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Japan Times
JAPAN / Q&A
Feb 29, 2008

I.D. cards for cigarette machines set to debut

People buying cigarettes out of vending machines will soon have to use a taspo integrated circuit card to verify their age.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 29, 2008

Shomyo no Kai

Shomyo got off to a good start in Japan. The first documented performance of this form of Buddhist sutra chanting, originally from India, was before an audience of 10,000 monks and priests at Nara's Todaiji Temple in 752.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 29, 2008

Salmon Sound back at Shinjuku Wire

There will be fishy goings on at Salmon Sound, which returns to club Wire in Shinjuku on March 1. The concept for the event is simple: a night of Norwegian music spun by Norwegian DJs.
JAPAN
Feb 29, 2008

Smoking ban elusive despite WHO warning

The World Health Organization issued a report in February on the global tobacco epidemic, urging countries to enforce effective smoking bans in public places.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 29, 2008

'The Golden Compass'

The moral to "The Golden Compass" — a coming-of-age tale that takes place in a parallel, rockin' kind of universe where there is no God and people's souls are embodied by animals that frolic at their side and accompany them wherever they go and the general wardrobe scheme is too cool for words —...
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2008

Atlantic LNG imports see big surge

Japan increased imports of liquefied natural gas from the Atlantic Ocean area ninefold in January after a nuclear power plant was shut last year for safety checks after a deadly earthquake.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Feb 29, 2008

Authentic Hangzhou cuisine, Arico live and Fujimamas wine school

Le rosbif at the Royal Park French restaurant Palazzo at the Royal Park Hotel in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, has added a roast-beef course to its dinner lineup.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 29, 2008

YMCK takes 'chiptune' revolution major

'The music in video games is less memorable now than it was in the old days," says Midori Kurihara, vocalist with YMCK, and she should know: Her Tokyo three-piece band emulates the sound of classic scores to games on the 8-bit Nintendo Famicom console (known in the West as the Nintendo Entertainment...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / MY PLAYLIST
Feb 29, 2008

Ian Brown

'Every time I do interviews, they ask me about the same things — poverty, war and the power of the church," says 45-year-old Ian Brown by telephone from Manchester.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 29, 2008

Calligraphy: brushes with text, ecstasy

Japanese audiences are well acquainted with the films of British director Peter Greenaway. Several have included Japanese characters or been shot in this country, the most prominent of which was "The Pillow Book" (1996) — a very modern interpretation of early 10th-century Japanese diarist Sei Shonagon's...
EDITORIALS
Feb 29, 2008

Hazy plans for new expressways

The Diet is now deliberating the government's tax code bill, which includes maintaining the provisionally raised gasoline and other road-related tax rates for 10 years from fiscal 2008. The bill has become a hot political issue.
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2008

BOJ's Mizuno downplays rate cut

Atsushi Mizuno, a member of the Bank of Japan Policy Board, downplayed on Thursday the need for the central bank to cut interest rates.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 29, 2008

Yoshihiko Matsui: The return of the underground king

Born in 1956, Yoshihiko Matsui worked with indie icon Sogo Ishii on his early films, including the seminal 1980 biker pic "Kuruizaki Thunder Road (Crazy Thunder Road)."
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2008

Factory production falls unexpected 2%

Factory production in January fell at twice the pace economists predicted as a deepening U.S. slump weakened demand for cars and electronics.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2008

Pfizer diverting drug development away from Japan

Pfizer Inc., the world's biggest drugmaker, is diverting drug studies and tests from Japan as part of an industry push to avoid this nation's regulatory delays and higher costs.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2008

Why's Japan grown so ugly?

YUNOMINE, Wakayama Pref. — My brother wanted to create a new room in the loft of his house in an English provincial city, actually Kingston upon Hull (population 250,000), a place of passing interest to Japanese because two centuries ago it was one of the world's biggest whaling ports. Today, the whales...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Inspiration for a working man

Regarding Judit Kawaguchi's Feb. 19 article, "Words to live by": I was greatly moved by this seemingly insignificant report of an individual's quest for reasoning and affirmation. I am a Canadian living close to Yokohama as an English teacher (unfortunately), questioning my own self-worth and trying...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2008

Progenitor of the next war

Regarding Ramesh Thakur's Feb. 22 article, "Beware Kosovo's offspring": For the sake of maintaining an indefinite NATO presence in Kosovo to act against a resurgent Russia, Western leaders have destroyed the foundations of international law, including respect for sovereign nations, by illegally recognizing...
MORE SPORTS
Feb 28, 2008

Agent: Mao has not split with coach

Contradicting a report from Kyodo News early Wednesday morning, the agent for figure skating star Mao Asada said she has not split with her Armenian coach, Rafael Arutunian, or decided to move her training base back to Japan.

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