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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 28, 2015

'Boku wa Bosan' depicts the mundane reality of life as a Japanese monk

One thing I learned on coming to Japan as an earnest foreign student of Buddhism was that the young monks — those shaven-headed fellows in picturesque robes diligently sweeping the temple grounds — are less ascetic than they look. Off duty, they knock back beers, warble at karaoke bars and in general...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Oct 25, 2015

In Japan, adultery can cost you your job as well as your marriage

Companies must be able to prove that specific damage has been done to their business if they want to fire cheating workers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 23, 2015

Nigerian answer to Spotify lures investors from MTN to Jay-Z

The mansion, the pool, the Bentley, the life-size portrait and the gold medallions are the spoils of a revolution in Nigeria and music superstar D'banj is enjoying them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2015

Tokyo film festival ups its domestic fare

The 28th edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival, which began yesterday, is the biggest event on the Japanese film calendar. And like any such event, TIFF has had its share of critics over the years.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2015

Groups criticize Japan's tolerance of child pornography, call for stricter laws

Dismayed at entrenched child pornography in Japan, organizations petition the welfare minister to crack down on the sexual abuse of minors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 21, 2015

Rare orchids and misfit sex workers at the Tokyo International Film Festival

Some of the hottest tickets at TIFF each year are for films that have already secured a commercial release date in Japan. For all the high-minded talk about artistry and creativity, most viewers just want to see the big movies before everyone else. But spare a thought for the less commercial offerings...
JAPAN
Oct 20, 2015

Yamaguchi-gumi split, toughened laws will weaken gangs: experts

The recent fracturing of the Yamaguchi-gumi, the country's largest and most powerful crime syndicate, will considerably weaken the gang organization and all yakuza groups in general, two noted experts told a news conference Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Oct 17, 2015

'Little Songs of the Geisha' collected by an American anthropologist

The label kouta (which roughly translates as, "little song") has been applied to any number of popular Japanese music forms over the centuries. But these days, the word usually refers to a specific genre of shamisen music that evolved in 19th-century Edo (present-day Tokyo) from existing popular styles,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 16, 2015

Japan fund on $10 billion quest to discover the next Elon Musk

Toshiyuki Shiga is on a $10 billion quest to discover Japan’s top entrepreneurs, people who can found companies as globally competitive as Tesla Motors Co. and Apple Inc.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 15, 2015

Theater legend Harold Prince brings 'Prince of Broadway' to Japan for a world premiere

With a smile beaming from his face, Broadway legend Harold Prince enters the room I'm waiting in and cheerfully declares, "I'm not jet-lagged at all — they're just working me to death."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 10, 2015

Soren Bisgaard: 'There is more to chadō than meets the eye'

Danish tea master on philosophy, tranquility and leaving everything behind
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 8, 2015

Sony's Hirai says turnaround past midway point

Sony Corp.'s struggling electronics businesses have passed the midway point on the way to financial health, President Kazuo Hirai said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 7, 2015

'Bakuman' depicts a life-or-death quest for manga success

High school kids dream big dreams, and in Japan one of the biggest is to be a successful manga artist. The financial rewards for a hit manga published in a national magazine and sold in paperback editions are substantial. And the accompanying recognition and power — with adoring fans pleading for autographs...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 3, 2015

Automakers look to tech firms to fix cars over the air

As cars increasingly resemble digital devices, a group of technology firms that can send wireless software updates to cars are in hot demand by carmakers scrambling to catch up to Tesla Motors in the arena of over-the-air updates, or OTAs.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Oct 1, 2015

Kakuryu leaves questions unanswered after Autumn Basho triumph

In recent years, the Sumo Association has bent over backward looking to put bums on seats at the six tournaments held annually.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 1, 2015

Former child soldier and refugee Ger Duany finds a future in Hollywood

Ger Duany was only 13 years old when he became a child soldier in his home country of what is now South Sudan. Spending his childhood living in constant fear of being killed, he did what he had to — he picked up a gun and shot back, the only way to survive in a war.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 1, 2015

Hotel offers home away from home; Guest chefs spread U.S. food culture; Enjoying world chocolate

Hotel offers home away from home
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 30, 2015

Quadruple amputee yakuza raises hell in 'Daruma'

Yakuza are not usually thought of as disabled, but more than a few have had their pinky fingers, or a section thereof, sliced off with a blade. Traditionally, this disabling is punishment for violating the gang code.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 30, 2015

Australia, New Zealand risk losing share of Chinese tourist dollars as infrastructure ages

Australia and New Zealand risk losing a global arms race for big-spending Chinese vacationers unless they improve their services and infrastructure, jeopardizing hopes that tourism will fill the economic hole left by the downturn in commodity prices.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Sep 30, 2015

United to fly new jets; Vanilla ups Taiwan flights; Ethiopian goes online

United to fly new jets
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 25, 2015

Court ruling sparks online outcry after teen idol told to pay damages for dating

A recent Tokyo court ruling ordering a teen idol to pay damages for violating a "no dating" clause in her contract has spurred an online outcry, reigniting debate over an industry many say is rife with male-chauvinist views.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 22, 2015

'Top Hat' musical takes film classic to happy new heights

"There may be trouble ahead / But while there's moonlight and music /
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 20, 2015

Jackie Collins, doyenne of the steamy Hollywood novel, dies at 77

Jackie Collins, the best-selling author of dozens of steamy novels who depicted the boardrooms and bedrooms of Hollywood's power crowd, died on Saturday of breast cancer at age 77, her family said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 16, 2015

Play it again: One fan's quest to save old video games

We now recognize the late Yasujiro Ozu as one of Japan's finest film directors, but his early works are lost to history, victims of a time when cinema was seen as disposable entertainment and not an art form worth saving. Joseph Redon doesn't want the same thing to happen to video games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2015

Thinking inside the box: Cardboard cubicles offer entertainment, privacy at home

Manufacturers are thinking inside the box to offer stressed-out consumers a personal sanctuary in Japan's notoriously cramped homes.

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