Search - people

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2015

Director Koji Fukada explores nuanced human-robot divide in 'Sayonara'

Whether it's the anthropomorphic cyborg cat Doraemon, Sony's artificially intelligent canine pet Aibo or even baby harp seals created to assist dementia patients, robots have long been recognized in Japan as capable of providing therapeutic and emotional assistance for their human owners.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2015

Ryosuke Hashiguchi's inspired drama about love and loss

Watching recent Japanese films, I often have the feeling that their makers need an imagination injection, or simply need to get out more. It's not just that few, especially at the commercial end of the spectrum, work from original scripts. Plenty of great movies are adapted from other media.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 11, 2015

Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo's 'White God' lacks teeth

Man and his best friend are having some serious relationship issues in "White God." Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo's tale of a teenage girl and her beloved hound is the stuff of canine nightmares, set in a present-day Budapest that feels more like a dog dystopia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Nov 11, 2015

Mitaka Community Cinema relives the glory days of local theaters

Ah, for the days of real movie theaters. Just as a certain Seattle-based company has made the brick-and-mortar bookstore obsolete, the real-deal cinema house died a slow death — first maimed by the multiplex and then killed by the Internet.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 11, 2015

Fantasy sports websites to stop taking bets in New York state

The New York state attorney general on Tuesday ordered the fantasy sports sites DraftKings and FanDuel to stop accepting bets in New York, saying the operations are essentially illegal gambling, according to copies of letters to the companies seen by Reuters.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Nov 10, 2015

Mao begins long road to Pyeongchang with victory

"It's just the same as Patrick Chan last week. It's as if she has never been away. In fact, it looked fresher than ever."
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2015

Reconstruction minister denies misuse of political funds, underwear theft

Reconstruction minister Tsuyoshi Takagi on Tuesday dismissed any notion he will step down and denied separate allegations that he misused political funds and stole a young woman's underwear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 10, 2015

A photo finish between ukiyo-e and the camera

The idea for the smart, complex and challenging exhibition "From Ukiyo-e to Photography" at the Edo-Tokyo Museum started from the discovery of two images. One is a photograph of the Meiji-Era (1867-1912) Minister of Home Affairs Toshimichi Okubo, taken in Paris in 1878. The second is a color ukiyo-e...
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2015

Nominees announced for year's top buzzwords

The Jiyukokuminsha publishing house on Tuesday announced 50 nominees for this year's top buzzwords, covering everything from the "bakugai" (explosive shopping spree) carried out by Chinese tourists to "Goromaru pozu," referring to rugby star Ayumu Goromaru's characteristic clasping of his hands before...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2015

In first, Japanese researchers observe chimp mother and sister caring for disabled infant

A Japanese study of a chimpanzee mother caring for her disabled infant in the wild has shed light on how humans developed their social behavior.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Nov 10, 2015

SeaWorld will phase out San Diego orca show

SeaWorld said on Monday it plans to replace its signature "Shamu" killer whale shows in San Diego with displays focused on "conservation," after grappling with sagging attendance and years of criticism over treatment of the captive marine mammals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Nov 9, 2015

Kind of dead as Trump hosts Saturday Night Live

There's a certain look a cast member gets that longtime viewers of comedy show "Saturday Night Live" can instantly recognize. In many ways, it's this look, and the performer's mastery of it, that separates the truly great "SNL" performers from your run-of-the-mill hacks. You know this look: It's the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 9, 2015

Real, imagined and forgotten fears stalk Japanese phrases

A look at how fears and anxieties are expressed in daily conversation in Japanese.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Nov 9, 2015

Offering up examples and even-ifs with 'tatoeba' and 'tatoe'

This week we introduce the two adverbs u305fu3068u3048 and u305fu3068u3048u3070.
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 9, 2015

Senior Chinese officer in Djibouti following base rumors

A senior Chinese military officer is visiting the Horn of Africa country Djibouti, where he inspected a Chinese warship participating in anti-piracy patrols, China's Defence Ministry said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 7, 2015

Aomori's moving castle and other architectural tales

Once every century, Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture experiences an unusual event — the Hirosaki Moving Castle Project — when the city relocates an entire castle using manpower only.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 7, 2015

Cheers to Hirosaki's latest use of its apples

If you ask someone about Aomori Prefecture, it is likely that the subject of apples would pop up in conversation sooner or later. The city of Hirosaki boasts the title of holding the highest apple crop yields in Japan, producing 160,000 tons of apples per year, and being home to more than 6,000 orchards...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 7, 2015

TV Asahi gets 'The Scoop' on false convictions

Last week the Tokyo Shimbun ran an article about Keiko Aoki and Tatsuhiro Boku, the couple convicted of murdering Aoki's 11-year-old daughter in 1995 and sentenced to life in prison. The upcoming retrial, which will likely reverse the guilty verdict, may reveal that the Osaka pair were coerced into making...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 7, 2015

South Korea's new state textbook 'corrects' history

South Korea recently announced plans for a revisionist textbook that will whitewash that country's history and has the academic community outraged over political meddling. At least the move gives South Korean President Park Geun-hye something in common with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes