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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 16, 2007

How to handle a mobster on the move

Status and fear can do a swift job of clearing a congested road ahead of you. It's a phenomenon I've seen twice on double-lane highways in Japan in the past six months. One time, crawling along at 15 kph in heavy traffic, I spotted a convoy of three black S-Class limos in my rearview mirror threading...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Dec 16, 2007

Tunnel visions

I don't know about you, but when I'm walking along train tracks and I hear a train approaching, my instincts tell me to get out of the way, fast. So, last month, when I was strolling along the sleepers of one of Tokyo's underground lines and I detected a distant rumbling, that's exactly what I did.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Dec 16, 2007

Tokyo's real floating world

One interesting phenomenon this year has been the growing popularity of tours to such unlikely places as factories and old bridges, where grimy stone walls, rusting mazes of pipes and crumbling concrete constructions have become a lure for worshippers at the altar of brutalism. In many ways, these tours...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2007

Operating system that stole Christmas

BERKELEY, Calif. — Before asking for a new Windows PC this holiday season, remember the old adage: "Be careful about what you wish for."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 16, 2007

Comic child-detective, comedians visit the poor, blind singer docu-drama

One of the longest-running comic series is "Meitantei Conan (Famous Detective Conan)," about an elementary-school-age private eye named Conan Edogawa who was once a high-school-age private eye named Shinichi Kudo before the evil Black Organization (Kuro Soshiki) used some kind of "chemical" to make him...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 16, 2007

Unlocking the mysteries of Japanese culture

A TRACTATE ON JAPANESE AESTHETICS by Donald Richie. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2007, 79 pp., $9.95 (paper) In the preface to this new, much-needed book on Japanese aesthetics, Donald Richie points out, "In writing about traditional Asian aesthetics, the conventions of Western discourse — order,...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 16, 2007

Japan stands back as the poor get poorer

One of the year's biggest selling books is Hiroshi Tamura's "Homeless Junior High School Student," a memoir focusing on the 28-year-old comedian's adolescence.
Reader Mail
Dec 16, 2007

Turn 'culture' group inside out

The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office Special Investigation team is investigating the office of the Japan-U.S. Peace and Culture Exchange Association in connection with the bribery case involving former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya. A U.S. subsidiary of Yamada Corporation, a defense...
Reader Mail
Dec 16, 2007

Undue public influence on text

"During World War II, many Okinawan people were forced to commit suicide by the Japanese Army.''
SOCCER
Dec 15, 2007

Nakata expresses confidence in Okada

Hidetoshi Nakata has backed Takeshi Okada to be a success at the helm of the national team and praised the decision of the Japan Football Association in rehiring the coach.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 15, 2007

Bulging tome only scratches surface

In the end, it was only appropriate that George Mitchell gave baseball a report on steroids that looked like it was on steroids.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 15, 2007

Capello brings impressive history of success to England

LONDON — After Sven Lite, England now has the real thing. Steve McClaren, the assistant and successor to Sven-Goran Eriksson, always looked out of his depth as England's head coach. But there can be no such accusations leveled at Fabio Capello.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2007

MSDF Aegis ship ready to test SM-3 off Kauai

Japan will test-fire a U.S.-made ballistic missile to intercept an oncoming mock one in space off Hawaii next week with the help of the U.S. military, Defense Ministry officials said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2007

Fukuda seeks set law on SDF deployments

Japan needs a permanent law to allow the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces overseas so they can carry out peace activities whenever requested, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Friday.
BASKETBALL
Dec 15, 2007

Five Arrows have potential to contend for title this season

The Takamatsu Five Arrows are proving that last season's runnerup finish was no fluke.
BUSINESS
Dec 15, 2007

Subprime woes dog the 'tankan'

The business confidence of major manufacturers dropped for the first time in three quarters in the Bank of Japan's latest "tankan" survey released Friday, reflecting pessimism as U.S. subprime-mortgage woes continue to cast a dark cloud over the Japanese economy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2007

Shibuya to rent land to fill demand from green thumbs

Not many people go to Shibuya to commune with nature, but starting in spring, gardening and farming might see a boom in one of Tokyo's most populous wards.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 15, 2007

Bringing books, schools to the world's children

Immediately after meeting John Wood and hearing the story of his Room to Read program, I was reminded of one of my favorite childhood books. Though he isn't prone to wearing green leotards or stealing from the rich, this modern-day Robin Hood acquires donations from the world's largest companies and...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 15, 2007

Coming alive with gospel music

Orren Tanabe stands tall above the rest of the crowd in front of Shinjuku's ALTA sign. Having not made this a meeting place for years, the experience is proving more than a little nostalgic. Knowing the way central Tokyo changes at the tip of a hat, he leads the way to a favorite pizza dive with some...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’