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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 26, 2007

Take a peak inside Henry Darger's mind

Outsider artists often present a pathetic spectacle to the world: forgotten inmates of mental institutions; shuffling, muttering loners; or misfits, like Henry Darger, who spent his workdays as a low-paid janitor and his free time writing and illustrating an unpublishable 15,145-page novel about a vast...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2007

Japanese/Chinese production tackles history

In 2002, the FIFA World Cup of soccer hosted by Japan and South Korea boosted already flourishing cultural exchanges between the two countries in areas such as pop music, shopping and television dramas. The same year, the scriptwriter and director Oriza Hirata, who founded the Tokyo-based Seinendan Theater...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Apr 26, 2007

The satellite in the room

The NSAT-110 is a Japanese telecommunications satellite built by Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems and launched in October 2000 from French Guiana on an Ariene 4 rocket into a geostationary orbit some 35,000 km above Indonesia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 26, 2007

'The Science of Sleep'

There's something tread-mill repetitive about conventional on-screen romance. It seems as if we've seen phone-call/e-mail angst, candlelit dinners, fights, reconciliations and sex ad nauseum (and engaged in by the same beautiful people again and again). But Stephane (played by the always amazing Gael...
EDITORIALS
Apr 26, 2007

A real choice for France

The first round of France's presidential election has left French voters with a clear choice for their future. The results pit conservative Nicolas Sarkozy against Socialist Segolene Royal in the May 6 runoff ballot. While both candidates promise great change for a country whose confidence has been shaken,...
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2007

Honda's fourth quarter profit suffers 20% falloff

Honda Motor Co. reported a 20 percent drop in profit for the January-March quarter despite solid demand that helped mark its seventh straight business year of record sales.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 25, 2007

Nuggets, Bulls to pull upsets in 1st round

NEW YORK -- The playoffs -- the NBA's bridge abutment between the high drama of the regular season and the cold sweat of Secaucus -- are once again upon us.
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2007

Witness accounts mean little

The April 11 article titled "Okinawa survivors recall ordered suicides" reports new light shed on the dark side of Japan's war history as Okinawans reveal their eye-and-ear witness accounts of military officials ordering Japanese citizens to commit suicide rather than be captured when the United States...
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2007

Good things in small companies

A lthough the economy is growing, some local economies are still in bad shape. To revitalize them, the government is pushing a project to strengthen small and medium enterprises. The project will focus on helping enterprises that use local resources to develop new products and services to market worldwide....
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2007

KDDI reports 16% profit jump in 2006

Crediting the recently introduced number portability system, KDDI Corp. said Tuesday its group operating profit for the 2006 business year to March jumped 16.2 percent from a year earlier to 344.7 billion yen.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2007

Nikko Cordial's fraud sends 2006 profits down

Profits of Nikko Cordial Corp. plunged in the 2006 business year, according to the firm's financial statements released Tuesday, affected by the brokerage's involvement in an accounting scandal.
BUSINESS
Apr 25, 2007

Toyota tops GM for first time

Toyota Motor Corp. became the world's top auto seller in the first three months of the year, passing rival General Motors Corp. for the first time, Japan's biggest automaker said Tuesday.
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2007

Across the dialect divide

I would like to comment on the April 11 letter "Risible claim on English expertise," in which Owen Eather states that we in English-speaking countries "are afflicted with call centers staffed by alleged, but unintelligible, English speakers." He implies that these staff members are Indian.
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2007

Scary driving in Kanagawa

I am very concerned about the alarmingly high number of traffic violations in Kanagawa Prefecture. What is more alarming to me is that the violations seem to have become a normal part of life here:
Reader Mail
Apr 25, 2007

Worst aspect of a death sentence

Regarding the April 18 Timeout section article, "Japan's way of injudicial killing": Death by hanging must be one of the most unpleasant ways to die. For any condemned inmate on Japan's death row, the worst aspect of such a sentence is the almost sadistic dread that he must suffer every morning. How...
EDITORIALS
Apr 25, 2007

Elections bolster Mr. Abe

Unlike opposition Democratic Party of Japan leader Mr. Ichiro Ozawa, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should be relieved by the results of Sunday's Upper House by-elections. Mr. Abe will now likely have the support to push through the Diet a bill for a national referendum procedure for a constitutional revision...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Apr 25, 2007

Oil beetle

* Japanese name: Hime tsuchihanmyo * Scientific name: Meloe coarctatus * Description: A handsome (at least I think so) shiny black beetle, with long legs and an elongated body, which unusually has short elytra (wing covers) that expose most of the abdomen. In most beetles, the hard wing-cases completely...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Apr 25, 2007

'Manga' meets 'keitai': a match made in Japanese technology heaven

We've all been there: squashed onto a rush-hour commuter train with barely enough room to breathe, let alone open up a book to while away the journey; trying desperately to crush a book into an overstuffed backpack before a long trip; or cursing our own lack of foresight while bored at school or work...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 25, 2007

Ponder awhile the wisdom of Bhutan

If nations had laws requiring that we all went about our business wisely and with respect for the planet, those laws would prioritize precaution and force polluters to clean up their mess.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 25, 2007

Moving with the times -- electronic paper lets watch change its face

Loggers aren't exactly reaching for the job ads cursing the new wonder technology of electronic paper for rendering them as employable as horse-drawn carriage drivers. But the promise of flexible sheets of electronics that can do everything paper can do -- only better and without having to fell the timber...

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