By Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Ken Takakura, a craggy-faced, quiet star known for playing outlaws and stoic heroes in scores of Japanese films, has died of lymphoma. He was 83. Perhaps best known abroad for his police inspector role in Ridley Scott’s “Black Rain” in 1989, Takakura died Nov. 10 at a […]
PICTORIAL: Obama bounces around Asia
President Obama launched his trip to Asia from Oso, Wash., where he visited the March 22 landslide victims’ families, friends, and rescue workers. From there, he began a week-long trip to four Asian countries.
Handing letter to emperor is taboo
By Mari Yamaguchi Associated Press TOKYO (AP) – A novice Japanese lawmaker who wanted to draw attention to the Fukushima nuclear crisis has caused an uproar by doing something taboo: handing a letter to the emperor.
Director captures Japan’s history on film
Alexander Sokurov’s “The Sun” opens in an awkward fashion. On the surface, life seems ordinary enough at the Imperial Palace of Japan. A servant brings in breakfast for the emperor on a tray. A second servant reads off the itinerary for the day. The emperor must attend a meeting with his war ministers. Then he will study marine biology, his favorite subject.