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WORLD
Nov 27, 2014

Drone close-calls with airliners a daily occurence in U.S., FAA reports

Civilian drones are flying so close to airplanes so frequently that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is receiving almost one incident report a day.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 26, 2014

Documentaries at the margins of modern life

There is no film festival in Japan quite like the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (YIDFF).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 26, 2014

Yokudo: Lingering but confused gaze of indie director

Major film festivals, with their hurry-hurry schedules, are places to polish your sound bites, not launch into nuanced disquisitions. People want your opinion in 25 words or less. When someone asked me what I thought of Kiki Sugino's "Yokudo (Taksu)" after a screening at last month's Busan International...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 26, 2014

Fury: 'Discovering lost humanity in the hell of a ruthless war'

In the climactic scene of "Fury," Brad Pitt, playing a grimly determined tank commander, is hanging on to a turret machine gun and mowing down wave upon wave of Nazi troopers, as he and his four-man crew take on an entire enemy battalion. Amidst the smoke and blood, I had a sudden flashback to William...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 26, 2014

Monica Z: 'Shaky rise of Sweden's best-loved chanteuse'

Swedish jazz singer Monica Zetterlund was her country's best-loved chanteuse, but she wanted more. And the one thing that gave her a chance at global stardom? She could sing in English without a European accent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 26, 2014

DamNation: 'The U.S. obsession with river dams and hydroelectric power'

is not a perfect film, but it's an important one. The film — narrated in a low-key way by co-director Ben Knight — tracks America's love affair with river dams and hydroelectric power — from its progressive, put-people-to-work origins under Roosevelt in the 1930s to its obsession with damming...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Nov 26, 2014

This teacher's seen more ESL acronyms than you've had hot dinners

Even after long years teaching English in Japan, he still views himself as an avant-garde teaching artist, as can be seen by what insists he now be called: The Adjunct Instructor Formerly Known as Bob.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2014

Abe will have chance to name more women to BOJ board

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has a chance to appoint a second female to the Bank of Japan's Policy Board next year, which would mark a first in the institution's 132-year history, said one of his advisers, Etsuro Honda.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 26, 2014

'Mr. Yen' sees drop in exchange rate he forecast coming to an end

The 14 percent plunge in the yen since mid-year has about run its course, according to the former Finance Ministry official known as "Mr. Yen."
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 25, 2014

Pop artifice was never better with Aya Matsuura

When a pop singer who has long faded from the limelight suddenly starts appearing in your Twitter timeline in the form of glowing, nostalgic re-evaluations, they're either gearing up for a comeback . . . or dead.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2014

America playing cyberspy versus cyberspy

The U.S. is an active participant in a full-scale cyberwar with some of the most powerful governments in the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Nov 25, 2014

Tackle a mountain of tempura at Tottuan

Is there ever a good time to be under a train? Well, yes. If it happens to be in Tottuan, which is directly under the loop line in Osaka. Every time a train rolls by you hear it, feel it — but not in a startling way — it's just another part of the rhythm and ambience of a great little izakaya (Japanese...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
Nov 25, 2014

Ramen under the tracks

Usually I'm three sheets to the wind when I slurp down ramen, but the ramen at Fusama ni Kakero is worth staying sober for.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 25, 2014

Abe consumption tax backfiring with more debt, not less

What started as a plan to reduce the national debt is turning into a reason to issue more bonds.
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2014

China ready to cut rates again on fears of deflation: sources

China's leadership and central bank are ready to cut interest rates again and also loosen lending restrictions, concerned that falling prices could trigger a surge in debt defaults, business failures and job losses, according to sources involved in policymaking.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 24, 2014

Japanese language group puts compound verbs in one place

If nouns are the bones of a language, verbs are the blood that keeps it moving. The thing about Japanese is that there are so many of them that it is close to impossible to know them all, particularly if we include combinations of two single verbs. The good news is that the National Institute for Japanese...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Nov 24, 2014

Death with dignity advocate dies

A spokesman for a terminally ill Oregon woman with cancer says she has taken lethal medication prescribed by a doctor and died.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 24, 2014

Japan should be more German

Why has the 'Made in Germany' brand thrived over the last 15 or so years, even as 'Made in japan' grinds toward irrelevance?
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2014

Narendra Modi takes India's mojo to Australia

The process of Australia being drawn toward Asia is one in which a more ambitious India now looks set to play a much bigger part.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 24, 2014

Chinese tourists step up for Abe as Japanese tighten belts

When Jingyan Hou made her first trip to Japan in 1997, the office worker from Beijing spent ¥200,000 during a weeklong stay on accommodations, meals, transport and souvenirs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 24, 2014

Local governments finally getting around to public toilets

There will soon be many more Western-style toilets in Chiba Prefecture's public rest rooms
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 24, 2014

Landmark Tunisian presidential election seen heading for runoff

Tunisians have voted to pick their first directly elected president, with the two major parties expecting a run-off as the final step in the North African state's transition to full democracy following a 2011 revolution that ousted longtime ruler Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.

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