Each year in early September, Japan opens season on dolphins, and today marks the start of the season in Taiji, a now notorious place for slaughtering cetaceans thanks to the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove. And of course, activist Ric O’Barry is on the move. He delivered a petition to the US Embassy in Tokyo signed by 1.7 million people from 155 countries demanding an end to the hunt. The embassy wasn’t his first destination — the Japanese fisheries agency was. But death threats from a group known for violence kinda …

A show of outlandish sculptures by a cult Japanese artist in the historic Chateau of Versailles near Paris has enraged traditionalists who say it dishonours France’s past.
From September 14 to December 12, visitors to Versailles will see eye-grabbing multicoloured statues in silver, fibreglass and metal by Takashi Murakami alongside the chateau’s ornate murals and chandeliers.
"The Chateau de Versailles is one of the greatest symbols of Western history," Murakami said in a statement on the museum’s website.
"The Versailles of my imagination… has become a kind of completely separate and unreal world," …

Rice farming has sustained the people of northern Japan’s Inakadate village for two thousand years. Today, the ancient rice fields are the source of food and art.
Up close, the stalks of rice look like any other found in a rice paddy. CBS News correspondent Celia Hatton reports there are several varieties planted here, each with different colored leaves. Combine them together and an enormous 15,000 square foot image is revealed.
Every year, a local art teacher produces a computerized sketch. It’s transferred onto a grid, and mapped with thousands of dots. …

It should come as no surprise that Japan is embracing burgeoning new social media outlets – like Twitter. Myspace and Facebook (News – Alert) have also tried to break into the market, but it’s Twitter that the Japanese love. Perhaps it’s the cute name or the on-the-go quick updating capabilities – who can say?! But the statistics express volumes – 16.3 percent of Japanese people Tweet, compared to 9.8 percent of Americans.

Professional “shogi” (Japanese chess) player Hifumi Kato was ordered Thursday not to feed stray cats at the condominium in suburban Tokyo where he lives and to pay some 2 million yen in damages to his fellow residents who were troubled by cat waste and noise. While recognizing that the 70-year-old Kato’s actions were motivated by a love for animals, Presiding Judge Masami Ichikawa at the Tachikawa branch of the Tokyo District Court said that “the level of the residents’ sufferings has exceeded the maximum permissible limit.”
Read the rwst of …

Plenty of actresses with good lungs and great legs have played Velma Kelly, the publicity-hungry killer in “Chicago,” now the longest-running revival in Broadway history. But Amra-Faye Wright, who has been in and out of the New York cast since 2006, will be the first to do the part in English on Broadway and then in Japanese overseas.

Canadian teen singer Justin Bieber has named Japan as one of his favorite places in the world after a recent promotional tour in the country.
Speaking to Japanese morning show Sukkiri, the Baby singer said that he did not know very much about the country before he arrived.
He commented: “When I thought of Japan I thought of sushi and ninjas and now I just think it’s a really nice place and people are pretty nice.”
Bieber, who was in Japan to promote his album My World 2.0, added that the country is …

There was a time when going green and doing business simply did not mix.
At best, the term “green business” was perceived as a corporate social responsibility slogan that had little to do with profitability.
Not anymore.
In addition to pressure for generating profit amid the prolonged recession, many companies face the specter of meeting stringent targets for emissions cuts. Thus, “green” and “business” have become inseparable.
The players in this regard were long limited to trading houses or utilities. Now companies ranging from a restaurant chain to a construction company and even small …

Daisuke Takahashi created history again on Thursday when he was crowned Japan’s first men’s world figure skating champion.

Just weeks after putting Japan on the Olympic men’s podium for the first time with his bronze, the 24-year-old led all the way to seal victory with a near flawless free skate to Nino Rota’s La Strada in the Palavela.

Omotesando, Tokyo is home of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for Japan biggest city. This year’s parade is on March 14 and starts from Omotesando Hills; it runs from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m.

Tokyoites aren’t the only ones that think they have a little Irish in them. Other areas in Japan also hold parades and more.