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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 19, 2015

Bask in the warmth of Iheya Island

I thought I recognized the owner of the Iheya Kanko Hotel, her face fleetingly recalled as it passed over the screen at a Shinjuku showing of the 2012 film "Karakara."
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / OLYMPIC NOTEBOOK
Dec 19, 2015

Shearman details life behind sporting lens

Mark Shearman has achieved extraordinary success as a sports photographer, specializing in track and field. He has a remarkable portfolio — containing images of Olympic legends such as Edwin Moses and Carl Lewis, Usain Bolt and Sebastian Coe — that few can ever hope of compiling. But, he admits without...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 19, 2015

Iran may ease its opposition to Syrian President Assad stepping down

Iran has decided to unify its stance with Russia's in the push for a political deal to end Syria's civil war, Iranian officials said, in a sign it could ease its opposition to the departure of Syrian President Bashar Assad as part of the agreement.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 18, 2015

Canadian man kills Brit in psychedelic ceremony in Peru's Amazon

A Canadian killed a Briton after the two men took a hallucinogenic plant brew known as ayahuasca together at a spiritual retreat in the Peruvian Amazon, authorities said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 18, 2015

Japanese island defense plan takes shape in bid to turn tables on China

Japan is fortifying its far-flung island chain in the East China Sea under an evolving strategy that aims to turn the tables on China's navy and keep it from ever dominating the Western Pacific Ocean, Japanese military and government sources said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Dec 17, 2015

Experts see tough road ahead for Sharp and its LCD division

A struggling Sharp Corp. has reached a crossroads as it will soon need to decide what to do with its signature LCD business.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 17, 2015

Japanese 'Star Wars' fans get ready for a new adventure

It's become a bit of trivia among "Star Wars" fans that creator George Lucas allegedly took inspiration from both the term jidai geki (historical drama) when creating the word "jedi" and Akira Kurosawa's film "The Hidden Fortress." Those aren't the only Japanese references in the series; from Darth Vader's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 16, 2015

Japan's top court upholds same-name rule for married couples, overturns remarriage moratorium for women

The Supreme Court confirms the constitutionality of a controversial law requiring married couples to use the same surname in official matters.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2015

High tech and today's productivity paradox

Recent trends in productivity growth make it hard to be optimistic about the future, but when radical innovations are first rolled out, their immediate effect isn't always known.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 16, 2015

Derrick Woollacott: Lost postwar memories find the light of day

In 1942, Derrick Woollacott entered the military and ended up kickstarting his career as a photographer at age 19. Lacking formal education after 14 and the financial means to own a camera, this was his best shot.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2015

A toothless treaty can't stop climate change

The only good that has come out of the Paris deal is that most of the world's nations acknowledge climate change and the need to do something about it.
EDITORIALS
Dec 15, 2015

The consumption tax mess

It's questionable whether the government's plan to introduce a lower tax rate on food products is the best way to help lower-income households.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 15, 2015

On Sandy Hook anniversary, U.S. activists call for gun restrictions

U.S. gun control activists called for expanded background checks for firearms purchasers and for a ban on sales to people on federal watch lists on Monday, in a protest marking the third anniversary of the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school.
Japan Times
JAPAN / INVEST IN ITALY 2015
Dec 15, 2015

Reforms create many new opportunities

Italian Trade Agency (ITA) President Ricardo Monti is actively working to get more companies and individuals to invest in his country.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2015

Two new Olympic stadium designs unveiled by Japan Sport Council

The Japan Sport Council on Monday unveiled two new stadium designs for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics that blend in better with the greenery-rich Yoyogi area and currently don't break the ¥155 billion budget.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Dec 14, 2015

Fintech firms make inroads into the banking biz

With startups offering financial technology services raking in billions of dollars around the world, fintech, coined from "finance" and "technology," has become a buzzword that old guards at big name financial institutions can no longer ignore.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 14, 2015

Latest 'tankan' shows sentiment intact at big firms

Confidence in the economy among large manufacturers unexpectedly held up in the past few months, suggesting record corporate profits are compensating for uncertainty about the effects of an expected U.S. rate increase and the slowdown in China.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 14, 2015

Boy who pushed for hospital high school education passes away

An 18-year-old boy from Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, who had called for hospital schooling for sick high school students and helped establish a teacher dispatch system, passed away last month.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Dec 13, 2015

Iron man Tsutsugo still going strong in December

Yoshitomo Tsutsugo has been very busy this year.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 12, 2015

North Korean pop band formed by Kim Jong Un cancels Beijing concert, leaves for home

An all-female North Korean pop band formed by leader Kim Jong Un abruptly cancelled a Beijing concert on Saturday and headed back home to Pyongyang, Chinese media and the concert venue said.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 12, 2015

Why infrastructure repairs are being ignored

Several days after a storm caused the Kinugawa River to overflow its banks and destroy communities in Ibaraki Prefecture in September, the infrastructure ministry held on-site meetings to look into what went wrong.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 12, 2015

Can upgraded home stadiums give boost to BayStars, Eagles?

Going from worst to first — last place to a pennant — is difficult for any professional baseball team. The Tokyo Yakult Swallows managed to do it this past season in the Central League, and the two clubs that finished at the bottom of the league standings in 2015 are hoping to rise to the top during...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 11, 2015

Secrets law, one year later

The controversial state secret law that took effect last year has already had a chilling effect on the media: no one is even talking about it anymore.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2015

Investors need to get real about climate change

The threat to food and migration will wreak havoc with economic trends, stock values and interest rates.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan