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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 15, 2016

Who's watching whom in Japan? It's a state secret

Contentious law has been cited in two recent cases, including one over the mass surveillance of resident Muslims.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2016

Images of grief and solidarity in the wake of the Orlando massacre

Early Sunday morning, Omar Mateen walked into a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, and indiscriminately began firing an assault rifle into a crowd of revelers. He took the lives of 49 people and critically wounded dozens.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2016

Japan unswayed by pressure to end support for coal power

Faced with increasing calls from environmentalists to phase out coal, Japan is standing by its support of the fossil fuel, saying it will help developing countries adopt the best available technologies for coal-fired power plants.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2016

The peacemakers of Okinawa

Sixty years ago this week, the U.S. government released the controversial Price Report, triggering mass protests on Okinawa that gave birth to leaders who, while renowned in the prefecture, remain little known outside it
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 11, 2016

In Japan, all that is true melts into hot air

'Is it because the truth is so boring," asked the 14th-century monk Yoshida no Kenko in a classic collection of musings known as the "The Grasses of Idleness," "that most stories one hears are false?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2016

'The Story of Emoji' speaks for the symbols we speak through

There are two types of people in the world: those who fret about the invasion of emoji, and those who seem to have umbilical attachment to them. Gavin Lucas is most likely in the second category. Though his book is called "The Story of Emoji," a more accurate title might have been "The Story and Possibilities...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 11, 2016

Tests of water at Rio's Olympic venues, top beaches finds 'superbacteria' microbes are present

Scientists have found dangerous drug-resistant "superbacteria" off beaches in Rio de Janeiro that will host Olympic swimming events and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete when the games start Aug. 5.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 10, 2016

'Aiba Learns'; 'Good Fortune! Appraisal Team for Anything High Quality Treasure Salon'; Lotte — So

In addition to singing and dancing, the popular male idols managed by Johnny & Associates do a lot of educational TV, including "Aiba Manabu" ("Aiba Learns"; TV Asahi, Sun., 6 p.m.), in which Masaki Aiba, a member of boy band Arashi, learns about some common process. In the past, Aiba and his guests...
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jun 10, 2016

England unlikely to emerge with title at Euro 2016

In the National Football League they say offense wins games, defense wins championships. The spelling and terminology may be slightly different, but it is a similar story when it comes to the World Cup and European Championship.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 10, 2016

JASRAC pressures 212 businesses for playing background music without paying copyright fee

Japan's largest copyright collection group is seeking arbitration in summary courts nationwide against 212 hair salons, restaurants and apparel stores that allegedly failed to pay fees on background music, its spokesman said Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 4, 2016

A waterlogged retreat, deep in the mountains of Gifu

For a town so closely associated with water, it's rather fitting that Gujo-Hachiman is shaped like a fish.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 3, 2016

Past the scandals and into the songs of 2016 so far

So far this year, most of the media attention paid to the music industry has focused on scandal rather than songwriting.
LIFE / Digital
Jun 3, 2016

That Japanese Man Yuta uses YouTube to show us what Japan really thinks

Almost every weekend, Yuta Aoki heads to Tokyo's Shibuya Ward armed with a camera, a stabilizer and a microphone. His mission is to find and speak to Japanese people, but they must look happy or, at least, not busy — "I don't want any trouble," he says with a laugh. He's hunting for opinions: "Is 'gaijin'...
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jun 1, 2016

Djokovic passes $100 million mark at French Open

Novak Djokovic had 100 million reasons to celebrate reaching the French Open quarterfinals on Wednesday — albeit two days later than expected — as players made a mad dash to clear the fourth-round backlog created by the fickle Parisian weather.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 31, 2016

'Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou: Timeline 1906-1977'

June 11-Sept. 22
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 31, 2016

Study faults Japan for inaction on modern-day slavery

Almost 46 million people are trapped in modern-day slavery, two-thirds of them in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a study released Tuesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 28, 2016

Backstage drama on Ginza's Konparu-dori

A temperate breeze swings through the surrounding willow trees as I pass jewel-encrusted ball gowns in the display windows of Ginza Takaraya, near Shinbashi Station in Tokyo. I'm scouting out Konparu-dori, a street named for the eponymous noh troupe that was gifted land here by the Tokugawa shoganate...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 23, 2016

Much to lose, little or nil to gain in 'Brexit,' says Japan Inc.

Should the United Kingdom leave or remain in the European Union? With the world's fifth-largest economy set to make a historic decision about its future next month, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed support for the U.K. to stay in the political and economic club of 28 countries during his Europe tour...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2016

U.S. allies must prepare for a President Trump

Looking at the upcoming contest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, America's friends and allies may want to hope for the best, but they need to prepare for the worst.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
May 22, 2016

Osaka Ishin in existential crisis as election looms

A year after Osaka city voters rejected Osaka Ishin no Kai's most fundamental policy proposal in a referendum, the party finds itself heading south.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 21, 2016

Arita ware: Traditional Japanese porcelain has an international history

This year is ostensibly the 400th anniversary of Arita-yaki (Arita ware). An Arita city webpage tells us it was in 1616 that a forcibly relocated Korean farmer, Yi Sam-pyeong, discovered the white clay kaolin and then fired Japan's first porcelain. Other scholars have dated the first firing to 1610,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 19, 2016

Karin Nakagawa's path to the koto was a discovery of Japan's musical tradition

Born into a musical family, koto player Karin Nakagawa's destiny seemed to be mapped out for her from birth — still, she put up a fight.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 19, 2016

Cyberattacks, including for espionage, targeting presidential campaigns, Clapper says

U.S. presidential campaigns face threats from hackers bent on espionage and other activity more nefarious than mere political mischief, the office of the U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said on Wednesday, but it did not provide details on specific intrusions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
May 18, 2016

Frankfurt's Nippon Connection brings together an extensive collection of Japanese films

What's the best place on the planet for catching up on the entire range of contemporary Japanese cinema, from experimental shorts to commercial hits? My candidate is Nippon Connection, a festival in Frankfurt, Germany, whose 16th edition unspools May 24-29. Headed by festival director Miram Klomfass...
CULTURE / Music
May 15, 2016

Ayumi Hamasaki takes a note from Beyonce with sudden 'M(a)de In Japan' release

Streaming services remain a fledgling part of the Japanese music industry, but the major players are learning from their Western counterparts. Last week, Avex "surprised" J-pop fans with Ayumi Hamasaki's new album "M(a)de In Japan" (with the "a" being her own distinctive logo) on the label's AWA platform....

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight