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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 20, 2016

Ghosts go hunting for the living in 'The Inerasable'

Have you ever walked down a corridor or into a room in the dead of night with your heart beating and your skin crawling? Something spooks you, for reasons that — in the clear light of day — seem to have to nothing to do with the real world. Or do they?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 19, 2016

The frayed edges of modern Japan

In the Edo Period (1603-1868) and the years that followed, Japan made strenuous efforts to bring together its patchwork of feudal regions into a strongly centralized state with a unified culture. Accordingly, the nation now is one of the most homogenous in the world. But there are a couple of places...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 18, 2016

Kudo, Saito lead Class of '16 into Japan's Baseball Hall of Fame

Masaki Saito and Kimiyasu Kudo, a pair of former MVP hurlers, were voted into the Japanese baseball Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Monday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2016

Inspiration that comes in dreams and rice balls

Ichiko Aoba takes her seat at an old-fashioned coffee house in Tokyo's Shibuya district, and places a sketchpad and a plump pouch of rolling tobacco on the table. During the hour-long conversation that follows, the tobacco goes untouched, but the sketchpad gets a thorough workout. As she talks, the 25-year-old...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 16, 2016

Asia is imperiled by COP21's climate cop-out

The nations of the world gathered at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) last month to come to an agreement on the urgent mission of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, all they produced was an attractive vision statement that is more sham than solution.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 16, 2016

The ink-stained road: ‘age of adventure’

If foreign visitors to Japan in the Edo Period (1603-1868) ran certain risks by committing their impressions of the country to paper in a totalitarian state that worked hard to maintain its obscurity, the new Meiji Era (1868-1912) positively encouraged attention.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Jan 15, 2016

Iwaki FC owners aiming for the stars with new club

Dome Corporation president Shuichi Yasuda has the vision, Satoshi Okura the know-how and former Dutch international and Rangers player Pieter Huistra the experience. The goal now is to combine their respective talents as they embark on the task of building a professional soccer club from scratch.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 15, 2016

China's Xinjiang region adopts nondiscrimination rules amid ethnic violence

China's western region of Xinjiang has set new rules to boost "ethnic solidarity," state media said on Friday, amid roiling violence between Muslim Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese that has left hundreds dead in recent years.
CULTURE / Music / David Bowie in Japan
Jan 15, 2016

Bowie’s portable Japan

I first learned that David Bowie had died while riding the Beetle jetfoil ferry from South Korea to Japan. Of the myriad thoughts that flooded through my mind during the crossing — for Bowie has been my lodestar, an absolutely determinant influence in my life as the musician Momus — was the bittersweet...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / David Bowie in Japan
Jan 14, 2016

Like some cat from Japan: A tribute to David Bowie

The late David Bowie's appreciation of Japan and its culture was strong. Following his recent death, The Japan Times asked five people who share that connection with the country, and who witnessed the decade-spanning trajectory of this starman, to recall what his sound and vision meant to them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 14, 2016

Tao takes an innovative approach to drum shows

The slogan goes, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Drum troupe Tao, however, thinks a successful show in Sin City could be the springboard to bigger things around the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 13, 2016

As Okinawa confronts dioxin, Vietnam offers lessons

Health monitoring and safety measures are urged as U.S. military denials fly in the face of mounting evidence of contamination on the island.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jan 13, 2016

U.S.-Philippine military deal ruling likely to bolster Tokyo's ties with Manila

A top-court ruling may bolster Manila's security ties with Tokyo as it grapples with an increasingly bellicose Beijing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 13, 2016

Brutal true story behind 'Moby Dick'

Finally we can start talking about something other than "the force" and how a guy in New York had his name legally changed to Darth Vader. "In the Heart of the Sea" is opening this weekend, and it's an adventure story on a whole other level, involving a killer whale instead of aliens. Set in 1820 and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 12, 2016

Japan revamps map symbols that baffle tourists

The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) has released a set of new standard symbols for foreign-language maps after criticism that some of its current pictograms are hard to understand or are even offensive.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jan 11, 2016

Japan moves to develop homegrown GPS

With the proliferation of smartphones and other devices, the use of GPS — the global positioning system — has become ubiquitous. From pinpointing one's location to getting directions online, satellite-based navigation is driving the interactive use of online maps.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jan 11, 2016

As foreign crises pile up, experts think Obama will take few risks during final year in office

As Barack Obama prepares to deliver his final State of the Union address Tuesday night, the U.S. president and his aides have insisted he will not be content simply to run out the clock on foreign policy and is acting decisively to tackle crises piling up around the globe.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 9, 2016

The heights and falls of Miyajima Island

My alarm sounded at 6:45 a.m., but I quickly silenced it and rolled over in my futon. I enjoyed a fleeting moment of quietude before the thrumming of rubber soles on pavement and accompanying excited voices crescendoed, a brief multilingual hubbub that then faded away for a minute or two before rising...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2016

Haneda, Itami airports top global punctuality list; JAL, ANA crack top five airlines

Two of Japan's airports were the world's most punctual in 2015, and two of its airlines were among the world's top five, OAG Aviation's annual report says.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2016

Can the Dubai model inspire other Arab states?

The United Arab Emirates offer a path ahead based on globalization and compromise, which the region badly needs.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?