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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 9, 2016

The heights and falls of Miyajima Island

My alarm sounded at 6:45 a.m., but I quickly silenced it and rolled over in my futon. I enjoyed a fleeting moment of quietude before the thrumming of rubber soles on pavement and accompanying excited voices crescendoed, a brief multilingual hubbub that then faded away for a minute or two before rising...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 9, 2016

Pacific Burn

Who's killing off members of Kyoto's artistic Nobuki family, and why? First a son is murdered on a visit to Napa, California; then a sniper nearly succeeds in gunning down the father, a famous artist. After the younger son and his fiance are thrown off a precipice in Kyoto, the sole daughter — an anti-nuclear...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices
Jan 6, 2016

Views from Saitama students: What are your post-graduation hopes and dreams?

Sakurako Misaka, 19Ideally, I want to be rich when I graduate from university, and I would also like to live in London.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Jan 6, 2016

For Japan's English teachers, rays of hope amid the race to the bottom

The major economic engines of Japan Inc. — car manufacturers, appliance giants and the like — have often been caught price-fixing: colluding to keep an even market share, squeeze competitors out and maintain "harmony." Similarly, the commercial English-teaching business could be accused of wage-fixing:...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 6, 2016

Wrestling with Japan's physically challenged, literally

In 1994, I reviewed "Invincible Handicap" ("Muteki no Handicap"), a documentary by scriptwriter and filmmaker Daisuke Tengan about a professional wrestling group called Doglegs whose members were both physically challenged men and able-bodied volunteers. Started in 1991, the Doglegs hardly fit the template...
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.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 2, 2016

New adaptation of Natsume Soseki's classic novel; scaling Mount Everest; CM of the week: Parco

Natsume Soseki's novel, "Botchan," has been adapted many times over the years, but it has been 20 years since it was last done for television. To celebrate the 100th year since the writer died, Fuji TV is presenting a brand new production of the classic story (Sunday, 9 p.m.) starring Arashi's Kazuya...
Japan Times
JAPAN / 2016 NEW YEAR SPECIAL
Jan 1, 2016

An opportunity to experience authentic Japanese New Year's

For most urbanites, the New Year's holidays is a time to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, go back to their hometowns, go skiing or loosen up their bodies and minds at an onsen hot spring, but there are also many interesting and unmissable events going on in and around the Tokyo metropolitan....
JAPAN / Society / DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Dec 31, 2015

Japan's population dilemma, in a single-occupancy nutshell

It's not your typical futuristic city. But if you want to see what Tokyo and the rest of Japan will soon look like, the Takashimadaira housing complex in northern Tokyo's Itabashi Ward may be the place to visit.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 31, 2015

U.S. Midwest counts cost from record flooding

Swollen rivers in the U.S. Midwest and other regions brought flood warnings for over 12 million Americans on Wednesday as scores of buildings were submerged after days of intense rain in which 24 people have died.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 30, 2015

'Their Distance' explores the pain of being young and in love

'Honesty," Billy Joel famously lamented in song, "is hardly ever heard." The characters of Rikiya Imaizumi's ensemble drama "Their Distance" ("Shiranai, Futari") seem to have been listening: They are honest to a fault with each other about their feelings, even ones that hurt their listener.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 29, 2015

Giant squid wows Toyama and then the web

A rare encounter with a giant squid was caught on video when the mysterious creature from the deep emerged at a marina in the city of Toyama on Christmas Eve.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 29, 2015

Laurent Grasso alludes to a future in our past

A funny thing happened on the way to "Le Forum." Outside Ochanomizu Station, a small group of neo-Nazis had set up shop and were playing the Japanese national anthem. One of them was wearing a modified SS uniform and proudly let me take his picture. I noticed that his jack boots and Sam Browne belt were...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 26, 2015

'Ōsōji': ways to keep your home spick and span

Three experts discuss their philosophy on the New Year's chore that everybody loves — cleaning.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 26, 2015

Tokyo digs: It's hosteling, but not as we know it

A line of around 30 people queueing for snacks snakes around the inside of Izakaya Bunka, a Japanese-style pub, during its packed opening night on Dec. 14. Staffers at the Asakusa Ward spot have laid out an impressive buffet-style spread for all in attendance, set in front of a stack of nihonshu (Japanese...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Dec 25, 2015

Wai Tan Hong Lu Deng: Rowdy waiters and sizzling dumplings

Tenma is one of the best spots in Osaka for food and drink, especially street eats. Japan's longest shōtengai (indoor arcade) bisects this eating area, along which there are dozens of restaurants and stalls, serving local savory treats. But get off the main drag and there's even more to offer. A word...
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 23, 2015

On a Christmas visit, expat thoughts turn to 'going home'

Reconnecting with home can be a cause for reflection: Where have I been, and where am I going? Is there another life to return to?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 23, 2015

Tattooist's legal challenge could lift industry in Japan or send it underground

Tattooist Taiki Masuda is challenging a law that makes him a criminal for practicing what he considers a form of art.
WORLD / Society
Dec 22, 2015

In Europe, some heed Pope's call to succor refugees, others look away

One Catholic parish in Germany tore out its pews to make space for refugees. Franciscan monks near Rome took a family into their hilltop convent.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2015

'Star Wars' fans turn out in force for first showings

A man dressed as Admiral Ackbar snapped a selfie in the lobby of the Nippon TV building early Friday afternoon.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2015

Japanese 'Star Wars' fans get ready for a new adventure

It's become a bit of trivia among "Star Wars" fans that creator George Lucas allegedly took inspiration from both the term jidai geki (historical drama) when creating the word "jedi" and Akira Kurosawa's film "The Hidden Fortress." Those aren't the only Japanese references in the series; from Darth Vader's...
CULTURE / Film
Dec 16, 2015

Kiki Sugino: 'I'm always looking for myself'

Kiki Sugino has a one-of-a-kind resume in the domestic movie business. Many are the young "multi-talents" who act, sing and model, but most are recruited, molded and marketed by an agency. From the start, this 31-year-old actor, director and producer took a more independent route toward multi-dom.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NEW IN TOWN
Dec 16, 2015

Un Grain: Good things come in small patisserie

The lowdown: Premium confectionery brand Yoku Moku is bankrolling one of Tokyo's hottest patisserie chefs.
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.”

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