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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 2, 2014

Taking vocal software beyond Miku

Tokyo-based electronic musician mus.hiba has worked with a handful of vocalists during his short stint as a producer. However, many of them haven't been human.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 2, 2014

Shizuoka set for a rock fest with local flare

A raucous bassist shouting at the top of his lungs, a guitarist who models himself on AC/DC's Angus Young and a drummer dressed in nothing but a fundoshi (loincloth) — meet The Wemmer.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Dec 1, 2014

Iwate's Randall stays focused on winning

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Scootie Randall of the Eastern Conference-leading Iwate Big Bulls is the subject of this week's profile.
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Dec 1, 2014

Yokohama: How can you make your Christmas in Japan more ... Christmassy?

Many foreigners will spend the Christmas holiday in Japan away from family. So how do they attempt to create the feeling of a Western Christmas like those they knew back home?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 30, 2014

Unreleased films feared filched in Sony attack; North Korea suspected

Two as-yet unreleased films might have been stolen in a cyberattack on Sony Corp. that may be linked to North Korea.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2014

Missing out on an Iran deal

Negotiators may have let slip the most opportune moment for ending the standoff on Iran's nuclear program.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 28, 2014

A modern annex for an old favorite

I always feel a little inadequate arriving at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, shambling up its gravel drive in my slovenly journalist garb and running one hand over my face to check if I've shaved that day. It's such an elegant venue that I feel I really should be arriving in more style, possibly...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 28, 2014

Flash cards help foreign children learn kanji

An elementary school teacher from Aichi Prefecture has developed a unique new way for foreign children to learn Japanese from flash cards.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 27, 2014

'Group Show of Contemporary Artists 2014'

In support of the activities of up-and-coming artists across the country, Tokyo Metropolitan
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 26, 2014

French idol reflects on her Japanese droid son

As a playwright, stage director, Osaka University professor, manager of the Komaba Agora Theater in Tokyo and leader of the city's Seinendan theater company he formed in 1983, Oriza Hirata — whose "contemporary colloquial theater" set the scene for much of Japan's new drama over the last 20 years —...
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 25, 2014

Pop artifice was never better with Aya Matsuura

When a pop singer who has long faded from the limelight suddenly starts appearing in your Twitter timeline in the form of glowing, nostalgic re-evaluations, they're either gearing up for a comeback . . . or dead.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE PERSISTENT VEGETARIAN
Nov 25, 2014

Pass the sauce: Turkish meze makes for a meal

I know it's meant to be enticing. But the scent of roasting meat on a stick — a staple ingredient of the Turkish street-food doner kebab, found in many popular Tokyo neighborhoods — is enough to have me crossing the street just to avoid the wafting smell, or else holding my breath as I walk by the...
WORLD
Nov 24, 2014

New malware used for surveillance in 10 countries, Symantec says

An unidentified nation may have developed a "highly complex" surveillance tool that targeted companies and other victims in at least 10 countries, including Russia and Mexico, Symantec Corp. researchers said.
BASKETBALL / NBA
Nov 23, 2014

JT to excerpt new Jordan book

The Japan Times will run excerpts from Hall of Fame writer Sam Smith's new book "There Is No Next: NBA Legends on the Legacy of Michael Jordan" on the NBA great beginning in Wednesday's print edition.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 22, 2014

Blood & Guts

"Blood & Guts" by Australian journalist Sam Vincent is a behind-the-scenes investigation into whaling and a tale of two countries. Australia is on one side, united in its love of whales and its condemnation of Japan, which has refused to stop killing whales in the Antarctic despite (or perhaps in spite...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 21, 2014

Translator moved to action by Malala

Malala Yousafzai, who at 17 became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, has influenced countless people all over the world as an activist for female education. One of those is Yoshiko Nishida.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 20, 2014

'Rei Naito: The Emotion of Belief'

After three years of renovation work, the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum is reopening on Nov. 22 with an additional wing, which will be the venue for the museum's new lineup of contemporary art, videos and performing-arts projects.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 19, 2014

Open Windows: 'Sliding into the creep zone'

What has happened to Elijah Wood? The former child star whose career out-survived most of his contemporaries is slipping further and further into the creep zone. In the decade since his signature role as Frodo in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, his roles have gone from nerdy and vulnerable to nerdy...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 19, 2014

San Francisco's huff with Hashimoto over 'comfort women' reveals double standards

San Francisco's reaction to Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's comments about 'comfort women' says much about equality between nations, about how we judge each other through cultural lenses and blinders, and how we have to keep finding ways to address grievances from our past.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Nov 18, 2014

Warm up over a shared hot pot

What comes to mind when you think of convivial home-cooked family meals? In Japan, the answer is usually nabe, or hot-pot cooking.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 18, 2014

Arashi sure to delight fans with typical fare on 'The Digitalian'

Arashi "The Digitalian" (J Storm)
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 16, 2014

In Iraq, Iranian masters behind feared Shiite militias

Among the thousands of militia fighters who flocked to northern Iraq to battle the extremist Islamic State group over the summer was Qais al-Khazali.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 15, 2014

Tomonoura: lost in a storied landscape

The priest from Fukuzenji Temple is sitting cross-legged on a cushion in front of us like a Zen-sage. He has his back to a window of the Taichoro Guesthouse as he explains the significance of the astounding view before us. We are looking out at the nearby islands of Sensuijima and Bentenjima floating...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 14, 2014

Honminoshi traditional paper-making flows from long dedication, and UNESCO takes notice

UNESCO recently announced that Honminoshi, a traditional Japanese paper-making craft, is being considered for the organization's list of intangible cultural heritage.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami