Light moments in a drab metropolis": As a photographer who photographs not just the people of the city of Tokyo, but also the city itself, I must take issue with writer Marius Gombrich's suggestion that Tokyo is the most unphotogenic of cities.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2009

Tsang praises Japan tourism deals

Visiting Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang on Wednesday praised Japan for signing accords with Hong Kong to boost tourism and launch a working holiday system.
EDITORIALS
Feb 19, 2009

Ms. Clinton's view of Japan

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Tuesday and agreed that the Japan-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. She also met with Prime Minister Taro Aso and the Democratic Party of Japan chief Ichiro...
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2009

Fiscal hawk set for three big hats

Despite being a fiscal hawk, newly appointed Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano appears positive about taking additional measures to juice the economy.
Reader Mail
Feb 19, 2009

Harvard has yet to sell itself

Regarding the Feb. 5 article "Why can't Japanese kids get into Harvard?": The answer is that they are not interested. Harvard is difficult, expensive and far from Japan. Although there are many promising Japanese candidates for Harvard, they usually go to medical schools or to Tokyo University. Therefore,...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo