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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2014

Osaka challenges Tokyo with tallest skyscraper

Japan's tallest building will open Friday in Osaka, as Asia's third-biggest metropolitan economy aims to lure tourists and stem businesses from moving to Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 4, 2014

Crunch's debut mini-album aims for a 'sense of minority'

In a music scene where the border between underground and mainstream can be incredibly difficult to traverse, it's not surprising that many bands trapped in the indie-sphere bemoan their lot.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 1, 2014

Doraemon, the robot cat, gets your tongue

An earless blue robotic cat, one pocket bulging with gadgets from the future and a lifelong fear of mice: Who is he? Japan roars the answer — but English readers may be stumped. Because, even though he's a government-appointed "cultural ambassador" and a familiar face in more than 30 countries, with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 26, 2014

Get into 'Gear' at an immersive Kyoto theater show

Art Complex 1928, a contemporary performing-arts venue in central Kyoto, used to be a regional office of the Mainichi Shimbun national newspaper.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 25, 2014

Sony ups smartphone lineup with Xperia Z2

Sony Corp., seeking to counter a slowdown in its smartphone business, introduced a top-end Xperia phone and a cheaper model in a bid to take a share in a market that has become increasingly crowded.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 24, 2014

Pope warns of hazards in browsing 'God's gift'

Pope Francis rightly warns that although the variety of opinions being aired over the Web can be seen as helpful, it also enables people to barricade themselves behind sources of information that only confirm their own ideas.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Feb 20, 2014

Family flashbacks to a psychedelic day with Kitty

In this column, it has been my sworn duty to share Tokyo's bounty of kid-friendly activities with interested parents like you. I hope earlier columns indicate that I take this responsibility seriously, striving to showcase only places that add much-needed components of fun, culture and education to the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2014

ABT brings 'magical moments' to Japan

Last August, with summer sweltering the city, I met Yuriko Kajiya and Jared Matthews, two soloists from the New York-based American Ballet Theatre, one of the word's top-four classical companies along with the Royal Ballet in London, Paris Opera Ballet and the Bolshoi in Moscow.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 15, 2014

Miyuki Miyabe's latest puts the history in Japanese horror

Better known for her crime and fantasy writing abroad, precious few of the prolific Miyuki Miyabe's tales of terror have actually made it into the English language. Haikasoru's publication of "Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo" addresses this oversight. Capably translated by Daniel Huddleston, this collection...
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 15, 2014

The Pornographers

Akiyuki Nosaka's "Grave of the Fireflies," a harrowing, semi-autobiographical tale of two young siblings fending for survival in the aftermath of World War II, helped him win the prestigious Naoki Prize for literature in 1967.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Feb 13, 2014

Japan gets in the mood for love this Valentine's Day

Love is all around at this time of year, but on Valentine's Day in Japan it isn't so evenly distributed. The festival of romance has long suffered from a gender imbalance here: Feb. 14 is traditionally a day for women to give presents to men — not just their partners, but also often fellow students,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 13, 2014

'The Butler'

Back in 1997, when Steven Spielberg released "Amistad," it was a pretty huge deal for a big-name Hollywood filmmaker to tackle slavery. Now the deal is a lot bigger for Lee Daniels, the second African-American filmmaker in United States history to be nominated for an Oscar (for "Precious" in 2009), who...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 12, 2014

ANA caricature speaks volumes about Japan's outdated mind-set

My personal opinion is that the ad is a disappointing anachronism, and a reminder of the parochial outlook of large Japanese corporations. The ad appeals to the facile formula that 'foreigner = white = blonde and big-nosed = English-speaking = globalization.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 12, 2014

Kushida's 'Flapper' comes roaring back

"Young people these days won't be too familiar with the term the Roaring Twenties, but the 1920s still hold interest as a period. It was a time of changing values, not only in the United States, but in Europe: Dadaism, Cubism, Expressionism and other non-mainstream arts were blossoming. All over the...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 7, 2014

Sony revision spurs credibility crisis for Hirai

Kazuo Hirai, who took the helm at Sony Corp. two years ago to revive the Japanese icon, is losing credibility with investors who think he's not up to the job.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2014

'Mogura no Uta: Sennyu Sosakan Reiji (The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji)'

Directors in a profitable rut often feel the urge to try something new, even though the box office tells them to keep making the same old. Sometimes a change of genre can work wonders. After grinding out 48 episodes of the "Tora-san" dramedy series, Yoji Yamada ventured into the feudal past for the first...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2014

'Killers'

Japanese-Indonesian co-production "Killers" starts off all too predictably for a torture-porn film. We get about a minute's worth of a nude young woman shagging an unseen male, then once she's been sufficiently eroticized, we see her tied to a chair, suffocating inside a plastic bag as a masked sadist...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Feb 6, 2014

Exploring a land designed with children in mind

There are pros and cons to raising a child in the heart of one of the most densely populated places on the planet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
Feb 2, 2014

Transformational Akihabara has its finger on the pulse of pop culture

Tokyo's Akihabara district is always transforming itself.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 31, 2014

Rampant City set to expose Mourinho's hypocrisy

We are in for a masterclass of offensive football on Monday when Chelsea travel to the Etihad stadium to attack Manchester City. No sitting back or parking the bus, no defensive strategy in the hope of being the first team to win a Premier League point at Fortress Etihad this season. Ambitious Chelsea...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2014

'The Lone Ranger'

Director: Gore Verbinski
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2014

Nintendo eyes new areas after Wii U flop

Nintendo Co. says it will explore new businesses, including health care-related entertainment, while keeping its existing gaming platform as the main focus, after the video game maker's Wii U console flopped with consumers.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2014

Beware, the robots are coming

If you are an accountant, real estate agent, retail shop assistant, technical writer or telemarketer. Your jobs could be in imminent danger from the rampaging bots.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2014

Getting a hustle on the Oscars

David O. Russell's "American Hustle" is cleaning up in the early part of an awards season that was meant to belong to Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave." And that ain't no con.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 16, 2014

Iwate's Yonamine never loses track of ultimate goal: winning

Tsubasa Yonamine doesn't grab front-page headlines or dominate the highlights segment on TV sports shows. He helps his basketball team achieve success.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan