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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Apr 2, 2016

Low interest rates cause spike in refinancing

It has been more than a month since the Bank of Japan introduced negative interest rates in its bid to revitalize the economy. For consumers, the rate change is a mixed blessing. Obviously, interest on deposits will not go up any time soon, but anyone thinking of buying a house or condominium can get...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 1, 2016

'The World's Human Body Mysteries'; 'The Flickering Drawing'; CM of the week: Recruit

Most people understand the limits of their bodies and live their lives accordingly, but some don't recognize those limits and they are the subjects of the two-hour special "Sekai Chojintai Mystery" ("The World's Human Body Mysteries"; TBS, Tues., 8:57 p.m.).
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 31, 2016

'I became temporarily blind, deaf and paralyzed'

Michi Kobi's acting career reflected the way the U.S.-Japanese relations changed over the years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 30, 2016

'Bitter Honey': Fishing for the love of a writer

Films about elderly men falling for elusive young women (and utimately regretting it) go back to "The Blue Angel" (1930). One Japanese example is Kaneto Shindo's 1992 "Bokuto Kidan" ("The Strange Tale of Oyuki"), a biopic about writer Kafu Nagai and the prostitute he came to love. Unlike the deluded...
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Mar 27, 2016

Indie music finds a novel way to survive in Kyushu

We are living through the dying days of the CD format. It clings to life here and there, but its usefulness as a medium for transmitting music is pretty much over. What remains is a sort of meta-existence, where the value of a physical music format lies purely in the tactile physicality of the object...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 26, 2016

Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten sells the story of Japanese crafts

"I can't ask a craftsperson to make something cheaply, or to produce 1,000 items. I have to find 10 artisans to each create 100 quality items," says Jun Nakagawa, president of the crafts-revitalization business Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten. "That's what makes it tricky."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 26, 2016

Andrea Pompilio: 'Keep wearing fashion the way you want to'

Name: Andrea PompilioAge: 42
MULTIMEDIA
Mar 26, 2016

[VIDEO] Pepper-Packed Mobile Shop: the cellphone store ran by only robots

Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Mar 25, 2016

Ramen Yashichi: Enjoy some of the city's best noodles without lining up

Yashichi is a notable ramen shop on two counts: it ranked 39 on review website Tabelog's top 50 ramen restaurants for 2016 and has devised a way of dealing with its popularity by eliminating long lines to get it. Rather, when you pull up to its ramshackle exterior, one of the servers will issue you with...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 23, 2016

Sincerely, Little Nigeria: A reporter signs off

After five years of covering Japan's African community, a writer reflects on progress since 3/11 and speculates about the future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2016

'A Cappella' conjures up the spirit of revolution in 1960s Japan

When I see Japanese films set in the late 1960s and early '70s, at the height of student protests, I always feel that something is off, while knowing that the "something off" is me.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE UNRELIABLE FOOD CRITIC
Mar 18, 2016

Osaka's crazed, cheap and cheerful supermarket chain

This is a column about cheap food, and it doesn't come much cheaper than Osaka's Super Tamade supermarket chain. When I first arrived in the city I lived almost exclusively on precooked nikku jagga, a shrink-wrapped beef, carrot and potato bowl retailing at around ¥100. Haute cuisine it isn't, but it...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 16, 2016

The transformative power of Japan's 'magical girls'

There is one surprising thing about Japan's male-dominated — some may say rabidly misogynistic — society: manga and anime support women. True, there are plenty of examples to the contrary (take a short stroll through any Akihabara anime shop if you need proof). But at the same time, the modern Japanese...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Mar 13, 2016

Making an impression in Japan: a hanko primer

Everything you wanted to know about chops, from cheapo ¥100-shop seals to the Privy Seal of Japan, which is wielded by the Emperor and hewn from pure gold.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 11, 2016

Japan's empty-home epidemic; 'Beat' Takeshi makes sense of art; CM of the week: Kirin Beverage

The problem of akiya (empty homes) has become more prominent in recent years as the population continues to dwindle. A 2013 survey found there were around 8.2 million vacant residences, detached houses and apartments in Japan, and many are worth next to nothing.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Mar 9, 2016

U.S. gun industry wants looser rules on silencers

The U.S. gun industry is trying to shake off the Hollywood hit-man image of the gun silencer and re-brand it as a hearing-protection device in a campaign to roll back regulations that date to the 1930s.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 9, 2016

Trump's luxury hotels in Indonesia could face backlash over his anti-Muslim remarks

Few villagers living near a half-built golf course in Indonesia's West Java province know the name Donald Trump, and fewer still are aware that one of his firms will be managing a six-star hotel and luxury resort in their backyard.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Mar 9, 2016

Japan detention center deaths cast doubt on 'appropriate medical steps'

Niculas Fernando died at a Tokyo immigration detention center sometime between 9:33 a.m. and 10:44 a.m. on Nov. 22, 2014, according to the coroner.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Mar 5, 2016

Bleak outlook for hotels; Rural districts encouraged to use radio; Seoul to free fishing crew; Embassy helped Americans in Kuwait

100 YEARS AGOWednesday, March 8 1916
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 2, 2016

Carl's Jr. betting on quality as it re-enters the Japanese market

With its return to Japan Friday after 19 years, U.S.-based hamburger chain Carl's Jr. says it is confident it can penetrate the market amid increasing demand for better burgers.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 29, 2016

Joining Japanese words together to reveal the true nature of things

Once you understand how the pieces fit together, you can magically turn verbs into nouns and vice versa, expanding your Japanese vocabulary by leaps and bounds.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 28, 2016

Ousted Thai leader Thaksin's influence shows signs of waning

Sitting in her busy Bangkok noodle shop, Bunruen Klinnak professes "love" for Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup and later fled abroad.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 27, 2016

Iran counts votes in election to determine post-sanctions balance of power

Iran began counting votes on Saturday after elections that could see reformists accelerate Tehran's opening to the world or long-dominant hardliners reaffirm the Islamic Republic's traditional anti-Western stance.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 24, 2016

NGO's Japanese founder foments organic revolution in Vietnam

Seed to Table helps locals rediscover lost agricultural wisdom and pull themselves out of poverty with duck and cow 'banks.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2016

Tarantino has a lot to say about nothing in 'The Hateful Eight'

Stranded by a blizzard in the wilds of post-Civil War Wyoming, a posse of Quentin Tarantino alumni convenes at a remote cabin for a murderous reunion party. They're an impressive bunch — weathered, whiskered and heavily armed — but their master's wit seems to have abandoned them to their fates, like...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear