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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2013

S.T. Dupont logs doubled sales on revamped lineup

French hand-made luxury goods maker S.T. Dupont's president said Thursday that sales in Japan have doubled over the past three years after the company reduced its product lineup to mainly pens and lighters.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 27, 2013

Maglev veteran keeps looking toward the future

The route for the Linear Chuo Shinkansen between Tokyo and Nagoya has been announced, and the country's first magnetically levitated train is moving toward the start of operations in 2027.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 27, 2013

'There will be people who walk out of the cinema, I'm sure'

In a drab building in central Scotland, one afternoon in the armpit of winter, an actor who looks a lot like nice-guy James McAvoy is persuading a room full of blokes to — I'm paraphrasing here — Xerox their cocks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Sep 26, 2013

Shopping tips from the Costco queen

Talk about a crazy idea: A big-box American retailer seeks to enter a market where customers value precision and sophistication in their shopping experience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 25, 2013

'Divisionism from Van Gogh and Seurat to Mondrian'

Neo-impressionists, divisionism, painting, National Art Center
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 25, 2013

'Comical Ukiyo-e: Humorous Pictures and the School of Kuniyoshi'

The Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan is well known for its economic growth and strong social order, but a lesser known fact is that people of this era also enjoyed comedy.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Sep 24, 2013

'Grandma export' exposes Germany's struggle with care

Sonja Miskulin has forgotten her beloved cat, Pooki. She can't remember whether she has grandchildren and has no memory of her nine-hour journey one recent Sunday to forever leave behind her home in Germany.
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2013

The Fed's surprise decision

The decision by the U.S. Fed to continue its bond-buying program surprised financial market players who had thought that the U.S. was on a path of gradual economic recovery.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2013

Handset makers brace for turbulence

With all three of Japan's top telecoms firms selling the iPhone, industry observers say handset makers are in for tough times.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 20, 2013

Sony expects price, content to up PS4 sales

Sony Corp. expects the lower price of the PlayStation 4 and wider variety of entertainment services to drive its forecast to sell 5 million units of the game console by the end of March.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 20, 2013

Animal shelters strive to reduce euthanasia

The Welfare and Management of Animals Law was revised Sept. 1 in an attempt to reduce the number of abandoned dogs and cats.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2013

The remaking of the Middle East

It is the state system established by the European imperial powers, not merely regimes, that is unraveling in the Middle East.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INNOVATIVE CITY FORUM
Sep 17, 2013

Creating healthier ecosystems in future cities by rethinking urban areas from scratch

The mass production of affordable automobiles is perhaps one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INNOVATIVE CITY FORUM
Sep 17, 2013

Beyond the Residence — Imagining a House for the Nostalgic Future

(Publicity)
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 14, 2013

Rescuing gadgets from the golden age of 'Made in Japan'

Piles of old electronic gadgetry, most of it out of order, clutter Junichi Matsuzaki's "studio" on the first floor of an aging public apartment building in Adachi Ward in northeastern Tokyo. To visitors the outdated technology may look like junk, but to the 53-year-old self-proclaimed consumer electronics...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 13, 2013

My day at the races

The surface of the coffee in my Starbucks cup begins its gentle dance, the signal to lift my head.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2013

Compactness key to Olympics plan

The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics will be a compact games, with roughly 75 percent of the sports venues within 8 km of the Olympic Village, according to the official plan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 13, 2013

Home of Zero fighter drawing Miyazaki fans

"Kaze Tachinu" ("The Wind Rises") was director Hayao Miyazaki's last feature-length anime before he retired this month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2013

Real-world validations of our digital realm

"We are now living in a super, hyper-extended information society," says curator Masafumi Fukugawa, "and that idea was the starting point for our new exhibition."
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Sep 11, 2013

Tower Japan boss says biggest challenge facing record stores is attracting young customers

A few weeks ago I was preparing to do a guest slot on InterFM’s “The Selector” program, which features music mavens sharing their favorite tracks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2013

'Soul of Meiji: Edward Sylvester Morse, His Day by Day With Kindhearted People'

American zoologist Edward Sylvester Morse was one of the leading figures in the popularization of Japanese ceramic art overseas. While on a science research trip to Japan in 1877, Morse amassed a collection of more than 5,000 pieces of pottery. For his service and academic contributions to Japan, he...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2013

'Homage to Henri Rousseau: The World of Naive Painters and Outsiders'

Tax collector-turned-Post-Impressionist artist, Henri Rousseau was a self-taught painter known for his Naive works. Though it took time for his style, which was often described as simplistic and childlike, to be accepted by art critics, he helped pave the way for other talented untrained artists.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 10, 2013

Earth's largest volcano found in Pacific Ocean east of Japan

The largest single volcano ever found on Earth lies quietly in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, about 1,500 km east of Japan, having been extinct for millions of years. Scientists have now discovered the dome-shaped behemoth, which has a footprint the size of New Mexico.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 7, 2013

Ballet prodigy gets a big lift from mom

Sixteen-year old ballerina Miko Fogarty may be an American teen prodigy, but despite hailing from that land steeped in stardom culture, she seems to have none of the usual celebrity trappings — or to be particularly interested in them.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past