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Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

Video of murder suspect too late

I was completely underwhelmed by the March 19 article " 'Wanted' video to go up on Web site," which stated that the Japanese police have just posted a video on their Web site relating to the suspect in the murder of 22-year-old Briton Lindsay Ann Hawker -- a whole year after the murder.
EDITORIALS
Mar 23, 2008

Five years on in Iraq

Five years ago the United States led an international coalition of forces into Iraq to overthrow the government of Saddam Hussein. If the goal of that effort was merely the replacement of the government in Baghdad, Operation Iraqi Freedom succeeded.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / NATURE TRAVEL
Mar 23, 2008

Namibia's no man's land

A trek through the vast Sperrgebiet wilderness that will soon be opened to tourism reveals an abundance of flora and fauna, mountains, meteorite craters, pristine beaches, isles with names like Roast Beef Island — and swarms of killer bees.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 23, 2008

You'd have to be drunk to be fooled by Japan's booze commercials

A few weeks ago the Asahi Shimbun printed a letter from a 59-year-old man who complained about a TV commercial for Kirin's Tanrei, one of those beerlike beverages known as happoshu. In the spot, world-famous alpinist Ken Noguchi is seen climbing a mountain, the Gipsy Kings howling away on the soundtrack....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 23, 2008

Motorsport leads the drive to greener cars

The idea of "environmentally friendly racing" might sound oxymoronic, but "greener" motorsport isn't something that's on its way — it's already here.
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

Next-generation energy technologies

We all can agree that the world economy has entered unchartered territories. We also know that one of the largest problems facing the world, including Japan, is the carbon dioxide dilemma. Now is the time for the government to promote energy independence and a platform for Japan to increase its global...
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

Spratly accord no cause to relax

The recent tripartite agreement between China, Vietnam and the Philippines for joint exploration of the Spratlys in the South China Sea should be a concern to all of Asia. The agreement is a breach of political solidarity with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose influence has...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 23, 2008

Ortiz, Youkilis spark BoSox past pesky Tigers

The Boston Red Sox came to Japan to give their Japanese fans a good show and they didn't disappoint. But neither did the Hanshin Tigers.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 23, 2008

Plenty of promise here for the boys

Although Japan Fashion Week doesn't exactly overload on men's fashion, with only a handful of quality designers showing this season, the outlook from the '08-'09 Autumn / Winter Collection is generally positive.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 23, 2008

Astute teenage detective in a thriller for grownups

THE DEVIL'S WHISPER (Majutsu wa Sasayaku) by Miyuki Miyabe, translated by Deborah Stuhr Iwabuchi. Kodansha International, 2008, 250 pp., ¥2,600 (cloth) In ancient Greek tragedies, hopeless predicaments were often resolved through on-the-spot intervention of the gods — or rather actors playing gods...
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

Challenge of green behavior

I am a first-year junior high school student. Recently our class had to write a science project about ways to help the environment. Then we each made a presentation. Many people talked about good ideas, like using our own bags when we go shopping, not leaving taps running, and walking or using bikes...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 23, 2008

The drama of man-and-animal stories, Japan's first bone-marrow bank, and baseball batteries

Few people can resist the dramatic pull of stories that explore the emotional nexus between people and animals.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 23, 2008

Japanese ballplayers relish chance to test skills against MLB competition

Playing against the World Series champions apparently didn't impress Hanshin Tigers outfielder Ikuro Katsuragi too much late Saturday morning.
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

PAS influence in Malaysian state

The March 15 editorial, "Mr. Abdullah is battered," states that a "confident (Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi) called an early election, and there was even speculation that the National Front would make inroads in Penang, the one state controlled by PAS, the Islamist opposition party."
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 23, 2008

A stunner!

Tensions were higher than usual at GVGV's show last Saturday night that closed this Tokyo Fashion Week, as the nine-year veteran brand presented a stunning collection on a specially made shiny vinyl runway.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 23, 2008

What the world has to say . . .

"In Japan's short history of contact with Western fashion, we have lacked a 'bourgeois vs. high society' tension to portray in this showmanship world of fashion. Instead, most of the grandeur has come from the street." — Naoko Hasegawa, VP of Chang Co., Ltd. Apparel Company
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 23, 2008

Utamaro, the women's brand name

UTAMARO AND THE SPECTACLE OF BEAUTY by Julie Nelson Davis. London: Reaktion Books, 2008, 269 pp., 114 illustrations, 66 color plates. £35 (cloth) Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) is widely known as one of the most creative and influential artists of the ukiyo-e, those "pictures of the floating world" that...
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

Old cliche about sensitivities

I was surprised that Alice Gordenker, in her March 18 "So, what the heck is that?" column, used a classic Nihonjinron cliche to explain why bells are popular in Japan. She quotes professor Tomiko Kojima of the National Museum of Japanese History as saying: "If you consider that most people were engaged...
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 23, 2008

Oh what an extravaganza

Even the heavens were smiling on Tokyo Girls Collection. Balmy 19-degree temperatures — the year's highest up until then — provided the perfect setting last Saturday for the Spring/Summer edition of this hugely popular fashion-show-cum-showbiz extravaganza, allowing most of the 22,000 teenage and...
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

Easier to live with German controls

While I fully agree with most of Dieter Metzger's comments in his March 16 letter, "Living with Japanese controls," I would like to straighten out a few errors concerning German procedures:
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 23, 2008

Tokyo's thrilling new fashion feast

With an improved turnout and more labels on the runways, last week's Japan Fashion Week '08-'09 Autumn / Winter Collection was, on paper, a near- soaraway success.
Reader Mail
Mar 23, 2008

No selective approach to terrorism

It is regrettable that The Japan Times chose to reprint The Washington Post article "A rocky terrain for Kurdish guerrillas" for the March 20 Focus page. The article is misguided and misleading in many ways. It only serves to legitimize and even attempts to glorify an organization that has been recognized...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear