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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2014

Hit Hokkaido's slopes for tasty seasonal fare

Kutchan, near Niseko, is probably the only town in Japan where convenience stores stock pinto beans and Vegemite. In fact, Hokkaido's ski paradise, internationally known for its powder snow, is steadily forging a new reputation, one bite at a time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2014

Why Winding Refn doesn't care if you hate his movie

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn was a film-school dropout who gained sudden acclaim at the tender age of 24 with his ultraviolent 1996 film "Pusher," which was eventually developed into a trilogy. He reached wider audiences with "Fear X" (starring John Turturro) and British crime flick "Bronson,"...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2014

'A Late Quartet (25-Nen-me no Gengaku Shijuso)'

Director: Yaron Zilberman
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 16, 2014

Cultist downplays guilt as trial opens

Makoto Hirata, one of the last Aum Shinrikyo cultists yet to be tried, on Thursday played down his involvement in the 1995 kidnapping of a Tokyo notary, telling the Tokyo District Court in his first trial session that he only drove the getaway car and had no inkling of what was to unfold.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2014

'Kaz' Kumagai brings tip-top tap to town

"Anyone can enjoy being be a tap dancer in their daily life; all you have to do is casually make a rhythm with your feet when you're walking down the street," Japan's leading exponent of the art, Kazunori Kumagai, insists — seemingly oblivious to the gulf between him and most of the rest of clod-hopping...
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jan 15, 2014

Three cases, three paths to legitimacy for Supreme Court

When I began studying Japanese, one of my goals was to be able to read the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's version of The Wall Street Journal. Achieving that goal, however, meant realizing that it is possibly The Most Boring Newspaper on Earth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 15, 2014

Two photographers in a state of play

In an intriguing double-header, two of photography's more colorful characters are exhibited together at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, providing an interesting glimpse of art form as play.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2014

'Missing' U.K. man turns up safe in Britain

Running in fear for his life or just to escape it? A British businessman who mysteriously disappeared from Tokyo last year, sparking speculation of misadventure, has turned up back in England, safe and sound, according to a British media report.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jan 14, 2014

Maishin: Safe haven in Shibuya for sake-loving adults

Shibuya is not a neighborhood where you head for haute cuisine. But all that window-shopping, people-watching, hanging out and having fun can be hungry work. So it's good to have a few places up your sleeve that offer sustenance and respite from the crowds and noise.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

India's shambolic Afghan policy

India stands at a crossroads where it remains keen to preserve its interests in Afghanistan but has refused to step up its role as a regional security provider.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

The deal breaks down in Bangladeshi politics

Since the restoration of democracy in 1991, Bangladesh has managed to avoid the political turbulence that haunted it during the first two decades of its existence. Until now.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2014

Economic inequality by the click

Free markets are expected to distribute the fruits of some new technologies in dramatically unequal ways. Will the relative losers, satiated by computer games and Internet entertainment, and provided with the basics of a minimally acceptable life, be too docile to revolt?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2014

Burke, Paine still haunt U.S. politics

The British statesman Edmund Burke and the Anglo-American revolutionary Thomas Paine both favored free trade but for different reasons. More than 200 years later, their differences in outlook underlie much of our politics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jan 12, 2014

Display technologies set to turn heads in cars and windows

From smartphones and high-definition TVs to digital displays, display technology has advanced in leaps and bounds to become ubiquitous the world over.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 12, 2014

Sharon's life shaped Israel, mirrored its turbulent times

The death of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who had been in a deep coma since suffering a stroke in January 2006, represents an extraordinary moment of rupture in his country's history. Of the generation of Israeli soldiers and politicians who fought in Israel's founding conflicts, only...
EDITORIALS
Jan 11, 2014

Perilous times for journalists

Given its recent enactment of the state secrets protection law, how soon will Japan start to appear on the annual lists of imprisoned journalists put out by the Committee to Protect Journalists?
Reader Mail
Jan 11, 2014

How one treats Yasukuni is key

The politicians who persist in visiting Yasukuni Shrine say they visit it to pay their respects to the war dead who sacrificed their lives for the benefit of the nation.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 11, 2014

Richard Dawson: 'Pull your fingers out'

A billion hungry souls lacking your misplaced sense of entitlement want your job for a quarter of the pay.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 11, 2014

A Cappella

"A Cappella" is the second novel by award-winning Japanese author Mariko Koike to be translated into English. Often referred to as part of her "love trilogy," the story deals with a young girl's intense, heartbreaking love and the tragedy it gives rise to.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 11, 2014

Children are blank slates for truth, or propaganda

Imagine you are a parent whose child is being taught propaganda. What do you do? Teach your children the truth and watch their grades slip as they lose interest in school? Or turn a blind eye, knowing their future careers will depend on their grades?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 11, 2014

Dire quake forecasts fail to stir a numb public

Is there a level of fear above which the mind reflexively retreats from imagining the worst? The Great East Japan Earthquake was often described as being 'beyond imagination,' and the art and science of projecting future catastrophes has had to adjust accordingly.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 11, 2014

Lt. Fukuie returns; "Yoru no Sensei" drama features teacher challenge; CM of the week: Yomiuri Shimbun

"Columbo" remains one of the most beloved American TV series in Japan and has generated dozens of local copies. One is police Lt. Fukuie, the creation of mystery writer Takahiro Okura. Fukuie is a woman whose persistence tries the patience of not only her suspects, but her colleagues as well.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 10, 2014

Teachers must nurture critical thinking, confidence in English for a shot at 2020 goals

Until English teachers start developing critical thinking skills in the classroom and emphasizing confidence over competence, students will never be able to converse with native English speakers 'at a viable level of proficiency.'
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 10, 2014

Any Hosokawa presence in Tokyo race bad for Abe

The emergence of Morihiro Hosokawa as a potential candidate could be a game-changer for the Tokyo gubernatorial race and deal a severe blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2014

Focusing on the business of Korean reconciliation

Despite its flaws, including an Orwellian feel, the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint venture of the North and South Korean government, helps to build an environment of collaboration. Pyongyang's recent announcement that it will open another 14 special economic zones is a positive development.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 10, 2014

Xi Jinping facing three key challenges in 2014

Chinese President Xi Jinping has tightened the Communist Party's control over ideology, cracked down on official corruption, repressed dissent and championed a more nationalistic foreign policy. The world will soon find out whether this politically conservative course is intended to ease unusally bold economic reforms.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo