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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 15, 2008

The lowdown on Hokkaido bears

Let's talk about bears, big Hokkaido bears called higuma in Japanese. Bears can be dangerous in Hokkaido, where hikers may encounter them in the mountains. There have been 86 attacks and 33 deaths from bears since 1962 when the government started keeping records.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Mar 15, 2008

Brazilian players changing countries not good for game

The news this week that Kawasaki Frontale's Brazilian striker Juninho hopes to gain Japanese citizenship and play for the national team will not have been music to FIFA president Sepp Blatter's ears.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2008

Smoking ban winning over Tokyo taxi drivers

In the roughly two months since most Tokyo taxis adopted a no-smoking policy, there has been little trouble among passengers, while an increasing number of drivers are thinking of quitting the habit themselves, a recent survey found.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2008

Mr. Abdullah is battered

Malaysia's ruling coalition was stunned in elections last weekend. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his National Front (Barisan Nasional) lost the two-thirds majority in Parliament that they have held for nearly four decades. As the government tries to regroup, Malaysia appears headed toward...
COMMENTARY
Mar 14, 2008

Burma sanctions don't work

NEW DELHI — Burma today ranks as one of the world's most isolated and sanctioned nations — a situation unlikely to be changed by its ruling junta scheduling a May referendum on a draft constitution and facilitating U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's third visit in six months.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2008

Back to square one after a lifetime of work

With spring comes the annual wage negotiations, when unions press employers for higher pay. These days, however, an increasing number of the workers at the bargaining table are themselves in the autumn of life — 60 or older.
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2008

Disarray over BOJ appointment

The opposition-controlled Upper House has turned down the government proposal that Mr. Toshiro Muto, deputy governor of the Bank of Japan, become the next chief of the central bank. Since his nomination must be endorsed by both chambers of the Diet, the government will have to restart the nomination...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 14, 2008

Noriko Tujiko: not merely sweet, cute and aggressive

N oriko Tujiko meets me in Shibuya wearing a multicolored outfit of clashing greens and reds. On her feet are velvet slippers.
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2008

Chamber again votes for Muto as row festers

The Lower House on Thursday approved the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc government's nomination of Toshiro Muto as new Bank of Japan governor, resulting in a split decision after the opposition-controlled upper chamber rejected him just a day earlier.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 14, 2008

Blood Red Shoes

After their respective bands broke up in 2004, guitarist Laura-Mary Carter and drummer Steven Ansell of Brighton, England, started jamming and decided to form a band, which they named Blood Red Shoes. Swearing they would always be "just two people" dedicated to the principles if not always the specific...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 14, 2008

A guide to how to wine 'n' dine

Taking your own bottle to a dinner party is a tricky business. Dashing to a convenience store for some plonk that's below ¥1,000 might save cash, but it won't save your blushes if the stuff acts like paint-stripper on the palate, ruining the meal and your chances of being invited back. Even if you do...
SOCCER
Mar 14, 2008

Five Cuban players missing in U.S.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Five Cuban soccer players went missing Tuesday night after the Under-23 team played a key match against the United States, a team official said Wednesday. The missing men had not yet reported to authorities. Zachary Mann, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection, said it's unlikely...
CULTURE / Music
Mar 14, 2008

Perfume "Fan Service ~ Prima Box"

Formed in Hiroshima in 2001, moving to Tokyo in 2003 and hitting the big time in 2006, Perfume are an idol-pop phenomenon, notable for how their music combines elements of house and electro with a futuristic, Akihabara-friendly image.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Mar 14, 2008

Enchanted

Director: Kevin Lima
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 14, 2008

Spring party hampers and Belgian beer cabaret

The Delicatessen at the Park Hyatt Tokyo has put together a "Spring Party" hamper set that is ideal for all alfresco dining occasions, whether beneath your favorite cherry tree, in your garden at home, or even out on the balcony of your apartment.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 14, 2008

Lions from the West, dragons from the East

K een to push forward their plan to legalize casinos in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party is now busy winning over skeptics with predictions of tourism and tax revenue bonanzas. Perhaps a ticket to "Dralion," Cirque du Soleil's current performance in Tokyo, might help win over dissenters.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2008

Shinsei unloads headquarters for ¥118 billion to duck red ink

Shinsei Bank, the first Japanese lender acquired by foreign investors, agreed to sell its head office in central Tokyo on Thursday as it struggles to stay out of the red amid losses from the U.S. subprime mortgage loan crisis.
SOCCER
Mar 14, 2008

Lampard blasts home four goals as Chelsea rips Derby

LONDON (AP) Frank Lampard scored four goals Wednesday to lead Chelsea to a 6-1 English Premier League win over Derby that closed the gap on second-place Manchester United to three points.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Mar 14, 2008

Bayern into quarters

LONDON (AP) German rivals Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen advanced into the UEFA Cup quarterfinals despite losing on Wednesday.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 14, 2008

'Vagina Monologues': Did you know it was about ending violence?

Ten years ago, playwright Eve Ensler and a group of women performed "The Vagina Monologues" in a New York theater on Valentine's Day to raise awareness and money to stop violence against women and girls. The success of the play launched the "V-Day" movement, with its goal of putting an end to the violence....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 14, 2008

James Murphy's 'magic plastic discs'

"Cod sperm sacs, I had that," muses James Murphy, multitalented record producer, DJ, founder of New York's DFA Records and mastermind behind dance-punk phenomenon LCD Soundsystem. Apparently, despite averaging two or three trips a year to Japan, the country — in particular its restaurants — still...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 14, 2008

Hanami among the mountain gods

Spring once again blushes the face of Japan, nowhere more so than in Yoshino, the nation's most famous sakura (cherry blossom) viewing destination and UNESCO World Heritage site. Each year, the sleepy mountain village in Nara Prefecture comes to life at the end of March in anticipation of the monthlong...
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2008

Second mission for astronaut

Japanese astronaut Mr. Takao Doi, together with six other crew members, was launched into space Tuesday aboard NASA's space shuttle Endeavour from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is the 53-year-old astronaut's second space mission, the first being in November-December 1997. We wish him success.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 14, 2008

'No Country for Old Men'

Joel and Ethan Coen have proven themselves skilled at three types of films over the years: thrillers ("Fargo"), comedies ("The Big Lebowski"), and just plain weird ("Barber"). Often the lines between the three are blurred: "The Big Lebowski" has a noirish detective story holding together the jokes, while...

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