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JAPAN
May 20, 2008

New Tsukiji site highly toxic: panel

The relocation site of the world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market has been contaminated with far more toxic chemical materials than previously thought and around 2 meters of surface soil will probably have to be replaced, an advisory panel to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Monday.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
May 18, 2008

Skaters going all out to try and keep ice rinks open

With Japan currently boasting the No. 1 ranked female (Mao Asada) and male (Daisuke Takahashi) figure skaters in the world, The Japan Times will begin a periodic notebook chronicling the latest news and notes on Japanese skaters in the buildup to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 17, 2008

Marriage sprang from struggle to master Japanese

May Uehara, who came to Japan from Hong Kong in 1986, speaks Japanese with such perfect intonation that people may at first mistake her for a native.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2008

'Yama no Anata'

Film remakes are usually reinterpretations. Gore Verbinski's "The Ring" (2002) has not only a different location (Pacific Northwest) but a different story line and mythology from Hideo Nakata's original "Ring (Ringu)" (1998).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2008

Jackie-O Motherfu**er

With a name like that, Jackie-O Motherf**ker is never going to be the kind of band you could take home to meet your parents.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
May 13, 2008

Ultraman creator Kazuho Mitsuta

Mitsuta, aged 70, is one of the creators of the Ultraman series, a science-fiction TV show that was a pioneer of the genre with its wildly imaginative mix of special effects with live action that brought to life hundreds of one-of-a-kind kaijus (monsters). Having produced and directed Ultraman for 44...
COMMENTARY
May 12, 2008

Let the Asians push aid to Burma

WATERLOO, Canada — CNN has quoted Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Burma, as saying that more than 100,000 may have died in the country's delta region alone from the deadly cyclone that hit May 3.
Reader Mail
May 11, 2008

Forefront of humanitarian work

It was nice to see in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn (May 7) the photo of a Japanese young lady, a member of the Follow the Women Foundation, visiting a refugee camp in Damascus, Syria. She was part of a group of 300 women from 26 countries who took part in the event in pursuit of their campaign for peace...
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 11, 2008

JEF United shows commitment with hiring of Miller

Given the state JEF United Chiba finds itself in, the club has pulled off a real coup in snaring Alex Miller for its vacant manager's job.
COMMENTARY
May 10, 2008

Britain's next government must beat mood of retreat

LONDON — Has the political tide in Britain now turned? And is the Labour Party under Prime Minister Gordon Brown now heading for defeat?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2008

Doudou N'Diaye Rose Percussion Orchestra

To look at him, you wouldn't guess that Doudou N'Diaye Rose is pushing 80. The Senegalese master percussionist stomps and dances around the stage with an energy befitting someone a quarter his age as he conducts drum ensembles of up to 100 members.
EDITORIALS
May 9, 2008

Smoother path between rivals

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao, in their meeting in Tokyo this week, reconfirmed the importance of the Japan-China relationship and showed their determination to put it on a smooth path through dialogue and cooperation by "looking toward the future." Mr. Hu's visit to Japan,...
BUSINESS
May 9, 2008

Forbes: Nintendo's Yamauchi richest in Japan

Hiroshi Yamauchi, former chairman of Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of hand-held game machines, overtook property developer Akira Mori to become the richest person in Japan, according to Forbes Asia's May 19 issue.
BASKETBALL
May 8, 2008

Ex-Grouses player rejoins Duke

Ex-Duke University captain Nate James, who played for the Toyama Grouses during their inaugural season in the bj-league in 2006-07, has returned to the program as a Blue Devils assistant coach, the ACC powerhouse school announced on Tuesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2008

An aura of controversy in the chase for the new

Ever since 1917, when Marcel Duchamp submitted a urinal to the Society of Independent Artists' exhibition, arguing that it was art, anything has become acceptable. Artist Chris Burden shot himself in the arm in a Los Angeles gallery in 1971; Piero Manzoni canned what was allegedly his own feces and sold...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 6, 2008

A Finnish way for the Japanese educational system?

Ever since students in Finland emerged as top performers in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), many teachers and policymakers in Japan have turned to this Scandinavian country of 5.2 million for insights on how to educate...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
May 6, 2008

As parent firm posts record profits, Berlitz teachers strike back

Question: How do you get to be on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires? You might inherit your wealth, take risks and get lucky, or work for it. For Soichiro Fukutake, owner of Berlitz's parent company Benesse, it's a case of "all the above."
BUSINESS / THE VIEW FROM EUROPE
May 5, 2008

Japan lags European peers on female empowerment

The latest EU-Japan summit wrapped up on April 23, with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda holding talks with European Council President Janez Jansa (the Slovenian prime minister) and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. The meeting came at a time when both Europe and Japan are facing an enormous...
COMMENTARY
May 4, 2008

A chance for Beijing to take a stand on health

LOS ANGELES — As matters now stand, accredited, professional journalists from Taiwan are once again being denied press passes by U.N. authorities to cover the annual World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization. This year's event takes place in Geneva on May 19. The topic is "A Safer Future:...
COMMENTARY / World
May 3, 2008

African Union has a role to play in Zimbabwe

JOHANNESBURG — Although the Chinese ship that was carrying arms to Zimbabwe, the An Yue Jiang, has reportedly turned back, we don't know where else President Robert Mugabe's military and paramilitary forces may be acquiring weapons.

Longform

The byzantine process for converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese one entails mountains of paperwork and significant stamina — unless you're a lucky license holder from a country or region where these requirements are waived.
Driving in Japan isn’t hard. Getting the license is.