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JAPAN
Mar 5, 2012

SDF to join U.S.-Filipino military drill

Kyodo The Self-Defense Forces will participate for the first time in joint annual military exercises involving U.S. and Filipino forces in the Philippines from the end of this month to April, Japanese and Filipino diplomatic sources said Saturday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 4, 2012

Taro Yamamoto: Actor in the spotlight of Japan's antinuke movement

On a rainy midwinter day, Taro Yamamoto stood with a small group of people in front of Shimokitazawa Station in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward and addressed passers-by in that artsy youth-culture hub.
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2012

Cancer, heart disease, stroke deaths plunge to 50-year low

Death rates from cancer, heart disease and cerebrovascular diseases that lead to strokes are at their lowest levels in more than half a century, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said earlier this week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 3, 2012

'Alternative labor' helps Ishinomaki rebuild

Jamie El-Banna, 27, is a self-professed "cynical Londoner" who says he's "not a nice guy" and admits he is known to many as something of a party animal interested mostly in getting drunk. But a look at his recent track record reveals he's now spent over nine months volunteering in tsunami-ravaged Ishinomaki,...
BUSINESS
Mar 3, 2012

Aussie coal firm prices aid utilities

Xstrata PLC, the mining firm that sets prices for Australia's thermal coal exports, is poised to keep contracts within $4 of last year's all-time high as it negotiates with Japanese utilities recovering from the March 11 disasters.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 2, 2012

Hungary needs voice of Radio Free Europe

In recent weeks, the Hungarian government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban has frequently attacked Western media outlets but none more than CNN for its reports on the sorry state of Hungarian democracy. Hungarians can still watch CNN, but since January, the network is no longer part of the package...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 2, 2012

Boat show stresses awareness

If you're looking forward to a summer of marine sports or fishing, this might be the place to start. The Japan International Boat Show 2012 is currently underway in Yokohama and will continue through Sunday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 2, 2012

Tommy February6 makes a heavenly return

The pop music industry — it's enough to turn anyone into a schizophrenic. And Tomoko Kawase is perhaps J-pop's most fragmented personality of all.
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2012

Better stalking measures needed

Two murders in Nagasaki Prefecture in December 2011 show that the police are ineffective in preventing stalking-related crime. Police nationwide need to improve their methods for deterring stalkers, including how and when to share information with different police units. They should not forget that a...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 2, 2012

Fiery Nara festival promises to spark some good luck for its visitors

Shuni-e, a ceremony consisting of a series of rituals that have celebrated the coming of spring for over 1,000 years, will take place at Nara's Todai-ji Temple this month. The rituals are performed to bring good fortune to all of those who visit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 2, 2012

After 3/11, short-film director has one message: Don't forget

Isamu Hirabayashi is an incredibly versatile man. The 39-year-old Shizuoka native's day job is to direct TV commercials, and he normally works on five or six projects at the same time. Since 2002, he has also been active as a filmmaker, with his short films being shown at numerous festivals overseas,...
Reader Mail
Mar 1, 2012

Scale of deception beyond belief

My personal mantra is "expect the worst," but not even that bleak perspective could have prepared me for the dark facts revealed in the Feb. 27 article "Tsunami alert softened days before 3/11." The scale of virtual deception portrayed in the story is beyond anything I ever would have expected.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 1, 2012

Toquiwa gets a great gift from The Wedding Present

There's no doubt that the best way for an independent band to tour in another country is by opening for one that people have actually heard of. So when spunky all-girl Tokyo four-piece Toquiwa befriended 1990s indie-rock heroes The Wedding Present, its members jumped at the chance to support the British...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2012

Pedigree, big returns lured investors to AIJ

A pension fund based in Nagano Prefecture said it invested with AIJ Investment Advisors Co., whose business has been suspended by regulators, because it was run by a former Nomura Holdings Inc. manager and offered 7 percent returns.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 28, 2012

Immigration inmates live life of limbo, at officials' whim

Abubakar Awudu Suraj spent 20 months in an Immigration Bureau detention center before being manhandled onto a jetliner at Narita airport for deportation back to Ghana in March 2010.
JAPAN
Feb 26, 2012

Overseas experts urge Japan to create 'safety culture' in nuke power industry

Visiting overseas nuclear experts on Saturday urged Japan to create a culture of safety among its power companies and energy industry regulators, calling this the best way to avoid another nuclear disaster.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Feb 26, 2012

AV stars out to play despite hard times

Since her steamy debut in late 2008, adult-video (AV) actress Kokomi Naruse has starred in hundreds of features, many of which find her playing a young girl desired by older men.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 24, 2012

Dance troupe adds special Tohoku show

Lucnica, the Slovak National Folklore Ballet from Bratislava, has been described by a journalist at French newspaper La Marseillaise as "The Rolling Stones of folklore." Perhaps what the writer meant is that they aren't likely to gather any moss.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2012

Morning movies: 50 audience favorites to get you out of bed

Moviegoers set your alarms early, because the Toho Cinemas chain will in March begin its third annual Gozen Jū-ji no Eiga Sai (10 a.m. Film Festival). This year's event is the second series under the tag line "50 Films That Never Get Old," and the yearlong "festival" showcases 50 classic films, ranging...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 24, 2012

Film focuses on Brazil's favelas

Brazil, halfway across the globe from here, is known for its colorful Carnival, devotion to soccer, and increasing economic power. Its image, however, is sometimes marred by street violence, drug-trafficking and police corruption.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Feb 24, 2012

Festival in Niigata takes advantage of the weather for snow-themed fun

Niigata Prefecture hopes to take advantage of its annual helping of heavy snow to organize what appears to be a feverish and even sweaty festival this weekend.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2012

Is the World Wide Web about to be 'closed'?

Within the tech community, there is much angst about whether the Web is about to be "closed." Will it be controlled by companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google, or will it remain "open" to all?
Reader Mail
Feb 23, 2012

Heart of Japan's administration

Jeff Kingston's Feb. 6 review of my recent book, "JAPAN'S NUCLEAR CRISIS: The Routes of Responsibility," is baffling. Kingston thinks that the title misleads and that the work is hastily cobbled together, relying on materials from prior texts. He protests that I do not put the Ministry of Economy, Trade...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 23, 2012

akai ko-en try to avoid getting caught in the Web

With a layered sound that blends postrock dynamics and sprawling song structures with pure J-pop sensibility, akai ko-en is quickly becoming one of Tokyo's most talked-about new bands. But just try searching for the group on YouTube and see how far you get.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami