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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2018

The direction of education in Japan

Japan has the 6-3-3-4 education system — compulsory education of six years in elementary school and three years in junior high school. Students then commonly go on to three years in high school and four years in university.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 30, 2018

No kidding: Goats prefer to interact with happy faces

oats shown happy and angry human faces prefer the happy ones, according to research published by a team of life scientists from Britain, Germany and Brazil.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Sep 30, 2018

Retro Japan makes another comeback

From Showa Era-style stationery to Heian Period-inspired tenugui towels, contemporary remakes prove 'retro' can still be modern
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2018

America should do away with the death penalty

Without being aware of it, Vernon Madison might become a footnote in constitutional law because he is barely aware of anything. For more than 30 years, Alabama, with a tenacity that deserves a better cause, has been trying to execute him for the crime he certainly committed, the 1985 murder of a police...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 30, 2018

Toyota official says no Brexit deal could temporarily shut English factory

Toyota Motor Corp. anticipates halting production at its Midlands U.K. factory in the event Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, the plants managing director, Marvin Cooke, told the BBC.
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2018

Japanese cryptocurrency industry group plans to tighten rules on asset management after thefts

In the wake of another hacking incident in early September, a group of cryptocurrency exchange operators is planning to tighten self-regulatory measures it follows on the management of customer assets.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 30, 2018

Japan's Internal affairs minister Seiko Noda may exit Abe Cabinet

Internal affairs minister Seiko Noda hints she will not be retained in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after a reshuffle set for this week.
TENNIS
Sep 30, 2018

Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori amongst favorites as unpredictable Japan Rakuten Open begins

With Ariake Coliseum undergoing renovations ahead of the 2020 Summer Games, eight of the world's top 25 players will descend upon Musashino Forest Sports Plaza in Chofu, western Tokyo, this week for the 2018 Rakuten Japan Open. The facility's court speed and playing conditions are unknowns, making this...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 30, 2018

'We fell in love': Trump touts bromance with North Korea's Kim

U.S. President Donald Trump has fallen in love — with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Sep 29, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: When Japanese games went global

The Japan Times presents the fifth installment of a monthly 12-part series that looks back at the leading issues of the past three decades.
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Sep 29, 2018

Y'all

JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 29, 2018

Media appear to be ignoring maglev woes

Earlier this month, two different Tokyo District Court sessions associated with the maglev bullet train line now under construction were convened. In one, major contractor Obayashi Corp. was prosecuted for rigging bids for work on the project. In the other, a citizens' network was suing the government...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Sep 29, 2018

TV shows look to piggyback on the success of social media

A growing number of people in Japan are turning to the internet as their main destination for entertainment. Younger folk in particular opt for YouTube and Instagram as a first choice over TV. So how is traditional media adjusting to this new reality?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 29, 2018

Dirt and difficulty: Life as the wife of a Buddhist monk

Tracy Franz's poignant memoir, 'My Year of Dirt and Water,' is full of carefully observed details. Organised by the season and dated like a diary, Franz delves into the solitary year she spent in Japan while her husband was cloistered in a Zen monastery.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 29, 2018

Mixing music genres into something magic

Curator of the Live Magic! festival shares experiences of DJ-ing in Japan and reveals some of his favorite tunes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Sep 29, 2018

Bringing shottsuru fish sauce back from the brink of extinction

Shottsuru is a fish sauce made from sandfish in Akita Prefecture. When its commercial production plummeted in the early 1990s, one man made it his mission to revive the local product.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kamakura Restaurants
Sep 29, 2018

Kishin Kamakura: Giving breakfast its proper due

For most of us, the first meal of the day is also the fastest, a quick bite or perhaps just some java on the run. But why the hurry? Slow down, breathe, take your time, reward yourself. This is a good half of the pleasure of getting to break your morning fast at Kishin.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kamakura Restaurants
Sep 29, 2018

Oxymoron Komachi: Piquant curry favored by the locals

In a tourist town, it pays to know where to eat before you get there. Pro tip: The best places are usually off the main drag. Look where the locals are lining up; the queue outside Oxymoron in Kamakura is always one of the longest.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 29, 2018

'The Knifenerd Guide to Japanese Knives': Paying tribute to Japan's 'faceless' knife makers

For more than a decade, Kevin Kent and his staff have been selling chefs and home cooks on the array of Japanese knives as well as how to care for them. That knowledge has been distilled into Kent's upcoming book, 'The Knifenerd Guide to Japanese Knives,' a tribute to Japan's 'faceless' blacksmiths.
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Sep 29, 2018

Sweets of the people: The fall flavors of Meiji's classic Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato

It's been a big month for the venerable snack brands Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato. In September, the company behind both, Meiji, shared the results of its nationwide "general election," in which voters chose their favorite of the two sweets.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 29, 2018

Few question the death penalty for heinous crimes

Should murderers be put to death? Yes, says Japan. No, says (increasingly) much of the rest of the world. Japan swims against the current.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Sep 29, 2018

John Okada's 'No-No Boy': Once overlooked, now a classic tale of identity

'No-No Boy,' a 1957 novel by Japanese-American writer John Okada, unravels the complicated, varied perspectives of Japanese-Americans in the aftermath of World War II under the shadow of the internment camps of the American northwest.
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Sep 29, 2018

Kenji Miyazawa's 'Once and Forever': More than a happy ending

'Once and Forever' is a brand-new selection of 24 lesser-known, but equally delightful and imaginative tales by Kenji Miyazawa expertly translated into English by the late John Bester.
COMMUNITY / Voices / OVERHEARD
Sep 29, 2018

Scared silly

'Do you think birds would really be scared of a scarecrow that looks like Pikachu?'
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 29, 2018

S-Pulse spoil FC Tokyo's 20th anniversary festivities

All that glitters was not gold for FC Tokyo, whose 20th anniversary celebrations in special gold uniforms were crashed by Shimizu S-Pulse in a 2-0 defeat at Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday evening.

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building