The Japan Times: All Stories

Popular Chekhov play gets fresh treatment for audiences in Tokyo

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:10:00 PST

Despite being 112 years old, Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's "Three Sisters" is still one of the most popular translated plays to be staged in Japan. The drama, which centers on a declining...

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Met's mayhem hits the screen

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:11:00 PST

What do you get when the four young lovers from William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" become stranded on Prospero's island from the Bard's "The Tempest"? A lot of fun, mayhem and magic in...

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Despite new plan, Okinawans fear Futenma will remain in Ginowan

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:12:00 PST

Wednesday's agreement between Tokyo and Washington to delink the transfer of U.S. Marines in Okinawa to Guam from the relocation of the Futenma air base in the prefecture was greeted by politicians...

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Toshiba to supply Texas power plant

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:13:00 PST

Toshiba Corp. has won a ¥2 billion contract to supply a steam turbine and generator for a natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Texas. Under the contract with U.S. engineering and...

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Russia should back up a bit to find road to the future

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:14:00 PST

I am not going to speak about a time machine and America but about Russia and its urgent need to return to the past in search of a tool to secure a better future. It looks like the country —...

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NTT to offer global Internet access in Laos

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:15:00 PST

NTT Communications Corp. has signed an agreement that will see it help the Lao National Internet Center offer global access to Internet service providers in Laos. NTT Communications said Thursday...

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Long courting of Myanmar may finally pay off

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:16:00 PST

Japanese government and business officials have flocked to Myanmar in recent months with a keen interest in the untapped investment opportunities in the country, which is embarking on democratic and...

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Wings, Leafs to play at "Big House"

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:17:00 PST

A person familiar with the NHL's plan says the Detroit Red Wings will host the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2013 Winter Classic. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday because the...

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Tunnel flooded where seabed dipped

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:18:00 PST

Divers from Kajima Corp. on Thursday began examining a seabed indentation that may be linked to the accident that flooded an underwater tunnel at an oil refinery in Okayama Prefecture, leaving five...

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Imperial Family talking point

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:19:00 PST

The government this month starts hearing opinions from knowledgeable people on the idea of allowing female members of the Imperial Family to remain in the family even if they marry commoners and to...

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¥36 million gold Jack Sparrow figures released

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:20:00 PST

An art craft work firm in Toyama Prefecture is taking orders for three solid gold statues of Jack Sparrow, the protagonist in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie series, with a price tag of ¥36...

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Sanchez Vicario says $60 million lost

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:21:00 PST

Former tennis star Arantxa Sanchez Vicario said in a book published Tuesday that her parents lost an estimated $60 million in career earnings through mismanagement. The 40-year-old Sanchez Vicario...

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Unswayed by disaster, Iwaki spa hulas anew

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:22:00 PST

A Hawaiian theme park that has propped up the economy of a rural town in Fukushima Prefecture for 45 years was forced to shut down after the March 11 disasters, but a little less than a year later...

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'Kitsutsuki to Ame (The Woodsman and the Rain)'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:23:00 PST

In movies as in life, first impressions count. Hence all the money lavished on opening credits, all the thought devoted to opening scenes. Quite often though, the flashy, clever beginning comes to...

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Osaka chief woos Shanghai tourists

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:24:00 PST

Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui on Thursday left for Shanghai to attend the launch of the prefecture's tourism promotional campaign in the city, his first official overseas trip since taking office in...

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'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:25:00 PST

On one level, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is simply an Agatha Christie story for Nine Inch Nails fans. You may think I'm joking, but think about it: an isolated island full of disgruntled...

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Core machinery orders plunge 7.1%

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:26:00 PST

Key machinery orders dropped a sharper than expected 7.1 percent in December to ¥733.2 billion, the first decline in two months, affected by weakness in some technology sectors, government data...

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Nishikori leads Japan into Davis Cup

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:27:00 PST

Kei Nishikori will be aiming to build on his success at the Australian Open when Japan takes on Croatia in this weekends Davis Cup World Group tie. Nishikori, who became the first Japanese man to...

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Capello steps down as England coach

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:28:00 PST

The soap opera of English soccer reached yet another a noisy climax Wednesday when national team coach Fabio Capello quit angrily just eight hours after potential successor Harry Redknapp was cleared...

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Lin lights up Wizards, wins over road crowd

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:29:00 PST

What a week it has been for Jeremy Lin. With three breakout games, the Harvard graduate has become the NBA's newest playmaking sensation. He's a fan favorite — home and away — and has...

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'Pina'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:30:00 PST

The name Pina Bausch may not strike a chord with many, but even a perfunctory look at her work will lock you in a hold that's layered with emotions: enchantment, enthrallment, even perhaps total...

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Obuchi's return to form gives Evessa more firepower

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:31:00 PST

For Masashi Obuchi, an innate scoring sense and recognition of when and where to take shots served him well during his early days in the bj-league. Now, in his third season in the league, and...

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Scandal may affect space launch: JAXA

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:32:00 PST

A scandal involving Mitsubishi Electric Corp. concerning inflated defense contracts could affect the scheduled launch this summer of a logistics vehicle to transport food and other supplies to the...

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Toyota shifts Highlander output to U.S.

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:33:00 PST

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to shift production of Highlander sport utility vehicles to Indiana from Japan in late 2013 in a move to turn North America into its global production base amid the yen's...

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Dancer goes through time in new show

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:34:00 PST

Inspiration from Kurt Vonnegut's masterpiece "Slaughterhouse-Five" and stoic philosopher Seneca's letters gives character to an upcoming performance in Tokyo by Izabela Chlewinska, a rising...

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Airfield would destroy Nago environment: panel

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:35:00 PST

An Okinawa Prefectural Government panel has concluded that building a new airfield in Nago to relocate the U.S. Futenma base would destroy the natural environment and make the area uninhabitable. ...

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Red Wings skate past Oilers, extend home win streak to 18

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:36:00 PST

Back on home ice — where they have been unbeatable for three months — the Detroit Red Wings closed in on an NHL record. Drew Miller and Henrik Zetterberg scored in the third period, and...

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Child rearing website data hacked

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:37:00 PST

The operator of a website on childbirth and child rearing, digitalBoutique Inc., said Thursday personal data on about 170,000 users have leaked following unauthorized access from overseas. The...

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Odaiba Valentine's Day fair

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:38:00 PST

The Grand Pacific Le Daiba hotel is getting into the romantic spirit with a Valentine's Day fair from Feb. 12 to 14. After its special Valentine's diplay proved a big hit last year, the hotel will...

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Next-generation TVs key: Sony's Hirai

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:39:00 PST

Sony Corp. may seek to develop and launch next-generation televisions that include a model with an organic electroluminescent display, to improve its loss-making TV business and vie with its South...

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Spanish federation to sue over skit

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:40:00 PST

The Spanish tennis federation said it plans to sue a French TV channel for using its logo in a video that poked fun at Rafael Nadal. In the video skit on the satirical program called The Puppets, a...

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Taiwanese-Japanese star Makiyo implicated in Taipei cabby's beating

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:41:00 PST

Prosecutors say Taiwanese-Japanese starlet Makiyo has been barred from leaving Taiwan over her role in the vicious beating of a taxi driver in Taipei. The Taipei Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday...

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Solid record not enough for Ogawa in Fukuoka

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:42:00 PST

The euphoria of Sunday's series-ending road victory for the undermanned Rizing Fukuoka against the Kyoto Hannaryz, a rising power, didn't last very long. The Rizing (19-11) fired coach Tadaharu...

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Constructing green cities to save the economy

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:43:00 PST

Want to grow the economy? Shrink your city's emissions. In tough times, some of us see protecting the climate as a luxury, but that's an outdated 20th-century worldview from a time when we thought...

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Judge: Bari squad linked to gamblers

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:44:00 PST

A judge investigating match-fixing in Italy said "a considerable part of the Bari squad" had links to a betting ring that rigged games when the club was in Serie A last season. Guido Salvini said...

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NNTT hopes Generation 2.0 hears 'Silence'

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:45:00 PST

The late classical composer Teizo Matsumura, American film director Martin Scorsese, and playwright/director Keiko Miyata may seem an unlikely trio, but they share a reverence for "Silence," the 1966...

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Camera show breaks SLR mystique

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:46:00 PST

Digital mirrorless cameras with interchangeable lenses grabbed the spotlight Thursday at CP+2012 as the nation's biggest international camera and imaging show opened in Yokohama. The concept is...

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Longo's husband arrested for EPO

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:47:00 PST

French police raided the home of cycling great Jeannie Longo on Wednesday and arrested her husband on suspicion that he bought doses of the banned performance-enhancer EPO. The 53-year-old Longo...

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Sukiya operator aids famine relief in East Africa

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:48:00 PST

The operator of a popular restaurant chain is trying to help alleviate inhabitants in a famine-stricken corner of East Africa. Earlier this month, several employees of Zensho Co., which operates...

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U.S. likely to scale down plans for bases in Japan and Guam

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:49:00 PST

The U.S. military will probably scale back plans to build key bases in Japan and Guam because of political obstacles and budget pressures, according to U.S. and Japanese officials, complicating the...

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Billups vows to continue NBA career

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:50:00 PST

Clippers guard Chauncey Billups says he won't let his season-ending injury also finish his NBA career. Billups tore his left Achilles tendon on Monday night, ending his first season with Los...

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Hirano gets nod to lead agency for rebuilding

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:51:00 PST

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Thursday appointed Tatsuo Hirano, minister in charge of quake and tsunami reconstruction in the Tohoku region, as head of the agency that will be launched Friday to...

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Petition ready for Tepco nuke vote

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:52:00 PST

A citizens' group seeking a referendum on abolishing Tepco's nuclear power plants said Thursday it has collected enough signatures to ask the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to hold a plebiscite. The...

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New to sake? Here's where to start

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:53:00 PST

"Is it always this crowded?" I ask a happi-coat-clad clerk at the Meishu Center sake shop in Hamamatsucho, as she pours me three glasses of sake from hefty, 1.5-liter isshōbin bottles. "Well,...

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Sweet somethings

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:54:00 PST

Japanese guys have it pretty sweet when it comes to Valentine's Day. Unlike their cousins overseas, they don't have to worry about sending roses or booking a table at a fancy restaurant — or,...

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Selecting a 'platinum' carrier

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:55:00 PST

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry is expected to select by the end of this month a telecom carrier that can use a 900-megahertz (MHz) frequency spectrum for high-speed mobile phone...

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Actress Meisa, pop singer tie knot

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:56:00 PST

Actress Meisa Kuroki, 23, and pop singer Jin Akanishi, 27, have wed, submitting their marriage registration certificate Feb. 2 to a Tokyo ward, the agencies representing them announced separately...

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Embassy in Damascus may have staff vacated

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:57:00 PST

The government may scale down the size of its diplomatic mission in Syria amid increasing violence between President Bashar Assad's regime and rebel groups, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura...

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Will shrinking the Diet solve anything?

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:58:00 PST

A company saddled with a hefty debt load might try to get back on a healthy track by laying off employees or reducing pay. The same holds true for a nation trying to tackle a dire fiscal situation.

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Iwakuni housing land sale in doubt

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:59:00 PST

Yamaguchi Gov. Sekinari Nii said Thursday he will freeze the sale of land that would be used for building housing for dependents of American forces near U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni unless...

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Phelps using hyperbaric chamber

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:10:00 PST

Michael Phelps is the latest athlete to use a hyperbaric chamber to aid his recovery from training. The 16-time Olympic medalist said Wednesday he had been sleeping "at 8,000 feet (2,438 meters)...

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