Paul de Vries' treatise on group accountability in Japanese society ("Back to the baths: Otaru revisited," Zeit Gist, Dec. 2) offered a new take on the now familiar story of the court case between Japan's naturalized enfant terrible, Debito Arudou, and the managers of the Yunohana public bath in Otaru, Hokkaido. De Vries presented a "thin edge of the wedge" argument for the ultimate unraveling ...

5 Jan 2009

In 1967, the late Kohei Miyazaki published a book called ‘‘Maboroshi no Yamataikoku’’ (phantom state) about an ancient realm in Japan during the Yayoi period (around 400 BC-300 AD), which set off a national controversy over whether Yamataikoku was located in Kyushu.

31 Dec 2008

FUJIYOSHIDA, Yamanashi Pref. (Kyodo) Keiichiro Nagashima won his third title in four years at the National Speedskating Sprint Championships Tuesday, retaining his overall lead for a convincing victory. Nagashima came second in the 500 meters, clocking 35.57 seconds at Fujikyu Highland Seiko Oval, but blew away the field to win the 1,000 meters in 1:12.69 to give him enough for the crown with ...

30 Dec 2008

FUJIYOSHIDA, Yamanashi Pref. (Kyodo) In-form Keiichiro Nagashima came first in both the 500 and 1,000 meters to take the overall lead on the opening day of the national speed skating sprint championships Monday. Nagashima, who has won the 500 meters twice on the World Cup circuit this winter, received 70.610 points after clocking a meet record of 35.21 seconds in the 500 and a rink record of ...

29 Dec 2008

The official Japanese website for the anime remakes of Saki Hasemi and Kentaro Yabuki 's To Love-Ru manga has posted the newest promotional video for next year's original video anime ( OVA ) series on Monday.

22 Dec 2008

The 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival has announced a roster of 210 films, culled from 73 countries for the 2009 Festival. The selection of films for screening includes a total of 77 premieres (14 World, 48 U.S. and 16 North American).

17 Dec 2008