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BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Oct 19, 2015

Hara leaves big shoes for next Giants manager to fill

Other than the timing, the news of Tatsunori Hara's decision to step down as manager of the Yomiuri Giants didn't exactly come out of left field.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Oct 18, 2015

Residents upset over condominium overhaul

It is a common sight in Japan to see houses or condominiums undergoing a spruce up. Covered in tarpaulins and wrapped in a steel cage of scaffolding, this state of affairs can last from just a few weeks to several months, depending on the scale of the renovations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2015

Kero Kero Bonito blend English and Japanese rap into bouncy pop tracks

Sarah Midori Perry remembers checking MixB, an online bulletin board for Japanese expats in London, almost every day ... and feeling underwhelmed.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Oct 18, 2015

Beck, Oga looking to change women's basketball culture

First in a two-part series
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 17, 2015

What's in a name? Japan debates whether to allow spouses to adopt separate surnames

Upper House lawmaker Mizuho Fukushima and her partner, Yuichi Kaido, have been together for about 40 years. They don't celebrate any kind of anniversary, however, because they've never been officially married.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 17, 2015

Fired up about Gifu's pottery industry

Toki, a small town in Gifu Prefecture, 37 km from Nagoya, sits above a huge clay basin. Pottery has been made here since ancient times.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 17, 2015

No sex talk please, we're Japanese

The education ministry recently came under fire for supplementary materials it had distributed to high schools this summer. The materials were given out to help girls lead "healthier lives," but a chart about pregnancy included in the literature was found to be misleading.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Oct 17, 2015

Localization: Has Japan lost the plot?

Japan once ruled and defined the global gaming industry. In the arcade age, Japanese developers gave us "Pac-Man," "Space Invaders" and "Donkey Kong." In the era of physical consoles: "Metal Gear Solid," "Snatcher," "Final Fantasy" and "Silent Hill." Japan's creative use of technology, physical design...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2015

Syrian war gives Russia a chance to test weapons

The Kremlin appears to only be setting short-term tactical goals in Syria; one of which is to battle-test and show off new military hardware.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 14, 2015

Photographic portal to a secret, bygone world

'The things happening on Tokyo's streets are always fascinating to me," Nobuyoshi Araki told me during an interview in 2012. Though best known for being the maestro of Japanese erotica, Araki has retained a particular love for street photography. Now 75, he still loves to prowl around the streets of...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 13, 2015

Strong bullpen helped transform Swallows into title contenders

If you don't get to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows early, you might not get to the Birds at all.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 10, 2015

'Omotenashi' comes up short on humility

A Japanese friend who used to travel a lot for work told me of a funny thing that once happened to her in a Tokyo hotel. She was checking in when a bellhop came up and, without saying anything, picked up her bag. She resented the presumption and tried to yank it out of his hand. A silent tug of war ensued....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 10, 2015

Japan's rich: acutely aware of their wealth and not flashy with it

It's often said that in Japan you may live right next door to a millionaire and not know it, because his house looks just like yours.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 8, 2015

Facebook is following you around the Internet

Social media platforms like Facebook may be pretty intrusive in how they follow your Internet activity, but that's the price of using these 'free' services.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 8, 2015

South Carolina flood death toll climbs to 17; weakening dams threaten communities

Flooding from historic rainfall in South Carolina claimed two more lives on Wednesday, and the threat of further inundation from swollen rivers and vulnerable dams put already ravaged communities on edge.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2015

Kiev learning hard lesson about Western support

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has underestimated the determination of France and Germany to get the Ukrainian matter out of the way in the most efficient manner possible.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 2, 2015

If Trump dumps NAFTA and its benefits, U.S. companies, consumers could take big hit

Donald Trump has pledged to renegotiate or terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying that it's been a disaster for the U.S.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 30, 2015

'A Most Violent Year' conjures up the moral ambiguity of '70s cinema

Early on in my career in the music business, an older, wiser artist gave me some advice that has always stuck with me: A contract is only as good as your lawyer. In other words, when it comes to anything short of a fingerprint on a murder weapon, it doesn't matter what the law says, only having the money...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 29, 2015

Saakashvili for Ukraine prime minister?

Reform-minded Mikheil Saakashvili will need a miracle to effect much-needed changes in Ukraine.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 27, 2015

Can art bring people back to Japan's depopulated islands?

I've seen island revitalization projects come and go, but the idea of an NPO riding on the coattails of a successful art trend in the area strikes me as having some promise.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 27, 2015

Legal change will make temp purgatory permanent for many Japanese workers

Eight years ago, a TV drama about temporary workers generated a great deal of excitement around Japan. In "Haken no Hinkaku" ("Dignity of a Temp"), model-actress-singer Ryoko Shinohara played Haruko Omae, a "super-temp" who masterfully tackled the myriad troubles that arose in her ¥3,000-an-hour job....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 26, 2015

A misanthropic memoir from Meiji Era Tokyo

Kansuke Naka's childhood memoir, "The Silver Spoon: Memoir of a Boyhood in Japan," is a charming depiction of life in Meiji Era (1868-1912) Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2015

Could 2016 really see a Trump vs. Sanders race?

Those who quickly wrote off Donald Trump as a buffoon failed to see that he has shrewdly read the Republican zeitgeist, and that he knows precisely where to stick the knife into competitors.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 22, 2015

U.S. presidential race stokes fears of new wave of Islamophobia

Muslim Americans responded with a mix of frustration, exasperation and anger to what many see as a growing wave of Islamophobia fueled by two of the Republican Party's most popular presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Ben Carson.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Sep 19, 2015

Matsui ready to be shooting star

The lack of a presence underneath the basket has been Japanese basketball's everlasting issue. So Kenji Hasegawa, the current men's national team head coach, looks more to his outside players than inside muscle, relying on their perimeter shooting to carry the offense.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers