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Elliott
Elliott Samuels is manager of the Life & Culture Division of The Japan Times and editor-in-chief of The Japan Times On Sunday.
For Elliott's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 21, 2015
Mizuo Peck: 'Stay curious and never stop learning'
'Night at the Museum' star Mizuo Peck on parades, whiskey shots and Robin Williams
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 7, 2015
Maya Onoda: 'I am inspired by the spontaneity of stains'
Installation artist Maya Onoda on yoga, imagination and the spontaneity of stains
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 8, 2015
Atsugiri Jason: 'Don't worry about what other people think of you'
Comedian Jason Danielson on bad puns, hidden cameras and thick-sliced bacon
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 10, 2015
'You shouldn't worry about life too much'
Save the Children Japan CEO Kunio Senga on astronomy, mangoes and patience
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 3, 2015
Jaco the Galactic Patrolman
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 27, 2014
Man'yo Luster
Man'yo Luster, by Susumu Nakanishi, Translated by Ian Hideo Levy, Photos by Hakudo Inoue.Pie Books, Poetry.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 27, 2014
20 Questions: best answers of 2014
Japan Times On Sunday contributors select the responses that made them laugh loudest over the past 12 months
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 20, 2014
Descent into Hell: Civilian Memories of the Battle of Okinawa
In 1983, Okinawa's Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper published a series of articles based on interviews with survivors of the Battle of Okinawa that looked at the experiences of civilians in the prefecture toward the end of World War II. In "Descent Into Hell: Civilian Memories of the Battle of Okinawa," translators Mark Ealey and Alastair McLauchlan group the articles together in chronological order under common themes in an attempt to share the apocalyptic struggle from the perspective of those caught in the middle of the conflict.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 13, 2014
Donna Burke: 'Being a late bloomer is way better than peaking and burning out early in life'
Australian singer on paper party hats, accents and lengthy karaoke songs
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 6, 2014
Kiska: The Japanese Occupation of an Alaska Island
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 29, 2014
Milton Miltiadous: 'Now is the start of the future, and the end of the past'
Life coach Milton Miltiadous on expensive wine, Santa Claus and ancient Rome
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 22, 2014
Todd Stevens: 'No sense in delaying good things'
Craft beer distributor on sabrage, Cat Stevens and whimsical trademarks
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 8, 2014
Rogerio Igarashi Vaz: 'There is no bartender without tender'
Famed cocktail concoctionist discusses Michael Jackson, Spectreman and the Monkey Gland.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 30, 2014
Toy Tokyo
In a world now dominated by photographs taken with smartphones and swanky digital cameras, it's refreshing to come across a book that restores a little faith in old-school photography.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 30, 2014
Kazu Kuzuwata: 'You'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down'
Name: Kazu KuzuwataAge: 34
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 23, 2014
Nick Ward: 'It's just as hard to live outside Yorkshire as it is inside of Yorkshire'
I have a love-hate relationship with (Haruki) Murakami. I think his prose is really beautiful but he gives me vivid nightmares.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 9, 2014
Food Wars! vol. 1
"Food Wars!" tells the story of an ambitious boy named Soma whose dreams of becoming a successful chef appear to be over when his father closes down the family restaurant. His father then challenges Soma to enroll in an elite culinary school that prides itself on a brutally low graduation rate. Throw a toffee-nosed heiress who is also enrolled at the school into the equation and the big question is: Can Soma survive?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 9, 2014
Bryerly Long: 'I'm still learning to accept the unknown'
'Sometimes people take themselves too seriously and, in reality, we invent our own characters. Who we are changes with time.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 26, 2014
Traci Consoli: 'Follow your dreams and your heart'
What first brought you to Japan? I graduated. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 19, 2014
Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential
"Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential" was first published in 2010, offering readers a rare insight into a growing global fascination with the image of the Japanese schoolgirl. This revised edition features eight new sections that focus on developments on the subject, including an analysis of the fall and rise of disgraced AKB48 member Rino Sashihara, who was demoted to another idol pop group in Fukuoka after a tabloid published an interview with a guy claiming to be her ex-boyfriend. Fortunately for Sasshi, as she is affectionately called, the scandal only helped generate extra publicity, and the following year she was voted the most popular member of all the AKB spinoff groups in their annual election.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores