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The head of an official inquiry into the deadly collapse of a Bangladesh factory complex said the building’s owner was the “main culprit” for the disaster because he violated construction codes. The cave-in of the eight-story Rana Plaza outside the capital last month killed ...
Throughout most of Japan, June is the rainy season. While all that rainfall is great for rice paddies so that we can have delicious new harvest rice in the fall, it makes it a rather dull month for seasonal produce: The summer’s bounty of ...
“I was stopped by two men in a government-registered vehicle, blindfolded and dragged off the street. They took me away to a house in a place I did not know. I was forced into a room with blood all over the walls and floor, ...
Claude Regy says the team at the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC) threw him the “best birthday party ever” when he arrived in Japan just days after the actual May 1 occasion. The 90-year-old French director is hoping for an even better birthday gift, ...
As far as debuts go, Shohei Otani's delivered. The celebrated rookie pitched fairly well on Thursday night, and though he finished outside the decision, he left the mound with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters well within striking distance of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows.
“Go around the beaches and let’s have a list of the best seaside bars,” said my editor. In this heat? Not a chance. But here’s something better: five refreshing cocktail recipes from a quintet of great bartenders. Each of these invigorating drinks was designed ...
From the marketing bumf, you’d think all mineral waters tasted alike. The aquifers are ancient, the nature is untouched and blah blah blah. But H2O is such a great solvent it steals a bit of anything it passes through, resulting in a shelfload of ...
I know, I know, bottled water is terribly unethical these days. Pinching a natural, life-sustaining resource and flying it to rich people in faraway lands is a bit naughty, all that packaging is trashing our planet, and our taps dispense safe water for less ...
If you know Nikka Whisky only as the producer of the extraordinarily cheap peatless Black that fills the nether regions of Japan’s whisky market, you might be surprised to learn that the company makes around 40 other styles — and one of them has ...
Two of Tokyo’s one-time landmarks reopened last month: one literally rising from the rubble, the other sporting a little cosmetic trim. Las Chicas was the first to reappear. The old Chicas had been a fixture on the Aoyama nightlife scene for 20 years. It ...
Vodka is often described as the world’s most versatile spirit, which is a nice way of saying that it doesn’t taste of much. Globally, it outsells every other spirit, but outside of Eastern Europe, nobody drinks it for its flavor. That’s the argument I ...
Sure, “best theme bar” is faint praise, but here are four Tokyo joints that are more fun than the Hard Rock Cafe. They were selected through the following criteria: 1) The theme must reflect the owner’s passion. 2) No maid or dog cafes. 3) ...
“The best bartenders on the planet all work in Ginza,” claims Masahiro Kon, ex-bartender and award-winning cocktail creator. “In the U.S., they’re mixing drinks with herbs and other weird ingredients, but in Ginza the best guys just polish their cocktails like jewels.” So Kon ...
Only 1 percent of Japan is Christian. Luckily the rest of the country is happy to pilfer the fun parts of a jolly old festival season. So whether you’re celebrating the prophet or the presents, and whether Christmas means eggnog, panettone or foie gras, ...
It started with an e-mail from my editor: “Get yr (sic) camera ready. Online Dating Minus Ugly People is coming to Japan. Thinking Lifestyle page trend piece. Ready for the money shot?” Online dating minus ugly people is the premise behind Beautifulpeople.net, described by ...
Why would anybody choose to play the tuba? It’s the heaviest and most expensive piece of brass, it belches notes that could make buildings fall down, and the brightest career hope is to play the rom-pa-pom-pom of fat people walking in cartoons. Despite those ...
I won ¥1 million last week, betting on the botanical classification of the blue agave — the key ingredient of tequila. Early on Thursday morning in a Roppongi bar, an overconfident drinker called the plant a cactus; my money said lily. The foot-high spiky ...