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JAPAN
Apr 17, 2008

Divided Diet forecloses on Fukuda's May Europe trip

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has canceled planned visits to France, Germany and France in early May due to the expected continuation of the political standoff in the divided Diet, government officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 17, 2008

Enduring anime reveals Japan's ghoulish spirit

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the debut of "GeGeGe no Kitaro," an animated children's TV series about the supernatural that's become a Japanese institution.
BASKETBALL
Apr 15, 2008

Osaka's Lottich is special guest

Osaka Evessa point guard Matt Lottich is slated to join sports reporter Ed Odeven from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday for The Japan Times' sports chat. Lottich, a former Stanford University player, will discuss his team's quest for a third straight bj-league title, help break down the upcoming playoffs and...
Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 13, 2008

Japan's tragic 'Titanic of Turkey'

The jagged rocks off Oshima Island break the surface of the ocean like so many knives strewn across the shallow water. Even on a calm day, they are a menacing reminder of the maze of reefs that surround this island in the Pacific just off the coast of Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, in central Honshu....
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 13, 2008

Confusion reigns after 'Yasukuni' doesn't tell us how to feel

The big media-related news story on April 1 was the ongoing controversy over the documentary feature "Yasukuni," screenings of which had been canceled by a number of movie theaters in Tokyo and Osaka out of fear of rightwing protests. That night, NHK's regular 7 p.m. news bulletin did not mention the...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2008

Gambari's battle in Burma

SINGAPORE — The United Nations special envoy to Burma is coming under fire for failing to nudge the country's military rulers in the direction of real political reform. But it is wrong to blame the envoy, Ibrahim Gambari. After all, his mandate is from the United Nations and he reports to the U.N....
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2008

Ruling coalition agrees to free up road revenues

The government and ruling coalition said Friday revenue from gasoline and other auto-related taxes will be freed up for purposes other than road construction from fiscal 2009, which starts next April.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2008

'Yasukuni' director suspects political meddling

Li Ying, the Chinese director of an award-winning documentary on Yasukuni Shrine, said Thursday he was perplexed to hear that a key figure in the film, sword smith Naoji Kariya, has reportedly asked that his appearance be entirely deleted.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2008

Details unveiled on Tokyo congress of architecture

With the stated aim of determining how architecture should evolve to meet the challenges of the 21st century, the 24th triennial World Congress of the International Union of Architects will be held in Tokyo in 2011, organizers announced.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 9, 2008

A renaissance of hand-held power

Crank up the music: Giving electronic devices mobility is the easy part. Empowering them to function for any length of time before you have to recharge them is quite another challenge. Local gadget whiz Thanko is helping out with its functionally titled Cranking MP3 Player, a new digital- music player...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 9, 2008

Pike gudgeon

Japanese name: Kamatsuka
EDITORIALS
Apr 8, 2008

The man who came to dinner

Russia is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Mr. Vladimir Putin is a lame duck president, but he and his country threw a long shadow over the just-completed NATO summit that convened last week in Bucharest, Romania. Not only did Mr. Putin show up uninvited at the NATO heads dinner...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Apr 8, 2008

Tokkotai survivor Hideo Suzuki

Eighty-five-year-old Hideo Suzuki is a reluctant survivor. A former tokkotai (Special Forces Unit) member of the Jinrai Butai (Thunder Gods Corps), Suzuki volunteered to be the pilot of an Ohka, a manned rocket-powered aircraft, during World War II. For sailors on U.S. warships in the Pacific, the Ohka...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 8, 2008

"Yasukuni" director Li on his tough-love letter to Japan

"Yasukuni" director Li Ying shares his thoughts with John Junkerman and David McNeill on the contentious Tokyo shrine, the motivation behind the movie, and his reaction to the furor in Japan over the documentary's release.
JAPAN
Apr 8, 2008

Official defends 'Yasukuni' screening for lawmakers

Defending the government's involvement in giving lawmakers an advance screening of a documentary on Yasukuni Shrine, a senior Cultural Affairs Agency official argued Monday it was appropriate to show Diet members a film partially funded by taxpayers' money.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 6, 2008

Matsui's got a nice wife, but can she cook a mean hamburger?

As indicated by the content of newspapers like Nikkan Sports and Sports Nippon ("Suponichi"), reporters who cover athletes and reporters who cover show-business personalities are almost interchangeable. Though tabloid sportswriters are expected to have specialized knowledge of the sports they cover and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 6, 2008

Japan's most jam-packed year at the track

Atitan in the field of car manufacturing, Japan has also long been a magnet for international-level motor racing.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 6, 2008

Japan's legal reaction to globalization

LAW IN JAPAN: a Turning Point, edited by Daniel H. Foote. Seattle: University of Washington Press, April 2008, 704 pp., 10 tables/8 figures, $65 (cloth) Even as the pace of change in recent years has brought Japanese law to a "turning point," the "confession-centric" system of criminal justice risks...
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Apr 4, 2008

NPB moving to dissuade 'major' moves

Nippon Professional Baseball earlier this week announced that it will present a proposal to the players' association aimed at shortening the free-agency period to seven years for players drafted out of college and the industrial leagues and eight years for players drafted out of high school beginning...
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2008

Police arrest U.S. sailor in cabby slaying

A U.S. Navy seaman was handed over to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police and subsequently arrested Thursday in connection with the robbery-murder of a taxi driver last month in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji