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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2023

‘How Kyoto Breaks Your Heart’: Welcome sustenance for the Japan memoir genre

Author Florentyna Leow offers descriptive musings and pithy wisdom about love, food and Japan’s historical city as she traces the dissolution of a friendship in her new collection of essays.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 7, 2023

'Hit Parade of Tears': Izumi Suzuki attacks genre and gender with twisted precision

The cult literary figure's new collection of 11 stories unveil the chaos, conflict and pain of women rebelling against the desires of men and seeking messy self-actualization.
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 15, 2023

Haruki Murakami’s new novel. Plus, allegations resurface in J-pop.

Celebrated author Haruki Murakami reveals the title to a new novel, “The City and its Uncertain Walls.” Also, the BBC puts out a documentary on J-pop titan Johnny Kitagawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 15, 2023

Tennoz Isle: Tokyo’s new contemporary art hub

The goal of making Tennoz Isle a vital art hub is closely tied to opening up the Japanese art market. With plans for artist residencies and business expansion, the bayside area's future is bright.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 21, 2022

Culture in 2022: Good books, outdoor art and 'Tokyo Vice'

Culture editor Alyssa I. Smith talks to culture critic Thu-Huong Ha about the books they read, the festivals they went to and how Japanese stories are currently capturing Hollywood's attention.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 16, 2022

'Everything Everywhere All at Once' costume designer Shirley Kurata becomes the story

With the success of the film 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' the work of Shirley Kurata is in demand, but her personal style has always had its own fans.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 11, 2022

Can unlikely friendships kickstart fashion’s lackluster recovery?

Breaking down brand barriers may be the only way forward for Tokyo's couturiers
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / Longform
Mar 14, 2022

Plastic love: Proliferation of PET bottles in Japan complicates a sustainable future

Japan recycles and reuses its ubiquitous plastic container more than almost any other country — but some say it's still not enough.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Feb 19, 2022

Expressing gender: Fresh approaches to unisex collections

A diverse fashion market is one that is broad enough to include everyone.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 23, 2022

Exploring the poetry of an exiled emperor on the Oki Islands

Go-Toba, Japan's 82nd emperor, used his time in exile to advance the ancient poetic form known as waka.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 18, 2022

Olympic athletes told to leave phones at home to dodge spying in China

Beijing has promised the world's top athletes access to a partially unfettered internet during the Winter Games, but security experts say there are reasons to exercise caution.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
May 23, 2021

Japan’s latest woodwork designs go against the grain

“On: Design” introduces innovative new products inspired by traditional bamboo and wood crafts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 11, 2021

‘Terminal Boredom’ is a treasure trove of Izumi Suzuki’s subversive science fiction

Izumi Suzuki, a prolific writer of speculative science fiction and a counterculture figure in the 1970s and '80s, has gone largely overlooked by modern readers — until now.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 27, 2021

‘That We May Live’: New Chinese fiction delves into the playfully weird

Explaining the difference between speculative fiction and science fiction can feel like sorting out overlapping nebulae. The main distinction of speculative fiction may be that a story is just barely possible, at a slight remove from reality that veers into the playfully weird. A Japanese author exemplifying...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 9, 2021

Flashbacks and fantasy kick off Japan’s 2021 fashion scene

As department stores try to make up for a dismal 2020, recently released capsule collections turn to feel-good, nostalgic escapism.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 19, 2020

There’s a story behind each of Makiko Minagawa’s textiles

The former textile director of Miyake Design Studio is still pushing the boundaries of natural fabric, craftsmanship and sustainability.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 13, 2020

As the industry goes online, fashion trends go retro

Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo is still on schedule; Animal Crossing is haute couture; and Wacko Maria celebrates 15 years.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 24, 2020

Plastic pollution flowing into oceans to triple by 2040, study says

The new research offers solutions that could cut the projected volume of plastic entering the ocean by more than 80 percent.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Jul 19, 2020

Omotenashi Selection 2020: Artisanal items with Japanese flair

The sixth annual Omotenashi Selection recognized 68 products for good design and cultural relevance. Three homeware items caught On: Design's eye.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jul 12, 2020

The everyday mask gets more designer upgrades

Japan's department stores see a surprising sales recovery in June and masks continue to move high-end.
Japan Times
LIFE / EVENTS AND INFORMATION
Apr 3, 2020

Bold, vibrant stencil art remains alive today

Gazing upon artworks using kappazuri , an innovative Japanese stencil printing technique, similarities can be seen with Japan’s rich tradition of ukiyo-e woodblock printing. Others might recognize an affinity with stenciling techniques found in contemporary street art.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 21, 2020

'The Mad Kyoto Shoe Swapper': What to do when you lose your shoes? Find them and write

Author Rebecca Otowa came into her writing career late in life. But that doesn't stop her from immortalizing many aspects of her experiences of being part of a traditional Japanese family living in a 350-year-old farmhouse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 21, 2019

Hitler's top hat, Evan Braun cocktail dress up for auction in Germany

Nazi memorabilia including Hitler's top hat and a cocktail dress worn by his companion Eva Braun is going under the hammer at a German auction house, drawing calls from the Jewish community to stop a sale it deems immoral.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 27, 2019

When street style eclipses the runway

Tokyo fashion week's battle for identity has always been between that of the runway and the fashion on streets — has the event finally found a happy medium?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Aug 25, 2019

The changing face of fashion in Japan

Collaborations, ethical statements and flashback trends — is Japanese fashion going through an identity crisis?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Jun 8, 2019

'Modern Japanese Short Stories' review: A bridge between past and present

A classic introduction to the Japanese short story, 'Modern Japanese Short Stories' is a literary time capsule of postwar Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 31, 2019

Rock gardens, ryokan and rafting in Tokyo's Mitake

From the historic Kajikaen to kimono dyeing studios and the Gyokudo Art Museum, numerous institutions of traditional art and culture line the banks of the Tama River as it runs through Mitake.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / A Weekend In
Apr 12, 2019

A weekend in Shizuoka: More than the sum of its tea fields

Little-known outside Japan, Shizuoka Prefecture hugs the coast to the south of Mount Fuji. Home to the Tokyo getaway of Izu, the prefecture is known as the starting point for three of the main hiking trails up Fuji, which forms the greater part of Shizuoka's northeastern boundary line, and for the volume...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2019

Awash with plastic bottles and lacking a law, Kenya struggles to recycle with help from Coca-Cola and Unilever

As global concern over plastic pollution rises, corporate giants such as Coca-Cola and Unilever are pumping cash into a recycling initiative in Kenya they hope will provide a model for other developing countries.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight