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PHOTO NEWS

A ceremony was held Wednesday in San Francisco to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival in the United States of a Japanese vessel sent by the Tokugawa shogunate, an event that marked the opening up of Japan after more than two centuries of isolation.

Full story >>

Unqualified Minamata cases to be settled

The government will accept a court-brokered settlement in a damages suit filed by unrecognized sufferers of Minamata disease, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama says.

Land prices fell nearly everywhere in '09 as downturn hit demand

Land prices fell nearly everywhere nationwide in 2009 as the global economic downturn that began in late 2008 decimated property demand.

IBM Japan disputes ¥30 billion back tax

IBM Japan Ltd. is suspected of failing to declare more than ¥400 billion in income through the use of the so-called tax consolidation regime, and faces some ¥30 billion in back taxes, which it plans to dispute.

TOKYO (noon)

9°C

Partly sunny

Humidity: 66%

Winds: ESE at 17 kph

Pressure: 1014 hpa

Total weather coverage >>

Japan Info Guide
Links for living in Japan

Language study

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test

Upgrade your nihongo before the next proficiency test

Business

Business support in Tokyo for foreign affiliated firms

Guidance and info from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Transportation

Tokyo Transfer Guide

Metro resource for fares, travel time and transfers

Special Supplements

Wisdom of Entrepreneurs

Learn about innovative strategies and successful business philosophies from Japanese executives in our new series, Wisdom of Entrepreneurs

Japanese Language School Directory

Check and compare what each school has to offer before you choose: directory of major Japanese schools in Tokyo, their features and class schedules.

通訳・翻訳キャリアガイド・オンライン

通訳・翻訳業界の総合ガイドブック2010年度版が誕生！一部コンテンツをウェブで公開中。

ジャパンタイムズの転職サイト

外資・グローバル企業の求人が満載。英語を活かして転職するならジャパンタイムズジョブ！

Celebrating the world

Learn about foreign countries with our National Day specials and see which world leaders have visited Japan.

International Reports

WER: Denmark

Trust binds one of the world's most progressive

WER: Hong Kong

Hong Kong navigates through rough seas

International Reports

Ready to expand your horizons and study in Japan?

Here's your resource for locating the educational institutions and curriculum best suited to you and your goals.

Real Estate Guide

Find apartment and homes that best suit your lifestyle, income and time frame in Japan.

The Japan Times Online Updates

Japan in focus: Have photos of Japan that you'd like to show off? It's a snap to have them published in Weekend Scene's Pixel Pictures of Japan. Click for more information

Shukan ST Digital Version: Read the digital version of Shukan ST in full color. Click for more information (in Japanese). 週刊STのデジタル版がスタートしました。デジタル版は全ページがカラーです。お申し込みはこちらから。

Hotline to Nagatacho: Need to vent at the government? We'd like to read what you have to say. Click for more information about Hotline to Nagatacho.

Washington admits drug use

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington admits using cocaine, saying he made a 'huge mistake.'

NPB NOTEBOOK

'Guts' shows off his softer side

By JASON COSKREY

SUMO

Baruto stays in hunt

SUNDAY FEATURES >>

LIFE IN JAPAN

In the land of the kami

By MICHAEL HOFFMAN

"In some rural areas even today, elderly villagers face the rising sun each morning, clap their hands together, and hail the appearance of the sun over the peaks of the nearby mountains as 'the coming of the kami,' " — ...

LIFE IN JAPAN

Buddhism's arrival, Shinto's endurance

By MICHAEL HOFFMAN

LIFE IN JAPAN

Symbols of heaven on Earth

By MICHAEL HOFFMAN

RE:VIEW >>

Man behind the masks

By GEORGE HADLEY-GARCIA

HOLLYWOOD — Sacha Baron Cohen is perhaps the unlikeliest British movie star since the plain, self-effacing and rather asexual Sir Alec Guinness. But like the brilliant knight — who happened to be half-Jewish — Baron Cohen seemingly becomes the character ...

FILM >>

Up in the Air

Jason Reitman flies high; Rob Marshall nosedives

By GIOVANNI FAZIO

Everyone's got to make a living, but it's hard to imagine a nastier job than to work for a weasely-named outfit called Career Transition Counseling, whose consultants specialize in the actual face-to-face firing of employees for management too cowardly to ...

Hana no Ato (After the Flowers)

Star-crossed lovers of past and present

By MARK SCHILLING

I Love You Phillip Morris

The Phillip Morris addiction that gets a little out of control

FOOD >>

Designs for both palate and palette

By ROBBIE SWINNERTON

It was one of those hot tips that come our way from time to time. This one, though, was delivered with a caveat: "A fantastic little French place, as good as any in town for the price; but the location's ...

Happy returns for two French chefs in Tokyo

By ROBBIE SWINNERTON

Butter boutique continues to draw in the crowds at the Marunouchi Brick Square

By ROBBIE SWINNERTON

TRAVEL >>

Empress of ennui beloved in Japan

By TOMOKO OTAKE

She was a caged wife with an insatiable thirst for love and freedom. She was a famed beauty and fitness freak. She defied royal protocol and was often at odds with conservatives around her, including her mother-in-law. ...

Way down south in Hateruma

By STEPHEN MANSFIELD

Bulking up in Bush Warbler Valley

By KIT NAGAMURA

EVENTS >>

Ueno Park blooms with song

By AHMED MESELHY RAGAB

Spring is coming. The first thing that comes to people's minds in this season is probably going to hanami — eating traditional Japanese food and enjoying some traditional music under the blooming cherry trees. In Ueno Park, however, classical music ...

ART

MUSIC

Japan Info Guide Links for living in Japan

Special Supplements

International Reports

The Japan Times Online Updates

Washington admits drug use

'Guts' shows off his softer side

Baruto stays in hunt

In the land of the kami

Buddhism's arrival, Shinto's endurance

Symbols of heaven on Earth

Man behind the masks

Jason Reitman flies high; Rob Marshall nosedives

Star-crossed lovers of past and present

The Phillip Morris addiction that gets a little out of control

Designs for both palate and palette

Happy returns for two French chefs in Tokyo

Butter boutique continues to draw in the crowds at the Marunouchi Brick Square

Empress of ennui beloved in Japan

Way down south in Hateruma

Bulking up in Bush Warbler Valley

Ueno Park blooms with song

Concert fetes Bach's birth

Flower designer Daniel Ost breathes life into Baccarat crystal

French-flavored rooms for kids

Zero Gravity

Noodles

L.A. jailers cleared in Miura death: DA

L&G 'enten' fraudster who hatched ¥55 billion scam gets 18-year term

¥23 billion deal pitched for JNR unionists

Being low-paid male temp probably spells bachelorhood

Shogunate ship's U.S. arrival feted

Elementary school teacher gets 30 years for raping pupils

Bubble prophet fears new disaster

DPJ caught on the horns of a fiscal dilemma

DPJ rule raises Hague treaty-signing hope

2010 auto sales to hit 33-year low

Big firms' sentiment worsened in last quarter

U.S. prods on beef, autos, insurance

Honda looks to give hybrids a lithium-ion charge

BOJ loan program likely to please politicians more than deflation foes

Revising the art of defense

Budding economic recovery

Growing disarray in the LDP

Guerrilla comics wage war on the humdrum

Lowdown on driving permits; slim pickings for foreign products

What's the most interesting thing you've seen in Japan?

Political hopeful eyes tax law changes

Volleyball star finds meaning off court

Decorators give Tokyo condos 'kawaii' touch

Revamps, re-openings, relocations and the return of Fashion Week

Art group Enlightenment

Warm hearts and home comforts

Reinterpretations of modern history

Curator reveals lessons learned from stint at foreign museum

The world's most eclectic renter

Japan's dubstep forges own path

Japanese bureaucracy can be incredibly frustrating, but it also makes great entertainment

'Idol' star Lambert takes on judge's role

Chris Botti

Mudy on the Sakuban "Pavilion"

Dump-truck identification numbers

You can count on the tales behind number-kanji

Untamed past taken by the tail

Dazzling, difficult debut is anything but a throwaway

Propagation of a perfect storm

Pens and pools: prisons for cetaceans

Hark ye to the Donkey's Ears

MySpace makeover to secure music niche

In latest guitar game, players can strum real instrument

Sony sets up 3-D for homes; Music Planet makes bathtime groovy

1000 Things About Japan/Japanese Snack Reviews

Toyota report causes headache for ABC News

Arrest follows man's YouTube threat against singer Elton John

Four arrested at Hong Kong broadcaster

Cheating film director called 'Singapore's Tiger Woods'

Japan Info Guide
Links for living in Japan