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Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 6, 2012

touchMe event puts fashion within reach of all

Just one week after Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo had drawn to a close, the capital's fashionistas were drawn back to the runway for a slew of shows that have been gaining in popularity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 2, 2012

'W.E.'

Love her or not, one admirable factor about Madonna is that she has never stopped being the Material Girl. She's doing this at 54 and she'll likely keep it up at 84.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Nov 1, 2012

Today's J-blip: Mangazara

You can now justify playing with your food as again.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 30, 2012

Tokyo Designers Week: Say hello to the best again

Something old, something new Halloween is here, which means Tokyo Designers Week is, too. The latter is, of course, what we're particularly interested in, and since you are reading this on the day it kicks off, we forego our regular product-recommendation format and instead offer some guidance on what...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Oct 29, 2012

Today's J-blip: Coca-Cola Bottleware

Old Coke bottles find cool new life in Japan.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 28, 2012

Shaken, stirred puzzle that fits

SUBDUCTION, by Todd Shimoda, illustrated by L.J.C. Shimoda. Chin Music Press, 2012, 279 pp., $25 (hardcover) How to adequately describe "Subduction," the new work by husband and wife team Todd and L.J.C. Shimoda? A psychological thriller framed by gorgeous artwork? A beautifully bound collection of abstract,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 28, 2012

Context the key at alt fashion fest

Watching the Fashion Week Tokyo models pounding polished catwalks in the glitzy Hikarie building in shopping-central Shibuya, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Paris.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 28, 2012

'Fresh Currents' charts the way to, and from, Fukushima

This month's column is about a book that is very much more than just a book: It is a work of art, a labor of love and a realizable dream of a better future for Japan. But I'm getting ahead of myself ...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 27, 2012

Jewish Japanese-American keeps multicultural connections in tune

Even in casual conversation, Danny Katz entertains. His voice doesn't just speak, it croons with comedic pacing, imitations and abrupt shifts in tone. He peppers his speech with accents, New York City slang, Japanese formalities or onomatopoeia.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 21, 2012

Hagi: restful cradle of a revolution

I had just been re-reading Paul Theroux's African travelogue, "Dark Star Safari," and was up to a part where he explains that he never books rooms on his journeys, just turns up and leaves the rest to chance.
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2012

The IMF's new message

Mea culpa. That might be the biggest message from the recent gathering of global financial leaders in Tokyo. The annual IMF/World Bank meeting is an opportunity for finance ministers and central bankers to seek agreement on the state of the global economy and ways to ensure greater or more stable growth....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2012

"France vs. Japan: Modern Paintings"

During the 1920s, many Japanese painters traveled to Paris for artistic education and inspiration, and they brought back with them techniques that influenced the development of modern Japanese art.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2012

"Art Will Thrill You!: The Essence of Modern Japanese Art"

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, marks its 60th anniversary this year, and to celebrate it is using its entire four-story space to present a major retrospective of its Japanese modern-art collection.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Oct 17, 2012

Bunpei Yorifuji's 'Wonderful Life with the Elements'

We think Bunpei Yorifuji's Wonderful Life with the Elements is just wonderful.
JAPAN / IMF-WORLD BANK IN TOKYO
Oct 12, 2012

Kajima develops technologies to cope with disasters

As a way to demonstrate its commitment to the growing corporate and social requirements for business continuity plans (BCP), Kajima Corp., Japan's leading general contractor, conducted a large-scale anti-disaster drill on Aug. 30. It was conducted on the assumption that a magnitude 7.3 earthquake with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 11, 2012

Taking a nostalgic train of thought

Train travel inspires nostalgia. There's no escaping it. It conjures up memories of childhood — playing beside the rail track at the bottom of the garden or with a miniature railway at home. However, politics and societal change have influenced and produced more controversial images of rail travel...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 8, 2012

Giants catcher Abe rises above pack

Shinnosuke Abe perked up at the news the Detroit Tigers' Miguel Cabrera had won the Triple Crown.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 2, 2012

Second homes may be cheap, but they are often in disrepair

Atami The ad said the property was 2 km from Ajiro Station on the Ito Line, but it was difficult to tell how far we were traveling in the agent's car. Most of the trip was up a steep, winding road into the hills above Atami on the Izu Peninsula, an area developed in the 1970s by the Tokyu Corporation...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 29, 2012

Canadian musician pens piece for 'Tsunami violin' performances

Four months ago, Miguel Sosa, a composer, concert pianist, conductor and teacher was asked by Taizo Oba, organizer of the Bond Made of 1,000 Tones project, to write an original composition for one of the two "tsunami-debris" violins.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 28, 2012

Food-themed festival serves up tasty films to chew on

Cinephile foodies, rejoice: The Tokyo Gohan Film Festival kicks off Oct. 6 and runs through Oct. 21. Now in its third year — and with a spinoff event in Osaka held Oct. 6-14 — it's a showcase of films all related to food. Not just one, lonesome movie such as "Dinner Rush" (though that's included...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 27, 2012

Tadanori Yokoo prepares to 'move on' in different ways

Tadanori Yokoo, bad boy of the Japanese art scene since the 1960s, is showing nine works, most of which were made within the last couple of years, at Scai The Bathhouse in the Yanaka district of Tokyo. The small exhibition, titled "Destination the Teshima Art House Project" serves to not only showcase...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 27, 2012

The fabric of Okinawa design

With the typical "white box" museum, everything depends on the contents of the exhibition, but with the Mingeikan (The Japan Folk Crafts Museum), the museum itself is very much part of the experience. This is clear from the moment you slide open the entrance door and take off your shoes to shuffle around...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 20, 2012

"Dialogues with Contemporary Art"

Contemporary art is often considered cerebral and complex, leaving some museum-goers frustrated or baffled at trying to decipher what they see as random symbols. The Setagaya Art Museum aims to battle that perceived inaccessibility of modern art by encouraging visitors to not only learn how to uncover...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 16, 2012

The long tradition of sanitizing history

Ways of Forgetting, Ways of Remembering: Japan in the Modern World, by John W. Dower. New Press, 2012, 336 pp., $26.95 (hardcover) Toru Hashimoto, mayor of Osaka and leader of the Nippon Ishin-no Kai, recently tried to revise the history of comfort women, saying that there is no evidence that the Japanese...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 13, 2012

"The Osaka Best Art: Our Collection, Our Selection"

From April to July, Osaka Prefecture asked its citizens to vote on their favorite paintings from 100 masterpieces owned by museums in the area. The project attracted ballots from 8,371 people, who voted the most popular work to be "Postman" by Yuzo Saeki (1898-1928), a renowned Japanese painter from...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 6, 2012

Hints of love fill the air at Nara's Manyo festival

Japan's oldest market in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, will host the Manyo Matsuri on Sept. 8, a festival to commemorate the market and the region's (central Nara Prefecture) ancient culture.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 2, 2012

Unwanted pregnancies need to be discussed

Two weeks ago a 17-year-old girl collapsed in a shopping mall in Hiroshima and was rushed to the hospital. At the same time a dead fetus was found on the floor in the corner of the mall's food court. The girl eventually admitted that she had just given birth to the child. On Aug. 9, a cleaning person...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 2, 2012

Prescient work of writer Sawako Ariyoshi begs for rediscovery

Aug. 30 marked the day, 28 years ago, that Japan and the world lost a writer of immense importance. Sawako Ariyoshi's works of fiction and nonfiction took up many social issues that came into prominence in the years after her death. To my mind, she is not only one of the greatest authors of modern Japan,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 30, 2012

Fact welcomes a new face to the fold

In September, Fact will embark on a monthlong Japan trek in support of their fourth full-length effort, January's "Burundanga." The gigs will be the Chiba posthardcore act's first domestic concerts since performing last December at the popular annual Countdown Japan yearend music festival. They will...

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