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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2008

Raphael Oleg's keen art of detection

Few concert violinists do more preparation than French virtuoso Raphael Oleg. For him, each performance requires meticulous research on the composer and the work.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2008

Mass of the Fermenting Dregs "Mass of the Fermenting Dregs"

Formed in 2002, Hyogo Prefecture-based female trio Mass of the Fermenting Dregs first attracted wider attention after stealing the show on the Rookie A Go-Go stage at last year's Fuji Rock Festival. And while their self-titled debut is released by newly formed indie label Avocado Records, that the band...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / MY PLAYLIST
Jan 25, 2008

MY PLAYLIST: British Sea Power

"Originally we wanted to record it as a psychedelic jam session, but in the end we just couldn't help writing tunes," says British Sea Power vocalist Yan (born Scott Wilkinson) of the making of their third (and arguably best) album, "Do You Like Rock Music?"
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 25, 2008

Cherry blossom lunch, wagyu burgers, yuzu spas and a kangaroo for dinner

Spring comes early to the 130-year-old Chinzan-so garden of the Four Seasons Hotel in Tokyo this year, with the expected blossoming around the end of the month of a special variety of cherry trees (kanhizakura and kawazuzakura) that the hotel planted in the venerable garden early in the new year.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 25, 2008

No deviation for celebrated techno star

In an era of dance music that sees almost every DJ attempt to defy genre, and producers seemingly incapable of making tracks without either screaming guitars or samples of pop hits from yesteryear, Sven Vath is refreshing in his conservatism.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / HOME COMFORTS
Jan 25, 2008

Catering to the English taste bud abroad

The best thing about being English is that no matter where you go in the world, the food is always better than the rubbish you put up with at home; and conversely, as one of the finest cuisines in the world, Japanese food sure gives no cause for complaint.
EDITORIALS
Jan 25, 2008

A time for calm and patience

The U.S. Federal Reserve has moved quickly to avert a financial crisis. Earlier this week, the Fed slashed its key interest rate to calm international markets. The rush to provide liquidity is intended to head off a panic and the possibility of a global capital crunch. The Fed's action is only a first...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Jan 25, 2008

Tokyo hones the craft of the cocktail

"The best bartenders on the planet all work in Ginza," claims Masahiro Kon, ex-bartender and award-winning cocktail creator. "In the U.S., they're mixing drinks with herbs and other weird ingredients, but in Ginza the best guys just polish their cocktails like jewels."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 25, 2008

Han Bennink

Unlike most jazz drummers — even those that lead their own band — Han Bennink is a force unto himself, playing in his own inimitable way regardless of who's alongside him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Jan 25, 2008

"Callas e Onassis"

Director: Giorgio Capitani
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 25, 2008

Renowned artist Maxx gets a Tokyo sendoff

When Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum director Akiomi Hirano heard that one of Japan's favorite artists/illustrators, Maya Maxx, was planning to move permanently to New York in February, he decided he wanted to "send her out into the world," by giving her a special sendoff exhibition at his institution...
BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2008

Suzuki projects 7% surge on brisk sales abroad in '08

Suzuki Motor Corp., the nation's top minivehicle maker, said Thursday it sold a record 2.38 million vehicles in 2007, up 9 percent from a year earlier, riding strong sales in India and other parts of Asia.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 25, 2008

Time for JBA to stop ignoring bj-league, act in best interests of game in Japan

SENDAI — Ninety minutes after Sunday's Sendai 89ers-Ryukyu Golden Kings game, a slew of players were still visiting with fans or conducting interviews.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2008

'Zenzen Daijobu'

Japanese comedies today come in two broad categories: frantic, surreal ones of the Kankuro Kudo ("Maiko Haaaan!!!") sort and ironic, realistic ones from the Nobuhiro Yamashita ("Linda, Linda, Linda") corner.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 25, 2008

Basking in the northern cold

Sapporo's famed Snow Festival — running this year from Feb. 5 to Feb 11. — began when a bunch of bored school kids in 1950 built a series of snow sculptures in Odori Park in the center of the city. Their enthusiasm during the hardships Japan was suffering after the war struck a chord with the population....
COMMENTARY
Jan 24, 2008

How Ma's 'three nos' policy could impact cross-strait ties

TAIPEI — Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou has proclaimed a "three nos" policy — no unification, no independence, no use of force — in outlining his planned approach to cross-strait relations should he win the March 22 Taiwan presidential election.
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Corporal punishment prohibited

Regarding the Jan. 17 letter "Treatment of foreign students": I feel sorry for the Chinese student, and angry with Tohoku University. Although I was not at the scene of the "physical assault," I want to clarify to foreigners studying in Japan that corporal punishment at Japanese educational institutions...
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 24, 2008

BoSox announce new partnership

The Boston Red Sox and longtime marketing partner EMC have expanded their partnership ahead of the Ricoh Japan Opening Series 2008 the team announced on Wednesday.
Reader Mail
Jan 24, 2008

Raising the bar for foreigners

Regarding the Jan. 16 article "Long-term residents may face language test": The government seems to be intent on keeping new foreigners out of this country and making life increasingly harder for those already living here. Only weeks after the law subjecting us to fingerprinting on each re-entry took...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2008

New cram school blurs public and private line

Cram schools have long played an important complementary role to classroom education, but a new type opening Saturday in Suginami Ward, Tokyo, is causing a stir among educators.
BUSINESS
Jan 24, 2008

China's Baidu begins services in Japanese

Baidu.com Inc., China's leading Internet search company, began offering Japanese-language services Wednesday, taking aim at major search engine providers Yahoo Japan and Google 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