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December 03, 2023
 

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Laura Pollacco
For Laura Pollacco's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Mika and Jesse say their landlady prefers a hands-off style of property management, leaving all matters, including maintenence and repairs, to the renting couple.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 18, 2023
Renting akiya: A backdoor into Japan's abandoned homes
“If the choice is between leaving (an akiya) empty or renting it out, please rent it out.”
By the finale, I had completely bought into Samurai Restaurant Time's spectacle — a neon-lit festival with chants and cheers.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 12, 2023
Samurai Restaurant Time gives kitschy thrills fit for Kabukicho
To replace the defunct Robot Restaurant, the neon-soaked streets of Kabukicho are serving up a kitschy second course.
We already know what will happen at COP28
Activists dressed up like CEOs take part in a fake banquet near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Monday where they feign the celebration of company profits over climate responsibility.
Japan air conditioner king Daikin eyes custom chips for energy savings
Daikin plans to start introducing the custom chips in high-end air conditioners from 2025 and is looking at using them in about a fifth of units by the end of the decade.
U.S. forces dispatch two Ospreys for rescue operations after fatal crash
A U.S. military Osprey at the Futenma base in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, in 2022
Four teams remain in Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, report says
The Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and the two Los Angeles teams — the Dodgers and Angels — remain active in the sweepstakes to land Shohei Ohtani.
Abe's former faction in focus as LDP political fund scandal deepens
A fundraising party for the LDP's largest faction, which was lead by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe until his death
The entertainment story of the year is long overdue
The talent agency formerly known as Johnny & Associates announced it would change its name after acknowledging the long history of abuse company founder Johnny Kitagawa inflicted on young men. The news was followed by the removal of company signage bearing Kitagawa’s name.
Japan’s 2023 buzzword of the year is all about winning
Tigers manager Akinobu Okada speaks during a news conference in Tokyo after the buzzword of the year was announced on Friday. The team's slogan, an indirect reference to victory, took the top spot.
U.S. Osprey crash rekindles safety concerns in Japan
A CV-22 Osprey at the U.S. military's Yokota Air Base in Tokyo in September 2018
Shibuya Sakura Stage to cap once-in-a-century redevelopment around station
A view of a plaza within Shibuya Sakura Stage, what Tokyu Land Corporation is calling the final puzzle piece in its redevelopment of the area around Shibuya Station.
Xi’s Shanghai visit sells city’s ‘innovation’ image
Pedestrians along the Bund in Shanghai on Oct. 29. The Chinese government is pushing a narrative that the city will play an important role in reinvigorating the nation’s economy.

Podcast

Pages from a new Otaku Dictionary catalog the lexicons of Japan’s various subcultures.
A problematic otaku dictionary and the Japanese approach to sitting

Longform

Yoshiko Koide sits in a classroom at Nagoya College where she teaches a Japanese-language observation seminar.
How a dictionary came to spark outrage among the web’s otaku
By Thu-Huong Ha and Yukana Inoue

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