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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 17, 2017

It's all about the humans in 'Arrival'

With "Arrival," director Denis Villeneuve takes a very familiar alien invasion scenario and tries to put a new twist on it. While everyone from H. G. Wells in "War of the Worlds" to Roland Emmerich in "Independence Day" has envisioned a swarm of spacecraft attacking us, Villeneuve imagines what would...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Apr 10, 2017

Stage set for showdown between Trump and Kim as tensions surge on Korean Peninsula

With a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group steaming toward waters off the Korean Peninsula and important anniversaries looming for nuclear-armed North Korea, the stage has been set for a showdown between U.S. President Donald Trump and the North's leader, Kim Jong Un.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / HOOP SCOOP
Feb 4, 2017

Barnett recalls legends Russell, Wilt, Barry

Second in a two-part series
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 31, 2017

Medvedeva looks invincible a year from Pyeongchang

Collecting her second straight European title with a world-record score last Friday, Evgenia Medvedeva emphatically reinforced that she is a prohibitive favorite for the gold medal in Pyeongchang next year.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 27, 2016

Time for Mao to change direction or give it up

There is nothing worse than seeing a great athlete that has hung on too long.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2016

Being an ideologue means you're always right

Despite the protests of committed free-marketers, the U.S. public is ready to embrace alternatives to neoliberalism.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 21, 2016

Trump gives Clinton her much-needed cause

The political context around Hillary Clinton has changed. Donald Trump has transformed her from a transactional candidate to a conviction candidate.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2016

How Trump gets away with no actual policies

Who needs detailed policies when name-calling works just fine? For Donald Trump, this has worked so far.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 6, 2015

It should be home sweet home, but not in Japan

The destructive nexus between construction companies, bureaucracy and politicians is largely responsible for Japan's glut of rapidly depreciating houses.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 2, 2015

A pocketful of Japanese immersion is just a few key taps away

Changing your phone into Japanese will drastically increase your exposure to the written language.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Oct 20, 2015

Hanyu off to solid start with win at Autumn Classic

It was great to see Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu back on the ice last weekend for the Autumn Classic International in Barrie, Ontario. Hanyu won the event handily over a field of relatively unknown skaters.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 23, 2014

Ina Bauer gone, but move lives on

A significant figure in the world of skating passed away earlier this month with nary a mention in the mainstream media. It was both sad and a reminder of how quickly history can be forgotten.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Nov 25, 2014

Grand Prix Final places on line at NHK Trophy

Yuzuru Hanyu's expected return to the ice won't be the only drama unfolding this week in the NHK Trophy at Osaka's Namihaya Dome, where spots in the Grand Prix Final will also be on the line.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 4, 2014

Chinese premier to attend Europe summit, sign Russia rail deal

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will attend a summit of European and Asian leaders on a trip starting this week that will also include a visit to Germany and the signing of energy and high-speed rail deals with Russia, the Chinese government said.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2014

New anti-Semitism in Germany isn't the same

It's not the old-style, neo-Nazi anti-Semites who are trying to burn down synagogues or calling the Jews out to fight these days, as they have a problem with the currently dominant strain of anti-Semitism — its carriers have darker skin.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Sep 8, 2014

Spirit fades for famed Ghibli animation studio after Miyazaki signs off

The artistic legacy of Hayao Miyazaki, the reclusive and bearded Academy Award-winning director and animator sometimes called Japan's Walt Disney, has never been more certain.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2014

Want to be happy when you're old? Get a job

A Brookings Institution researchers has found 'well-being' benefits to voluntary part-time employment as well as to remaining in the workforce beyond retirement age.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 30, 2013

A recipe for sanity: water, salt and nothing else

This summer, I spent an hour floating in a 1.21 × 2.4-meter isolation tank filled with tepid salt water in a basement in Manassas, Virginia.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 29, 2013

Former whistle-blowers struggling

The former high-ranking National Security Agency analyst now sells iPhones. The top intelligence officer at the CIA lives in a motor home outside Yellowstone National Park and spends his days fly-fishing for trout. The FBI translator fled Washington for the West Coast.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 18, 2013

i-fls "Diary of Spectre" (self-release)

The first song I ever made — and I'm willing to wager many who graduated high school in the mid 2000s share this experience — was using Apple's GarageBand, a software application that lets people make music on their computers. "I made a killer techno track last night, dude," I overheard one classmate...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 1, 2013

Gunma's Keller alleges pattern of malfeasance by Miyazaki

The Miyazaki Shining Suns, who have a league-worst 5-31 record, and the Eastern Conference-leading Yokohama B-Corsairs (25-9) are on shaky financial ground, multiple sources claim in recent comments to The Japan Times.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 12, 2012

'Republic of Samsung' viewed warily at home

FOCUS
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 29, 2011

Local heroes take Japanese video games to the world

Japan may not be the all-conquering video-game powerhouse it once was, but there are still plenty of gamers in the West who want to get their hands on the latest "Mario," "Final Fantasy" or "Street Fighter" title. And it goes without saying that they want to play them in their own language — not in...
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 31, 2011

English magazines run gamut from poetry to prose, Kanto to Chubu

We received several additional English-magazine suggestions in response to our May 17 column, "Print is suffering, but English readers have never had it so good."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Apr 2, 2010

Lauderdale, Mariage Freres, Lipton Tea House: Roppongi breakfast, high tea in the Ginza

Breakfast and afternoon tea: Two meals that rarely get discussed in this column. It's not a question of bias. It's just there are very few places in town that get them right.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Sep 24, 2009

Haikyo: exploring abandoned Japan

'Haikyo,' urban exploration, has caught on big-time in Japan, but breaking into abandoned buildings has its downside.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 29, 2009

Ace your Japanese proficiency test with the best free Web tools

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) comes up on July 5, so it's time to get studying. What will be your strong points? More importantly, what will be your weak points? The test is divided into three categories — writing/vocabulary; listening; and reading/grammar — and most struggle with...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 27, 2007

Honda touts Clarity as latest, greatest fuel-cell car

LOS ANGELES — The red car humming quietly along this four-lane suburban road looks pretty much like your average four-door sedan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 14, 2006

English language disaster in the making

"Hello!" said a smiling boy next to me on the train. "Well, hello," I said, startled that anyone should actually use this phrase unaccompanied by at least a giggle and at most rolling on the floor laughing.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past