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Atsushi Kodera
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 1, 2015
Firms promote practical items in times of disaster
With the chances of a destructive earthquake hitting the Kanto region in the next 30 years estimated to be 70 percent, disaster preparedness seems to be on the minds of many people.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2015
Grand old landmark Hotel Okura Tokyo says sayonara, for now
The main building of the historic Hotel Okura Tokyo closed Monday for demolition and a rebuild after 53 years of hosting fascinating guests amid Japanese decorative beauty. The hotel's guest list of dignitaries and celebrities has arguably been as impressive as its interiors.
BUSINESS
Aug 27, 2015
Kinokuniya to buy up first editions of new Murakami book
The major bookstore chain said there are two main motives behind the announcement: to get a competitive edge over online bookstores and to energize smaller book shops.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2015
No long-term threat seen in Bangkok blasts: experts
Crisis management experts say Bangkok's recent bombings do not pose a long-term threat in an otherwise relatively safe country. But they are nonetheless advising Japanese staying in the Southeast Asian city to exercise caution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / 70 YEARS AFTER THE WAR'S END
Aug 17, 2015
Japan's dramatic postwar evolution
This is the last report in a five-part series looking at the impact of World War II still being felt in Japanese society.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 10, 2015
Photochemical smog creeps back on hot, still days
As searing hot days continue this summer, heatstroke and heat exhaustion have sent record numbers of people to hospitals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 1, 2015
Pictures of World War II Imperial shelter released to public for first time in 50 years
The Imperial Household Agency on Saturday released the first images in half a century of an air-raid shelter where Emperor Hirohito and his ministers made some of Japan's most momentous decisions during World War II.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 1, 2015
Master recording of Hirohito's war-end speech released in digital form
A recording of Emperor Hirohito's voice declaring Japan's surrender in World War II has been brought back to life after 70 years, in a previously unavailable, higher quality recording of the historic broadcast that was made available to the public Sunday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2015
Island offers free ferry trips in novel seabird rescue project
Authorities at the little-known island of Teuri in northern Japan have taken a novel approach to tackling its stray cat problem with the offer of free ferry trips to anyone who will take the felines off their hands.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 14, 2015
Sporty but quirky, Honda's S660 is a car of contradiction
Honda Motor Co.'s name may currently be tainted with the global air bag recalls, but it has proved that it remains an automaker with an attitude, launching a new, genre-defying mini sports car developed by a twenty-something pioneer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2015
'Onsen' at center of sex acts controversy to reopen Aug. 1
A mixed-bathing, open-air onsen in Tochigi Prefecture that was forced to close last month amid complaints over lurid sexual behavior by some users is set to reopen following a deal between tourism officials, the operator and the local community.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 2, 2015
Haneda airport to be used as testing ground for robot technology
Tokyo's Haneda airport is set to become a testing ground for new robot technologies under a joint project announced Thursday by its operator and leading robot developer Cyberdyne Inc.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2015
New economic growth plan adopted but some economists unconvinced
The Cabinet on Tuesday adopted a revised policy to rehabilitate the budget, saddled with the world's biggest debt burden. It also accepted a strategy to boost economic growth, but economists and an opposition leader warned that snowballing social security costs need further belt-tightening.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 17, 2015
How one Kabukicho bar allegedly ripped off its drinkers
A promise of a fun night out with drinks and hostesses for just ¥4,000 in Tokyo's Kabukicho district led to a tab totaling ¥2.6 million — and a death threat.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2015
Tochigi mixed-bath hot-spring is forced to close after group sex rumors
Complaints about brazen sexual acts at a quaint little onsen north of Tokyo have forced the open-air, mixed-bathing facility to indefinitely suspend operations, highlighting a new risk to a declining tradition.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2015
What next for ShinGinko Tokyo?
News that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government is apparently planning to withdraw from managing ShinGinko Tokyo Ltd. has opened old wounds for residents who just seven years earlier saw their tax money poured into resuscitating the bank that was supposed to become a savior of small businesses.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 27, 2015
Line's smash-hit Indonesia movie shows why company prefers to think local
When Line Corp. resurrected a popular 2002 Indonesian teen movie and filmed an online version portraying the same cast and characters, a decade older and using its Line Alumni app, the company quickly found it had a hit on its hands.
JAPAN / History
May 26, 2015
Suspicion taints war dead from Philippines
The remains of some 15,000 Japanese soldiers who died in the Philippines during World War II continue to lie in undignified government storage after the media raised suspicions five years ago that the deceased include those of local residents obtained by profiteering grave robbers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 25, 2015
UNESCO faces Japan's legacy of forced labor in heritage bid
News earlier this month that a UNESCO advisory panel had recommended putting Japanese sites from the Meiji industrial revolution on the World Heritage list excited the public, especially residents near the sites who campaigned for the honor.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2015
Tokyo's Kita Ward adopts hearing and speaking aids to help legislators with disabilities
The Kita Ward Assembly, where deaf-mute Tokyo author Rie Saito was elected in the quadrennial unified elections in April, has become the first legislature in the nation to develop a system that allows lawmakers with hearing or speech impediments to participate in sessions in real time.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces