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COMMENTARY
Mar 21, 2008

Tibet and Olympic Games

Events in Tibet have turned ugly. Once again we see the harm caused by Beijing's heavy-handed bureaucracy, and its panicky, untrained soldiers used for crowd control. But even when combined with all of Beijing's other alleged sins — Darfur, pollution, human rights and other issues — does Tibet justify...
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 21, 2008

Albirex looking to continue dominance of Apache in key series

This weekend marks the Niigata Albirex BB's first trip to Ariake Colosseum during the 2007-08 season.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2008

Deterrence fails in a prison with no key

PRINCETON, New Jersey — Every day in the Gaza Strip, strategic deterrence — the inhibition of attack by fear of punishment from superior military power — is being put to the test. The escalating spiral of violence by Israel and Gazan militants indicates not only that deterrence is failing, but...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2008

Alice Cooper's psycho vaudeville

Alice Cooper, veteran rock star and all-around showbiz maven, is on the phone from Melbourne, Australia, where he plays two concerts before continuing on to New Zealand and then Japan. The singer promises that his Psycho Drama tour contains "all the hits," as well as the stage theatrics he's notorious...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 21, 2008

Kaneko, LaRocca lead Buffaloes to season-opening victory

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — Chihiro Kaneko couldn't believe he was going to start the Orix Buffaloes' first game of the season. On Thursday, he made believers out of the Seibu Lions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 21, 2008

Then there were ghosts

Uraga Station, on the Keikyu Line, deposits passengers at the end of a narrow valley. The road ahead bifurcates.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 21, 2008

Setagaya theater brings kyogen forward

Mansai Nomura is the leading star of kyogen (Japan's traditional comedy theater), but this 41-year-old who made his stage debut at age 3 has several other artistic faces, having acted in films, TV dramas and in contemporary theater dramas, too.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 21, 2008

Folk music lights traditional tales

Takeharu Kunimoto's entry into the music world was via the mandolin, which he took up in 1974 while he was still in junior high school. But it wasn't the lure of traditional European tunes that attracted him to the ancient instrument; it was the twangy rhythms of the blues- and jazz-fusion American...
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2008

Bank of Japan without a governor

The Upper House led by the Democratic Party of Japan has rejected the nomination of Mr. Koji Tanami, governor of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, as the next chief of the Bank of Japan. Appointments at the BOJ leadership require approval of both houses of the Diet. The rejection Wednesday...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2008

'Memo'

Some directors put their own neuroses on the screen, with attitudes ranging from the dramatically self-lacerating (Ingmar Bergman) to the comically self-deprecating (Woody Allen). Where actor-turned-director Jiro Sato departs from the messed-up norm in "Memo," his first feature film, is in the rawness...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2008

'Jellyfish'

War and its implications are the first things one tends to associate with Israeli cinema, perhaps because those kind of films are the ones that make it to the film festivals and get international releases (most notable are the works of director Amos Gitai).
EDITORIALS
Mar 21, 2008

Top court buries a skeleton

The Supreme Court on March 14 dismissed, on the strength of a legal technicality, a request to retry five deceased journalists convicted of promoting communism during the Pacific War years. The five had been convicted in the "Yokohama Incident," regarded as the worst case of free-speech suppression during...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 21, 2008

Cherry blossom afternoon tea at Tokyo's top hotels

Cheery cherry blossom time With 14 types of sakura (cherry blossom) in its garden, there are probably few better places for a sakura fair than the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinzan-so.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 21, 2008

'My Blueberry Nights'

What in the world has happened to Wong Kar-wai? The freshest, most effortlessly cool man in cinema since the mid-1990s, Wong seems to be floundering at the moment. For a director whose style once seemed all about being free, off-the-cuff, jammed out, and playful, his most recent flicks show every sign...
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 21, 2008

Leandro's early strike prolongs misery for Reds, new coach

Urawa Reds' early season nightmare continued on Thursday as Vissel Kobe claimed a 1-0 Nabisco Cup win in new Reds manager Gert Engels' first match in charge. Leandro's third-minute strike was enough to send the J. League's biggest club crashing to its third defeat in three games, setting the seal on...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Mar 21, 2008

Bura Bura Ban Ban

Director: Yohka Kusano
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / MY PLAYLIST
Mar 21, 2008

MY PLAYLIST: Cornelius

Keigo Oyamada stopped writing hits a long time ago. Not playing the pop star suits him just fine. It gives Oyamada — formerly of Flipper's Guitar but better known since 1993 as avant-pop boffin Cornelius — more time to indulge his multimedia fantasies to the full, as captured on two new DVDs released...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2008

Zu

Italian trio Zu pride themselves on their work ethic and ability to battle adversity. Since forming in Rome in 1997, they have successfully performed their innovative mix of baritone saxophone, bass and drums at 1,000-plus gigs throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 21, 2008

Yuki "Video 2"

Whatever you think about the quality of solo output by artsy pop diva Yuki, one-time vocalist with groundbreaking 1990s J-pop act Judy & Mary, you can't deny that she's unique. The singles from her fourth solo album, "Wave" (2006), and those that have followed may seem a bit samey, treading the same...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 21, 2008

New York Theater Workshop

Founded in 1979 in Manhattan's trendy East Village, the New York Theater Workshop (NYTW) is one of the most provocative and successful off-Broadway theaters in the United States. The megahit Broadway musical "RENT" by Jonathan Larson was born as a NYTW studio production in 1994 before it transferred...

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