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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 11, 2014

Armies ready for battle in final 'Hobbit' film

There's a scene in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Volume 2" where Michael Madsen's Budd character asks Daryl Hannah's Elle: "Now you ain't gonna hafta face your enemy on the battlefield no more, which 'R' are you filled with: relief or regret?"
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2014

Aging brings gray hair ... and greater happiness

In our mind's eye, old age is to be endured as much as enjoyed, since people fear declining health, growing dependence and increasing social isolation. Then why do public opinion surveys show that, on average, people count themselves happier after age 65?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / Q&A
Dec 9, 2014

'Right to be forgotten' on the Internet gains traction in Japan

The Internet has made fact-checking easy and people routinely use it for this end, for example, to Google client names and personal backgrounds before their first business meeting, or to take a quick glance at a potential new hire's reputation.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 8, 2014

Relief in Philippines as typhoon Hagupit weakens, leaving 21 dead

Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos returned on Monday to homes battered by a powerful typhoon, amid relief that a massive evacuation operation appeared to have minimized fatalities.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 8, 2014

Protests against Eric Garner verdict pick up steam on U.S. west coast

Organizers of New York City's protests against police violence huddled on Sunday to explore fresh ways to keep people engaged in the struggle, mindful that the tide of demonstrators has ebbed over the last couple of days.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 6, 2014

Code + culture: new media art from Japan

Domestic media artists have been using programming code in recent years to create some astonishing works of art. We look back at how this scene developed over the years and examine four contemporary artists who have defined the way the genre has evolved.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 6, 2014

Poverty takes on a new look in today's Japan

In the early years of the 21st century, such neologisms as nyū puā (new poor) and wākingu puā (working poor) began appearing in the Japanese media. Like their equivalents overseas, the terms were typically applied to people unable to realize a decent livelihood while holding down a job, or even more...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Dec 6, 2014

Oh deer, what a waste of food and fashion

In summer this year, my photographer chum Conan Morimoto brought a fashion-designer friend of his by the name of Teruki Uchise to talk to me and visit our Afan Trust woods outside Kurohime in the Nagano Prefecture foothills of the Northern Alps.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 4, 2014

Designers illuminate us on their winter wonders

When you think of Japanese art forms, many cultural pursuits will come to mind. The grace of ikebana, perhaps, or the beauty of ukiyo-e woodblock prints. At this time of year it becomes clear, though, that holiday lighting displays — referred to simply as "illumination" — are where the country's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 30, 2014

Video shop worker jolted into career as diversity advocate

When the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit in January 1995, Taro Tamura, then 23, was quick to sense the need in foreign communities for disaster-related information.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 29, 2014

Milton Miltiadous: 'Now is the start of the future, and the end of the past'

Life coach Milton Miltiadous on expensive wine, Santa Claus and ancient Rome
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 28, 2014

Horie sees bitcoin as route to more security, less government

The failure earlier this year of Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox may have stirred Japanese doubts about the credibility of the digital currency.
COMMENTARY
Nov 27, 2014

In India, sadly, flying and fighting go together

Why do manners go out the window as soon as Indians board a plane?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Nov 27, 2014

Paper watch to test Sony's innovation revamp

Sony Corp. is developing a watch made out of electronic paper for release as soon as next year in a trial of the company's new venture-style approach to creating products, according to people familiar with the matter.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2014

What global warming? Pass me a blanket

Unfortunately for proponents of climate change, people subconsciously use the current local temperature as a clue to whether global temperatures are increasing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2014

'Washi' paper-making village hopes UNESCO designation will bring tailwind

Villagers in Higashi-Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, are riding high.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2014

Lowering the recidivism rate

The National Police Agency's 2014 white paper shows that the recidivism rate has been on a steady rise since 1997.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Nov 23, 2014

Once-stopgap market is much-loved symbol of recovery for Tohoku town

Initially a stopgap measure in the absence of local shops, the monthly morning market in Minamisanriku has become a cherished institution.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 22, 2014

Can women really 'shine' under Abe?

The prime minister has vowed to help women break the glass ceiling in the workplace but critics have questioned his motivation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2014

Heritage listing a wake-up call for taking charge of Mount Fuji cleanup

Alpinist Ken Noguchi was devastated by Mount Fuji's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage site last year because the mountain's problems, including its excessive garbage and the irresponsible people who climb and manage it, had not been resolved.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Nov 19, 2014

Jamaican sisters come bearing victuals and vibes

Baye McNeil profiles two Jamaican women who have built thriving careers for themselves in the Land of the Rising Sun, half a planet away from the Land of Wood and Water.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2014

Iwate taps Google's 'Ingress' to boost tourism

Since it was introduced, Google's location-based game "Ingress" has engrossed many Japanese smartphone users, and officials in Iwate Prefecture have found it to be a great tool to boost tourism.
EDITORIALS
Nov 13, 2014

Tolerating the voices of children

People must realize that children are the future of rapidly graying Japan and work to create an environment in which their presence is not only welcome but encouraged.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Nov 12, 2014

Mayor blazes trail with radical child-friendly vision for local government

Every time I try to read or write about local government in Japan I get so easily distra— say, is that paint drying over there? You see the problem?!
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2014

Girl Scouts who posed for Yokohama statue reunited 52 years later

By the shore of Yamashita Park in Yokohama, the city where Japanese and American culture intersect, there stands a statue of three girls. Two are shaking hands while their other hands are raised to their heads to show respect, and a third girl stands beside them.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 10, 2014

Germany celebrates 25th anniversary of fall of Berlin Wall

More than a million Germans and people from around the world on Sunday celebrated the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the event that more than any other marked the end of the Cold War.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 8, 2014

Kendama: a whole new ball game

Almost every child that has grown up in Japan has seen a kendama, a wooden traditional Japanese toy consisting of a ken (sword) and tama (ball) connected by a length of string.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 7, 2014

Did Islamic State call a convention of nuts and have 15,000 show up?

If an estimated army of at least 15,000 violent, crazy people — many carrying U.S. passports or passports from countries where they don't need visas to come to the U.S. — have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight along Islamic State and similar extremist groups, shouldn't everyone start thinking outside the box for ways to track them?

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight