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COMMENTARY
Jul 8, 2009

Bolstering Japan-U.S. ties

The Obama administration has shown great good will toward Japan. This was evidenced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's testimony at her Senate confirmation hearing, her choice of Japan as the first country she visited after taking office and the fact that Prime Minister Taro Aso was the first foreign...
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2009

Balanced news key for Yahoo Japan

While Yahoo Japan's news service has grown bigger and more powerful with the rise of the Internet, it has become tougher for the media to broadcast news with important value to its audience, said Michihiro Okumura, who leads a team that selects Yahoo Japan's news topics for its front page.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jul 7, 2009

Hobbs replaced as Japan's basketball coach

The Japanese national basketball team almost seems cursed. Every time it tries to move forward, there is some kind of disturbance.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jul 7, 2009

Cops crack down with 'I pee' checks

My blog has been getting periodic pings about rumblings in Roppongi: Tokyo cops cleaning out pesky foreign touts before Olympic inspectors see them; the U.S. Embassy warning Americans to stay away from the area after reports of drugged drinks and thefts.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jul 7, 2009

Charity clothes swap proves big hit, perfect fit with Tokyo ladies

For many people, clothing has a way of accumulating. Heaps of clothes rise ever higher in rooms and closets and stay there for months on end. Much of the clothing is outgrown, unwanted or rarely worn at best. It's a familiar scenario, especially for those people who love to shop.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2009

Hong Kong tourism week peaks with bagpipes, wine, giveaways

A weeklong celebration of Hong Kong climaxed Saturday at Roppongi Hills in Minato Ward, Tokyo, as various events were launched to promote travel to the city.
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2009

Rapid change in our atmosphere

Andrew Sheldon's June 28 letter, "Warming up to third-grade math," was an interesting but not enlightening read. As a physicist, I am skeptical of initial claims but am always willing to accept them after getting sufficient proof. The proof of global warming lies in our knowledge of the amount of greenhouse...
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2009

Approach to a stable food supply

Regarding the June 27 article " 'Veggie factories' find fertile ground": I would like to add the perspective of a farmer from the lettuce-producing village in Nagano Prefecture mentioned in the article — Kawakami — which by the way was misspelled in the article. I first heard of "veggie factories"...
LIFE / Travel
Jul 5, 2009

Taking an Izu Islands tonic

Through half-closed eyelids, the sea sparkles. A bamboo screen dapples the sunlight, and the world is reduced to contrast, to flashes of light and shade. The air is a hot, distilled essence of summer. Each time the salt dries on my skin, I make the small commute from towel to waves and dive in. The water...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 5, 2009

Taking an Izu Islands tonic

Through half-closed eyelids, the sea sparkles. A bamboo screen dapples the sunlight, and the world is reduced to contrast, to flashes of light and shade. The air is a hot, distilled essence of summer. Each time the salt dries on my skin, I make the small commute from towel to waves and dive in. The water...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jul 5, 2009

The Shanxi trilogy: films that never made it back home

Sometimes called the most significant of the current generation of Chinese film directors, Jia Zhangke (b. 1970) enjoys the distinction of never having had some of his finest work commercially shown in his own country.
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2009

More sympathetic than Americans

Regarding Eric Hilton's June 25 letter, "Japanese is just a language": Hilton's point is well made and his observations are in line with my experiences at a college in Japan, where I have taught for four years. I think the issue he raises of the importance of respecting a target language is overlooked....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 3, 2009

Propeller puts an old spin back on the Bard

"Propeller may be another English group of actors doing a play by their compatriot, Shakespeare, but this is something quite different. How different? . . . Well, you will understand what I mean if you see it!"
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 30, 2009

Re: Something to sing about?

Following are some readers' responses to Nicholas Drapier's June 2 Zeit Gist article "Something to sing about?":
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jun 30, 2009

Hard work, honesty, ability to adapt seen as fundament of success

Satbhag "Paul" Warraich, president of the Moti chain, is, like his restaurants, somewhat of a Tokyo icon.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 29, 2009

Two cheers from the grave punctuate the nationalization of GM

The automaker General Motors filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and there are surely two people rejoicing in their graves at the news. One of them is John DeLorean. The other is Clement Attlee.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2009

More European hope, less American fear

PARIS — Since the arrival of President Barack Obama in the White House, there has been an undeniable rapprochement between Europe and the United States. But on the deeper and more fundamental level of emotions and values, is it possible that the gap between the two sides of the Atlantic has widened?...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2009

Netanyahu should lay off useless demands

HAIFA, Israel — Ever since the Six Day War of June 1967, a small number of Israelis, not all on the left, has supported the idea of two states as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most of their compatriots have rejected it, as have the Palestinians.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 28, 2009

Luang Prabang, Laos: Mekong musings and much more

Watching sunset over the swirling Mekong River from one of Luang Prabang's riverside cafes while sipping a therapeutic Beer Lao is hard to beat.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 28, 2009

Seduced by the stereotype: a meeting and parting of East and West

A prequel to her autobiographical best-selling novel "Fear and Trembling," Amelie Nothomb's "Tokyo Fiancee" is a slight tale of love and doubting in Japan. The narrative overlaps the time period of "Fear and Trembling," recounting the years between Amelie's return to Japan from Belgium after 16 years...
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 28, 2009

Chiang Mai: Thailand's beguiling Rose of the North

It is a great time to visit Thailand. The political crisis has abated, the airport is open, everything is a bargain and tourists are few and far between. What more could a traveler ask for?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 27, 2009

Japanese hardware stores — hard, 'anyware'

Australia has Bunnings and the U.S. has Lowe's, do-it-yourself super stores that sell anything you could ever need for remodeling your house. They are hardware stores, timber yards and home decor shops all in one.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2009

Aso hints at calling snap election

Despite his dwindling opinion poll numbers, Prime Minister Taro Aso said Thursday that he will dissolve the Lower House before too long, brushing off growing calls within his own Liberal Democratic Party to find a new leader.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2009

Misia changes with charity

I think that you can convey a fact by words, but you can not convey the truth only with those words," says Misia, taking a break from recording sessions in Tokyo's Shibuya district. "And I believe music is what can fill it out."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Jun 26, 2009

Bamboo: Japan's sherry amour

At the Sea Guardian II bar in Yokohama's historic Hotel New Grand, a laminated addendum to the menu offers thoughts on selected drinks. Of the Bamboo cocktail, the writer asks, "Is this the foreigners' image of Japan?"
Reader Mail
Jun 25, 2009

Japanese is just a language

The other day in English class I shocked a student by supplying her with a translation of the Japanese proverb "Even monkeys fall from trees." (The English-language proverb I used for the translation was "Even Homer sometimes nods.") The student seemed amazed that English had proverbs; she had believed...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jun 25, 2009

"Yakult Lady" Chie Takamizawa

Chie Takamizawa, 30, is a "Yakult Lady" in downtown Tokyo. A mother of two boys, aged 8 and 9, she first got on her delivery bicycle when her second baby turned 8 months old. With almost eight years of speeding through alleys and avenues, Takamizawa delivers healthy beverages, yogurt and Yakult, a delicious...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear