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Japan Times
LIFE
Apr 23, 2006

... all mixed up ...

Doesn't she realize that I can't understand much of anything she says? Bobbing my head, trying to rest on torturously bent knees with a smile iced onto my face, I wonder why she is so desperate to get in all of those words. They don't really sound like words, but they are.
EDITORIALS
Apr 22, 2006

Trust and the Food Safety Commission

The trustworthiness of the Food Safety Commission appears to be in jeopardy. Half of the 12-member panel under the commission that was tasked with assessing the safety of North American beef resigned as of March 31. The six who quit were regarded by consumer groups as being cautious about the idea of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 20, 2006

As it was in Japan then, so it is now

Much can be learned about the factual bones of history by reading books, but the pictures that have survived the years flesh out better what life was actually like before the arrival of the electricity, running water and phones that we now take for granted.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Apr 17, 2006

'CPE' by stealth: the state of youth jobs in Japan

French students are victorious. They have managed to push the infamous "first-time employment contract" ("contrat premiere embauche") out of the window.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 16, 2006

Gamba pulls one out

YOKOHAMA -- Super sub Masafumi Maeda punished a shocking defensive mix-up to fire in the winner as Gamba Osaka edged Yokohama F. Marinos in a seven-goal thriller on Saturday night.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 16, 2006

'Conspiracies of silence' feign sympathies largely unfelt

Japanese people are known for their sense of propriety and decorum. Reserve and self-restraint are fine Japanese virtues, and they have afforded the society an enviable harmony and level of personal safety unparalleled in the developed world. Putting a damper on people's self-assertive instincts, and...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Apr 16, 2006

Editor on a mission for consumers

Some people sarcastically refer to journalists in Japan as "sarariman reporters." That's because even though the Fourth Estate potentially has enormous power and influence, its members are often timid, risk-averse and happy to cozy up with the politicians, government agencies and corporations they cover....
COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 2006

Democracy? Good leaders matter more

SINGAPORE -- The notion of multiparty democracy as an ideal one-size-fits-all form of government is, I am sorry to have to report, not exactly bowling people over these days. Take a look at Thailand and the Philippines, which Washington has often enshrined on its ideological placards as a pair of shining...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 16, 2006

Ring trilogy spirals past science fiction

RING, SPIRAL, LOOP, by Koji Suzuki. Vertical Publishing, 2003-2005, each $24.95 (cloth). One cinematic treat that 1998 turned out was "Ringu," which was the rarity of a well-worked, intelligent horror flick that won broad appeal among movie fans who ordinarily look askance at efforts in the horror genre....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Apr 15, 2006

When rankings go rank

One symptom of a society addicted to quick information is the popularity of lists.
EDITORIALS
Apr 14, 2006

A new approach for prisons

The 1908 Prison Law was revised last year to improve protection of prisoners' human rights and enhance their social rehabilitation, ushering in a new era of reforms in the nation's prison system. A new type of prison is now under construction in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The Mine Social Rehabilitation...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / COUNTER CULTURE
Apr 14, 2006

Knight expands fashion empire

Eccentric British fashion designer Paul Smith is currently presiding over a rollout of stores across the globe. Following on from the December 2005 opening of a bubblegum-pink store on Melrose Avenue, L.A., last week he was in Tokyo to unveil a four-story flagship in the Aoyama district. Later this year...
CULTURE / Music
Apr 14, 2006

Josh Rouse "Subtitulo" (Nettwerk)

The beauty of Josh Rouse's music is its simplicity. Replete with catchy hooks and melodies, his straightforward arrangements and soft, soulful vocals combine to make some of the most intelligent, adult pop to come out of the United States in recent years.
SOCCER / J. League
Apr 13, 2006

Yamada gets things going as Reds down Avispa

SAITAMA -- Nobuhisa Yamada's delightful chipped goal triggered an excellent second-half display from Urawa Reds as they ran out 3-1 winners against Avispa Fukuoka in the Nabisco Cup on Wednesday evening.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Apr 13, 2006

Goths, terra and tears

The Complex Building in Roppongi opened with five major contemporary art galleries a couple of years back, around the same time as the nearby Mori Art Museum. It has, however, been somewhat overlooked as new and larger spaces have debuted out east in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa.
Japan Times
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Apr 12, 2006

Promotions, trips and an NHK departure

With memories of the Osaka Haru Basho starting to fade, a lot of sumo fans will be looking to May 7th and the first day of the Natsu Basho in Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
SUMO
Apr 11, 2006

Taiwan training tour set for Aug.

The Japan Sumo Association finalized plans Monday for a five-day training tour of Taiwan in August.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 11, 2006

Massage has its good and bad points

In today's deadline-driven, high-stress society, it's no longer uncommon to experiences headaches, stiff shoulders and carpal-tunnel pain every now and then. While many people turn to painkillers for relief from minor complaints, which in some cases can snowball into a chronic condition, massage treatments...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 9, 2006

Could the U.N. have done more?

A NOT SO DISTANT HORROR: Mass Violence in East Timor, by Joseph Nevins. New York: Cornell University Press, 2005, 273 pp., $18.95 (cloth). This is a gripping and powerful saga rooted in the horrible atrocities and deprivation endured by the East Timorese following Indonesia's invasion in 1975. Indonesian...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 9, 2006

Bringing the lady-makes-tea debate to the boil

In the early 1990s I interviewed a representative of the vending machine industry who told me that one of the most revolutionary developments in his business was the installation of coffee and tea dispensers in new office buildings. "Think of it," he said excitedly, "women office workers will no longer...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Apr 8, 2006

Clothes as a threat to society from 1950s to now

Told in advance by his publisher that Paul Gorman would be waiting in the reception area of Hotel New Otani, I find him jet-lagged, with a cold, and wearing a 25-year-old T-shirt that in suitably faded fashion screams "SEX PISTOLS" across his chest.
SUMO
Apr 6, 2006

JSA plans tours of Taiwan, Mongolia this summer

The Japan Sumo Association plans to hold training tours of Taiwan and Mongolia this summer for top wrestlers, association officials said Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 4, 2006

"Regarding the Sink," "Magyk: Septimus Heap Book One"

"Regarding the Sink," Kate Klise, Harcourt; 2005; 127pp.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 4, 2006

Students bring school to book

It was payday, and Shawn Hannold's bank account was empty. A phone call from a coworker alerted Hannold the paychecks hadn't shown up in the accounts that morning.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 4, 2006

Gonna make you sweat

The Japanese love bath-time, whether it be in a hot spring (onsen), a public bathhouse (sento), or a soak in the tub at home (o-furo). Bathing in Japan really is something of an art that verges on an obsession. Of course, the Japanese didn't invent it (the ancient Romans take credit for that), but they...
COMMENTARY
Apr 3, 2006

Protectionism has returned to Europe

LONDON -- The big idea was that Europe would do away with economic nationalism, sweep away frontiers and stand as a shining example to the rest of the world of free trade and open markets. That was the dream. The reality is turning out rather differently.

Longform

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