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Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 2, 2011

Brazilian party brings Blitz

Yoyogi Park in central Tokyo hosts a number of internationally themed events, and this week the area will hoist the yellow, green and blue of the Brazilian flag overhead.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Sep 1, 2011

Tough commute? Let these apps ease the pain

No, there's not an app for lessening commuter rush-hour congestion, but there are a few that can make the journey a bit more bearable.
EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2011

Unsavory ties for an entertainer

Popular TV personality Shinsuke Shimada and his agency Yoshimoto Creative Agency Co. hastily called a news conference on the night of Aug. 23 to announce his retirement from the entertainment industry, effective immediately, because of his relationship with a gangster.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2011

Kusama: Quite dotty, but very avant-garde

Yayoi Kusama's art fully emerged in a big way when she moved from Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, to New York in 1959. Despite the obstacles — she suffered from mental problems and was an unknown Japanese female artist in a milieu dominated by white male artists and critics — by the second half of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 1, 2011

Rave faves Dub Squad to reunite for festival

The launch of Metamorphose just over a decade ago helped bring more choice to Japan's summer music festival season. The event's focus was on electronic-music acts, but over the years it has lived up to its name and broadened its lineup.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 1, 2011

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes cover Japan tunes

Punk cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are touring Japan to promote their new EP "Sing in Japanese" this month. Comprised of players from famed punk and rock acts NOFX, Lagwagon, Swingin' Utters, and Foo Fighters, they will play Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka before performing at Yokohama's sold-out...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Sep 1, 2011

Artisans who lived by their swords

The samurai sword has long been a symbol of great allure in Japan. It conjures images of virility, tradition, austerity and the mystery of legends. Not only is it said that the Shinto gods possessed swords but, as part of the Imperial regalia, such blades were believed to signify the divinity and divine...
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2011

Leukemia claims Tepco worker

A man in his 40s who worked for a week in August at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s radiation-leaking Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has died of acute leukemia, but it was not caused by exposure to fallout, Tepco said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2011

Once Gadhafi is finally gone

A relatively successful transition from the Gadhafi regime to a united, stable, more open and democratic Libya would be seen in the region, and more widely, as a credit to the NATO-led intervention. It would enable Libya to resume its oil and gas exports, demonstrate international community capacity...
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2011

Noda victorious in race for prime minister

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda won the Democratic Party of Japan presidency Monday and will replace Naoto Kan as prime minister, becoming the ruling party's third leader since it swept to power in the historic 2009 general election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Aug 30, 2011

Japan's 'silent tsunami' severs parental ties, wrecks children's lives

To the next Prime Minister,
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 29, 2011

'Gratuitous' bombing of a defeated enemy

The International Center of Photography recently had an exhibition, "Hiroshima: Ground Zero 1945," and I attended the panel discussion. This month 66 years ago the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
EDITORIALS
Aug 28, 2011

The future of publishing

Last year, with the arrival and immediate success of the iPad in Japan, expectations were raised for the future of e-books in Japan. According to the latest figures (from Impress R&D), in fiscal 2010, sales of e-books increased 13 percent over the previous year to some ¥65 billion.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 28, 2011

Is youth's 'creeping passivity' happening by design?

Last February, I wrote an Our Planet Earth column titled "Don't give up on Japan's kids," noting there that despite all the hand-wringing that goes on about this nation's young people, my own experience with university students gives me cause for considerable optimism.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 28, 2011

Earthquake prediction documentary; Mokomichi Hayami's cooking; CM of the week: Toshiba

Since March 11, the science of earthquake prediction has come under fire. Detractors say the methodology is too fraught with variables to make a difference. Resources would be better spent on preparedness.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 28, 2011

Speculation swirling as MLB scouts swoop in to watch Darvish

Because of the late start of the 2011 Japan pro baseball season following the events of March 11, we still have almost two months remaining in the schedule. Final regular season games will be played as late as Oct. 16, and there will no doubt be make-up games added in the Central and Pacific Leagues...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 26, 2011

Drunken dance to hit Tokyo

The Koenji district in the west of Tokyo is known for used-clothing stores and record shops — the perfect spot for any music lover to settle down in.
EDITORIALS
Aug 26, 2011

Accelerate decontamination

Some 100,000 people are still living as evacuees away from their homes in the wake of the severe accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Kyodo News has reported that some 17,000 children in Fukushima Prefecture have changed schools or kindergartens because of radiation...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2011

Tokyo Jazz Festival plays to a plethora of tastes

Jazz is always progressing. When the first jazz cafes began appearing in Yokohama around 100 years ago, nobody could have imagined the world they'd be a part of. Bebop and blues, tap dancers and turntables — the essential ingredients of the genre have evolved, and that is the main focus of the Tokyo...
Reader Mail
Aug 25, 2011

Scientific sources and some math

Some additional information needs to be added to the Aug. 17 Japan Times editorial, "Ray of light amid the nuclear gloom."
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2011

Harvard talks pump up overseas study, work

Japanese high school students were glued to the screen as a Harvard University student, acting as teacher, clicked on the computer and fused photographs of people's faces, claiming she could create a face people would find attractive.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 25, 2011

Avoid the sins of playing live in the grimy clubs of Japan

Spend a lot of time trawling the grimy-toilet venues of the Tokyo music scene and, apart from gaining an encyclopaedic knowledge of how to smuggle alcohol past staff members guarding the doors of various venues, you will start to pick up on the minutiae of musicians' stagecraft like a sommelier when...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Aug 25, 2011

DJ SO

DJ SO (Satoshi Aoyagi) is a central figure at Mindgames, the people behind The Labyrinth festival, where he plays a supporting role as resident with his delicate blend of ambient and techno. The Japan Times peeks into his record bag.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 25, 2011

Facing death with the spice of life

Motoi Yamamoto was a third-year student at the Kanazawa College of Art in 1996 when his younger sister died at the age of 24 — two years after being diagnosed with brain cancer. To ease his grief, and to make sense of various personal issues he faced on the periphery of his sister's death — such...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 25, 2011

Tsuneo Enari Exhibition — Japan and its Forgotten War: Showa

Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography Closes Sept. 25.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 25, 2011

Schools for the Blind Student Works

Gallery TOM Closes Aug. 31
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2011

Maehara, the favorite, declares candidacy

Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara declared his candidacy Tuesday for next week's Democratic Party of Japan presidential election to pick the successor to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who meanwhile spent the day bidding a premature farewell to his Cabinet.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji