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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2016

'American Ultra' is a half-baked stoner comedy, possibly written by robots

One of the most underrated films of the past decade has got to be "Adventureland," the 2009 coming-of-age comedy by Greg Mottola ("Superbad"). It mined its setting — a rundown 1980s amusement park — for plenty of jokes, but it had a fantastic bittersweet feel to it as well, capturing that moment...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2016

Why economic growth lags

A new book offers a sobering reminder of technology's limits.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2016

What happens after China's bubble goes pop?

Will China be a source of stability and strength for the world economy — or the opposite?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jan 15, 2016

100 years of Japanese beauty in one minute

Cut is setting its lens on Japan as it shows the dramatic changes Japanese women have gone through in the past century.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 15, 2016

Liverpool-Man United battle a difficult one to forecast

It remains the fiercest rivalry in English football, but when Liverpool plays Manchester United on Sunday the main interest is how boring or enjoyable the game will be. Not whether we shall see a blood and thunder clash or two managers who do not like each other (notably Rafa Benitez and Alex Ferguson)...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 14, 2016

Tao takes an innovative approach to drum shows

The slogan goes, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Drum troupe Tao, however, thinks a successful show in Sin City could be the springboard to bigger things around the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 13, 2016

Pink and Gray not just an idol film

No one likes spoilers, right? But in some films a major plot twist comes so early that the choice is to either mention it or write an entire review consisting of little more than winks and nods. For example, in Nobuhiko Obayashi's "Exchange Students" ("Tenkosei," 1982) a teenage boy and girl — spoiler...
BUSINESS
Jan 13, 2016

Unfazed by turmoil, Nissan joins Starbucks in betting on China

Senior executives from Starbucks Corp. to Nissan Motor Co. and SAP SE are playing down concerns about China's slowdown and further potential depreciation of the yuan, with plans to sell more coffee, cars and software in the world's second-biggest economy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 11, 2016

'Be strong and keep believing,' says the Trivago girl with the gift of the gab

Many foreign celebrities here speak Japanese to a high level, yet when it comes to pronunciation and intonation, few sound as accomplished as Natalie Emmons.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Jan 9, 2016

Workshops to keep the children sweet

You and I can talk all day about differences between this country and that, and we can detail any number of parenting strategies and discuss how they differ from one culture to the next, but there are more similarities than differences, and one of the biggest common denominators is this: Kids want sweets....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2016

Struggling rail line sells station naming rights in bid to stay on track

As railways across Japan make efforts to lure more patrons with luxury coaches and gourmet services, a small operator in Chiba Prefecture has fashioned its own tourist draw with a quirky new nickname linked to hair regrowth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 7, 2016

'Boys over Flowers' blooms on stage

'One Piece," a new, modern entertainment-focused "Super Kabuki" play based on an eponymous manga series by Eiichiro Oda, closed last month after a hit Tokyo run that showed beyond doubt that manga-based productions are not the preserve of movies and television — where they have long been popular fare...
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2016

Tepco unveils loyalty tie-ups in bid to retain household customers

With the retail electricity market set to be deregulated in April, Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Thursday unveiled a range of new price plans that offer discounts to customers who sign up with specific partners.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 6, 2016

Spielberg captures Cold War fears in 'Bridge of Spies'

Mankind owes much to Steven Spielberg. Without him, many of us would never have known the existence of Oskar Schindler ("Schindler's List"), become aware of the events behind the Munich Olympics in 1972 ("Munich"), seen the U.S. slave trade depicted in a major Hollywood production ("Amistad") or learned...
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 5, 2016

Toyota joins Ford against Apple-Google car screen dominance

Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to use a car-phone connectivity system championed by Ford Motor Co. in a bid to keep Apple Inc. and Google from dominating control of dashboards.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 4, 2016

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' shoots to overtake 'Avatar' opening record

Having vanquished "Titanic" and "Jurassic World," "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has set its sights on "Avatar."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 3, 2016

The shape-shifting landscape of Japan's electronic underground

Detroit techno pioneer Derrick May joined Tokyo's DJ Emma on New Year's Eve to say goodbye to one of the capital's most respected electronic music venues, Air.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 2, 2016

20 Questions: the best answers of 2015

Japan Times On Sunday contributors select the responses that made them laugh loudest this year
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 1, 2016

New Year's holidays are a time to revisit traditions, customs

O-shogatsu, or New Year's holidays, is a special time for Japanese people, who typically go back to the basics of their long-standing traditions. It's a time when those who left their hometowns for the big cities for work or school go back to visit their families, invite relatives and friends to their...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 1, 2016

Jubilance in Times Square as New York rings in 2016

More than a million people in New York's Times Square hailed the arrival of 2016 early Friday with kisses, cheers and a measure of relief as America's biggest New Year's Eve celebration unfolded without a hitch under a blanket of unprecedented security.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 27, 2015

Does the future of Japanese music depend on streaming services?

When music consultant Mikiro Enomoto asked a class of Kyoto Seika University students how they listened to new music last year, he reckons 80 percent of them mentioned YouTube or YouTube-linked sites. When he asked the same question to this year's class, almost all of them said they don't bother looking...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 27, 2015

'Star Wars' takes Chinese social media by storm ahead of release

After a mammoth marketing campaign, the growing online chatter in China around "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" suggests that the latest installment of the hit film franchise has a shot at breaking box-office records in the world's second-largest movie market.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Dec 26, 2015

Ripped-off bar hostesses in Japan stand up for their rights

With an increase in nonregular employment driving more women into the night entertainment business, some are turning to labor unions to deal with clubs that try to con them.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 25, 2015

Tourism surge puts shine on biz hotels, hostels

With the drastic increase in tourism, the lack of lodging in the nation's biggest cities, particularly Tokyo and Osaka, is providing a major opportunity for those running two types of accommodations: "business hotels" and hostels.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2015

Top 10 films of 2015: Like finding a needle in a haystack

Finding alternatives in 2015 to big-budget blockbusters and beard-stroking festival films wasn't easyIt has been a lean year. All too often, it felt like you had seen the movies of 2015 before — each new release seemed to be the shadow of a shadow of an original idea. You could see it popcorn flicks...

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