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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2017

Reprieve or reform in Europe?

Unless Europe addresses flaws in growth patterns and pursues urgent reforms, the longer-term risks to its survival will continue to mount.
JAPAN / 50TH ADB ANNUAL MEETING
May 4, 2017

Meeting to address Asian advancement

The Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will hold the 50th ADB annual meeting from Thursday to Sunday in Yokohama, where more than 3,000 participants from Asia and around the world are expected to gather to discuss development issues and institutional matters.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
May 3, 2017

Developer taps power of design to create dementia-friendly housing in Setagaya

Despite all the talk about the swelling ranks of people with dementia in Japan and what to do with them, there has been little discussion so far about housing designs that meet their needs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 2, 2017

Ryuichi Sakamoto provides a soundtrack to life at 'async' exhibition

How has Ryuichi Sakamoto been able to harness melancholy so skillfully? How has he created such desperately sad music, and then managed to get up in the morning and do it again and again, over several decades?
EDITORIALS
May 1, 2017

A troubling election in Jakarta

Radical Islam appears to be ascendant in Indonesia — an extremely worrisome development.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 1, 2017

Mie 'mikan' growers use rare varieties to fend off foreign imports

Rare mikan (mandarin oranges or tangerines) that were on the brink of extinction are once again showing up in markets in the Higashi Kishu region in Mie Prefecture, a major citrus growing area.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 30, 2017

First Japan House opens in Brazil

London, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo. There is little at first sight that seems to unite these three cities, which are diverse in geography and climate as well as architecture, cuisine and atmosphere.
JAPAN / History
Apr 29, 2017

Power politics: Japan's most popular political platforms

Looking back at some of the political platforms that have been heavily endorsed by voters over the past century in a bid to predict where the country might be headed under the 'third generation' of postwar Japanese.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 29, 2017

Civil society across Asia is flowering but fragile

The proliferation of civil society organizations throughout Asia is having a significant impact on relations between the state and citizens, on the institutions of the state and on prevailing norms and values.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 27, 2017

Future of Westinghouse may hinge on fate of its new Shanghai reactor

The start-up of a nuclear power plant south of Shanghai later this year has a lot riding on it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 27, 2017

Abe's Trumpian opportunity

Building a close and effective working relationship with the U.S. president is vital to Abe's effort to accelerate Japan's security policy reform.
Japan Times
LIFE / EVENTS AND INFORMATION
Apr 27, 2017

Stylish umbrella brand

Moonbat Co., which sells umbrellas, scarves and other fashion items, recently launched an online shop to showcase their high-quality goods.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 25, 2017

Kaiho Yusho: painting privilege

The Momoyama Period (1573-1615) artist Kaiho Yusho (1533-1615) was renowned among the elite painters of his time, and still is. More remarkable, however, is that fame came when he was in his 60s during what is called his "early" period. Over the following two decades, he went from painting for priests...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 25, 2017

Enjoy Earth Day, while you last

Earth's climate will probably recover from this human-fueled round of global warming, but on time scales that are unimaginable to humans. And perhaps without humans.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Apr 24, 2017

Nagoya group looks to spread jump rope 'culture' to the world

In Aichi Prefecture, the nation's top producing region of jump ropes, efforts are being made to promote the sport at home and abroad.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Apr 23, 2017

Street style always looks back and forward

Style has always referenced the past, even though it's focused on the future. With spring heralding new looks and summer already approaching fast, new collaborations, brands and innovations are making their mark in stores now.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 22, 2017

Could Japan become a future cultural melting pot?

Why not welcome 10 million immigrants to Japan by 2050? That's Hidenori Sakanaka's pitch, but it's a hard sell.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Apr 22, 2017

Soryuko: spoiled for choice and big portions

The menu at Soryuko, a popular Chinese restaurant in Tenma, runs to roughly about 200 items, bound together in a large laminated volume. Narrowing this down to a few choices can be dizzying, but here's a hack that will help: put down the menu and go for a walk.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Apr 22, 2017

'Second-Best Justice: The Virtues of Japanese Private Law': Championing mediocrity in the courts

Ignore the irony of a tenured Harvard professor railing against the pursuit of excellence and employment security and J. Mark Ramseyer's book is fun and enlightening.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 21, 2017

Home of the cultured pearl, Toba in Ise-Shima has both history and living tradition

"To Bond," Ian Fleming wrote in his 1964 novel, "You Only Live Twice," "they all seemed beautiful in the soft evening light ... the gleaming, muscled buttocks, cleft by the black cord, the powerful thong round the waist with its string of oval lead weights."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 18, 2017

Kyotographie: from Kyoto, with love

Kyotographie — the brainchild of photographer Lucille Reyboz and lighting artist Yusuke Nakanishi — is 5 this year. Conceived and nurtured in Kyoto, it is now one of few substantial photography festivals in Japan, inarguably rivaling, even surpassing, many of the country's other calendar art events....
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Apr 17, 2017

Shizuoka firm promises good luck in every cup of its green tea

A tea wholesale store based in the city of Makinohara, Shizuoka Prefecture, has developed a technology to ensure a tea stem floats vertically — an omen of good fortune widely believed by Japanese.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Apr 15, 2017

American Cherry Pie Frappuccino: Crust crumbs distract from otherwise tasty treat

We all can use a little indulgence from time to time, especially in such exhausting times. Thankfully, there's always an eye-grabbing dessert being wheeled out by a chain restaurant in Japan to focus on.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2017

Kumamoto Castle repairs expected to take decades

"Warning: No trespassing due to earthquake damage," bears a sign at Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist destination in the prefecture, while castle officials make rounds to prevent trespassers.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.