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SUMO
Mar 11, 2019

Sumo 101: Pusher-thrusters

When many people think of sumo, they imagine two large men locked in a vice-like grip straining to force each other out of a ring.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 9, 2019

The fight against HIV isn't over yet

The virus has been eradicated from a second patient. In the 20 years since the first cure, the science of prevention and management has transformed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2019

Namahage demon festival of northern Japan grapples with blessing and curse of UNESCO listing

As a child, Tatsuo Sato was terrified when the Namahage demons roared into his house every year, but in adulthood he mourned as the centuries-old tradition faded away.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2019

Tokyo restaurateur develops spore sheet to speed up aging of meat — and fish

Mikio Atobe carefully peels a layer of rayon netting from a chunk of farmed bluefin tuna, revealing a secondary sheet of cloth clinging to its exposed flesh, partially yellowed by the mold coating it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 28, 2019

Gang of Four's fluctuating degrees of animosity, 40 years on

British post-punk pioneers Gang of Four didn't come to Japan until 2005, nearly 30 years after the band formed. If guitarist Andy Gill had his way, it would have happened a lot sooner. "I clearly remember a conversation in the '80s about going to Japan," Gill says, sitting among an array of equipment...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 27, 2019

Dogen: Humor that's not lost in translation

Living in Japan can, from time to time, present a fair amount of frustration for non-Japanese, especially if they can't speak the language well. Long-term resident Kevin O'Donnell, who creates YouTube videos about Japan under the name "Dogen," isn't afraid to vent but avoids any vitriol.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 27, 2019

A rocky way forward for Henoko base

New U.S. base faces a double blow: a referendum defeat and an uphill construction battle.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 26, 2019

The accidental Atlanticist

Europeans must heed Mike Pence's dark warnings to achieve Joe Biden's bright vision
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Feb 24, 2019

There's so much that bonobos and chimps can teach humans

About 6 million years ago in Africa there was an ape species that would change the world. We don't know much about that animal, but we do know that one population separated from the rest and would eventually evolve into our species, Homo sapiens.
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Southeastern USA report 2019
Feb 22, 2019

Sweet Briar College: Forming the world’s women leaders

Set on 3,250 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, women’s liberal arts college Sweet Briar College has remained unswerving in its mission to prepare women for the workplace and guide them to become responsible global citizens.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Feb 16, 2019

Osaka in the spotlight ahead of G20 and elections

January and early February in Kansai, and Japan as a whole, is a busy time for local leaders. New Year's greetings are exchanged by (mostly) elderly men at stuffy buffet parties in luxury hotels. Their job is to stand around holding a white paper napkin-covered drink and toast to, well, something, after...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 15, 2019

Airbus A380 production halt to fuel transatlantic trade spat amid subsidy row

Airbus's decision to end production of the A380 looks set to reignite a transatlantic trade row over mutual claims of illegal aircraft subsidies, even as Airbus implements a two-year plan to stop making the world's largest airliner.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 13, 2019

LGBT couples to file lawsuit on Valentine's Day in push for equal marriage rights in Japan

Last fall, Ai Nakajima, 40, tied the knot in Germany with her long-time partner, Kristina Baumann, a 32-year-old from Berlin. But in Japan, where they live, Nakajima and Baumann share the fate of all same-sex couples in committed relationships — the denial of the right to formally marry their partners....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Feb 10, 2019

Japanese makeup guru on crusade to revamp men's grooming habits

As a university student, Hiroki Takahashi could barely step outside his home without a surgical mask on. Even when he did venture out, he was terrified of the fluorescent lighting ubiquitous in convenience stores and trains that ruthlessly illuminated what he was desperately trying to hide — a mass...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 7, 2019

House panel to probe Trump financial 'entanglement' with foreign governments

Vowing not to be "intimidated" by Donald Trump, the new Democratic chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said the panel will probe whether foreign governments had improper leverage over the president or his business interests.
CULTURE
Feb 5, 2019

Game for a laugh: Learning to become a manzai comedian

As I stand in the cramped wooden gangway at the side of the stage, going over my lines in a frantic whisper, I am reminded of something that American comedian Patrick Harlan had told me when we first met four months ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Feb 1, 2019

At Davos, a continued push for gender equality in global leadership positions

When world political and business leaders gather these days, trade, globalization and Brexit dominate the discussions, and the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum held last week was no exception.
Japan Times
SOCCER / From the Spot
Jan 31, 2019

Do or die for Samurai Blue

This week has provided ample opportunity for all of us who doubted Japan's ability to reach the Asian Cup final to take a long, deep drink from the fountain of hubris.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 31, 2019

The Future Eve gets experimental with prog rock pioneer Robert Wyatt

Progressive rock and experimental music personality Robert Wyatt said goodbye to the music world in 2014 when he announced his retirement with the cryptic statement, "there is a pride in (stopping), I don't want (the music) to go off." That didn't mean that something pre-dating his retirement wouldn't...
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 30, 2019

Tamawashi put on thrilling show during run to first title

Just prior to the 2018 September Tournament, while sitting in a sweltering Ryogoku Kokugikan and watching the Yokozuna Deliberation Council practice session, I grabbed a quick selfie with a couple of rikishi standing over my right shoulder.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2019

Takeda dengue vaccine meets main goal of trial; detailed results to come

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday that its experimental dengue vaccine appears to be safe and effective at preventing all four types of the mosquito-borne disease, meeting the main goal of the drugmaker's late-stage clinical trial.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 26, 2019

Wall retreat in U.S. shutdown deal leaves Trump battered but vowing to fight on

President Donald Trump, who famously vowed to negotiate big deals in the White House, came out of a government shutdown battle on Friday politically wounded and outmaneuvered by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 23, 2019

Story of Iwao Hakamada, boxer who spent 48 years on death row, to become manga series

The story of Iwao Hakamada, a former professional boxer and death-row inmate, 82, who continues to battle to clear his name over a 1966 quadruple murder, will be adapted into a manga series, supporters of the convict announced Wednesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 21, 2019

Emailing business connections in Japanese is simple if you remember a few handy phrases

The most important thing to remember when writing work-related emails is your manners. Polite Japanese is necessary even when dealing with someone you know, which means a lot of honorifics and thank-yous.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 15, 2019

Takahiko Kozuka aiming to enrich skating

When a skater's career comes to an end, they are often faced with a difficult choice about how to proceed with their life.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jan 12, 2019

Aiko Tanaka: A bundle of laughs in America

From dancing in clubs to stand-up comedy, Aiko Tanaka's experience in the U.S. has helped realize her dream of making it in the entertainment industry.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2019

New Year's party skipped as tensions run high between Osaka's ruling coalition partners

As Osaka enters 2019 with a full political schedule, including local and national elections and the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit, relations between ruling coalition partners Komeito and Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), a local political party, remain tense, creating potential political problems in both...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2019

Nuclear arms: A year of living dangerously

U.S. President Donald Trump's disdain for international institutions and rules established him as the disrupter in chief of the global nuclear order.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 6, 2019

China's Xi urges military to be ready for war amid 'risks and challenges' in 2019

Just days into the new year, Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his country's military to improve its combat readiness and prepare for the possibility of war while also warning of "unprecedented risks and challenges" in 2019.

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