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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 5, 2016

The difficulty of being Frank Gehry

The exhibition "Frank Gehry: I Have an Idea," currently at 21_21 Design Sight and curated by fellow architect Tsuyoshi Tane, crams in a lot, but it's not exactly a linear retrospective. Rather, it's an upward look at a man on a tightrope — a man who must balance form and function; rein in creativity...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 2, 2016

House of cards: Can traditional New Year’s greetings survive in modern times?

On Jan. 1, legions of Japan Post Co. employees delivered millions of nengajō (New Year's cards) to homes nationwide.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 2, 2016

New Selected Poems

In the introduction to "New Selected Poems" Shuntaro Tanikawa is described as a "poetic volcano," but a volcano, like the proverbial hedgehog, only does one big thing; Tanikawa offers something new in every book.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2016

Setsuko Hara and the changing face of Japanese womanhood

At the risk of sounding unpatriotic, Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story" remains on my list of least favorite movies. I'm in good company — every woman I know dislikes it, and the passing of the film's star, Setsuko Hara (at 95 years old), in September was observed by the media with understated obituaries....
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 1, 2016

Pope urges media to play up the positive to counterbalance abundant 'arrogance of evil' coverage

The media should give more space to positive, inspirational stories to counterbalance the preponderance of evil, violence and hate in the world, Pope Francis said on Thursday in his year-end message.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2015

Flipping back through the good reads of 2015

Before we turn the page on the year, here's a selection of our reviewers' favorite books.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 24, 2015

Meiji Shrine: grounds to ring in the year

As a relatively new place of worship, established less than a century ago in 1920, Meiji Shrine was originally based around the concept of wakonyu014dsai — a belief that treasured the Japanese 'soul,' while still embracing influences from the West. Its unusual omikuji, therefore, is not the only unique feature of the shrine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 24, 2015

New Year's: perfect for snapshots

Meiji Shrine is one of the most famous places of worship in Japan, partly because it is also one of the most photogenic. As the number of tourists is expected to rise before the Olympics, you may want to get your Shinto selfies off your things-to-do list first.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 23, 2015

Top 10 films of 2015: Inspired acting and difficult characters

The international lineup proved to be something of a mixed bag for film buffs in 2015. But the one thing that stood out among other features in this year's films were the acting performances. Some were skilled, others were extraordinary, but mostly they were memorable and gutsy, delivered with the kind...
EDITORIALS
Dec 18, 2015

Saudi women vote, and win

The electoral victories of women across Saudi Arabia show that there will be even more pressure for change in the future.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Dec 18, 2015

Vienna's chocolate cake gets the McDonald's treatment

One wouldn't normally turn to the Golden Arches for decadent desserts, but sometimes life surprises you. McCafe, McDonald's upscale chain of coffee spots, rolled out their winter collection recently, and the highlight is their take on the Austria's chocolate cake, the Sachertorte.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Dec 15, 2015

Studio Ghibli on a roll with licenses for new toys

Nibariki has new wind-up toys inspired by Studio Ghibli's “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Nausicau00e4 of the Valley of the Wind.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 15, 2015

'The Genesis and Development of Landscape Painting from Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien'

Dec. 19-March 21
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 14, 2015

Fear of failure, smoothness of French diplomacy sealed Paris climate deal

It was an agreement born from a fear of failure, delivered by the smoothness of French diplomacy.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 12, 2015

No tolerance at the inns for China's shoppers

Last August, Nikkei Business magazine reported the travails of a businessman from a regional city on a sales trip to Tokyo. His company's accommodation allowance covered a maximum of ¥8,000 per night, but he couldn't find a centrally located hotel room for under ¥20,000.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 10, 2015

Tasting a towering chocolate delight; enjoying a delicious blue Christmas; great gateau to celebrate the holidays

Tasting a towering chocolate delight
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 2, 2015

Bertrand Bonello's edgy portrait of Yves Saint Laurent

"When I close my eyes, I see piles of clothing. When I open them, I see only darkness." So says Yves Saint Laurent (in a stunning performance by Gaspard Ulliel) in the movie "Saint Laurent," which opens here more than a year after it took Cannes by storm. It has since bagged multiple awards on the film...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 27, 2015

Mercury Rev comes back from disaster to see the light

"Sometimes years go by, it seems," Jonathan Donahue sings within seconds of Mercury Rev's ninth album, "The Light in You," giving the first snapshot into the mental state of a band that has returned from the brink. Seven years, in fact, had passed since Mercury Rev last released a record, a period that...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Nov 27, 2015

November 28, 2015

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2015

Simon Curtis' 'Woman in Gold' an ode to heritage

'Woman in Gold" can perhaps be described as the sister film to "The Monuments Men" (2014). Both are fiction based on hard facts, and both involve the Nazi theft of major artworks during WWII. At their core is a deep love for art, and the conviction that art has an inherent power to trigger the noblest...
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 20, 2015

Life after Schengen: What a Europe with borders would look like

Continental Europeans have gone so long — two decades — without internal border controls that the younger generation doesn't know what life is like with them. For a glimpse of the past, and the fortress mentality setting in after the Paris terrorist attacks, look no further than France's frontier...
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 18, 2015

Activist hackers battle Islamic State in cyberspace

Islamic State sympathizers using social media to spread propaganda and recruit fighters are drawing an increasing amount of return fire from activists who have been knocking some sites offline and infiltrating others.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2015

Japan's Islamic centers report no threats, feel Islam is misunderstood here

Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris and numerous others by the Islamic State group have forced Muslim communities around the world, including in Japan, to repeat a familiar phrase: Islam isn't the problem.
WORLD
Nov 16, 2015

U.S. carries out second delivery of ammunition to Syrian Arab fighters battling Islamic State

The United States has carried out a fresh delivery of ammunition to fighters from the Syrian Arab Coalition battling the Islamic State group in northern Syria, pushing ahead with a strategy that initially unnerved ally Turkey, a U.S. official said Sunday.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2015

Spangle call Lilli line returns with a new sound and a familiar vibe

'Ghost Is Dead," the 10th album from Tokyo's Spangle call Lilli line, shouldn't exist. Regular life caught up with the trio, leaving them with little time to contemplate creating new music: Lead singer Kana Otsubo had a baby and her bandmates saw their day jobs eat up more and more of their personal...

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