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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2016

'The Universe and Art: Princess Kaguya, Leonardo Da Vinci, teamLab': Art that moves beyond our world

In the beginning, long before Netflix and Google Maps, our ancestors had only the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars to guide, dazzle and humble them. Naturally, as religions began to form, the first place to look was up, because surely that's where the deities dwell, right? And that yearning to better...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2016

China's heavy hand puts squeeze on Hong Kong

Hong Kong's tycoons prospered these last 19 years in China's financial green zone — the ultimate special enterprise district offering the transparency, first world banking system and rule of law the mainland sorely lacks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2016

In U.S. election, the fix is in

When push comes to shove, the status quo must — and will — be maintained.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 30, 2016

Fighters live up to name in claiming Japan Series title

The Hokkaido Ham Fighters' never-say-die attitude culminated in a Japan Series title on Saturday night in Hiroshima.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 28, 2016

Abe's risky game with Russia

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to great lengths to achieve a diplomatic breakthrough with Russia — perhaps too great.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 12, 2016

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's cinematic apparitions

Directors who become known as horror specialists often end up making little else, whether by choice or not. Labeled a "horrormeister" for such supremely creepy films as "Cure" (1997) and "Pulse" (Kairo, 2001), Kiyoshi Kurosawa is one director who has successfully expanded beyond the genre with his dark...
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 27, 2016

Munby's 'Crucible' speaks to societies built on fear

"When the opportunity came to work at Theatre Cocoon in Tokyo, I was so excited about the great dramatist Yukio Ninagawa being the artistic director there," the English director Jonathan Munby declared.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2016

Southeast Asia has a 'Brexit' risk of its own

ASEAN could end up a toothless tiger unless it addresses economic integration and regional security.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 11, 2016

Kisenosato set to profit from Hakuho's absence at Autumn Basho

Early on Thursday, it was announced that yokozuna Hakuho had decided to skip the upcoming Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo due to injury.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 10, 2016

Pricing system offers scant protection as Amazon Japan hacks away at bookstores' benefits

Japan's saihan seido system may not be enough to save the country's remaining bookstores, whose advantages Amazon.jp has systematically worked to nullify over the years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2016

The delicate notes of 'Someone's Xylophone'

Japanese directors now routinely do dozens of media interviews to publicize their new films, especially if they are on the indie end of the spectrum. The stars of said films also sit down with the press, if not as commonly, but though I have been writing about local film folk since 1991, an interview...
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 7, 2016

BOJ review of easing actions casts spotlight on core policy planning unit

The Bank of Japan's unprecedented review of its unprecedented monetary policy has stepped up focus on a key group of Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda's allies.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 31, 2016

LDP weighs leader's term limits as Abe angles to stay in power

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is expected to kick off discussions as soon as next month over whether to revise internal rules to allow Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to run for a third term in the next LDP presidential race to be held by September 2018.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 29, 2016

Trump has upset U.S. allies

It's time to kick America's prosperous and capable friends off the U.S. defense dole and let them take responsibility for their own security.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2016

Shiraishi isn't afraid to ask the tough questions about life

August honors the dead in Japan, so it's fitting that Kazufumi Shiraishi's raw discourse on mortality makes its English debut this month. Originally published in 2008, "Me Against the World" breaks from Shiraishi's fictional works, offering the author's undiluted musings on life. As told The Japan Times...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 23, 2016

An 'OPEC' cartel for labor-exporting countries

A labor-exporting cartel would would change the dynamics of labor supply and demand to the benefit of both workers and importing countries.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2016

Inventions changed our genetic code

When humans invent technology, we also reinvent ourselves.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Aug 19, 2016

Beat the heat with help from a spicy Japanese staple

The heat and humidity of August doesn't help a waning appetite. Spicy food does, though, and in Japan "spicy" means curry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2016

'Song of the Sea': Seals, fairies and ancient folk songs

When Isao Takahata's "The Tale of Princess Kaguya" lost out to "Big Hero 6" in the competition for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards last year, it was a reminder of how thoroughly 3-D computer animation has eclipsed more traditional techniques. In the 15 years since the award was introduced,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 7, 2016

Exquisite dolphin fossils provide insight into evolution of ultrasonic hearing, echolocation

Fossils unearthed in a South Carolina drainage ditch are providing insight into the development of ultrasonic hearing in prehistoric whales, a trait closely linked to their uncanny ability to hunt and navigate using sound waves and echoes.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Jul 30, 2016

A decade after its founding, WikiLeaks is alienating even its friends

It has been 10 years since Julian Assange founded WikiLeaks, the website that has gone on to serve as the world's most prominent digital repository of leaked government information. The organization has been celebrating a decade of existence over the past week by putting on display everything that makes...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2016

Hurdles mar Japan's renewable energy equation

At Yamakura Dam, 45 km southeast of Tokyo, construction workers are screwing together a 51,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of floating solar panels. When completed, it will be one of the world's largest floating solar projects.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 20, 2016

Police, judges, teachers among over 50,000 targeted in Erdogan purge after failed Turkish coup

Turkey vowed to root out allies of the U.S.-based cleric it blames for an abortive coup last week, widening a purge of the army, police and judiciary on Tuesday to universities and schools, the intelligence agency and religious authorities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 19, 2016

Helicopter cash presents hopes for Japan, but history shows it can trigger hyperinflation

As Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda confronts pressures to launch helicopter money, he could do a lot worse than remember the life — and death — of Viscount Korekiyo Takahashi.
EDITORIALS
Jul 17, 2016

Abe's amendment strategy

The Constitution should be amended only when there is a clear and compelling need.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2016

Nationalist leader predicts constitutional revision in 10 years

The head of the country's largest nationalist lobby group told reporters Wednesday that he believes Japan's pacifist Constitution will be revised in 10 years and that the country will turn into "a normal nation" thanks to the results of Sunday's Upper House election.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 12, 2016

Time to embrace strong yen

Here's three reasons why the yen's 16 percent rise this year provides a chance for a major reboot of Abenomics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2016
Jul 6, 2016

A ruling bloc win in Sunday's poll puts Constitution in crosshairs

Keiko Hirai was surprised to see a letter addressed to her and her husband from the Self-Defense Forces, urging their 15-year-old son to enroll in a special high school run by the Ground Self-Defense Force after graduating from junior high.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami