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Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Apr 4, 2015

Olympic channel set to innovate, inspire

The evolution of Olympic TV coverage mirrors technological changes that have transformed broadcast media — and society — over the past 50-plus years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2015

Multiracial Miss Universe Japan hopes to change homeland's thinking on identity

Ariana Miyamoto hadn't planned to enter a Japanese beauty contest because she figured her multiracial origins meant she couldn't win. Then a close multiracial friend committed suicide.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Apr 1, 2015

Better call Saul to come fix Japan's streaming services

After "Breaking Bad" finished its five-year run in 2013, fans mourned the loss of one of the most gripping, innovative TV series they'd ever seen. When the head writer and executive producer of "Breaking Bad," Vince Gilligan, announced that there would be a spinoff series, people had their doubts, but...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 29, 2015

Hell of war reaffirmed joys of the simple life for Okinawan, 102

For a man who once narrowly escaped execution after being forced to dig his own grave, 102-year-old Okinawan Shoko Nagamine is doing remarkably well.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 28, 2015

'License to Play' compiles research on all things ludic in Japanese culture

The stereotype of a stressed-out salaryman, vacantly sipping on his post-overtime can of beer, does little to confirm that Japanese society is deeply clued into notions of fun and play.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 26, 2015

Twenty years of 'Riverdance' and it's never been out of step

"Riverdance" is returning to Japan. Twenty years on from its debut as an interval in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, the Irish step-dancing show that revamped and massively expanded the genre's global appeal is returning to Japan for its sixth tour.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 21, 2015

Tunisian in museum attack showed no signs of hard-line Islamist ideology

Shortly before he and a friend gunned down 20 foreign tourists — including three Japanese — on Wednesday at the Bardo National Museum in Tunis, Yassine al-Abidi sat down to a breakfast of olive oil and dates with his family and left for work at his travel agency as usual.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2015

Sony's PS4 hits China but with few games

The PlayStation 4 debuted Friday in China, but with few games and bare-bone online services as Sony navigates tight censorship rules to get a toehold in the world's biggest gaming market.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 18, 2015

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

It isn't the greatest of franchises but that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to "Night at the Museum." The third and final installment, "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," of the zany, entertainment-for-all vehicle also marks the last screen appearance of Robin Williams, who died last...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 18, 2015

All change for Kanze noh theater

Of Japan's many traditional performing arts, noh is the most refined — and among its most prominent figures today is 55-year-old Kiyokazu Kanze, the 26th head of its largest faction, the Kanze School.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 18, 2015

Psycho-drama mystery tests Tani's 'pop' principles

"Probably nobody ever got involved with theater the way I did," Kenichi Tani said with a laugh, explaining that because his teachers at school were "really boring" he set his sights on becoming an interesting teacher in the future.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Mar 18, 2015

Jeter, Matsui team up for good cause

When Derek Jeter was asked whom he idolized growing up, he immediately mentioned Dave Winfield, saying the former Yankees player was "larger than life," and that he had a poster of Winfield in his room as a child. Then a wry smile flashed across his face.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 18, 2015

North Korea Web outage was reprisal for Sony hack, U.S. lawmaker says

A December blackout of North Korea's Internet was retaliation for that nation's hacking of computers at Sony Corp.'s Hollywood studio, a top U.S. lawmaker on cybersecurity issues said without identifying who was responsible.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Mar 16, 2015

Shochiku Kabuki x Uniqlo

Uniqlo's UT curators go deep into Japanese traditions for its latest collaboration.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Mar 13, 2015

Art is for everyone, including kids

Last fall, British artist Jake Chapman found a spectacular way to irritate arts-minded parents like me — all the while "coincidentally" generating controversy and interest in his latest show where there was previously none. Chapman is a shock merchant, so I should have realized that his words might...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 10, 2015

Momus honors music's eccentrics on 'Turpsycore'

Twenty years ago the Shibuya-kei music scene was in full swing. The charts were filled with some of the most daring, artistic pop music this country had ever heard, courtesy of artists such as Cornelius, Pizzicato Five, Original Love and Kahimi Karie.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Mar 10, 2015

Sky-high coffee; Dreamliner expansion

Sky-high coffee
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2015

Fuji TV removes blackface segment after outcry

Anti-racist campaigners are celebrating a decision by Fuji TV to remove from a weekly music show a segment that purportedly showed performers sporting blackface makeup.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Mar 9, 2015

Will SMS be the undoing of sumo’s latest foreign ‘star’?

Sumo has a new superstar. Or at least that is what the individual in question appears to be thinking at the moment!
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2015

Imagery that sings the praises of the musical

"They're Wooin' and Doin' the Things Boys and Girls Like to Do . . . ." This is the message of many of the posters made for Hollywood musicals currently being exhibited at the National Film Center in Tokyo. Liza Minnelli, Mitzi Gaynor and Gwen Verdon, among others, titillate with unfeasibly thin waists,...
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 28, 2015

'Star Trek' Spock actor Nimoy dies at age 83

Leonard Nimoy, who won fame with his portrayal of the logic-bound, half-alien Mr. Spock in the "Star Trek" TV series and movies, died on Friday at 83.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2015

Russia will never 'submit' to U.S.

American treatment of Russia since the Cold War has been an historical mistake — and though doubtless too late now, such a course is still ours to unmake before it is too late.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 21, 2015

Civil rights groups to protest Oscars after no minority actors nominated

Civil rights groups are calling for a boycott of Sunday's Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles to demand more diversity among Academy Awards voters after no actors from ethnic minority groups earned nominations this year, organizers said on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2015

NSA chief says Sony attack traced to North Korea after software analysis

The U.S. National Security Agency identified North Korea as the source of the recent cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment after analyzing the software used in the intrusion, NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers said on Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 19, 2015

Diet may take up gambling bill again, but odds are low Japan will see casinos by 2020

As lawmakers discuss reintroducing a bill to legalize casino-style gambling during the current Diet session, Osaka and Yokohama are reportedly favorites to host the first resort complexes with casinos.
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2015

Imagica, Cool Japan Fund in venture to buy translation company SDI Media

Imagica Robot Holdings Inc. is teaming up with Cool Japan Fund Inc., the government-backed promoter of Japanese cultural exports, and Sumitomo Corp. to acquire U.S. movie translation company SDI Media Group Inc.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2015

Secretive robot maker Fanuc targeted by activist investor Loeb

Fanuc Corp., one of Japan's most reclusive companies, has spent decades building a wall of secrecy around its ultra-profitable industrial-robotics business.

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