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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 22, 2022

‘I Am Makimoto’: Sadawo Abe isn't what this ‘Still Life’ remake needed

Sadawo Abe plays a lonely, eccentric bureaucrat assigned with tracking down the relatives of those who have died alone in Nobuo Mizuta's remake of a British drama by Uberto Pasolini.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 13, 2022

William Klein, who photographed the energy of city life, dies at 96

William Klein, one of his generation's most celebrated photographers, navigated multiple disciplines, breaking rules and expectations along the way.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 26, 2022

Japanese insurers sell heatstroke coverage during sizzling summer

Sompo Holdings and Sumitomo Life Insurance, two of the country's biggest insurers, are offering policies specifically designed to cover medical expenses arising from heatstroke.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 21, 2022

‘Tsuyukusa’: A charming second shot at love and life

Satomi Kobayashi gives an endearing performance as a single woman whose life takes an unexpected turn after a close call with a meteorite.
A field study by elementary school students takes place in the Izawa River basin in Shiso, Hyogo Prefecture.
LIFE / Travel
Dec 24, 2023

Unveiling Shiso, a hidden gem of nature and coexistence

With 90% of its area covered by forest, the Hyogo city boasts picturesque streams and a bounty of access points to refreshing natural spring water.
Shinjuku's Kabukicho is filled with colorful individuals that give the neighborhood its character.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Dec 22, 2023

Christmastime in Shinjuku Golden Gai

One of Tokyo's most storied watering holes gets a little quiet during the holidays now that it relies quite a bit on tourists.
The thick, supposedly lucky sushi rolls of Setsubun are full of it.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 31, 2024

How a trendy sushi roll usurped the traditions of Setsubun

The lore around “ehōmaki” sounds just whacky enough to make it an old custom, but it turns out to be a fairly recent phenomenon.
A native of Seoul who grew up in Shanghai, Hana Yoon moved to New York to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America when she was 20 years old.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 4, 2024

In Japan’s age-old capital, a young head chef stirs the pot

Upon her arrival in Kyoto, Yoon spent four months delving into the distinctive varieties of “kyōyasai,” vegetables grown in Kyoto and its suburbs.
Tokyo is filled to the brim with anime-related activities and attractions, but the best require a little digging to enjoy to the fullest.
LIFE / Travel
Feb 10, 2024

An anime otaku's blueprint to nerding out in Tokyo — and beyond

The first step to taking anime otaku-dom to the next level is to educate yourself on the history and evolution of the medium.
The “myahk,” a community currency implemented on Okinawa Prefecture’s Miyako Island in 2018, is intimately tied to local efforts for environmental preservation.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Feb 10, 2024

Japanese communities are creating currencies to educate and empower citizens

The yen will do when paying for things throughout the country. In some places, though, you may try paying with a coin that also helps reduce plastic waste.
After stints working in New Zealand and Germany, Yoshitada Katsuki opened his winery in his home prefecture of Miyazaki in order to work with grapes his own way.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Feb 24, 2024

Despite ‘inhospitable’ Miyazaki, Katsuki Wines stays au naturel

For pest control, Yoshitada Katsuki applies to vines a solution of vinegar, sugar and local shōchū that he jokes “lets bugs get drunk before dying.”
A group of departed souls trapped in limbo tries to find closure — and finish an uncompleted movie — in Michihito Fujii’s “The Parades.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 29, 2024

‘The Parades’: Glossy afterlife drama is no ‘After Life’

Michihito Fujii’s wistful film is less than the sum of its influences.
Fans watch spring training game between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, on Saturday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 18, 2024

The Angels adjust to life after Shohei Ohtani

Losing a player like Ohtani does not make any team better. But it has allowed players to breathe a little more easily.
Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy when she became an adult.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024

The bonsai master working to branch out an age-old craft

Kaori Yamada grew up surrounded by bonsai her whole life and was expected to carry on her family's 170-year-old legacy or otherwise end it.
From sending too many emojis than your partner might be expecting to delaying a response in order to avoid seeming overeager, the texting portion of a young relationship is unexpectedly fraught with peril.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 23, 2024

The subtle art of texting your crush for the first time

Gen Z dating app users are 50% more likely than millennials to delay responding to a message "to avoid seeming overeager.”
Japanese chocolatier Yasushi Sasaki holds a box of chocolates in his workshop in the Brussels commune of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 27, 2024

A Japanese 'flavor wizard' conquers the homeland of chocolate

Yasushi Sasaki has been named Brussels' chocolatier of the year by the prestigious Gault & Millau food guide.
Wildlife researcher Amelia Hiorns says Japan's bears feel the pressure of human presence and have learned that encountering us is not worth their time.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 30, 2024

Amelia Hiorns: 'Guiding and introducing people to Japan's nature has been rewarding'

Wildlife researcher Amelia Hiorns shares how separate interests in Japan and in bears culminated in conservation work in the mountains of Nagano.
Historian Frederik Cryns’ “In the Service of the Shogun” is a biography of William Adams, the inspiration for the character John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis) in “Shogun.” Cryns also served as a historical adviser on the FX TV series.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 4, 2024

'Shogun' adviser dives into main character's real-life counterpart for new book

After working on the FX TV series, historian Frederik Cryns explores the life of William Adams in detail for his biography, "In the Service of the Shogun."
Masafumi Kurisaka shows off a box of luxury Sakura Momo Ichigo strawberries, which can fetch a hefty price at auction.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 15, 2024

Masafumi Kurisaka: 'The fewer the flowers, the bigger the strawberry'

Masafumi Kurisaka turned his back on a corporate job to go into the family business: luxury strawberries that fetch a hefty price.
A body disposal expert for criminals (Yuya Endo, right) tries to protect a defiant teen (Kokoro Morita) from a ruthless gangster in “Tatsumi.”
CULTURE / Film
Apr 18, 2024

'Tatsumi’: Gang life drama goes for violence overkill

Hiroshi Shoji’s blood-soaked feature presents a sympathetic and layered protagonist fighting to make amends.
Specializing in gastronomy-themed tours, Arigato Travel, founded and directed by Anne Kyle, was once a one-woman operation. Today, it counts more than 100 employees.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2024

Anne Kyle: 'People want to know what life actually is like here’

The founder and CEO of Arigato Travel grew her business from a one-woman operation to a national outfit of more than 100 employees in a matter of years.
The trial hearing of Masumi Hayashi, who denied killing four people and poisoning 63 at a festival by lacing a pot of curry with arsenic, was the focus of The Japan Times’ front page of May 14, 1999.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
May 1, 2024

Japan Times 1999: Hayashi admits fraud, denies curry murders

The disturbing case of the Wakayama curry killer would continue for years, resulting in the eventual execution of the woman convicted of the crime.
Andy Summers’  exhibition “A Series of Glances,” currently on view in Tokyo and Kyoto simultaneously, features photographs taken in a wide range of locations around the world, including “Centaur,” which was snapped in Montserrat in July 1981.
CULTURE / Art
May 9, 2024

Andy Summers captures life on and off stage in moody monochrome

The guitarist for The Police, who cites Akira Kurosawa as an important influence, puts his passion for photography on display in Japan.
With a rise in the number of single elderly people in Japan, local governments are offering support for their end-of-life preparations.
JAPAN / Society
May 9, 2024

Japan local governments offering support for end-of-life preparations

According to a health ministry survey, the number of single-person households with members aged 65 or older came to 8.73 million in 2022.
The idea of quitting tends to be associated with weakness, but moving on from a problematic situation can sometimes be extremely positive.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 10, 2024

Sometimes there's power in quitting

Modern society tends to see quitting as a sign of weakness, but Buddhist teaching has extolled the benefits of letting go of something at the right time.
As the entire world is fixated on Gaza, the Iranian government has been arresting girls who go out in the street without headscarves and executing people.
COMMENTARY / World
May 10, 2024

Don't let Gaza help Iran cloak its own repression

As the entire world is fixated on Gaza, the Iranian government has been arresting girls who go out in the street without headscarves and executing people.
After his family loses its political influence, Prince Takaoka leaves his life in Japan behind and embarks on an adventure across Asia in Tatsuhiko Shibusawa’s “Takaoka’s Travels.”
CULTURE / Books
May 14, 2024

‘Takaoka’s Travels’: The fantastical romp of a real-life royal turned monk

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa’s outlandish novel is based on a real-life Japanese prince who set out for India, only to go missing along the way.
Author Yukio Mishima accepts the Arts Festival Award in the drama category at the 20th Arts Festival Award Ceremony on Jan. 22, 1966.
LIFE / Bilingual
May 16, 2024

Unraveling the Japanese prose of Yukio Mishima

Achieving success at a young age, Yukio Mishima's creative use of compound verbs and kanji stand out in his writing.
Here are a handful of places around Tokyo where you can treat the dad in your life to the pampering they deserve.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 12, 2024

Retro barbers, executive facials: Pamper dad with a Tokyo spa day

Despite forward-thinking on male grooming, Japan markets these pampering services largely toward women — but here are a few places dad might enjoy this Father's Day.

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