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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2012

Communion with the spirits of wood

When you first encounter the sculptures of Koji Tanada, you might get the initial impression that he's being facetious or whimsical, and assume that his sculptures are all part of an elaborate practical joke, designed to drive home some droll but not very profound point. And why not? After all, this...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 6, 2012

Startup: Add risk, cash, entrepreneur

Softbank Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son took the world by surprise last month by announcing a $20 billion buyout of U.S.-based Sprint Nextel Corp. In 1980, his startup firm was a two-man computer wholesaler. Now through vigorous mergers and acquisitions it's angling to be the world's third-largest telecommunications...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 6, 2012

If bully Ishihara wants one last stand, bring it on

On Oct. 25, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced his resignation from office. He now plans to stand for election to the Diet as head of a new conservative party. He suggested political alliances with other conservative reactionaries and xenophobes, including Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto and Tachiagare...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Nov 6, 2012

Danchi housing lets you think outside the usual box

Japanese housing experts have a list of casual terms to describe the layouts of apartments and condominiums: kamaboko (fish paste), yokan-giri (sliced bean jelly), ta no ji (rice paddy ideograph) and chocolate bars. What these terms have in common is geometrical utility. All are rectangles that can be...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Nov 6, 2012

Violin maker brings traditions of Italian masters to Tokyo

Born in Nebraska, Louis Caporale started playing the violin at the age of 4. By 14 he was building violins. At 18, he was the youngest student enrolled at the Chicago School of Violin Making.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / JAPAN-U.S. SEMINAR
Nov 3, 2012

U.S. needs Japan to remain nuclear, expert says

A "zero-nuclear" Japan will be a serious concern for the United States as its key ally both from economic and security standpoints, the chief of an influential U.S. think tank said at a recent seminar on Japan-U.S. relations.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 3, 2012

Time stands still on Amami Oshima

We had already been on Amami Oshima for a week waiting for Typhoon No. 21 to pass. But the typhoon was meandering around the Pacific like a drunken sailor, zigzagging a path north-west, once making a U-turn then righting itself, and another time its path taking a complete pirouette.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2012

Female diplomat has rare work-life balance

Hikariko Ono has always been a survivor in Japan's male-dominated society.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 2, 2012

Kamachiku: Redbrick storehouse as classic as the noodles

For a food with such a long and venerable history, udon gets surprisingly short shrift in Tokyo. Sure, it's not hard to find these long, chunky, white wheat noodles.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 2, 2012

Gunma fires Hayashi, names Blackwell new coach

The winless Gunma Crane Thunders, who have been handed 35-, 38- and 43-point losses, fired original coach Tadashi Hayashi and named Ryan Blackwell his successor, the Eastern Conference squad announced Thursday.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 2, 2012

Giants crush Fighters, take 3-2 lead in Japan Series

John Bowker kept his torrid postseason run going, and Tetsuya Utsumi turned in another ace-worthy performance in game that was far more eventful than even the lopsided final score suggested.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 2, 2012

Kuriyama's handling of pitching staff pays off

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Hideki Kuriyama faced the type of decision that can decide championships during Game 4 of the Japan Series.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 1, 2012

Fighters even Japan Series 2-2 with win in 12th

Through out after out and missed opportunity after missed opportunity, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' resolve never wavered.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 1, 2012

Res Artis plots a path for future art residencies

The 1990s saw a tremendous emphasis, continuing through to today, on artist residency programs, run by museums and galleries, educational establishments or independent foundations and organizations.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Oct 30, 2012

Taiji hunts continue to anger, confound readers

Readers' responses received to the Sept. 11 Hotline to Nagatacho column, "Stop the annual Taiji dolphin massacre, make your children proud" by Deb Bowen-Saunders, and letters published on this subject on Oct. 9 ("Call to stop dolphin hunt in Taiji makes waves," Have Your Say):
Reader Mail
Oct 28, 2012

More views on gun control

Regarding the Oct. 22 article "Hattori's mom appeals for wider U.S. gun control effort," as a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association and a certified pistol and personal protection instructor, I would like to comment on this matter.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 28, 2012

Is poetry lost or found in translation?

BRIGHT MOON, WHITE CLOUDS: Selected Poems of Li Po, edited and translated by J.P. Seaton. Shambhala, 2012, 224 pp., $14.95 (paperback) KANEKO TOHTA: Selected Haiku 1937-1960, translated by The Kon Nichi Translation Group. Red Moon Press, 2012, 256 pp., $12.00 (paperback) Two books of poetry, both pocket-size,...
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 28, 2012

Fashion Week Tokyo powers ahead

From start to finish, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo's 2013 spring/summer collections hit new heights, literally, as the catwalk parades were staged way up in the event's new home at the Hikarie shopping tower in city center Shibuya.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Oct 28, 2012

Seeking out what's in store for Kuramae

Back when Tokyo was Edo and Tokugawa shoguns ruled the land (1603-1867), the burgeoning city's most vital staple, rice, was protected in kura (storage houses) along the right bank of the Sumida River. Then, by the simple expedient of adding mae (in front of) to "kura," the area facing the white-washed,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2012

Festival/Tokyo theater event to give Asia a starring role

Japan has been on a bit of a losing streak for a while now. In 2010, it was overtaken as the world's second-largest economy by China, and in 2011 the nation was rocked by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear crisis.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Oct 26, 2012

Women — the essential B-kyū ingredient

Reader Mail
Oct 25, 2012

When in Japan, learn Japanese

Regarding Akky Akimoto's Oct. 17 article, "Apple should team up with local companies to solve Maps dilemma": While I fully agree that Apple should have tested the Japanese maps better, and should customize their options more, the article mentions the fact that many available apps that are more Japan-specific...
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 25, 2012

Relegation fears cast long shadow over struggling sides

Another weekend of mixed results has left this year's J. League championship race as opaque as ever, but after further movement at the bottom of the table, the relegation battle is looking even harder to call.
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Oct 24, 2012

Giants rose to the occasion

For three consecutive nights, the Yomiuri Giants lived life on the edge.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Oct 23, 2012

Samurai-armor restorers Chizuru and Fumio Nishioka

Chizuru, 58, and Fumio Nishioka, 59, are samurai-armor restorers. Among the handful of such specialists in Japan, they are the only ones who use the same techniques as artisans historically did in the past. Whether 900 or 150 years old, a samurai's armor reveals its history through its layers of skilled...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Oct 23, 2012

Think 'white South Africa,' not 'Black Ships'; in unions' defense

Japan must play by the rules Re: Edward Moreno's letter "Bring back the Black Ships?" (Have Your Say, Oct. 2) in response to "Our mixed-race children deserve better than this, so why bother with Japan?" by Colin P.A. Jones (Zeit Gist, Sept. 4):
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 23, 2012

Leadership development meeting draws Girl Scouts from around world

No matter what nationality you are, it's likely that several times in your life you have come across a Boy Scout or a Girl Scout dressed in that unique uniform — be it a friend or someone else from the community.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Oct 22, 2012

No nation can afford to act like an island in Asia's globalized age

Japan is having trouble keeping up a cordial relationship with its next door neighbors. Long dormant territorial disputes have suddenly come to the fore. Who owns what from when and why? Who can claim legal ownership? Who is in actual control? Arcane issues have suddenly become hot topics of the moment...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 21, 2012

Enka scandal keeps star in the news

The conflict between Japan and South Korea over Takeshima/Dokdo has spilled over into the entertainment realm. Some Korean actors and K-pop stars have stated publicly that the group of islets belongs to Korea, causing Masayuki Matsumoto, the president of NHK, to express concern. Last month he hinted...
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 20, 2012

Experiences put game in perspective for Umesaki

Urawa Reds will be disappointed if their pursuit of this season's J. League title comes to nothing, but attacking midfielder Tsukasa Umesaki has survived enough setbacks in his career to know that the bad times can be just as important as the good.

Longform

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped