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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2015

The Imitation Game: 'a bog-standard biopic, riddled with historical inaccuracies'

Great minds think alike. Focus Features' Oscar-bait drama for 2014 — about a prickly genius Cambridge grad who struggled through a traumatic personal life ("The Theory of Everything") — was rather similar to The Weinstein Company's contender, "The Imitation Game."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 11, 2015

Tokyo Ballet revisits 'Giselle' anew

Ballet legend Vladimir Malakhov's first connection with Japan was more than 20 years ago, when he danced in the World Ballet Festival in Osaka opposite Alessandra Ferri in a piece from Marius Petipa's 1850 revival of "Giselle."
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2015

Uber pledges to enlist 1 million female drivers by 2020

Ride-hailing app Uber, under the microscope due to a handful of driver assaults on passengers in some cities, pledged in a blog post on Tuesday to sign up 1 million female drivers around the world by 2020.
WORLD
Mar 10, 2015

CIA allegedly sought to hack Apple iPhones from earliest days

CIA researchers have worked for nearly a decade to break the security protecting Apple phones and tablets, investigative news site The Intercept reported Tuesday, citing documents obtained from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Mar 9, 2015

Will Line put the brakes on Uber with its taxi app?

Line is expanding its smartphone messaging platform by letting users book cabs in Tokyo via its app.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Mar 8, 2015

Virtual technology resurrects ancient sites

Mixing virtual reality from the past with present-day reality may sound confusing but it's actually a simple concept.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 6, 2015

Abandoned boats pose tsunami hazard at Nagoya port

Nagoya authorities are worried that the more than 100 abandoned boats in its port pose a potential hazard to navigation — as well as a danger to the general public — if a major tsunami were to strike.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2015

Arts book publisher Bijutsu Shuppan-sha files for court protection

Bijutsu Shuppan-sha Co., a publisher of art books and magazines, including the widely acclaimed Bijutsu Techo magazine, has filed for court protection from creditors after being in business for more than a century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2015

Imagery that sings the praises of the musical

"They're Wooin' and Doin' the Things Boys and Girls Like to Do . . . ." This is the message of many of the posters made for Hollywood musicals currently being exhibited at the National Film Center in Tokyo. Liza Minnelli, Mitzi Gaynor and Gwen Verdon, among others, titillate with unfeasibly thin waists,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 4, 2015

Into the Woods: 'mashed up Brothers Grimm and hammy performances'

The fairy-tale reboot trend continues with "Into the Woods," Disney's big-screen version of the Stephen Sondheim musical that debuted on Broadway in 1987. Set in and around a creepy forest that looks like a leftover "Harry Potter" stage, "Into the Woods" mashes up a bunch of well-known Brothers Grimm...
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Mar 4, 2015

India bans documentary about 2012 Delhi gang rape

A documentary film about the fatal gang rape of a woman in New Delhi in 2012 has been banned in India over concerns that derogatory comments made by one of the rapists could create an atmosphere of fear and tension, a police official said.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / NOTES ON A SCORECARD
Mar 3, 2015

Moving 2020 hoops to Saitama latest blow for game

The IOC's decision last week to allow the organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to move the basketball competition out to Saitama Super Arena puts an end to any hope the sport ever had of becoming high profile in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 3, 2015

Takazawa adds Akasaka bar to his name

Great news: Chef Yoshiaki Takazawa has opened a bar. This is fantastic for all those who know the beautiful bijou, high-end restaurant in Akasaka that bears his name. Revered by visiting gourmets, it is one of the hardest tables in town to book. Now, we all can sample his cuisine in a more accessible...
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 3, 2015

For North Korean defectors, fame brings cash — and suspicion

Kang Myung-do, then son-in-law of North Korea's premier, made a spectacular claim about Pyongyang's nuclear capability when he defected to the South over two decades ago, asserting the secretive country had built five atomic bombs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 3, 2015

Mobile industry tiptoes toward 5G

Running short of dramatically new phone designs, leaders of the world's wireless industry agree their next big idea is 5G, shorthand for the fifth generation of networks they expect to have up and running by 2020.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 3, 2015

Samsung unveils sleek new Galaxy phones to battle Apple

South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. unveiled its latest Galaxy S smartphones, featuring a slim body made from aircraft-grade metal, in a bid to reclaim the throne of undisputed global smartphone leader from Apple Inc.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 1, 2015

'Omokuri Kantoku'; 3/11 commemoration; CM of the week: Aoki Suits

The word "omokuri" in the title of the variety show "Omokuri Kantoku" (Fuji TV, Sun., 9 p.m.) is a combination of the words "omoshiroii" (interesting) and "creator." The program invites several people famous in other fields to "direct" television shows based on their own ideas. Then a panel of judges,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 27, 2015

Artist delivers heartfelt tribute to 3/11 cleanup workers

A couple from Nagoya have been posting daily pictures of heart-shaped images dedicated to those cleaning up the mess at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and other disaster-stricken parts of the Tohoku region.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 26, 2015

Korean-American activist raps Suga's response to failed lawsuit against 'comfort woman' statue

A Korean-American leader in California criticizes Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga's regret after a lawsuit failed to remove Glendale's 'comfort women' war memorial.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2015

Belling the nuclear wildcat

The only guarantee of zero nuclear weapons risk — five years after U.S. President Barack Obama's stirring speech outlining his dream of nuclear disarmament — is to move to zero nuclear weapons possession by a carefully managed process.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 26, 2015

Europol disrupts cybercrime ring that infected millions of PCs

A cybercrime operation that stole banking information by hacking more than 3 million computers in Indonesia, India and other countries has been disrupted by European police with assistance from three technology companies, officials said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 25, 2015

Under Japanese law, breaks are sacred and standby counts as work

If your employer is keeping you waiting long hours on standby without paying you and calling it 'break time,' they are breaking the law.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE PERSISTENT VEGETARIAN
Feb 24, 2015

Indian fare adds spice to vegetarian dining

While it's easy to trust that almost every Indian restaurant will have plenty for a vegetarian to eat — and you can often ask for an all-vegetarian meal by request — it's an incomparable delight when the menu is entirely made up of vegetarian choices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 23, 2015

Meet the man who helped Sony get its game back

"How many people came for video games?" asks a keynote presenter at Sony Corp.'s PlayStation bash in Las Vegas last December. The crowd roars. "And how many came to give Shu Yoshida a hug?" The roar gets even louder.
LIFE / Japan Showcase / SAGA PREFECTURE
Feb 23, 2015

Explore beautiful vistas, enduring history of Saga

Saga prefecture sits in the northern half of Kyushu, sandwiched between bustling Fukuoka and historic Nagasaki. From the wild north coast to the porcelain towns of western Saga to the sake brewing districts of the southern Kashima region, this compact prefecture offers a host of hidden delights.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 20, 2015

Accidents involving unregulated mini-boats on rise

Accidents involving miniboats, which require no license or qualification to operate in Japan, are on the rise.

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