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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Nov 26, 2017

Japan is seen through a lens warily in 'You Only Live Twice,' James Bond's sole sojourn to Tokyo

"You Only Live Twice," the only "James Bond" film — to date — to be set in Japan, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. While undoubtedly great fun, it must be admitted that it's a long way from being a masterpiece of cinema.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 25, 2017

'The Paper Door and Other Stories': Naoya Shiga's rollercoaster ride of human emotions

Considered a master of the Japanese short story, Naoya Shiga's "The Paper Door and Other Stories" truly impresses. Seventeen stories explore a vast range of human emotions, from fever-induced insanity in "The Razor" to the analytical musings of a circus performer whose stunt has just gone horribly wrong...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 25, 2017

Designer Takeshi Nishio prefers 'cute' to 'cool'

'Kawaii' has more sense of affection than 'kakkoii,' says designer Nishio.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 3, 2017

Changing times in Setagaya's Shoin Jinjamae

There's something alluring about the suburban stops between Sangenjaya and Shimotakaido stations, which has been serviced by the Tokyu Setagaya tramway for the past 110 years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 2, 2017

Tokyo International Film Festival closes with an inconvenient message from Al Gore

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore Jr. still remembers the childhood experiences that inspired his passion for the natural environment.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 28, 2017

Limit the damage on office battlefields

What a nest of vipers an office is! Tens, hundreds, thousands of people, supposedly united in a common enterprise — yet if looks could kill, how many would make it alive through the day?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 21, 2017

'Okinawa': Remembering Takuma Nakahira in a different light

A figure stood on Zushi Beach in Kanagawa Prefecture one night in 1973, silhouetted against a fire as he fed piles of prints and negatives — the bulk of his photographic work so far — into the flames.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2017

Food, folks and film: Yamagata festival dives deep into documentaries

Once an obscure corner of a film world dominated by the fantasies of Hollywood, documentaries are now drawing more attention from both paying audiences and wider society. And the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, whose 15th edition unspools from Oct. 5 to 12 in Yamagata, has long been...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Oct 4, 2017

Drifting: Japan-born street sport roars onto global stage

The first thing you notice at a drifting competition is the noise — a crazed shriek of engines punctuated by the sudden firecracker pop of an exhaust pipe under extreme duress.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 23, 2017

'Devils in Daylight' and 'The Maids': The literary sleuthing of Junichiro Tanizaki

Question: Is it really the case that for a large part of the 20th century Japan enjoyed a golden age of literature? Or is this just misty-eyed nostalgia?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 19, 2017

Ultra stakes a claim on Japan's music festival throne with help from Chainsmokers, Tiesto and more

Security tugs a woozy-looking man toward the exit of Odaiba Ultra Park after he got in a scuffle with another festivalgoer. His opponent, only steps behind, has bright red bumps on his face. He approaches a guard and, with a smile, snaps a selfie.
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 16, 2017

Cristiano's late strike gives Reysol draw against Marinos

Kashiwa Reysol striker Cristiano scored an 88th-minute equalizer to salvage a 1-1 draw against Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday in a result that did little for either side's J. League title ambitions.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 29, 2017

Former super featherweight champion Uchiyama retires with pride in career accomplishments

Just like people in general, there is no immortality in sports. One day, every athlete starts declining, and one day he or she must quit.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 14, 2017

Saitama's Nagatoro is home to stillness, motion and an endless variety of color

It wasn't immediately clear what the man tossing large pebbles at the torii of a shrine was trying to achieve.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / The critics who shaped modern Japan
Jul 1, 2017

Yukichi Fukuzawa: A cultural critic truly ahead of his time

Ask just about anyone with a keen interest in Japan to name their favorites from the nation's rich literary history and they are likely to rattle off a few famous names. But ask the same person for their favorite Japanese critics, and stony silence is likely to ensue.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 19, 2017

Remembering Helmut Kohl's unfinished business

The late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl was the man who put German history to bed, and helped lay the groundwork for the current confrontation between Russia and the West.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jun 10, 2017

Misa Kuranaga: Dancing up a storm in Boston

After being nominated for one of the highest global honors in ballet in May, Misa Kuranaga could be forgiven for relaxing her gruelling training regime. But the 34-year-old from Osaka remains as motivated as ever.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 14, 2017

Can Japan, land of lifetime employment, handle the rise of freelancers?

For public relations specialist Mari Hirata, the perks that drew her into the world of freelancing were the flexible working hours and the opportunity to work for various companies.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2017

Land of fear, under Vajiralongkorn

Loathed by the public, Thailand's King Vajiralongkorn is seeking to win over his subjects not by reverence, but fear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 25, 2017

Kaiho Yusho: painting privilege

The Momoyama Period (1573-1615) artist Kaiho Yusho (1533-1615) was renowned among the elite painters of his time, and still is. More remarkable, however, is that fame came when he was in his 60s during what is called his "early" period. Over the following two decades, he went from painting for priests...
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Apr 18, 2017

Angelic Mao's legacy will be part of skating forever

The news hit Japan and the skating world like a thunderbolt last Monday night when Mao Asada announced she was retiring from the sport.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 11, 2017

'Marie Laurencin: A Journey for Love'

April 14-June 18
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Apr 8, 2017

Suzuki shines for South Georgia Tech

The South Georgia Technical College women's basketball team has quietly built a stellar program in recent years. With a vision and purposeful planning, coach James Frey, in his fifth season at the helm, and his staff have recruited smartly and found players, from near and far, including Japan, who fit...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 18, 2017

Playground legend 'Bone Collector' brings his talent back to Japan

Streetball fanatics revel with delight when rattling off names of legends who competed at New York's famed Rucker Park in the 20th century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 16, 2017

Radwimps were the perfect choice when it came to soundtracking 'Your Name.'

Yokohama Arena feels special on this chilly Tuesday night in early March. It's here that Radwimps — a rock outfit from Kanagawa Prefecture whose members could bike to this very venue when they were teens — are playing the first of two sold-out shows.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 10, 2017

Wenger's long run with Arsenal likely near the end

When you are a multimillionaire and you are two years past the retirement age with most of those who judge your work urging you to leave your job, why not call it a day?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 11, 2017

Crafts and coral of an embattled coast

A little north of the massive Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, a slew of scattered residential settlements and visitor sites are pincered between the Torii Station Army Base and an ammunition storage facility situated in Yomitan, a region of the southern mainland, where a massive U.S. amphibious landing took...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Feb 8, 2017

'Otaku' gather to celebrate the obsessive at Nerd Nite Tokyo

At Nerd Nite Tokyo, self-confessed nerds from all walks of life gather once a month to loosen their anoraks, sup a beverage or two and feed on the niche knowledge of three quietly obsessive speakers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 4, 2017

Bathing in the French culture of Tokyo's Kagurazaka district

"To err is human. To loaf is Parisian," said the French writer Victor Hugo. Although seasoned in erring and loafing, I cannot attest that he nailed Paris. But loafing is tres a la mode in Kagurazaka, a shopping and dining area in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward that is famed for its touch of French culture.

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