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CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 12, 2008

TV "champions" return, and Kamiji the clown takes on a drama

Yusuke Kamiji, the chief representative of the currently hot baka tarento (dumb TV personality) trend, lands his first starring role in a comedy series as one of the title characters of "Serebu to Binbo Taro" (The Celebrity and Poor Taro; Fuji, Tues., 9 p.m.).
Reader Mail
Oct 12, 2008

Enjoying Japan under any name

Regarding Yu Sato's Sept. 28 letter, "No offense intended to 'gaijin' ": I have been to Japan only once (I am going again in November), and I can honestly say that I have never been treated with more courtesy by anyone. The word "gaijin" (foreigner) doesn't bother me. I've been called worse by my own...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 12, 2008

Sexy, dirty surrealism in the heart of Tokyo

LALA PIPO by Hideo Okuda, translated by Marc Adler, New York: Vertical, Inc., 2008, 288 pp., $14.95 (paper) Their recent list of contemporary Japanese fiction, nonfiction and graphic novels is making those Japanophiles at the New York publishing house Vertical Inc. Nihon otaku among Western publishing...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Oct 12, 2008

Lamborghini's Gallardo: Italian flair meets German engineering

You could say that I am extremely sensitive to certain types of sound, especially those that fill you with awe and cause goose bumps. Every time I hear tenor sensation Luciano Pavarotti sing the last climactic note in "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera "Turandot," the hairs on the back of my neck stand...
EDITORIALS
Oct 12, 2008

Refugees in Japan

This year the number of applicants for refugee status in Japan has increased to its highest level ever — nearly 1,000 people — according to the Japan Association for Refugees. This indicates an improving system and an expanding view of how to handle refugees coming to Japan. Last summer the government...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Oct 12, 2008

Lack-of-rage rage is all the rage in apathetically raging Japan

A few weeks ago a Sydney radio station held a phone-in about rage. I was floored as I sat and listened to the people who called in to vent some spleen.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 12, 2008

Ryu Murakami mistakes consumption for labor

A friend used to call TV Tokyo the "ramen and golf channel." He was referring to the station's penchant for programming centered on food shows and sponsored sports events, which don't cost as much to produce as drama series or celebrity- laden variety shows. However, the station's tightwad image was...
Japan Times
Features
Oct 12, 2008

1,000 years of 'Genji'

"Genji Monogatari," known as "The Tale of Genji" in English, is believed by many scholars to be the first full-length novel in world literature. Marking the 1,000th anniversary since its creation, today's Timeout introduces this masterpiece that draws readers into a beautiful world gone by full of passion,...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Oct 12, 2008

The Tale of Genji: Words of wonder

Western readers were first exposed to the wonders of "The Tale of Genji" when Kencho Suematsu, a graduate of Cambridge University in England, published his translation of the first 17 of its 54 chapters in London in 1882, according to the renowned scholar of Japanese literature Donald Keene.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 12, 2008

In territory and war, it's hard to apologize

TROUBLED APOLOGIES AMONG JAPAN, KOREA AND THE UNITED STATES by Alexis Dudden. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008, 167 pp., $40 (cloth) Alexis Dudden engagingly explores how the nexus of politics, war memory and apology shapes contemporary trilateral relations between Korea, Japan and the United...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 12, 2008

Murasaki Shikibu glimpsed behind the screens of time

"Genius" is one of those overused words, but few would argue that it is rightly applied to Murasaki Shikibu, whose book "The Tale of Genji" is not only the world's first novel, but is a work that has delighted and perhaps even guided countless millions of people in the 1,000 years since she wrote it....
BASKETBALL
Oct 11, 2008

Goya eager to make positive impact for Evessa

Point guard Takanori Goya was the No. 1 pick in the bj-league's 2006 draft. After two losing seasons, he was traded to the Osaka Evessa.
BASKETBALL
Oct 11, 2008

Evessa begin quest for fourth straight championship

A year ago, Osaka Evessa fans, opponents and media members shared a common inquiry: Will Kensaku Tennichi's team complete its quest for a three-peat?
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Oct 11, 2008

Washington confident about Evessa's lineup

Lynn Washington is ready to make a major proclamation.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2008

Combating the piracy plague

SINGAPORE — The confrontation between foreign warships and well-armed pirates off the coast of lawless Somalia is a dramatic reminder to Asia of the importance of safeguarding busy channels used by international shipping.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Oct 11, 2008

Rizing aim for successful second season

The expansion Rizing Fukuoka defied the odds last season, winning eight of 11 games, including a wild-card upset triumph over the host Takamatsu Five Arrows, to advance to the playoff semifinals.
BUSINESS
Oct 11, 2008

Yamato Life customers to get help

Yamato Life Insurance Co.'s decision to file for bankruptcy protection sent shock waves throughout the industry Friday as it became the first major victim in Japan of the global financial crisis.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 11, 2008

Racist abuse continues to poison beautiful game

LONDON — Rio Ferdinand this week hit out at the inadequate punishment that one of world football's most respected authorities handed out for racist behavior.

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