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COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 3, 2012

Strong winds linger from the microaggressions tempest

Readers' responses to Debito Arudou's May 1 Just Be Cause column, "Yes, I can use chopsticks: the everyday 'microaggressions' that grind us down," his followup June 5 JBC column, "Guestists, Haters, the Vested: Apologists take many forms," and Colin P.A. Jones' counterarticle, "Much ado, but microimportant"...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Jul 3, 2012

All systems go for happy international campers

Shiro Matsuoka, 39, from Kawasaki, and Zhang Yi, 33, who hails from Changchung, China, first met in 2004 when they were working part-time at a McDonald's in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jul 3, 2012

In formulating immigration policy, no seat at the table for non-Japanese

Last month the Japanese government took baby steps toward an official immigration policy. Ten ministries and several specialist "people of awareness" (yūshikisha) held meetings aimed at creating a "coexistence society" (kyōsei shakai) within which non-Japanese (NJ) would be "accepted" (uke ire).
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jul 3, 2012

Health: It's in 'tokuho' label

Kirin Beverage Co.'s hit beverage Mets Cola has gained Consumer Affairs Agency recognition as "tokuho," which is short for "tokutei hokenyou shokuhin," or foods with special healthy qualities.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2012

In Sweden, Julian Assange would receive justice

Julian Assange's bizarre bid for political asylum in Ecuador's embassy in London has claimed headlines everywhere, but it has obscured an important truth: Last month's decision by the United Kingdom's Supreme Court that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face allegations of sexual crimes was the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 29, 2012

Today's J-blip: Yoshitomo Nara for No Nukes

Japanese protesters have been showing up in large numbers to say no to nukes. Popular artist Yoshitomo Nara is among them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 29, 2012

'The Amazing Spider-Man'

One telling scene in "The Amazing Spider-Man" is also the movie's defining moment. A high school English lit teacher explains to her class the premise of fiction and she gives it in three short words: "Who am I?" That's the question Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, struggles with in this reboot to the famed...
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2012

Tepco's self-justifying report

Tokyo Electric Power Co. on June 20 released its final report on the disaster at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco stated that the main cause of the accidents was the enormous scale of the tsunami that hit the plant, saying that it was beyond its expectations.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2012

Fewer users inclined to recycle cellphones

For the first time in three years, the number of mobile phones recycled in Japan was down in fiscal 2011, a reflection of the tendency of people to hang on to their handsets even after canceling their contracts, according to the Telecommunications Carriers Association.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2012

Mudy on the Sakuban "Zyacalanda"

Nagoya five-piece instrumental rock band Mudy on the Sakuban's "Zyacalanda" EP is their fifth release in as many years. The eight-track effort was produced by Yoshimitsu Taki, the guitarist for local emo/post-hardcore act 9mm Parabellum Bullet. Impressed with Mudy on the Sakuban's output on the EP, Taki...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2012

DJ Kentaro set to scratch a new itch

Only a handful of artists can say they've reached the top of their trade, but Kentaro Okamoto is one of them. As DJ Kentaro, his record-scratching skills got him noticed by beat heads worldwide back in 2002, when he won the DMC World DJ Final in London. But, now this DJ wants an image change.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2012

Panasonic to simplify management group as it moves to end losses

Panasonic Corp. will revamp its main management group to pare its size as it aims to shift away from its money-losing television business to more profitable batteries and solar cells.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jun 26, 2012

British drama coach Gavin Bantock at top of his game; casts take a bow

If drama were a sport, then the name Gavin Bantock would probably be known throughout Japan.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jun 24, 2012

Mutombo using stature to make a difference in world

Dikembe Mutombo commands attention, and it's not because he towers over people at 218 cm, or the fascinating fact that he speaks nine languages (including five African dialects) or blocked 3,289 shots during his 18-season NBA career. Simply put, the big fellow has lived a remarkable life.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 24, 2012

Katmandu beckons all who visit Nepal

Everest may be its most famous site, and Lumbini one of its holiest, but Nepal has plenty more to offer. Annapurna is the country's other great trekking location, while Chitwan National Park is home to some of the region's rarest wildlife, offering the chance to spot the endangered Bengal tiger, as well...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 24, 2012

The doomsday cult of 9-to-5 depression

One of the enduring mysteries of the Aum Shinrikyo atrocities of the 1990s is the ease with which the cult attracted members. The arrest this month of the last two fugitives allegedly involved in Aum's fatal 1995 sarin gas assault on the Tokyo subway system recalls the whole ghastly episode, together...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 23, 2012

Aussie rejects salaryman lifestyle to embrace love of nature in Hokkaido

Rambling among crates of raw fish, dawdling around with 450 types of freshly caught produce. It may seem an odd way to relax, but for James Gallagher, 46, the organized chaos of the Tsukiji Fish Market used to be a welcome respite during his lunch breaks at the advertising firm Dentsu in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 22, 2012

Politics is inescapable at 'Arab Express' exhibition

The Arab Spring may not be all it's cracked up to be. There are clearly problems with a large swath of nations, formerly under various forms of authoritarian regimes, switching relatively quickly to "democracy," at least as it is understood in the West.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 22, 2012

Film tackles identity issues

Where is home — Brazil or Japan? This question apparently puzzles the children of Japanese-Brazilians, who were brought here when their parents immigrated for work.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 22, 2012

Model train buff brings out his toys for everyone

The term Shangri-La was coined by British author James Hilton in his novel "Lost Horizon," referring to a mythical paradise in the Himalayas. Nobutaro Hara, however, found his utopia on a railway line.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 22, 2012

'Seesaw'

Many Japanese indie films never achieve the grail of a theatrical release, and some arrive on theater screens here only after a long journey on the festival circuit. Seeing the latter on a distributor's lineup years after shooting wrapped, I feel like saying otsukare-sama ("job well done") to the filmmaker...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 21, 2012

Kiwa Kiwa Festival

Emerging in March of this year promising to "challenge the limits of 'independent,' " Kiwa Kiwa — a music website and promoter (and cafe, curiously) — launched in a flurry of activity including disc and live reviews as well as columns from a quartet of local Tokyo indie musicians. It was a bold move...

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’