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Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Jun 18, 2013

Okigusuri

Dear Alice,
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 17, 2013

Open-source software aids NPOs

The Grameen Foundation was providing health care to pregnant women in Ghana in 2010 when it came up with a new idea: As cellphones become more widely available in developing nations, health information can be more quickly disseminated to poor patients in remote locations via voice and text messaging....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 14, 2013

'The Great Gatsby'

Baz Luhrmann does justice to F. Scott Fitzgerald's most intriguing creation: Jay Gatsby, the man referred to in the book title as "The Great." As far as adaptations go, Luhrmann's version beats the 1974 version that starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow hands down. That was a sorrowful, soulful tale...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2013

'Playback Artist Talks'

Since 2005, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, has provided artists with a platform to discuss their works housed at the museum. The event, called Artist Talk, has been held 30 times since its inception, each time giving an artist the opportunity to explain his or her aesthetics and career to...
WORLD
Jun 13, 2013

ACLU sues over NSA phone spy program

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of the U.S. government's surveillance program that collects from U.S. phone companies the call records of tens of millions of Americans.
WORLD
Jun 12, 2013

U.S. tech giants urge NSA transparency

Technology companies stung by the controversy over the National Security Agency's sweeping Internet surveillance program are calling on U.S. officials to ease the secrecy surrounding national security investigations and lift long-standing gag orders covering the nature and extent of information collected about Internet users.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 11, 2013

Japan's Nigerians see symbol of change in masquerade

Anyone wandering the back streets near Omiya Station at 7:20 a.m. on Sunday, June 2, might have passed a particular office building, unremarkable except for two African men standing on a 2nd floor balcony, rope in hand, lowering a car-sized Ugo (eagle) costume down to the parking lot. One of them was...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 11, 2013

For David Bowie, Japanese style was more than just fashion

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has scored a victory with its exhibition "David Bowie is..." for elucidating what many have probably always suspected: David Bowie is a bit of a Japanophile.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 9, 2013

T.S. Eliot's life in letters

In this fourth volume of collected letters, the limitations of the project show up clearly. T.S. Eliot's correspondence documents his life but rarely expresses it.
Reader Mail
Jun 9, 2013

Predations on a livelihood

Kathleen Weller's June 6 letter, "Collection of unpaid ward taxes," refers to a different case of ward office brutality. The woman I wrote about earlier does not know Ms. Weller. The woman did partially pay her ward taxes over the last five years — ¥20,000 to ¥30,000 every few months. She was explicitly...
WORLD
Jun 8, 2013

Data-mining claims denied

The top executives of Google, Facebook and other Silicon Valley firms fiercely deny giving intelligence officials broad access to data about their users.
WORLD
Jun 8, 2013

IRS official regrets lavish conference

The Internal Revenue Service official who signed off on a $4.1 million California conference featuring parody videos, taxpayer-paid gifts and upgrades to lavish hotel suites apologized Thursday and said the agency used poor judgment.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2013

Russia's homophobic curse

With the general mood in Russia's populace favoring a ban on gay culture, homophobic mobsters of all colors feel cozy under an official umbrella.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 6, 2013

'Kawai Gyokudo: Depicting Japan, Heart and Hearth'

Nihonga (Japanese-style) artist Kawai Gyokudo's nostalgic imagery of nature and people made him a national favorite in Japan. Combining the teachings of the Kano and Maruyama-shijo schools of the late 19th century, Gyokudo (1873-1957) achieved a distinctive style that earned him the Order of Culture...
Reader Mail
Jun 6, 2013

Collection of unpaid ward taxes

Regarding Joseph O'Leary's June 2 letter, "What's causing the train suicides?": If the woman of retirement age whom he refers to is the same woman I know in Tokyo, the ward office has impounded her salary because she hasn't paid her ward taxes for the past five years. National taxes have been deducted...
Japan Times
WORLD / TICAD V SPECIAL
Jun 1, 2013

Short excursions for exploring Yokohama's waterfront area

When U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry sailed his fleet of "Black Ships" from America and urged Japan to open up, there was much fury and discussion as to which ports should be permitted for use by the foreigners. The original treaty between the two countries suggested the opening of Kanagawa, in addition...
CULTURE / Music
May 31, 2013

Rocker Yoshimura dead at 46

Hideki Yoshimura, vocalist and guitarist of noise-punk band Bloodthirsty Butchers has died of acute heart failure at age 46, it was announced Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 30, 2013

'Vangi e la Figura Femminile'

Italian sculptor Giuliano Vangi studied in Florence before he moved to Brazil in 1959 to develop abstract works. He returned to Italy three years later, however, after deciding that representational sculpture and figurative works were better ways for him to express himself.
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
May 26, 2013

Tweet Beat: #NintendoDirectJP, #華麗なる公式 , #デザフェス

Explore the world of friendly official accounts, the latest Nintendo news and Design Festa Vol. 37 in last week's trendy hashtags.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 26, 2013

Kan Yasuda's tactile art brings new life to Bibai

Kan Yasuda's art somehow draws in the landscape, and entices in people, so that it is natural to explore the view through his structures and keyholes, to sit awhile atop a sculpture or to pose within their frames.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 23, 2013

Sometimes it's hard for Leonardo to impress

The reputation of Leonardo da Vinci is like an inverted pyramid — a massive, impressive structure that can draw a vast audience, but stands on an extremely narrow base. Although regarded as one of the "Big Three" artists of the Renaissance — along with Michelangelo and Raphael — the paintings on...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 23, 2013

Finding an artistic home for fashion

Almost everything in the room is transparent. From the ceiling dangle two clear plastic jackets. Against the glass walls are empty glass display cases. Past the jackets on the opposite side of the room are four flat-screen TVs set to static.
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
May 22, 2013

Pearl jewelry exhibition; evacuation simulation symposium; political decision-making seminar

EXHIBITIONS
COMMENTARY / World
May 16, 2013

UKIP rides wave of discontent

Britain as well as Japan must contend with xenophobic anti-establishment parties and politicians who want to take their nations back to imaginary periods of isolation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 16, 2013

'Masterpieces of Arts and Crafts in the Prince Arisugawa and Prince Takamatsu Families'

To commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Japan Art Association, The Ueno Royal Museum is presenting a collection of arts and crafts that once belonged to the Arisugawa (1835-1895) and Takamatsu (1905-1987) imperial families.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 16, 2013

Momoiro Clover Z "5th Dimension"

There were some curious rumors flying around prior to the release of "5th Dimension," the second album by idol quintet Momoiro Clover Z, some of them intriguing ("It's going to be a concept album") and some worrying (longtime producer Kenichi "Hyadain" Maeyamada reportedly called it "tedious and uninteresting"...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji