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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 6, 2012

A postcard from Kauai's 'South Pacific' paradise

Those who know me know I tend to pick up and go quite easily, as the travel bug has never loosened its hold. This time, I've made the ultimate getaway to paradise to escape my regular routine of work and college. I'm talking about Kauai, Hawaii.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 6, 2012

Weeklies take a look at faiths, (misplaced) hopes and charities

Which religious groups were most successful in raising funds for earthquake victims in the devastated parts of Tohoku? In its Golden Week double issue, Flash (May 8-15) ran an article about the heretofore unreported nexus between last year's disaster and religion. The most generous donor by far, which...
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 6, 2012

Small fry spawn big dreams

The Shinano, at 374 km the country's longest river, empties into the Sea of Japan at Niigata City. Salmon still migrate back from the open ocean to this river of their birth to breed and die, but a few decades ago they would arrive to spawn not only in the main river but also in its many tributaries,...
JAPAN
May 5, 2012

Groups fight to keep foreign fish at bay

Looking at black bass and bluegill caught fresh at Inokashira Park, Toshiaki Tanaka sighed with satisfaction at catching some of the nonnative species plaguing its picturesque pond. But at the same time, he said he was frustrated knowing that alien species remain firmly entrenched there despite the five...
SOCCER / J. League
May 4, 2012

Frontale hold off Jubilo

Kawasaki Frontale overcame a nervy finish to beat Jubilo Iwata 4-3 and give manager Yahiro Kazama his first win in charge on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 4, 2012

Monkeying around on the stage

Britain's longest-serving theater critic, Michael Billington of The Guardian newspaper, is famous for not lavishing praise on his subjects easily or often.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 3, 2012

Signed, sealed and delivered: Paul Smith's stamp collection

His creations are more commonly found paraded on fashion catwalks or on hangers in boutiques around the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 3, 2012

Kyte promise new songs, special treat for fans at upcoming gig

The music of indie-pop group Kyte may be created in a bedroom in Leicester, England, but the band says its spacious and electronic sound seems to resonate best with audiences in Japan.
CULTURE / Music
May 3, 2012

Avengers in Sci-Fi "Disc 4 The Seasons"

Avengers in Sci-Fi have graced the stages of large-scale local festivals such as Fuji Rock, Summer Sonic and Rock in Japan. The band have also performed at Texas' South by Southwest (SXSW) festival as part of the Japan Nite lineup, and earlier this year they toured Taiwan with fellow Japanese talents...
JAPAN
May 2, 2012

Fatigue problem for bus drivers: poll

Years before Sunday's fatal highway bus crash in Gunma Prefecture killed seven, a survey conducted by the internal affairs ministry illustrated that the sector was not immune to severe accidents, especially if drivers are fatigued.
COMMENTARY / World
May 2, 2012

Let grassroots exchange inspire reconstruction

Korean youth culture is all the rage in Southeast Asia. In January, the leading Indonesian newspaper Kompas published a front-page article on Korean culture titled: "Korean Pop Culture Launches Itself on the World."
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2012

Is it an Arab spring for new borders?

Two things stand out in the Middle East since the Arab Spring began — one that happened, and one that did not. What happened was that for the first time in modern Arab history, authoritarian regimes and rulers were toppled, or seriously challenged, by popular demonstrations, not — as in the past...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Apr 30, 2012

Past experiences help Falkenborg thrive in new role

Brian Falkenborg stepped out of the dugout shadows and into the sunlight at QVC Marine Stadium and said he didn't expect it to be as warm as it was.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 30, 2012

Urban safari in the concrete jungle reveals Tokyo wildlife

Tokyo is a city of many things, but "nature"? Not exactly a word that most associate with the metropolis. When it comes to the city's animal life, most Tokyoites think meiwaku dōbutsu (迷惑動物, pests) rather than yasei-dōbutsu (野生動物, wildlife), associating animal encounters with mischievous...
Reader Mail
Apr 29, 2012

Dogma gets in the way of joke

After enduring Sarah Mulvey's righteously indignant April 22 letter, "Disheartening stereotyped role," I decided to reread Thomas Dillon's April 7 column, "Texting in the proper context," to see what inspired Mulvey's diatribe. Dillon made no sweeping generalizations about all Japanese women. Mulvey...
Reader Mail
Apr 29, 2012

Ground and waterway radiation

Regarding the April 24 Jiji article "Fukushima air to stay radioactive in 2022": This type of reporting is valuable. The radiation content in the air near Fukushima will remain dangerous. Other things that need to be discussed is the amount of radiation in the ground and in the waterways of Japan.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Apr 28, 2012

Manchester derby for all the marbles

Since Manchester City became potentially the richest club in the world following their takeover by the Abu Dhabi-based business group, each time it plays Manchester United these days it is billed as "the biggest derby ever."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2012

'Last Night (Japan Title: Koi to Ai no Hakarikata'

You know how it goes: An attractive married couple go out to a party one night wreathed in smiles but return some hours later in stony silence. The shot of the two of them in bed, backs turned toward each other and mutual profiles radiating dissatisfaction in the dark as sirens blare from the street,...
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2012

Private accounts and retirement

It was a pleasure to read Sarah Moreno's April 19 letter "'Sink or swim' ethic in America." She is 100 percent correct that the federal government abuses Social Security funds and that Americans are skeptical of government-run social welfare programs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2012

The strangely beautiful art of Chen Man

Echoing the Pan-Asian theme of this year's Art Fair Tokyo, which was held earlier this month, Shibuya's shop-based Diesel Gallery is hosting a free exhibition of the visually striking work of Chen Man, a young Chinese artist.
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2012

The strangely beautiful art of Chen Man

Echoing the Pan-Asian theme of this year's Art Fair Tokyo, which was held earlier this month, Shibuya's shop-based Diesel Gallery is hosting a free exhibition of the visually striking work of Chen Man, a young Chinese artist.
COMMENTARY
Apr 25, 2012

What happens to world's economy if Spain fails?

Just when you thought the world economy might be improving, along comes Spain. It's Europe's next economic domino, struggling to cope with big budget deficits, massive unemployment and an angry public. Will it fail — and, if so, with what consequences?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 24, 2012

Yahoo Japan: Same name, very different company

Although they have similar names and operate Web portals with a variety of services, Yahoo Japan Corp. is in many ways a very different company from Yahoo Inc.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 23, 2012

Consumption tax fiasco magnified by absence of financial fundamentals

To paraphrase Winston Churchill's all too famous words at the time of the Battle of Britain: "Never in the field of economic policy has so little been achieved by so many hours wasted by so many lawmakers." The outcome of the debate over Japan's consumption tax would surely extract a quote to surpass...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Apr 23, 2012

Land grabs raise security issues

A foreign-capital property buying spree that has extended to areas in and around facilities of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the American armed forces could pose a threat to Japan's security.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 22, 2012

The weeklies need to expand their worldview

Japan cuts the world down to size. Thumb through the popular weekly news magazines to get the idea. The weeklies pride themselves on broader, bolder, feistier coverage than the daily press typically musters. All the same, theirs is a small, shrunken world. It consists of four countries: Japan, the United...

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