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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 25, 2016

Clinton a known quantity to Japanese officials, while Trump is still a wild card

As the Democrats start up their national convention Monday, Japanese officials are pondering which of the two hopefuls — Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump — are more likely to get along, both on a personal and professional level, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 25, 2016

Nagoya Castle opens ninja school to train 'apprentices'

A ninja school opened in Nagoya Castle in Nagoya's Naka Ward earlier this month, attracting tourists from at home and abroad.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jul 24, 2016

Yumi Ito of The Peanuts was a muse to both moth and men

I learned of the death of Yumi Ito, the last remaining member of 1960s pop duo The Peanuts, while battling a giant moth that had found its way into my apartment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 23, 2016

'For Dignity, Justice, and Revolution': Voices from Japan's prewar labor movement

In 2008, a previously obscure novella by Takiji Kobayashi entered the best-seller lists in Japan. "The Cannery Boat," a tale of worker exploitation originally published in 1929, acquired new resonance in the fallout from the global economic meltdown. Kobayashi features prominently in "For Dignity, Justice,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Jul 22, 2016

Asahi's highly caffeinated companion to the Rio Olympics

Want to watch the Rio Olympics live, but are worried about having 
to stay up until the wee hours of the morning? Asahi’s solution is the new Dodekamin Brazilian Energy drink, advertised as being able to give you the extra energy needed to watch the games as they happen. The beverage (¥140) boasts...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 21, 2016

Neuroscientists chart new gray matter map pinpointing key areas of cerebral cortex

Neuroscientists acting as cartographers of the human mind have devised the most comprehensive map ever made of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher cognitive functions such as abstract thought, language and memory.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 20, 2016

Republican platform blasts China on isles, rights, trade

The U.S. Republican Party has come out guns blazing against China in its latest party platform — a marked contrast from the softer tone of its last charter in 2012.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 20, 2016

Pyongyang says triple missile test simulated attack on South Korean ports and airfields

North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a ballistic missile test that simulated preemptive strikes against South Korean ports and airfields used by the U.S. military, a likely reference to the launches of three missiles on Tuesday.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 19, 2016

Nagoya professor distraught by Dhaka massacre, says killings go against Islam

Rahman M. Khondaker, a professor at Nagoya's Nanzan University, was shocked by the July 1 massacre of diners at a restaurant in Dhaka.
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jul 17, 2016

Kuma confident about National Stadium's prospects ahead of 2020 Games, clears up gripes about design

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrapped Zaha Hadid's design for the new National Stadium on July 17 last year, many feared the venue might not be completed in time to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2016

Slot Machine plans to show Fuji fans how Thailand rocks

Thailand has been a destination for Asian artists looking to expand their markets. From J-rock to K-pop, fans in Bangkok have been able to listen to their fill. Rock band Slot Machine wants this to be a two-way conversation and the members say they'll begin it this year by being the first Thai band to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jul 17, 2016

Retailer hopes to lift returning firms in Namie by tapping pipeline to Qvevri-made Georgian wine

Matsubaya, a retail and wholesale firm from the town of Namie near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is trying to revitalize businesses that were based in the district, using Georgian wine.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 16, 2016

Anime discovers a rural outpost

For the past few years, the beginning of July has found me on a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles to attend Anime Expo (AX), the largest annual North American convention devoted to Japanese popular culture, and its related industry-only event, Project Anime (PA). Both continue to break attendance records....
WORLD / Society
Jul 15, 2016

U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to criminalize 'revenge porn'

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced long-stalled legislation on Thursday that would make it a federal crime to share sexually explicit material of a person online without the subject's consent.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2016

China keeps upper hand in geostrategic arena

Beijing's shrill rejection of an international tribunal's ruling should induce grave pessimism among those who wish to contain China's march toward hegemony in Southeast Asia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 13, 2016

The Qualite Fantastic! Cinema Collection festival has choice gems among the trash

Opened in 2012, Cinema Qualite has been a welcome anomaly amid the grim decline of Japan's once-vibrant "mini theater" (arthouse) scene.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 12, 2016

The fall and rise of the Empire line

The Pola Art Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and as part of this, the Pola Museum of Art has organized an ambitious exhibition that aims to present a cross-disciplinary view of art, product design and women's fashion of 19th- and early 20th-century France.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 12, 2016

Nagoya firm among those tapping workers who need flex-time jobs

More and more small- and medium-size companies are allowing full-time employees to work shorter hours so they can spend more time with their families.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 12, 2016

Why the Philippines' South China Sea legal case matters

A panel of five judges at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is set to announce on Tuesday their ruling in a case brought by the Philippines against China over its actions in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 10, 2016

Bo Ningen: 'We're Japanese, but a London band'

Though seasoned music festival veterans overseas, the four members of British rock band Bo Ningen had never been to a Japanese event until Fuji Rock in 2013.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jul 10, 2016

Japan's discriminatory koseki registry system looks ever more outdated

Once part of a panopticon-like system in which everyone would feel that they were being monitored but could also participate in the monitoring process, the kosei is now showing its age.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 9, 2016

Cracks are appearing in Japan's 'healthy' image

Few people snack on baby carrots. Most prefer the sweet, fat, high-calorie fare colloquially known as junk food.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 8, 2016

In search of 'natsuzake,' Japan's summer sake

Summer is my least favorite season in Japan. Stepping outside, the heat and humidity hits with startling force: the hot air weighs heavy on my limbs, enveloping me in a stifling and unwelcome embrace. The thought of spending the height of summer in Tokyo fills me with existential dread.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 7, 2016

Beijing warns U.S. on sovereignty ahead of South China Sea ruling

The United States should do nothing to harm China's sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China's foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, ahead of a key court ruling on China's claims in the disputed waterway.
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 7, 2016

Kawachi takes role with new league

For 11 seasons, Toshimitsu Kawachi was the face of the bj-league. As the only commissioner in league history, he was the front man for the league's growth from six teams in the 2005-06 season to 24 clubs this past season as well as its success stories and problems.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan