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Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 12, 2007

Iraqi play eschews straight acting

Next week, Tokyo audiences will have a rare chance to sample contemporary theater from Iraq, as one of the Middle East's most prominent directors, 56-year-old Salah Al-Kassab, presents his play "Dream in Baghdad," performed by five Iraqi actors. The play also tours Sendai and Sapporo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 12, 2007

'Lucky Number Slevin'

"Lucky Number Slevin" is slick and frosty: nice to look at but you don't want to get too close. Like that effortlessly attractive, straight-A guy in high school, "Lucky" seemingly has no bumps or flaws and ultimately no soul -- it impresses the hell out of you and leaves it at that. After the oohing...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 12, 2007

From orchestra with love

Tokyo Chamber Orchestra performs a concert of musical classics at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space on Jan. 19. Titled "Bringing Much Love to You," the concert presents an indulgent program in which the recurring theme, unsurprisingly, is love.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 12, 2007

A collection of the semifamous

Purposely or not, bands tend to create personas along with their music. The persona is usually based on that of the lead singer or otherwise most conspicuous member, and musicians who find that their needs for self-expression don't jibe with their group's persona either quit for solo careers or set up...
BUSINESS
Jan 12, 2007

Lawson first convenience store chain to sell sashimi

Lawson Inc. will begin selling sashimi at selected stores on Jan. 18, becoming Japan's first convenience store chain to offer sliced raw fish, company sources said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
Jan 12, 2007

Dr. Lonnie Smith "Jungle Soul"

Hammond B-3 organ-master Lonnie Smith's 20-some recordings have never strayed from his jazz-funk roots, but never before has he dug down so deep as on his newest, "Jungle Soul."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 12, 2007

Folk spirit, dub groove

Like many aspects of Ainu culture, the music of Hokkaido's indigenous people is distinct from that of the rest of Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 12, 2007

Afrirampo

'We get our influences from food -- cucumbers, carrots and spring onions and rosemary." If Afrirampo's supposed musical inspiration seems a bit bland, their tracks certainly are not.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 12, 2007

Twinned through film

Directors Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe are best-known for their document of the great Terry Gilliam film that never was, "Lost In La Mancha." You'd think that making "Lost" -- which shows the demise of Gilliam's dream project -- would be enough to discourage anyone from making a feature film, but apparently...
EDITORIALS
Jan 12, 2007

Opportunity in Somalia

Somalia's recent history is sad and confusing. The war-torn country has had 14 governments in 15 years; none has been able to stabilize the country. Most recently, Ethiopia sent troops into Somalia to drive the ruling Union of Islamic Courts from power and restore the government of President Abdullahi...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Jan 12, 2007

No curtain call for this duo

The world of fashion is no stranger to an excess of marketing hype surrounding creations with a singular lack of substance, and Tokyo is no exception.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 12, 2007

Wine bars you can't afford to miss

Tokyo is awash with wine these days. Any restaurant that wants to be taken seriously -- and, more importantly, has high overheads to cover -- must boast a well-stocked cellar, preferably glass-fronted, carefully illuminated and strategically placed in full view of the dining room.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 12, 2007

'Akumu Tantei'

Shinya Tsukamoto has long labored on the fringes of the Japanese film industry, not always by choice. The original cyberpunk bad boy of Japanese movies, Tsukamoto burst onto the scene in 1989 with "Tetsuo," a film so extreme in its violence, sex and general insanity, including an interlude with a whirling...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jan 12, 2007

Noh encounters of the lily kind

Richard Emmert, a professor at Waseda University and instructor in the Kita school of noh, will present a new play on Jan. 19 at Tokyo's Komaba Eminaasu Hall.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2007

Tokyo tells India to forsake nukes and join the NPT

Japan refused on Wednesday to acknowledge India as a legitimate nuclear weapons state and demanded that it join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2007

Baby boomers can continue to shine

A large number of postwar baby boomers reach retirement age this year. The working population, aged 15 to 64, will decrease by several hundred thousand people every year while the number of citizens aged 65 or older will continue to increase.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2007

Moving beyond the use of military force

"We continue to emphasize our differences instead of what we have in common. We continue to talk about 'us' versus 'them.' Only when we can start to talk about 'us' as including all of humanity will we truly be at peace . . ."

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight