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CULTURE / Music
Sep 21, 2007

Talib Kweli "Eardrum"

Talib Kweli's reputation as the rapper's rapper is based on his inventive rhyme schemes, but his underground credentials were established in cahoots with fellow MC Mos Def in Black Star and with DJ Hi-Tek on the classic "Reflection Eternal." On his own, his skills are often compromised by the shrillness...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2007

'The Good German'

Director Steven Soderbergh has a habit of confounding expectations. After his win at Cannes and subsequent commercial success with "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" in 1989, Soderbergh released a series of increasingly opaque films, culminating in 1996's crackpot "Schizopolis." This nearly ended his career,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / SHORT TAKES
Sep 21, 2007

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" Director: Tim Story
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 21, 2007

Don Quixote, Korean style

This "Man of La Mancha" has a lot to do with a man from South Korea: Cho Seung Woo, the film-star hero of such hits as "The Classic — Love Story" (2003) and "Marathon" (2005), and star of such musicals as "Rent" (2007), "Hedwig" (2006) and, most notably, "Jekyll and Hyde," whose massive success in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2007

'Candy'

Drugs, addiction, manic obsession — it's an oft-told tale but "Candy" is a particularly clear-eyed view on the allure and subsequent destructive power of drugs; in this case heroin.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2007

Game makers in marketing joust at Chiba expo

CHIBA — Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's largest gaming events, opened Thursday with the participation of a record number of Japanese and overseas firms — an indication that the industry is ready to take advantage of a brisk market boosted by the popularity of Nintendo Co.'s Wii console and dual...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Sep 21, 2007

Seigetsu: Great balls of cedar promise good sake

It's the constant conundrum we all face when we arrive in a strange city or wander into an unfamiliar neighborhood. Among the profusion of restaurants and bars, how can you tell which ones are any good? One rule of thumb that has stood us in good stead here over the years: keep your eyes peeled for sakabayashi....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2007

'Megane'

Last year Naoko Ogigami had a surprise hit with "Kamome Shokudo (Seagull Diner)," a film about three Japanese women who end up running a restaurant together in Helsinki. It was a surprise because stars Satomi Kobayashi and Masako Motai were hardly marquee names, while the plot offered little in the way...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 21, 2007

Dot Allison

As the vocalist of One Dove, the Glasgow trio that charmed club music aficionados with a mix of 1960s pop and dub atmospherics, Dot Allison occupied an appropriate perch from which to coo and simper.
Rugby
Sep 20, 2007

Blossoms show there's nothing comical about Japan rugby

CARDIFF, Wales — The French sure love their comic books — almost as much as the Japanese love their manga. It's no surprise, then, that a rugby-themed bande dessinee titled "We Will Win The World Cup With Fat and Manners" is currently a major hit in France.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2007

Worldwide bubble trouble

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut — The future of the housing boom, and the possible financial repercussions of a substantial price decline in coming years, are a matter of mounting concern among governments around the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2007

Aso hip with comic book crowd

Former Foreign Minister Taro Aso is the clear underdog in the race to become the next prime minister. But among young fans of pop culture, Aso is king.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 20, 2007

Traditional China popped

After the end of the Opium War in China in 1842, Shanghai opened itself to trade with the outside world. A little after that, the Taiping Rebellion of 1850-64, which took place in southern China and Nanjing, funneled into the metropolis artists and scholars seeking refuge.
EDITORIALS
Sep 20, 2007

Plans of the LDP candidates

The Liberal Democratic Party will hold its presidential election Sunday under difficult circumstances as a result of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's abrupt decision to resign. His irresponsible behavior of announcing his resignation just two days after his delivery of a policy speech in the Diet has given...
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2007

Mugen guilty of tax evasion

had little awareness that (his company) had to pay taxes," Tanaka said, dismissing the acquittal issued by the Saitama District Court in May. "His motive was to secure funds for inheritance tax that he would have to pay in the future." The high court ruled that Hirokawa, 64, took the lead in the tax...
COMMENTARY
Sep 20, 2007

Defense debate bordering on bizarre

The trigger for Shinzo Abe's resignation was the refusal by opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa to agree to further deployments of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force to the Indian Ocean after authorizing legislation runs out on Nov. 1.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2007

BOJ leaves key interest rate unchanged

The Bank of Japan Policy Board decided Wednesday to keep its key interest rate at 0.5 percent, after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate the day before.
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2007

Rebate system must stay: KDDI chief

KDDI Corp. President Tadashi Onodera criticized on Wednesday a government panel report urging the mobile phone industry to end its marketing practice of offsetting heavy discounts on handsets with higher phone service charges.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 20, 2007

Darvish backed up by offense as Fighters down Eagles

Yu Darvish wasn't as dominant as he usually is but with the Fighters' offense clicking for once he didn't have to be.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2007

Aso, Fukuda address foreign press club

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Taro Aso may be losing to Yasuo Fukuda in the party's presidential election battle, but he scored a few points over his rival at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Wednesday, using his English-language ability to charm the foreign press.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell