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Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jan 11, 2016

Japan moves to develop homegrown GPS

With the proliferation of smartphones and other devices, the use of GPS — the global positioning system — has become ubiquitous. From pinpointing one's location to getting directions online, satellite-based navigation is driving the interactive use of online maps.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 11, 2016

New Tokyo Olympic stadium design selected

A design by architect Kengo Kuma has been picked as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic main stadium, the government has announced.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 11, 2016

Aichi Prefecture city rolls out new pay phones in disaster-prevention move

The city of Tahara in Aichi Prefecture is bringing back public pay phones in response to widespread mobile phone disruptions following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 10, 2016

Honda aims for China jackpot with Acura SUV

Honda Motor Co. will launch a new small crossover sport utility vehicle later this year in China to compete with BMW and Audi models.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2016

Nagisa Oshima: 'You have to tell the truth about your country, whatever it is'

Jan. 15 marks the third anniversary of the renowned film director's death. Roger Pulvers, who knew him for more than 30 years and was his assistant on “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” discusses the man and his work
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 8, 2016

Disappearing-father drama; Swindling in Osaka; CM of the week: Bandai Namco

Osaka is the setting for the bittersweet two-hour drama "Saiko no Oyako" ("The Best Mother and Child"; TBS, Sun., 9 p.m.), which stars Naomi Fujiyama as a single mother raising a daughter, played by Riisa Naka, who has just graduated from university with a degree in architecture but is having trouble...
Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2016

Bring back best 'Kohaku' features

Regarding the story "Kohaku music show ratings dive to new low" in the Jan. 4 edition, it is really not at all surprising that the viewer ratings are falling.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 5, 2016

From longer hours to all-you-can drink offers, Japan's restaurants evolve in battle for customers

Change is in the air — you can smell it.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 5, 2016

Toyota joins Ford against Apple-Google car screen dominance

Toyota Motor Corp. agreed to use a car-phone connectivity system championed by Ford Motor Co. in a bid to keep Apple Inc. and Google from dominating control of dashboards.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 3, 2016

New Denki Groove documentary uncovers two decades of strange techno

Way back in the 1990s, when the "Cool Japan" campaign was but a faint, distant blip on the nation's radar, a synth-pop group called Denki Groove was doing its best to represent Japanese "cool."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 2, 2016

New adaptation of Natsume Soseki's classic novel; scaling Mount Everest; CM of the week: Parco

Natsume Soseki's novel, "Botchan," has been adapted many times over the years, but it has been 20 years since it was last done for television. To celebrate the 100th year since the writer died, Fuji TV is presenting a brand new production of the classic story (Sunday, 9 p.m.) starring Arashi's Kazuya...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 1, 2016

New Year's holidays are a time to revisit traditions, customs

O-shogatsu, or New Year's holidays, is a special time for Japanese people, who typically go back to the basics of their long-standing traditions. It's a time when those who left their hometowns for the big cities for work or school go back to visit their families, invite relatives and friends to their...
MORE SPORTS
Dec 31, 2015

Supporters share 'ekiden' drama with athletes

As Daichi Kamino crossed the finish line at the end of the first day of last year's Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden (relay marathon) championship, he ran straight into the arms of his ecstatic teammates.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 31, 2015

Tokyo running events for the casual jogger

If watching the Tokyo-Hakone ekiden inspires you to test your own running ability, you could try your luck at a number of other races in the capital in January.
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Dec 28, 2015

Pomare confident Samuraiz can beat odds

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Gyno Pomare of the expansion Kanazawa Samuraiz is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 28, 2015

Aichi printing company publishes calendar produced by man with no arms

A printing company has produced a calendar bearing kanji characters written by a staffer who has no arms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 26, 2015

Tokyo digs: It's hosteling, but not as we know it

A line of around 30 people queueing for snacks snakes around the inside of Izakaya Bunka, a Japanese-style pub, during its packed opening night on Dec. 14. Staffers at the Asakusa Ward spot have laid out an impressive buffet-style spread for all in attendance, set in front of a stack of nihonshu (Japanese...
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2015

Budgeting ahead of an election

The Abe administration appears to be sacrificing budgetary discipline in favor of doling out pork ahead of the Upper House election.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Dec 24, 2015

Japan's draft budget a firm move against fiscal headwinds

The record ¥96.7 trillion draft budget for fiscal 2016 is by many measures a feat, a key push in the government's efforts to cut spending.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2015

One God for Christians, Muslims and Jews?

If Christians and Muslims don't worship the same God, then neither do Christians and Jews.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2015

Design by architect Kengo Kuma picked for Tokyo's new Olympic stadium

Kengo Kuma's blueprint prevails in the contest to redesign the new National Stadium after the initial plan was scrapped amid a national uproar over cost and other factors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Dec 22, 2015

Manga artist Hasumi stirs outrage again with new book slammed as racist

After gaining the spotlight at home and abroad a few months ago over a controversial manga illustration denigrating a Syrian refugee girl, artist Toshiko Hasumi seemingly remains unrepentant.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 21, 2015

Mie pearl farmer looks to Vietnam for new opportunities, fresh workforce

Ago Bay in Shima, Mie Prefecture, is one of the leading places in Japan where pearls can be cultured. The number of pearl farmers has declined in recent years, however, and they are an aging workforce.

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