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Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Sep 8, 2006

Dover Street shop storms into Tokyo

When it comes to revolutionary retail concept stores in Japan, there's no getting away from Tokyo's Aoyama district. That area's latest major opening comes from none other than Japan's epoch-making fashion house Comme des Garcons.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2006

Newspapers to set up joint Web site

A group of 51 newspaper publishers in Japan including The Japan Times said Thursday it will establish a new company this month that will create a Web site containing news and regional information.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

New leader to be named on Sept. 26

The main ruling and opposition parties agreed Thursday to pick the successor to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in an extra Diet session on Sept. 26, lawmakers said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Sep 8, 2006

Staying mellow about 'malo' wine

T hose who were drinking white wines in the late 1980s and early '90s will remember the virtual tsunami of heavily oaked "butter bomb" style Chardonnays that swept the world. Living in London at the time, I couldn't tell whether sea levels were rising or the entire country was sinking under the weight...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Hyde Park

When and where: Saitama is really part of Tokyo, except when you get far enough out and places like Inariyama Park in Sayama feel a bit like Woodstock. That's even more the case on Sept. 9 and 10 (noon to 8:30 p.m.), when more than 20 bands perform at the Hyde Park Music Festival.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Horie's lawyer says client being framed

The chief lawyer for Takafumi Horie, on trial on charges of inflating the earnings of Internet services company Livedoor Co., is accusing prosecutors of framing his client.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Top court rejects appeal in '97 robbery-murder

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal Thursday by a man who was sentenced to death for killing a couple in a robbery-murder case in 1997 in Osaka Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Taking J-rock values stateside

On the eve of the longest and perhaps most important tour of their almost decade-long career, Dir en grey were putting on a brave face.
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2006

Recovery from failed policy

LONDON -- Some U.S. and British politicians argue that to tackle terrorism effectively human rights must be subject to increasing limitations. In wartime Britain (1939-45), human rights were curtailed and some innocent people were locked up. The British accepted this at the time as necessary to combat...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 8, 2006

Shakespeare performed in Sendai's native tongue

The Shakespeare Company Japan has been incorporating local Japanese dialects and settings in its innovative adaptations of plays by The Bard since it was founded in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture in 1993.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

Various Artists "Peace Not War Japan"

Charity music has a rich tradition in Western countries, from 1985's "Live Aid" extravaganza to War Child's benchmark album of indie philanthropy, the 1996 "Help" compilation. Given the size and wealth of Japan's music industry, it might be expected to chip in where poverty and strife raise their ugly...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 8, 2006

Shizuka Gozen dances the dance in Kamakura

The Tokyo-based Public Art Forum is organizing a day of cultural activities in Kamakura on Sept. 30. The forum is organizing a lecture on the role of women who lived in samurai society, including a walking tour of places in Kamakura where these women frequented, such as Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, and...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Kimura admits window-dressing but denies fraud in building safety scandal

Former Kimura Construction Co. President Moriyoshi Kimura, a key figure in the building safety scandal, pleaded not guilty Thursday to fraud for allegedly selling a building he knew did not meet earthquake-resistance standards, but admitted to window-dressing.
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2006

A faux debate to justify aggressive war

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush has faced surprisingly little serious opposition to his disastrous foreign policy. The left was divided over Iraq and many of those who opposed Bush did so for partisan or even personal reasons. Unfortunately, little has changed.
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2006

Tokyo Gas to use 10 billion yen to replace old water heaters

Tokyo Gas Co. plans to spend about 10 billion yen to replace old bath and water heaters over a three-year period starting next spring to ensure the safety of household gas appliances, company officials said Thursday.
CULTURE / Music
Sep 8, 2006

The Dears "Gang of Losers"

Before Arcade Fire made Montreal's indie scene famous a couple of years ago, The Dears were already attracting attention with their dark, cinematic art-pop. Since debuting in 2000 and achieving moderate success, they have also made fans out of artists -- such as Morrissey -- who had influenced them in...
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2006

Imperial baby joins his mother

Princess Kiko's baby boy was moved into her room at Aiiku Hospital in Tokyo on Thursday morning after spending the night in the newborn baby unit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 8, 2006

A beautiful bird burns bright

For those of you under the impression that actress Famke Janssen is some sort of megasexbomb ultravixen, I have news for you: You're right. Towering at over 180 cm in heels and still bearing the physique of a Bond girl 10 years after she appeared in "Goldeneye," the actress is intimidatingly gorgeous....
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2006

Mitarai briefs Abe on China's cooperation hope

Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on Thursday told Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe that China wants to cooperate with Japan on environmental protection and energy conservation, and that the Japanese business community also hopes to work together in these areas,...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 8, 2006

Worldwide sounds

In Britain, dance culture went into overdrive in the late 1980s, largely because of one thing: Ecstasy. As well as helping shy people dance, Ecstasy also meant that people could stay up for the entire weekend, partying at raves to acid house music. These same clubbers also needed a place to head to after...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 8, 2006

Chopin and Schumann lead roster of Romantic classics

Tokushima Symphony Orchestra invites pianist Susumu Aoyagi and conductor Hideaki Hirai to perform a program of Romantic classical music at Tokushima Bunka Center in Tokushima City, Shikoku, on Sept. 16.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2006

NTT firms say sweet potatoes best to fight heat

NTT Urban Development Co. and NTT Facilities Inc. have found that growing sweet potatoes on roofs is an effective way to combat the high heat found in urban centers.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2006

Princess Kiko delivers a boy

Princess Kiko, the wife of Prince Akishino, the Emperor's second son, gave birth to a boy Wednesday morning, a long-awaited male heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Longform

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