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JAPAN
May 4, 2007

Proponents of Article 9 like it just the way it is

Thousands of people gathered Thursday in Tokyo's Hibiya Park to mark the 60th anniversary of the Constitution and to oppose moves by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party to amend it and its war-renouncing Article 9.
JAPAN / CHARTER TURNS 60
May 4, 2007

LDP wants to cut freedoms: DPJ

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't understand the basics of the Constitution and wants to use it to reduce human rights, not protect them, according to the head of a constitutional study panel for the Democratic Party of Japan.
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2007

Cracking down on fake goods

Member countries of the World Trade Organizations are mounting pressure on China to take necessary measures against widespread piracy of copyrighted goods such as DVDs, CDs and computer software, and the counterfeiting of other products. In April, the United States filed two complaints with the WTO against...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 4, 2007

Hillman's Fighters find feet to down Marines in Pa League

CHIBA — At times this season the Nippon Ham offense has had trouble giving its starting pitchers any run support. That lack of production helped lead to the Fighters' worst losing streak in two years earlier this season. It's also why Thursday afternoon's win at Chiba Marine Stadium must have been...
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2007

Will Ehud Olmert survive?

JERUSALEM — After Israel's inability last summer to achieve a conclusive victory over Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, public pressure forced Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government to appoint a commission to examine the causes of this surprising failure. How could a small militia, numbering less than...
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2007

Grassroots autonomy

On May 3, 1947, the day the current Constitution went into effect, the Local Autonomy Law came into force. Local autonomy is an important system that puts into practice the postwar Constitution's basic principle that sovereign power resides with the people. The current Constitution devotes a whole chapter...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 4, 2007

Constitution turns 60; Abe wants change

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe marked the 60th anniversary of the Constitution on Thursday by calling for a bold review of the document to allow the country to take a larger role in global security and foster a revival of national pride.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2007

'Ahiru to Kamo no Coin Locker'

Many directors keep returning to the same themes and motifs again and again. Alfred Hitchcock liked to torture ice queens (Grace Kelly, Kim Novak, Tippi Hedren), while Luis Bunuel, the master surrealist, subverted everyday reality with bizarre and disturbing imagery, like a sleeper returning to a familiar...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
May 4, 2007

Game 6

Director: Michael Hoffman Language: English
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2007

'Tsotsi'

A while back in these pages, I was dumping on a movie ("The Last King Of Scotland") for giving us the same-old white man's view of Africa. What we really needed, I wrote, was an African view of Africa, something like an African "City of God," which gave an insider's look at life and crime in Rio's favelas....
CULTURE / Music
May 4, 2007

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood

The late Jimmy Smith is credited with single-handedly turning the Hammond B3 organ into a bona-fide jazz instrument, though the music he played, which borrowed from gospel, old-style R&B and mainstream pop, appealed to a much wider audience. The B3 eventually became a fixture of rock and soul, but no...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
May 4, 2007

The sun shines in spiritland

Toshima Ward is rife with zombies and familiar spirits. In the wee hours near the stationopolis of Ikebukuro, pale-faced university students, partied-out salarymen and a host of others wander the streets until the first trains arrive. These are Toshima's innocuous shades; there are others more spine...
CULTURE / Music
May 4, 2007

Feist "The Reminder"

Leslie Feist traipses the map for inspiration, literally and figuratively. Indie rock and its melange of alternatively low- and hi-fi sounds comes through in the Canadian's music and in her moonlighting gig with Broken Social Scene, one of that aesthetic's most convincing purveyors. But Feist spent most...
CULTURE / Music
May 4, 2007

Battles "Mirrored"

Featuring former members of acclaimed underground rock acts Don Caballero and Helmet, Battles' highly anticipated debut album, "Mirrored," should have little trouble finding a spot on numerous "Best Of" lists come year-end. Operating under the guise of post-rock, the New York quartet's mix of electronica,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
May 4, 2007

Mongolian Ping Pong

Director: Hao Ning Language: Mongolian
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 4, 2007

'The Reaping'

"Sometimes people just need to believe in miracles," goes a line in "The Reaping," but by the time you hear it, you've pretty much ditched that effort at least as far as this film is concerned. Starring two-time Academy Award winner Hilary Swank, "The Reaping" pretty much wastes her talents and those...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 4, 2007

Manuel Churrascaria: Portuguese bistro-casual with a grill

Another week, another new building complex. After working our way through Tokyo Midtown, Velviakan in Ginza and the new Shin-Marunouchi Building, we'd had it with the hype and the crowds. Craving simple, honest sustenance in a quiet neighborhood setting, it came as a pleasure to return at last to Manuel...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji