Kaori Kaneko
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/ 29 November 2006

Japan’s post-war generation seeks solace in pilgrimage

As solemn bells ring across the temple, Buddhist priest Kensho Oyamada asks Japanese retirees to give away, for the moment at least, what they have spent their lives earning. He tells them to take off their watches, throw away their business cards and forget about their job titles — abandoning the values and status symbols by which they judge themselves in modern Japan.

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/ 19 December 2005

Japan confronts Hollywood absence with geisha film

The film is set in Japan, the characters are quintessentially Japanese and the actress in the title role is … Chinese. Memoirs of a Geisha is the latest film highlighting how few Japanese have made it in Hollywood. Based on a novel that raised hackles in Japan for allegedly depicting the traditional hostesses as prostitutes, the movie had a lukewarm reception on its opening weekend in Japan.

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/ 5 September 2005

Typhoon heads toward southern Japan

One person was killed and at least six injured as a powerful typhoon heading on Monday toward Japan’s mainland lashed Tokyo with torrential rains, flooded homes and cut off power to thousands. A 61-year-old man was found dead late on Sunday on a flooded road in Saitama outside Tokyo after he rushed to help his son whose car was stuck.