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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 29, 2012

"Teishi Terashima: Adolescent Realism"

Born in 1905, Teishi Terashima lived in Moscow and Paris during his 20s, working as a socialist painter in pursuit of absolute realism. He is perhaps best known for his vivid depiction of working-class adolescent girls.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 29, 2012

From an underdog in the U.S. to Japan's top dog

Two years ago, 32-year-old director/translator Eriko Ogawa returned to Japan after 10 years in New York and presented a riveting production of "The Late Henry Moss," Sam Shepard's 2000 Pulitzer prize-winning tale of loves and hatreds in a frontier family way out West.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 27, 2012

'Third force' elements scramble for poll position

So far 16 political parties are fielding candidates for the Dec. 16 Lower House election.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Nov 27, 2012

Expert laments Japan's limits on craft beer culture

Ry Beville's love of craft beer has developed into an occupation in which he publishes Japan's only bilingual craft beer magazine.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Nov 27, 2012

Give bright young mothers a chance to contribute to society, flourish

Re: "Labor law protects expectant and new mothers — to a point" by Hifumi Okunuki (Labor Pains, Oct. 16):
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 26, 2012

Punchy party names hark back to ignominy

So, Shintaro Ishihara, who had abruptly quit the Tokyo governorship in October, set up a political party named Taiyo no To, then merged it with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's political party that doesn't sound like one, Nippon Ishin no Kai. Another political party that doesn't sound like one, Tachiagare...
Reader Mail
Nov 25, 2012

Secrecy feeds nuclear skepticism

E. Watters' Nov. 11 letter, "Scientific fact vs. unfounded fear," downplays the dangers of the Fukushima nuclear accident. While I agree that inaccurate reporting should not be the basis of decision making, interpretation of data is crucial for understanding truth.
Reader Mail
Nov 25, 2012

Core element of communism

Jim Makin's Nov. 15 letter, "The inner heart of an ideology," lectures readers about reason, but it contains claims that are anything but rational or factual. For starters, Makin seeks to shift blame for atheist violence and bloodshed by buying into the idea that atheism's political and societal manifestation...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 25, 2012

The convoluted crime spree of Amagasaki's 'piranha family'

By next week, the media will start compiling lists of the top news stories of 2012. The short list can be expected to include natural and manmade disasters, political bombshells, international disputes, indiscretions by celebrities in the worlds of sports and entertainment and, of course, sensational...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 24, 2012

Yaeyama stray cats steal the show on the beaches of Taketomi

After eight days on Miyakojima in which again our departure was delayed by bad weather, we finally set sail for Ishigaki Island, part of the Yaeyama Island chain and the end of our sailing trip through Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2012

World Economic Forum task force to tackle Japan's financial gender gap

The World Economic Forum has announced the launch of a task force to close Japan's economic gender gaps by 10 percent by 2015.
BASKETBALL
Nov 24, 2012

Iwate outlasts Yokohama in OT

The Iwate Big Bulls held off the host Yokohama B-Corsairs in overtime on Friday night, winning 89-84 in the bj-league series opener.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 24, 2012

Sri Lankan keen to showcase Japanese innovation

Monte Cassim, 65, slips effortlessly from English to Japanese and back, as befits one of the few non-Japanese to have served as president of a major Japanese university. After heading Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, from 2004 to 2009, the Sri Lankan architect and engineer...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2012

America through the eyes of Benjamin Franklin

When he was a young man, Benjamin Franklin wired together a set of batteries he had just invented and used them to shock turkeys slated for a Thanksgiving feast. Thus he added yet another invention to his list: the fried turkey. "The birds killed in this manner eat uncommonly tender," he wrote.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2012

'Hick'

All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl." So wrote Jean-Luc Godard way back in 1961, and some 50 years later people are still testing that theory. The latest young director to do so is Derick Martini, whose "Hick" stars Chloe Grace Moretz ("Hugo," "Kick-Ass") as a jailbait teen runaway, and a Smith...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 23, 2012

Musician Shugo Tokumaru starts to adjust to the spotlight

Among the many billboards looming over Shibuya Station crossing, one of the busiest and most famous intersections in Tokyo, is one for Tower Records that features musician Shugo Tokumaru. The picture looks slightly awkward. The artist sits on a spiral staircase and clutches a guitar, positioned just...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2012

'Trouble With the Curve' / 'Dream House'

The season of family gatherings is upon us, and here are two movies featuring The Dad in a big way. Though not as familiar as The Mom, The Dad is a cozy Hollywood institution, often deployed to prod at adult male shortcomings — from cold, distant workaholic to warm-hearted slob around the house. There's...
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2012

To succeed after high school

It's time for teachers, professors, parents, boards of education and ministry officials to get together, take a good look at the education system and ask, "Why is it that high school study, so focused on preparation for university entrance, does so little to prepare students for actual university life?"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 22, 2012

We've got TNGHT: Young producers Hudson Mohawke and Lunice join forces to bring a new spin on hip-hop

The Red Bull Music Academy studios in South London are the venue for my interview with Ross Birchard (26) and Lunice Fermin Pierre II (24) — better known as Hudson Mohawke and Lunice — about their new project TNGHT. As graduates of the classes of 2007 and 2010 respectively, both have benefited from...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 22, 2012

"Kyohei Sakaguchi: Practice for a Revolution"

As a college student, architect Kyohei Sakaguchi met a homeless man who he remembers as "Mr. Suzuki." Amazed by Suzuki's ingenious survival skills, Sakaguchi became interested in the life of the homeless and spent time observing and interviewing them.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2012

Exports at three-year low as recession nears

Japan is suffering its worst year for exports since the 2009 global contraction as Europe's debt crisis, China's economic slowdown and the Senkakus dispute with Beijing hurt manufacturers and deepen the risk of a recession.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2012

Parties jockey over tax, nukes, TPP

Whether to hike the consumption tax, join the Trans Pacific Partnership free-trade talks or abandon nuclear power are the three main issues on which the 16 parties vying in the Dec. 16 Lower House election will stand or fall, especially the smaller, single-issue groups that may be sought out for partnerships...

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person