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LIFE / WEEK 3
Nov 21, 2010

'Evacuate' to whole new worlds

In the foyers of theaters in Tokyo's new "happening" hub of Ikebukuro — where the provocative Festival/Tokyo (F/T) drama event is running through November — odd exchanges can often be overheard.
LIFE / Travel
Nov 21, 2010

Sapporo's warm welcome

With its wide roads laid out in a neat grid, an abundance of greenery and its sleek, modern subway system, Sapporo at first feels more like somewhere in America than in Japan.
COMMUNITY
Nov 20, 2010

A modern-day alchemist melds senses of sight, smell

On the back of Maurice Joosten's business card, a silvered phrase floats across the otherwise blank expanse: "Solve et Coagula" ("Dissolve and Unite"). For Joosten, 48, this ancient dictum of alchemy provides a motto linking his work as an artist, aroma designer and yoga instructor.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2010

Kan says he won't seek Yanagida's head over Diet gaffe

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Thursday he has no plans to replace Justice Minister Minoru Yanagida over remarks disparaging his Diet duty despite mounting calls from the opposition camp that he step down.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2010

The man who popularized the Edo pleasure district

The Yoshiwara pleasure district of Edo (old Tokyo) has often been immortalized in word and image for the exquisite carnal pleasures it offered.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2010

Japanese pianist touts the sounds of Spain

Japanese pianist Shizuka Shimoyama and Slovakian cellist Ludovit Kanta will bring the culture of Spain to Tokyo next week.
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 19, 2010

Joan of Arc takes center stage

Though widely known in the West, St. Joan of Arc is an obscure historical figure for many people in Japan. Maki Horikita, who portrays the 15th-century French war heroine in the upcoming TBS stage production "Jeanne d'Arc," rises to the challenge of making Joan's tragic life story relevant for a Japanese...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 19, 2010

UNESCO artist to hold concert to warn against medicine abuse

Missa Johnouchi, one of UNESCO's Artists for Peace, is helping spread the message of harmony in Japan.
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Nov 19, 2010

Carlos Gibbs

DJ and producer Carlos Gibbs, creator of Skinnipants and the Redbox Project, opens up his record bag for The Japan Times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 19, 2010

Van Gogh: Sanity behind madness

In recent years there has been a sea change in the official cult surrounding the Post-Impressionist Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). For the masses he is still the archetypal "crazy artist": razor blade in one hand, severed ear in the other, and a lovely picture of sunflowers on the easel...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 19, 2010

Mix and mingle in Fukuoka

Now Lounge, a dance party in Fukuoka, hopes to bring together the area's internationally minded people.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2010

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs

When it comes to recognizing the latest trends and artists causing a stir abroad, the Japanese club scene sometimes seems to suffer from perennial jet lag.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 19, 2010

'Yukizuri no Machi (Strangers in the City)'

Japanese films targeted at adult men, particularly those made by Toei, often have a dark, heavy, turbulent quality. Japanese has a wonderful, hard-to-translate word for it — dorodoro. Think of slogging across a muddy field at 3 a.m. in the driving rain; or being a middle-aged guy with a troubled past,...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2010

Envy take 'Recitation' out on the road again

Tokyo-based Envy issued their fifth full-length album, "Recitation," in September. To celebrate its release, the quintet embarked on their first North American tour in four years. On this, their longest international trek, the postrock and hardcore hybrid act played 25 shows in the span of a month. ...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2010

Ash

Proving they're far from burned out, indie rockers Ash return to Japan next week to promote the release of "A-Z Vol. 2," the culmination of an ambitious project that saw the band releasing a single every fortnight via digital download.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2010

Worlds of Flavor conference adds Japan to its menu

Japan's ailing economy may lack the impact it once had on global finance, but there's one area of influence where the country's significance is on the rise: the world of gastronomy. Earlier this month, a team of 39 top-tier Japanese chefs wowed an international audience with dazzling displays of technique...
COMMENTARY
Nov 17, 2010

Unrepentant Bush still backs use of torture

In his recently published memoirs called "Decision Points," and in interviews publicizing those memoirs, former U.S. President George W. Bush makes it clear his stand on what many consider a basic human rights violation: the use of waterboarding as a torture technique. With characteristic insouciance,...
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2010

Ichigo to boost assets for Tokyo land funds

Ichigo Group Holdings Co. aims to boost assets to at least ¥300 billion by February for funds that will invest in Tokyo office buildings.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2010

Consumers should demand diamond clarity

PRINCETON, New Jersey — Diamonds have an image of purity and light. They are given as a pledge of love and worn as a symbol of commitment. Yet diamonds have led to gruesome murders, rapes and amputations.
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Nov 16, 2010

Minato foreigners' language needs met

Minato International Association, which arranges activities and programs mainly for foreign residents in Minato Ward, Tokyo, offers a unique program in which Japanese volunteers give foreigners individual Japanese conversation lessons.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2010

LDP slams ruling bloc over leak

The Liberal Democratic Party on Monday submitted no-confidence motions in the Diet against two Cabinet ministers, holding them to blame for the leak of a sensitive video of collisions involving a Chinese trawler and two Japan Coast Guard cutters in September off the Senkaku Islands.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 16, 2010

The final word on JET, for now

Arudou misses the mark Debito Arudou's recent article on the JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme (Just Be Cause, Sept. 7) and many of the responses which followed (Have Your Say, Oct. 12):
BUSINESS / ASEAN JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Nov 16, 2010

Japan urged to cope with changing landscape in Asia

Japan needs to come to terms with its declining influence in Asia and readjust its strategy toward Southeast Asia, where its once-dominant position has been replaced by rising China, veteran journalists from the region said at a recent symposium in Tokyo.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2010

APEC leaders in free-trade push

YOKOHAMA — Leaders from the 21 Pacific Rim economies kicked off a two-day meeting here Saturday to push free trade as a precursor to regional economic integration sometime in the next decade.
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 14, 2010

Mind who you call a 'birdbrain'

Eiichi Izawa of Keio University in Tokyo calls them "feathered primates." In Japanese folklore they are the origin of the forest demons known as karasu tengu. Scientists classify them as Corvus macrorhynchos.
JAPAN / Media
Nov 14, 2010

Documenting the art world's original odd couple

"No! You do it!" yells Dorothy across a small New York apartment to her husband, Herb. Megumi Sasaki, a Japanese film director, has just asked to take a peek at a priceless artwork from the 1960s that is covered in blankets.

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