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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
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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
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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...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 16, 2014

Punk author Kou Machida on his offbeat samurai story

You wouldn't expect a punk musician to write decent novels, any more than you'd expect a boxer to be good at darning. The talents prized by the former vocation — restlessness, insouciance, hard-wired disregard for authority — don't lend themselves to the rigors of the author's life: all those long,...
Japan Times
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Aug 16, 2014

Obic Seagulls lose Sister Cities International Bowl in Alabama

The Obic Seagulls, Japan's top football team, came up short against the APDFL Blazers on Thursday, losing 16-12 in the Sister Cities International Bowl in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2014

A Wi-Fi router could flood your house

Pretty much all home Wi-Fi routers can be hacked, which is a problem if you've already adopted connected light bulbs and faucets.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Aug 15, 2014

Latest in apps, toys and gadgets

Go with the Floe in the bath tub
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Aug 15, 2014

Developing countries get lesson in basic health from Japanese schools

Developing countries are studying health measures used in Japanese schools, such as regular body measurements, lunch distribution and the use of school infirmaries, to promote the health of their own schoolchildren.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2014

How Japan's art inspired the West

In the decades after Japan was forcibly opened to large-scale international trade in the early 1850s, a fever spread across Europe for items from the exotic country: its textiles, ceramics, paper fans, woodblock prints and more. Meanwhile, the term "Japonism" was coined to describe works made in Europe...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 13, 2014

Clowning gets serious in Slava's show

"Slava's Snowshow" feels like a dream — and occasionally a nightmare. Its surreal scenarios play out one after another on a stage set with seemingly oversized, fluffy blankets that give the audience a sense of being tucked inside a child's bed. There's no real narrative — but as in dreams, there...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 12, 2014

Crzkny unites artists against nuclear power

Electronic-music producer Kenji Takikawa's work took a major detour following the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 9, 2014

Sun-dazed on a distant archipelago

It didn't take long for a seasoned group of truck drivers to stake their claim to the best seats in the house or, in this case, ferry. They positioned themselves on tiny plastic seats at the rear of the open deck as the ferry left Tomari Port in Naha City, Okinawa, bound for the island of Kumejima. More...

Longform

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