Weekly Recap Nov. 7th: Halo Waypoint Arrives, Modern Warfare 2 Boycotted, Wii 2: PHOTO
Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble Arriving On PSN November 12th Runaway: A Twist Of Fate Trailer Promises A Happy Ending Super Street Fighter IV Game Modes Trailer Command And Conquer 4: GDI Orca Gameplay Footage, Art Early Bayonetta Demo Access Offered To Xbox 360 Owners Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast Japanese Trials Gameplay Trailer Dragon Age: Origins Toolset Now Available RELATED : modern warfare 2 , wii 2 , the game reviews , ps3 , ds , pc , Xbox 360 , wii , ps2 , psp , nintendo , Microsoft , sony...

Runaway: A Twist Of Fate Trailer Promises A Happy Ending: PHOTO
Command And Conquer 4: GDI Orca Gameplay Footage, Art Early Bayonetta Demo Access Offered To Xbox 360 Owners Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast Japanese Trials Gameplay Trailer Dragon Age: Origins Toolset Now Available Dreamcast Game Hypertension Fact Sheet And Trailer Released StrikeForce League Featured In EA Sports' Upcoming MMA Game Bittos Trailers Try To Feed Your Brain Some Candy RELATED : runaway gina trailer , focus home interactive , nintendo ds , pc , runaway a twist of fate

Assassin's Creed II Final Dev Doc: Ezio Tries To Kiss An Old Man: PHOTO
Runaway: A Twist Of Fate Trailer Promises A Happy Ending Super Street Fighter IV Game Modes Trailer Command And Conquer 4: GDI Orca Gameplay Footage, Art Early Bayonetta Demo Access Offered To Xbox 360 Owners Dragon Ball Z: Raging Blast Japanese Trials Gameplay Trailer Dragon Age: Origins Toolset Now Available Dreamcast Game Hypertension Fact Sheet And Trailer Released RELATED : assassin's creed 2 , assassin's creed ii , Xbox 360 , ps3 , Ubisoft , developer Documentary , assassin's creed 2...

Reading between the lines of Hatoyama's far-sighted 'vision thing'
The prime minister's keynote policy address in the Diet affords the nation's leader an opportunity to present their overall thinking to the people — as its name in Japanese, shoshin hyomei (declaration of convictions), would indeed suggest.

A journey to Venice, eco-friendly toilets and special police drama
Vienna has always held a special fascination for the Japanese, who celebrate the New Year with Strauss waltzes and lieder as much as they do with mochi (rice cakes) and otoshidama (New Year gift money). A prime influence in this regard is the 1931 German movie "Der Kongress Tanzt" (Congress Dances), a lush musical that for the Japanese has defined Viennese culture to this day.

In reversal, Filipino family facing deportation allowed to stay
The Justice Ministry has given a Filipino family targeted for deportation special permission to stay in Japan, the family's lawyer said Friday.

An Association Analysis between Mitochondrial DNA A10398G Polymorphism and Temperament in Japanese Young Adults: VIDEO
The mitochondrial (mt) DNA C5178A and A10398G polymorphisms have been reported to be associated with mental disorders such as bipolar disorder. However, the effects of these polymorphisms on temperament in healthy people are poorly understood. Evaluating healthy subjects can have the advantage of providing new strategies for maintaining psychological health and preventing mental illness. We examined the association between mtDNA polymorphisms and temperament in Japanese students. There was no...

U.S. open to environmental pact for bases
WASHINGTON — The United States is ready to discuss the possibility of forming a special bilateral pact with Japan to address environmental damage at U.S. Military bases in Japan, the Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture said Friday.

Fine Art Bamboo Paper from Awagami Factory, Japan
Awagami Factory, fine papermakers from Tokushima, Japan have recently created Bamboo paper for printmaking and letterpress artists...      TOKUSHIMA, Japan, November 07, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Bamboo is deeply rooted in Japanese culture and has touched every aspect of daily life from art and literature, to design, food and crafts for many centuries. Bamboo utensils dating from the Jomon Period (ca. 10,000 B.C.-300 B.C.) have been discovered in both Honshu and Kyushu...

New Music: Joell Ortiz “On Tour” (Freestyle): PHOTO
“On the park bench in Italy feeding a bird/ Sippin’ tea with sour diesel ’cause they legal with herb/ In Amsterdam, aw man, wish my mans could come/ Asian bitches in Japan is dumb/ They love New Yorkers, especially the Spanish ones.” This guy won’t stop. Here’s another freestyle from our favorite free agent. Taking Wale’s “World Tour”, Ortiz reflects on his recent travels of the past few months. Yaowa! Props: Mr. X

Austrians in Tokyo... Anthropologie's New Tie-Up...: PHOTO
A few of Austria’s up-and-coming Fashion designers, including two Jil Sander alums, got a chance to showcase their talent for a Japanese audience. page 1

J.J. Abrams In Talks to Produce 'Micronauts' Movie: PHOTO
Should this news turn out to be true and a movie version of Micronauts happens, I'm pretty glad J.J. Abrams would be involved. The Wall Street Journal says Abrams is in talks to produce a film based on the old Japanese interchangable toys - a precursor to Tranformers, Go-Bots , and Alexis Arquette. Hasbro recently acquired the property, and we know that Hasbro has put itself on the forefront of this whole toys n' games movie tie-in business. While I don't want to necessarily take this one to...

Julian Casablancas @ Downtown Palace Theatre, LA 11/6/09: PHOTO
The Stroke's first solo gigs were in Japan this summer, and Monday's Spaceland show was a last minute surprise, so while last night was JC's 4th ever solo show, it was most stateside fans' first shot to see his synth-pop...

JJ Abrams Gets Small For Micronauts Movie? [Micronauts]
A month after we ask Hollywood to consider the potential of a movie based on 1970s toyline Micronauts , news comes from an unlikely source that they've heard us, and are talking to JJ Abrams to make it happen. The news broke in The Wall Street Journal, of all places, in a story about toy lines being co-opted by movie studios: J.J. Abrams, who created the TV show "Lost" and directed this summer's "Star Trek" film, is in discussions to produce a movie about Japanese toy line Micronauts, which...

Tokyo seeks to host the 2020 Olympics: PHOTO
Tokyo does not give up and wants to be a candidate again for organizing the 2020 Olympic Games. Rio de Janeiro

Abrams Sizing Up Micronauts?
He's ventured into the final frontier, but now J.J. Abrams is poised to enter an interchangeable world. The Wall Street Journal reports that the man who successfully rebooted Star Trek is "in discussions to produce a movie about Japanese toy line Micronauts , which Hasbro just acquired." The Mego Corporation introduced the Microman toy line in Japan in 1974, rebranding it as "Micronauts" for its American release two years later. There were five series of Micronauts toys produced from 1974-1980....

Japanese cellist wins world's top competition
Japan's Dai Miyata, 23, won the Ninth Rostropovich cello competition at the final on Saturday in Paris, among the 64 musicians who competed in this year's event, organisers said. The winner of what is considered the world's top cello competition will receive a prize of 10,000 euros (14,845 dollars). The jury, headed by Polish composer and conductor Krzysztop Penderecki, awarded Jakob Koranyi of Sweden, 26, second place in the competition with a 7,000-euro prize as well another prize of 2,500...

Only textbooks by native speakers
As a native English instructor in the same region of Japan as Masayuki Aihara, I feel I should reply to his Oct. 29 letter, "Texts stand some in good stead." There are many textbooks written by native English speakers available for use in Japanese schools: Just look at any catalog released by book companies. The problem is that because the Japanese English education system is focused on accuracy rather than communication, the majority of schools are not interested in adopting these...

Downbeat on new government
Was there not an historic election just over two months ago that ushered in a supposedly foreigner-friendly government that has put issues like suffrage for permanent residents in local Elections on the table? Does it not have a minister who has talked about building a Japan not just for the Japanese, and does not an American-Japanese "half" represent the people of Okinawa?

Innovation feeds on growing flux in male looks
From their bases on opposite sides of the Pacific, Japanese and American menswear labels have begun to rip up the rule books and reinvent how men think about Fashion.

Brown confident of success in new role as manager of Golden Eagles
Japanese baseball will have at least one American manager for the eighth consecutive year in 2010, as Marty Brown takes over as field boss of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles after four years managing the Hiroshima Carp.

Japan police fear head is missing woman
MATSUE, Japan, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Police say the severed head found on a Japanese mountainside could be that of a missing college student. Investigators in Hiroshima Prefecture told the Kyodo news service the head's facial features resemble those of 19-year-old Miyako Hiraoka, a freshman at the University of Shimane who vanished Oct. 26. The grisly find was made by a mushroom collector Friday near the summit of Mount Garyu. No blood or personal effects were found, leading police to believe the...

Ultraman creator wins a battle
Tokyo -- The Japanese creator of kiddie TV fave Ultraman is two for three in its court battle against a Thai businessman over rights to series. A court in Guangdong, China,

Song leads at LPGA's Mizuno Classic
SHIMA-SHI, Japan, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Song Bo-bae had a 6-under-par 30 on the front nine Saturday and owns a 1-stroke lead after two rounds of the LPGA's Mizuno Classic in Japan. Song, looking for her first LPGA tournament victory, is at 11-under-par 133 after 36 holes of the 54-hole tournament. She is just ahead of Kim In-kyung and Akane Iijima, tied for second at 10-under, while Rui Kitada is in fourth at 9-under 135. Defending champion Jiyai Shin is among eight golfers tied at 8-under. Song tied...

Barack Obama Delays Japan Visit after Texas Shooting
Barack Obama Delays Japan Visit after Texas Shooting, US President Barack Obama has delayed his visit to Japan next week by one day, a Japanese foreign ministry