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SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 2, 2008

Capello in tough spot when it came to decision on Beckham

LONDON — Fabio Capello was always going to be damned if he picked David Beckham and damned if he dropped him for his first game as England manager against Switzerland on Wednesday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 2, 2008

A classroom with altitude

When I taught English at a Japanese university, I struggled with how to get the students to think outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, they would speak perfect English, yet once they went out into the real world, they froze up and couldn't speak at all. Now I know why.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 2, 2008

Celebrating black Americans in Yamanashi

American diplomat Ayanna Hobbs is a dynamo of energy and enthusiasm. She's just finished her weekly Japanese class, and thinks it the most amazing coincidence that her wonderful teacher happens to be from Yamanashi, the prefecture that lies so close to her heart.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / WALKING THE WARDS
Feb 1, 2008

Harboring dreams

Second of two parts
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 1, 2008

'Lust, Caution'

All movies require some suspension of disbelief, but some need a lot more than others. I had an easier time swallowing "Beowulf" than director Ang Lee's latest, "Lust, Caution." "Beowulf" trades in fantasy so you make the leap; "Lust, Caution" seeks to explore real human emotions and rings hopelessly...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 31, 2008

Tilting the balance back to darkness

In the minds of casual observers, Japan is simple. Between lovers of tradition and those enraptured by Japan's quirky window into an urban future, it's either the former land of austere, honorable warriors or the current one of air-headed, emotionally overwrought manga characters.
Reader Mail
Jan 31, 2008

'Vote for change' plays the same

It has been said that the citizens of Osaka voted in youthful TV celebrity Toru Hashimoto on Sunday because they were voting for change. But the election highlights just the opposite. Instead of voting in someone capable of pushing forward real political change, the citizens of Osaka have opted to vote...
JAPAN
Jan 29, 2008

Fishery, consumer groups say no to nuclear reprocessing in Rokkasho

Groups opposed to the nuclear-fuel reprocessing plant in Aomori Prefecture handed an 850,000-signature petition to the government Monday, demanding it rethink atomic power strategy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 29, 2008

Law schools come under friendly fire

With its first crop of graduates just entering the legal profession, Japan's new law school system is in trouble. The schools, most of which opened their doors in 2004, are already struggling with the mismatch between the number of law students, which is unregulated, and the number of people who are...
Reader Mail
Jan 29, 2008

Sexist take on mother's role

Regarding Barry Ward's Jan. 24 letter, "Empathy, common sense lacking": Blaming women for the chikan (groping) problem on trains is like blaming the victim of rape for wearing a short shirt. Placing the burden of society's ills on the shoulders of mothers is not only sexist, but ignorant as well. Children...
MORE SPORTS
Jan 28, 2008

Woods takes suspense out of Buick Invitational

SAN DIEGO — Break out the umbrellas for rain, and the white flags for Tiger Woods.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jan 28, 2008

Nightmare becomes reality: Classic credit crunch leaves policymakers floundering

In this column last month, I talked about the nightmarish possibility of a global financial crash. Well, a month is a long time in economics, and the nightmare has well and truly become reality.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jan 27, 2008

Justice Minister talks in death-penalty riddles

What does Japan's justice minister, Kunio Hatoyama think of the looming introduction of citizens' juries, also known as the lay-judge system — which is potentially the most revolutionary change set to affect Japan's trial system since World War II?
SOCCER / World cup
Jan 26, 2008

Okada's second era begins against Chile

Japan goes back to the future on Saturday night as Takeshi Okada oversees his first match back in charge of the national side with a friendly at National Stadium against Chile.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 26, 2008

Racy approach to English picks up speed

"Your questions were hard," mails Darian Wilson, chief executive officer of FAQ, the day after we meet. "But I appreciate them as they caused me to rethink the meaning behind this project."
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 26, 2008

Retirement — island style

In case you haven't heard, the Seto Inland Sea islands are experiencing a mini-boom. Thanks to government programs that highlight the joys of island life, there has been a slow but hopeful movement of people out to the islands. Healthy living, safe neighborhoods and natural surroundings are just some...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 25, 2008

'American Gangster'

According to gangster-cinema logic, a gang boss wallows in crime and murder largely because he feels obligated (often willingly so) to look after the people on his turf: to keep the streets safe, his family well-fed and his business thriving. The contradiction is, of course, that by doing so a gang boss...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Jan 25, 2008

Tokyo hones the craft of the cocktail

"The best bartenders on the planet all work in Ginza," claims Masahiro Kon, ex-bartender and award-winning cocktail creator. "In the U.S., they're mixing drinks with herbs and other weird ingredients, but in Ginza the best guys just polish their cocktails like jewels."
BASEBALL / MLB
Jan 24, 2008

BoSox announce new partnership

The Boston Red Sox and longtime marketing partner EMC have expanded their partnership ahead of the Ricoh Japan Opening Series 2008 the team announced on Wednesday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 24, 2008

From ordinary to spectacular

Go Aoki is one of Japan's most in-demand playwrights and directors. The small venues where his Gring theater company typically stages his works attract drama-world insiders — as a result, besides taking Gring on the road in early 2008, Aoki has already been enlisted for three high-profile collaborations....
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2008

Build that nest egg with government help

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — People are fascinated by wealth. They enjoy watching the wealthy, savoring the thought of their fine homes, luxurious vacations, fancy cars, and gourmet dining. But if you infer from this that people spend a lot of time planning the lifetime accumulation of their own wealth, you...
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Jan 23, 2008

Bay Area fans unfair to target Dunleavy

NEW YORK — Warriors fans who booed Mike Dunleavy when he played for their team and continued to do so each time he touched the ball last week at Oracle Arena, his first appearance there since being traded to the Pacers, are easily the NBA's most unrefined.
LIFE / Language
Jan 22, 2008

Corny corkers add life to lingo, you elephant!

First of two parts
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2008

Newly democratic Bhutan in a tight spot

MADRAS, India — Bhutan is now a democracy. Its transition from a monarchy to a democracy has been smooth. The tiny country, where Buddhism is the state religion, has been applauded by the world for changing with the times, and not waiting to be pushed like Pakistan, which has stubbornly refused to...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 20, 2008

People keep their eyes on the TV screen — well, at least one eye

When home-appliance manufacturer Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. announced earlier this month that it was renaming itself Panasonic Corp., the company said it was doing so in order to unify its various brand names, which, in addition to Panasonic, included Matsushita and National. This strategy would...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 20, 2008

Hitting hairdressing's highs the flat-top way

Wielding a hair dryer in one hand, a comb in the other, and with another comb held between his teeth, hairdresser Hideki Sato, 34, tackles the jet-black locks of a male model.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 19, 2008

Canadian garden of unity and reconciliation

"Hello," wrote an old Japan buddy back on her native British Columbian soil. "I've met a woman — Rumiko Kanesaka — who's helping build a Japanese garden on Salt Spring Island where I live. Would you like to talk with her?"
CULTURE / Film
Jan 18, 2008

'Earth'

The nature documentary has long been a staple of the small screen, whether its NHK or the BBC, but in recent years more and more have been showing up in the cinemas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 18, 2008

Spoon tune in to Radio Ga Ga

Spoon always seemed to be on the verge of greatness. Each successive album from the indie-rock quartet since they formed in Austin, Texas, in 1994 has sold more than the one before. Critics, too, have been supportive — even in the '90s when they were the tiniest of blips on the radar.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?