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JAPAN
May 23, 2009

Internet eyed as path to clean politics

The Nishimatsu Construction Co. fundraising scandal is shaking up the political landscape, with some lawmakers calling for removing businesses from the fundraising picture in favor of individual donations.
BUSINESS
May 22, 2009

Sony plans to slash suppliers in major test of CEO's mettle

Sony Corp. said Thursday it will halve the number of parts suppliers to slash costs under a turnaround plan that is testing the mettle of Chief Executive Howard Stringer.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 22, 2009

'L'heure d'ete'

Moliere once wrote that the wonder of a French vacance lay in its "deep, profound dullness, those hours and hours of time, marked only by meals and interminable glasses of wine." A similar kind of wonder propels the intimate, endearingly smug "L'heure d'ete" (international title: "Summer Hours") —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 22, 2009

A Flood of Circle "Buffalo Soul"

The strength of A Flood of Circle's 2007 debut eponymous EP helped the Tokyo quartet secure a coveted spot on the rookie stage at that summer's Fuji Rock Festival. A clear sign of bigger things to come, with the release of their first full-length recording, "Buffalo Soul," the act have again scored an...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 22, 2009

A mother alone

To launch Za Koenji, the new public theater in Suginami Ward designed by Toyo Ito, artistic director Makoto Sato made the bold decision to present "Keshou Two Acts" ("Makeup"), a one-woman play by renowned writer and director Hisashi Inoue that stars Misako Watanabe. Now 76, the veteran actress first...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
May 22, 2009

Phoenix's Nakamura looks back on team's first season in bj-league

Despite a 36-win regular season, the best record in the Eastern Conference, and a trip to the Final Four, Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix coach Kazuo Nakamura didn't describe his team's first season in the bj-league as a resounding success.
MORE SPORTS
May 21, 2009

'Cowboy Shingo' tips hat to Masters achievement

The first thing you notice is the hat.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2009

What do the North Koreans really want?

WASHINGTON — The latest statements out of North Korea appear to be telegraphing Pyongyang's next set of provocative moves. It has threatened further ballistic missile tests, another nuclear test, and steps to acquire its own civilian nuclear capabilities unless the United Nations "apologizes" for its...
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 21, 2009

Nakamura faces tough decision when Celtic deal expires

Shunsuke Nakamura might be thinking of nothing other than winning the Scottish league title with Celtic for the time being, but sooner or later he will have to decide what comes next.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 19, 2009

IC you: bugging the alien

When the Japanese government first issued alien registration cards (aka gaijin cards) in 1952, it had one basic aim in mind: to track "foreigners" (at that time, mostly Korean and Taiwanese stripped of Japanese colonial citizenship) who decided to stay in postwar Japan.
Reader Mail
May 17, 2009

Real effects of an atomic bomb

Regarding Masanobu Saito's May 10 letter, "Obama should not visit Hiroshima": I'm rather confused by his logic. We have a saying: "Seeing his believing." If world leaders should take all necessary steps to ban nuclear weapons to save Earth, not only U.S. President Barack Obama but also Russian President...
Reader Mail
May 17, 2009

First things first to fight the flu

Japan is undoubtedly the most hygienic country in the world. The national fetish for clean hands is symbolized in the honorary wet towel. Most foreigners like to poke fun at this fixation for clean hands, but we do secretly admire the custom and miss it when we return to our home countries.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2009

Co-opting terror in Saudi Arabia's neighbor

LONDON — In a prominent hadith, the Prophet Muhammad said: "If disorder threatens, take refuge in Yemen." The prophet was referring to the prosperous and civilized Yemen. But today disorder and radicalization in Yemen are beginning to infect Saudi Arabia, and thus the safety of the world's largest...
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2009

A story line to push the economy

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Since hitting bottom in early March, the world's major stock markets have all risen dramatically. Some, notably in China and Brazil, reached lows last fall and again in March, before rebounding sharply, with Brazil's Bovespa up 75 percent in May compared to late October 2008, and...
LIFE / Style & Design / WEEK 3
May 17, 2009

Capital's new rail map is on the right lines

We all depend on them, especially when we are new to a place, but how many subway users realize that their trusty transit maps are the subject of a tug-of-war between the forces of geographical accuracy and graphical distortion in the interests of ease of use?
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 17, 2009

Lay-judge drama, exotic real estate, and Kimutaku's 'Mr. Brain'

The new lay judge system starts on May 21, so it's not surprising that somebody decided to make a two-hour suspense drama to mark the occasion. However, the subtitle of "Hotei Suspense" ("Trial Suspense"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.) sounds like this might not be the best way to promote the new system: "Do you...
JAPAN
May 17, 2009

Hatoyama must unite party quickly

After taking the helm of the Democratic Party of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama will have no breathing space at all as he attempts to lead the main opposition party back into position to take the pivotal Lower House election it had been favored to win.
EDITORIALS
May 16, 2009

Marine relocation to Guam

The Diet on Wednesday endorsed a Japan-U.S. accord on the planned transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam by 2014. The opposition-controlled Upper House voted it down, but under a constitutional provision, the Lower House's earlier approval of it prevailed.
JAPAN
May 16, 2009

Quarantined students, teacher target of ill will

Three high school students and a teacher from Osaka who were the first people in Japan confirmed to have the new flu have become the target of malicious phone calls and e-mails, local board of education and municipal officials said Friday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
May 16, 2009

Diplomacy in love, life and work

Aiko Tanaka, 27, met Olegs Orlovs, 27, for the first time when she visited his home country, Latvia, as a tourist with her family in 2002. Olegs was her tour guide.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
May 16, 2009

Holy mackerel — a fish story

If you live in Japan long enough, various shipwrecks of odd jobs will float your way. For example, a short while ago I was asked to do some translation work regarding . . . fish.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2009

Sony logs ¥228 billion loss, sees more red ink

Sony Corp. suffered a record ¥227.78 billion group operating loss for the business year that ended on March 31, blaming plummeting global demand and the yen's surge against other currencies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2009

'State of Play'

There's a scene in "State of Play" where an unkempt, hard-nosed veteran reporter (Russell Crowe) — you know, the type who drink their whiskey straight, out of a paper cup — meets his new colleague, a younger, perkier journalist (Rachel McAdams) who bangs out gossipy blogs for their newspaper's digital...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 15, 2009

Gauguin: 'I shall never do anything better'

Was he just a "Sunday painter" who abandoned his wife and five children for a bohemian life in a distant island paradise — where he died of syphilis and poverty in the arms of a teenage mistress?

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’