Search - features

 
 
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2015

Tokyo must act now to build legacy for venues beyond 2020 Olympics, says London Games exec

Tokyo must act now to develop a vision for the new National Stadium and other Olympic venues that reaches decades beyond the 2020 Games.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2015

Japan's State Guest House could soon be open to tourists

As part of campaign to attract more overseas tourists to Japan, the government is planning to open the State Guest House in Tokyo's Minato Ward to general visitors as early as April next year, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Thursday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 19, 2015

AI robot touted as future English-learning tool for Japanese kids

Japan has long been criticized for its low level of English, but children could soon become more proficient in the language just by chit-chatting with an artificially intelligent robot.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 17, 2015

The ripple effect of Tawaraya Sotatsu's waves

'The most important Japanese artist you've never heard of." That is how James Ulak, senior curator of Japanese art at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, describes Tawaraya Sotatsu, the focus of the gallery's current magnificent exhibition. The show presents the first in-depth examination of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 16, 2015

Tours provide renewed interest in Japan's oldest hydro power plant

The Miyashiro No. 1 power plant, which houses the country's oldest working hydraulic generator, is attracting public attention after it started offering guided tours last spring.
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Nov 15, 2015

Tainted cities irate over Tepco's slow compensation payments: survey

Tokyo Electric Power Co. has paid a mere 11.4 percent of the ¥55.3 billion in nuclear redress claims filed by municipalities damaged by the Fukushima disaster, a survey shows, and some are seeking action to speed the process up.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 14, 2015

Shibuya's redevelopment to create a futuristic railway station fit for the 21st century

Looking down from the 11th floor of Tokyo's Hikarie skyscraper, the seemingly endless ebb and flow of people using Shibuya Station is hypnotic to watch.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 14, 2015

Nishinoshima: Oki's island of sanctuary

Were it not for the well-nourished faces of the passengers suffused with keen expressions of expectation and purpose, the supine bodies, unpacked food, luggage and blankets strewn across the hard flooring of the ferry's modern equivalent of steerage class resembled those of a migrant ship.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 14, 2015

Abe and the media get ahead of themselves on driverless cars

In a new TV commercial for Nissan, American actress Charlotte Kate Fox, who appeared in last year's NHK morning drama series, "Massan," is driving on city streets at night. She pushes a button on the dashboard and slowly takes her hands off the steering wheel. The car continues to move, making turns...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 14, 2015

Chinese media crucial in public diplomacy effort

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently had a cameo in the animated adult cartoon "South Park." In the episode, Xi (not the real Xi) revealed that Japan decides "who is gay or not" in Asia. The character also said the Japanese "are dogs who refuse not apologize to the Chinese Republic" and then kissed...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Nov 14, 2015

Get the goods on manga and anime

Back in the Stone Age of streaming media, the most notorious and popular of pirate anime websites suddenly went legit. In January 2009, after securing distribution agreements with Japanese studios, and a licensing deal with TV Tokyo that included episodes of the global hit series Naruto Shippuden, the...
EDITORIALS
Nov 14, 2015

Problems with Ikata plant restart

Many concerns remain about the safety of the Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture and the feasibility of the evacuation plans, but the governor has given his approval to restart the facility anyway.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 13, 2015

Nuclear power — an issue so prominent, it glows in the dark

Walking into Ken + Julia Yonetani's "Wishes" is like stepping into a bad dream. The room is illuminated by hanging chandeliers, their green light eerily flickering against black walls, as Disney's "It's a Small World" repeatedly plays in the background. This first Tokyo solo show for the husband-and-wife...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 11, 2015

Mr. Cherry, Japan's No. 1 record-breaker, is 'officially amazing'

Cherry Yoshitake has broken more world records than any other Japanese person, but there's every chance you've never heard of him.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 10, 2015

A photo finish between ukiyo-e and the camera

The idea for the smart, complex and challenging exhibition "From Ukiyo-e to Photography" at the Edo-Tokyo Museum started from the discovery of two images. One is a photograph of the Meiji-Era (1867-1912) Minister of Home Affairs Toshimichi Okubo, taken in Paris in 1878. The second is a color ukiyo-e...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 10, 2015

Seduced by the Undercover labyrinth

It's undeniable that when designer Jun Takahashi founded Undercover — which celebrates its 25th anniversary with its first retrospective at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery — he was strongly influenced by the pioneers of deconstruction fashion Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto. His first few collections...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 10, 2015

SeaWorld will phase out San Diego orca show

SeaWorld said on Monday it plans to replace its signature "Shamu" killer whale shows in San Diego with displays focused on "conservation," after grappling with sagging attendance and years of criticism over treatment of the captive marine mammals.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Nov 9, 2015

Taxi firm hopes to have driverless cabs on the road by 2020

By the time Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in 2020, self-driving cars may be a feature on Japan's roads as local automakers work to develop the technology in the next five years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 9, 2015

Aichi NPO goes extra mile with language support for non-Japanese kids

Aichi Prefecture, where manufacturing businesses are heavily concentrated, currently has the largest number of young non-Japanese students in the country. There are 6,300 such students in the prefecture and the number of students requiring Japanese language support is increasing every year.
Japan Times
BASEBALL
Nov 7, 2015

Premier 12 begins with Japan-South Korea clash

One day before the inaugural Premier 12 debuts, Japan national baseball team manager Hiroki Kokubo and South Korea skipper Kim In-sik addressed the media at a Sapporo hotel on Saturday evening.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Nov 6, 2015

"Star Wars" droid cakes are invading Ginza Cozy Corner

The new "Star Wars" film is being advertised with full force, and Japanese confectionery store Ginza Cozy Corner has joined in with a new series of sweets themed on the classic trilogy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2015

Hebocon a venue for low-tech, crude robots that personify their makers

A new robot revolution is threatening to take over the world — as long as the glue and tape hold together long enough.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Nov 5, 2015

TV presenter Bungyou Dan recommends studying a country's culture to learn its language

NHK announcer and Chinese instructor Bungyou Dan believes learning about the culture and history of a country can help develop language skills, particularly when it comes to her mother tongue. So perhaps a visit to the Tokyo National Museum to see the "Terracotta Army" would be a good place to start?...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 5, 2015

Japan Post's epochal IPO

Japan Post's $12 billion listing is a symbol of the bold change that needs to be embraced to rejuvenate Asia's second largest economy.
EDITORIALS
Nov 3, 2015

China loses a 'lawfare' skirmish

An international arbitration tribunal's decision provides South China Sea claimants with an opportunity to breathe new life into negotiations designed to turn the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea into a real code of conduct.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
Nov 3, 2015

Historic Tokyo working-class restaurants find gourmet demand for offal, loaches

JR Hamamatsucho Station is a busy thoroughfare for Tokyo's jet set because of its link to Haneda airport and for tourists heading to Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 2, 2015

University-affiliated startup revolutionizes the electron beam

A Nagoya University-affiliated venture firm has created a next-generation electron beam device, signaling a landmark shift in the way electron microscopes and 3-D printers operate.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 1, 2015

Tackle embedded racism before it chokes Japan

Japan has a dire problem it must address immediately: its embedded racism.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 1, 2015

Quiet East China Sea ADIZ highlights Beijing's struggle to control contested waters

As the battle for control of the South China Sea heats up, Beijing's struggle to assert its authority over another disputed waterway may prove instructive.

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.