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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2013

'Gravity'

Sometimes great results arise out of considering a simple "what-if." For director Alfonso Cuaron and his film "Gravity," the idea seems to have been: "What if you made a cliffhanger ... with no cliffs?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 12, 2013

Young, dead and dealing with the consequences

A veteran director of feature episodes in the classic "Ultraman" tokusatsu (special effects) series, Kazuya Konaka may not be the most obvious choice for a drama about teen suicide, but a look at his filmography, including 1998's "Nazo no Tenkosei (The Dimension Travelers)" and 2008's "Tokyo Shojo...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 12, 2013

FCC faces outcry over allowing cellphone calls during flights

It didn't take long for Tom Wheeler, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to face controversy.
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2013

Celebrity stands up to talent agency 'stalker'

Miss International, Ikuu00admi You00adshiu00admau00adtsu, files criminal and civil charges against one of Japan's most powerful talent agencies' executives for stalking her and attempting to ruin her career.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2013

Why is the U.S. OK with Israel having nukes but not Iran?

Could Iranian officials have a point when they sometimes respond to accusations that Tehran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability by not-so-subtly nodding to the one country in the region that does have nuclear weapons: Israel?
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 3, 2013

Power shifting in the Pacific

If China continues to strengthen its influence, will Japan, on its own or in collaboration with Australia, help reinforce the U.S. politically and militarily in the Asia-Pacific region?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 30, 2013

Imagining post-nuclear Japan

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has sent shock waves through the political establishment by calling for the end of nuclear power generation in Japan. "There is nothing more costly than nuclear power," Koizumi was quoted as saying during an interview with Tokyo Shimbun — something Japanese taxpayers...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2013

English part of equation for science students

Even as Japan was praised for its English presentations during the bidding process to host the 2020 Olympic Games in September, it is no secret that Japanese are still said to be poor at communicating in English.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 30, 2013

Penny pinchers and post office patrons; CM of the week: Takarakuji

Last week on comedian Sanma Akashiya's Nippon TV talk show, TV personality Chiaki, whose family is rich, betrayed envy for her less fortunate colleagues when she complained, "Poor people always have lots of interesting stories."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 23, 2013

'Black' firms exploit staff, 'black' state taxes them

Burakku kigyu014d' refers to companies where management has no desire to reward workers, and where labor laws are intentionally violated. Wages tend to be low, working hours long — with unpaid overtime — and employees are often subjected to 'power harassment' at the hands of their supervisors.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Nov 20, 2013

For 'no war' Article 9, any reinterpretation will do

Since the conclusion of the Article 9 debate — that it permits Japan to participate in collective security efforts — is already known, all that is really called for is some kind of excuse that the public can give the nod to before returning to their smartphones.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2013

Welcoming Ambassador Kennedy

We hope that Ambassador Caroline Kennedy serves as a firm bridge between Japan and the United States and helps to strengthen mutual understanding.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 17, 2013

Cracks in Tepco's 3/11 narrative

Tepco will never accept the theory that the earthquake, not the tsunami, caused the Fukushima nuclear disaster because it would make it difficult to restart its other nuclear power plants.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 16, 2013

Paths to pay dirt are many and varied

Even stupid people can make money,' Spa magazine declares, in a package of articles aimed at the generation that the long-deflated Japanese economy has failed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 14, 2013

'Yurusenai, Aitai (Again)'

Press screenings here are usually cut-and-dry affairs, with the sole sales pitch being a PR staffer reciting the film's opening date and running time before the show begins. The one I attended for "Yurusenai, Aitai (Again)," the feature debut by award-winning shorts director Junichi Kanai, was blazingly...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 9, 2013

'Specialness' shrouds stories of minorities

As predicted four months ago in this column, in September the Supreme Court ruled discriminatory and unconstitutional the Civil Code stipulation that says children born out of wedlock are entitled to only half the inheritance of legitimate offspring. The government is expected to revise the law accordingly,...
WORLD
Nov 9, 2013

Park bids to reopen channels with Kim

South Korean President Park Geun-hye hinted at the possibility of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an interview with Le Figaro.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 5, 2013

One Direction takes the J-pop path to success

By the group's standards, it was a low-key finale. When One Direction completed its eight-month Take Me Home Tour at the second of two Makuhari Messe shows last Sunday in Chiba, it was in front of a relatively compact audience of 12,000 Japanese fans, whose adoration seemed good-humored rather than hysterical....
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2013

Major campaign launched to encourage young people to study overseas

In its drive to double the number of Japanese youths studying abroad by 2020, the education ministry has launched a campaign involving the private sector, which is eager to hire more graduates with overseas experience.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 29, 2013

NSA bills let Congress choose: End amassing of phone records or OK it

After nearly five months of controversy and debate, the U.S. Congress may face a clear choice over the National Security Agency's program to collect the phone records of nearly every American: endorse it or shut it down.
EDITORIALS
Oct 28, 2013

Two tasks for the opposition

The Diet must thoroughly scrutinize the Abe administration's rationale for pushing to restart some of Japan's 50 nuclear reactors that have been offline for more than two years.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 27, 2013

When it comes to discipline in class, leave it to the locals

Aaron Joseph remembers the email Interac sent him regarding his school placement in Sakai, Osaka, in August 2012.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Oct 19, 2013

Guantanamo's fate tied to Afghan exit

The approaching end of the U.S. war in Afghanistan could help President Barack Obama move toward what he has said he wanted to do since his first day in office: close the American prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji