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Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 5, 2014

First-language classes in Aichi struggle to find funding

Various cities in Aichi Prefecture have started offering language classes to children of foreign descent in their first language.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 5, 2014

A Scottish 'yes' vote may not be such a big change for the queen

Scotland's vote on independence this month means Queen Elizabeth II faces a division in her kingdom not seen since the days of her namesake, Elizabeth I, at the start of the 17th century.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2014

Artist veils photos showing his genitalia to parry police censorship

The censorship action taken by police last month at an Aichi museum showing photos of a photographer's genitals constitutes a human rights violation and highlights the nation's shift toward a more controlling society, the artist said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2014

You don't have to be an aficionado to enjoy Tokyo Jazz Festival

Being unfamiliar with jazz, isn't an excuse to stay home during the Tokyo Jazz Festival. The event features artists from outside the genre, and organizers have set up the Tokyo Jazz Labo, a workshop for newcomers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 3, 2014

Bourne's 'Swan Lake' puts a dance revolution on stage

To the delight of the nation's ballet fans, "Swan Lake" will shortly be gracing the Tokyo summer for two weeks — not in its traditional classical form, but in the new-classic guise of "Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake," a revolutionary twist on ballet's most tried-and-true tutu tale.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2014

Joint resource development in South China Sea

Shared development of oil, gas and possibly other natural resources is the most promising option for reducing tensions in the South China Sea and should be the focus of efforts to improve diplomatic relations between China and its coastal neighbors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 2, 2014

Dustin Wong and Takako Minekawa let their imaginations run wild on new album

Guitarist Dustin Wong is upfront about not having the cleanest apartment. "There are so many plastic water bottles in the kitchen, equipment sprawled all over the place. Pieces of aluminum foil on the floor." This was where he and singer Takako Minekawa recorded their second album together.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO BAR ADVENTURE
Sep 2, 2014

Explore the many flavors of Belgian beer

While people comment on the increasing number of small-scale breweries and craft-beer bars in Japan, I can't help but notice that Belgian beer is also gaining a lot of attention — albeit on a lesser scale.
JAPAN / INTERPRETATION & TRANSLATION
Aug 31, 2014

Connecting two cities beyond interpretation

Interpreters and translators facilitate communication and understanding between people who speak different languages, which sometimes is instrumental in bridging two distant cities.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 30, 2014

Kintaikyo: A bridge reincarnated over troubled waters

Below the bridge, flat-bottomed boats are ferrying people across the Nishiki River, just as they did centuries ago — back when commoners were not permitted to walk over its wooden arches, and even centuries before that, when there was no bridge at all. The long wooden craft glide with hypnotic languor...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 30, 2014

Asahi rivals pile on over sex slaves retraction

It has been almost a month since the Asahi Shimbun printed a long, two-part retraction of its reporting in the 1980s and '90s on the "forced mobilization" of so-called comfort women during World War II based on the published confessions of a man named Seiji Yoshida.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 30, 2014

Kiun-Kaku: a garden of elegant period taste

Despite the seasonal limitations for visiting, the Atami Baien, a plum garden, is a better-known sight that the Kiun-Kaku garden, which is an all-seasons landscape also found in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture. Perhaps it is the thirst for scale that has prioritized the plum trees in their large hillside...
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 29, 2014

Gifu mover gives forgotten temples new life in new places

Due to the decline in Buddhist worshippers and the population in general, the number of empty or abandoned temples has been growing in recent years.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 27, 2014

UFC star Tate prepared to take fight to Nakai

Miesha Tate wants Rin Nakai to remember her after their fight next month. Nakai, who is undefeated (16-0-1), likely already knows all about Tate, a superstar in women's mixed martial arts, but Tate wants a special place in Nakai's world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 27, 2014

Tokyo Ballet turns 50 with a glorious Gala of thanks

Ahead of The Tokyo Ballet's official 50th anniversary on Aug. 30, its website is already garlanded with tributes from international dancers and choreographers such as Sweden's Mats Ek and Britain's Akram Khan — and even from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2014

Wena Poon on life and death in occupied Kyoto

As a child living in a tiny apartment in Singapore, Wena Poon listened to radio plays broadcast in a variety of languages and watched TV — everything from Chinese sword-fighting operas to popular American series such as "M*A*S*H." "There was nowhere to go outside," Poon says, "so I just sat around....
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2014

A Great Valley Under the Stars

A vibrant collection of subdued observation, the poems in this small volume, "A Great Valley Under the Stars," contemplate meaning everywhere — from a truck-stop toilet, over stones in the New Mexican desert and under the great expanse of sky referenced in the title.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 22, 2014

Japan defeats China, improves to 3-0 in FIVB World Grand Prix Finals

Japan remained unbeaten on the third day of play in the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals with a straight sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-21) victory over China at Ariake Colosseum on Friday night
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 22, 2014

Zero fighter pilot to offer 'food for thought' in upcoming documentary

Nagoya Katsudo Shashin, a film group in Nagono, Nagoya, is making a documentary about Kaname Harada, a former fighter pilot who flew the Imperial Japanese Navy's Type 0 Carrier Fighter, known simply as the "zero" or "zerosen" in Japanese.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 21, 2014

Japan spikers outplay Turkey in FIVB World Grand Prix Finals

Japan scored a clinical straight-sets (25-13, 25-17, 25-17) victory over Turkey in the second day of play in the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals at Ariake Colosseum on Thursday night.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2014

Sukiyaki Meets the World ... and the world gets to meet Toyama

In June of 1963, Kyu Sakamoto's "Ue wo Muite Aruko" — better known as "Sukiyaki" overseas — became Japan's first, and only, No. 1 hit single in the United States.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 21, 2014

'Bologna Illustrators Exhibition'

Since 1978, the Otani Museum has held annual exhibitions of prize-winning books from the Bologna Book Fair's illustration competition. This year there were 75 competition winners from 23 different countries, including 15 artists from Japan. This exhibition showcases winning books and features as its...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2014

Ford said to plan new hybrid series to compete with Toyota Prius

Ford Motor Co. plans to introduce a new hybrid gasoline-electric car in late 2018 to compete against the best-selling Toyota Prius, two sources with knowledge of the company's plans said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Aug 20, 2014

MLB names four stars for series against Samurai Japan

As the Nichibei Yakyu extravaganza returns for the first time in eight years, Major League Baseball looks set to bring a serious squad to Japan come November.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 20, 2014

The Great Beauty

'The Great Beauty" recalls two other films set in Rome: "La Dolce Vita" and "Roman Holiday." The former takes huge bites out of the city's decadence and debauchery in much the same way as "The Great Beauty." The latter takes a mere lick at the pleasures proffered by Rome and declares satisfaction. The...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Aug 20, 2014

Japan rallies past Russia at World Grand Prix Finals

Japan came from behind to defeat Russia in four sets (22-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-17) on the first day of play in the FIVB World Grand Prix Finals at Ariake Colosseum on Wednesday night.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 19, 2014

Coldrain deliver a stellar EP, but have we heard it before?

The buzz surrounding metal idols Babymetal and the success of metalcore act Crossfaith has brought more attention to Japan's heavy-music scene. Nagoya-based post-hardcore band Coldrain has been quick to take advantage of this with an EP titled "Until the End" — a six-song release that comes on the...

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