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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 18, 2008

Pandas: pawns in a game of international diplomacy

As he often does, Shintaro Ishihara recently offered his views on a subject that didn't concern him and kicked up a controversy. During a press conference, the Tokyo governor sardonically questioned the "divinity" of pandas and wondered out loud, "Do we really need them?" — thus adding fuel to the...
Reader Mail
May 18, 2008

America likes to make examples

In his May 11 letter, "U.S. knew what it wanted in Iraq," Peter Morrissey claims that to this day the world still can't pin down exactly why the United States invaded Vietnam -- "except possibly to replenish the military industrial complex." I thought I might take a stab at it anyway.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 18, 2008

Period-piece thriller, historical marriage drama, family-business soap opera

"Nihonshi Suspense Gekijo" (Japanese History Suspense Theater; Nihon TV, Wed., 7:58 p.m.) offers something to both lovers of historical dramas and fans of those two-hour mysteries used to fill holes in network schedules. Basically, the producers take a real incident from Japanese history and turn it...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 18, 2008

Nature naturalized in Japanese gardens

INCOMPARABLE JAPANESE GARDENS, photographs by Gorazd Vilhar, text by Charlotte Anderson. Tokyo: IBC Publishing, 2008, 192 pp., with 159 full-color plates, ¥5,500 (cloth) If we compare the "incomparable," we will discover that the difference of the Japanese garden depends upon the Japanese, very different,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / WEEK 3
May 18, 2008

The beauty of the afterworld

At a funeral, if your loved one in the coffin appears as if they are simply sleeping peacefully, it may alleviate your grief.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 18, 2008

African Festa opens eyes in Yokohama

YOKOHAMA — With the Tokyo International Conference on African Development to be held in Yokohama later this month, a two-day cultural event kicked off Saturday to bring a taste of Africa to Japan's famous harbor city.
Reader Mail
May 18, 2008

Homelessness in both countries

Regarding the May 13 article "Team Japan faces huge hurdles on road to Homeless World Cup": I applaud The Japan Times for covering the topic of homelessness. It is a serious issue affecting many people in Japan as well as the United States. It is tragic that there exists such biased attitudes toward...
BASKETBALL
May 17, 2008

Lakestars hire assistant GM

The Shiga Lakestars named Motofumi Iguchi their assistant general manager, the club announced Friday.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 17, 2008

Portsmouth-Cardiff City F.A. Cup final fails to inspire

LONDON — No matter how much purists try to argue that it sums up the magic of the F.A. Cup, regardless of the "ideal" David vs. Goliath matchup and, to the relief of some, the fact that none of the Big Four clubs is involved, the final between Portsmouth and Cardiff City is the least interesting most...
BASKETBALL
May 17, 2008

Oketani fired by HeatDevils

The Oita HeatDevils have fired coach Dai Oketani. His contract expires on May 31.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
May 17, 2008

Shimoyanagi's renaissance having impact for Tigers

For Hanshin Tigers pitcher Tsuyoshi Shimoyanagi, the last two seasons have been more or less average.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 17, 2008

Buddha's birthday prompts call to temple

May 12 was Buddha's birthday. Don't tell me you forgot about it! You didn't even send a card? How about a gift? Well, don't feel too bad. I forgot about it too. But luckily, on the morning of the 12th, an announcement came over the loudspeaker saying "Attention Shiraishi Island residents, today is Buddha's...
BUSINESS
May 17, 2008

Lifenet to offer 30% cheaper insurance online

Lifenet Insurance Co., a newly established online life insurer, said Friday it will start selling polices Sunday via the Internet at rates up to 30 percent cheaper than those offered by major life insurers.
BUSINESS
May 17, 2008

SMBC logs 77.2% plunge in profit to ¥83 billion

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Banking Inc. said Friday that net profit at its banking unit, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., plunged 77.2 percent to ¥83 billion in the business year that ended in March as the U.S. subprime-loan upheaval eroded its profits.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 17, 2008

Fighters' Nakamura out with injury

Hokkaido Nippon Ham closer Micheal Nakamura will miss two to three weeks due to a right hamstring contusion, the injury-plagued Pacific League club said after its Thursday's game. The right-hander, who hurt it before the game, was taken off the active roster.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years