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Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 23, 2019

As Taliban talks gather pace, Afghan women fear turning back of the clock

Eighteen years ago, at the height of the Taliban's power in Afghanistan, Roshan Mashal secretly taught her daughters to read and write alongside a dozen local girls who smuggled school books to her house in potato sacks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 22, 2019

The 'King' returns and theaters look to Russia for 2019

Whether it's regular theater that gets you going these days — or you're skipping along more to musicals — as 2019's curtains rise, variety will be the spice of live stages this coming year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 22, 2019

'Toshiko Okanoue, Photo Collage: The Miracle of Silence'

Jan. 26-April 7
Japan Times
BUSINESS / davos special 2019
Jan 22, 2019

Data sharing among 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' goals

Launched in July with the goal of updating regulations that hinder effective usage of cutting-edge technologies, the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Japan has been helping the government lay out guidelines for an optimal future society.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 19, 2019

Tolerant attitudes make Japan a drinker's paradise

If any doubts existed that Japanese people are exceptionally tolerant toward the imbibing of alcohol, those were erased in 2014, when the Pew Center, as part of its Global Attitudes Project, surveyed people's views on drinking in 40 countries.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 19, 2019

'The Kinship of Secrets': Heartbreak and family separation during the Korean War

Eugenia Kim's second novel, 'The Kinship of Secrets,' is a measuredly moving story of a girl losing and finding a home, the ways in which families grow into units and immigrants into citizens.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2019

'Chiwawa': An enigma wrapped in a riddle

Edie Sedgwick was an Andy Warhol "superstar" and Bob Dylan muse who died at age 28 after bouts with mental illness and drug addiction — and has had a long afterlife as a legendary 1960s "it" girl.
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2019

No social skills required: Autistic staff help global IT consultancy thrive

From a British call center to an Alaskan satellite facility, Lars Backstrom has had a lot of jobs, but says he always felt like a hexagonal peg in a square hole — he just didn't fit in.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2019

Does forgiveness have a place in the #MeToo movement?

Second or even third chances are essential in life, but questions of forgiveness aren't easy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / A Weekend In
Jan 11, 2019

A weekend in Oita: If the city’s not enough, head to the country

Nestled along the east coast of Kyushu, the city of Oita is home to almost half a million people, making it by far the largest urban center in Oita Prefecture. However, aside from the prefectural art museum, there is little that is unique about this coastal conglomerate, especially when compared to larger...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 11, 2019

Saudi woman's bid to flee family rallies opposition to male guardianship

An 18-year-old Saudi woman's flight from what she said was an abusive family has rallied opposition to the kingdom's male guardianship system, still a major constraint on women despite the conservative Muslim country's efforts to open up.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 10, 2019

'El Chapo' jurors see intimate texts caught by drug lord's spyware

Prosecutors in the U.S. trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman on Wednesday shared with jurors text messages they said the accused Mexican drug lord sent to his wife and apparent mistress in which he discussed narrowly escaping from a raid and joked about arming his 18-month-old daughter with an assault...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2019

'Kono Michi': A biopic heavy on sentimentality

Biopics are a Hollywood staple, though poets don't usually get a lot of play, with the Beats (Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and company) among the prominent exceptions. The same is true in Japan: Notorious criminals are more likely to be the subjects of biopics here than famous wordsmiths.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 8, 2019

'I am innocent' and 'unfairly detained': Carlos Ghosn in first court appearance

Wearing a navy suit, a haggard-looking Ghosn — handcuffed and with a rope tied around his waist — told his side of the story in a Tokyo courtroom Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2019

This is the year we must act

Without a new paradigm for managing globalization, fragmentation and political despair will become the new normal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jan 5, 2019

Takehiko Nakamura: Kicking around the U.S. for a career in soccer

A U.S. education, says sports fan Nakamura, helped him score a goal in life.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2019

Russia brandishes hypersonic threat

Talks should begin to discuss limits on 'hypersonic' technologies to prevent a new major arms race.
Reader Mail
Jan 4, 2019

The significance of a farm stay

The article "Away from it all: More tourists shun hot spots for taste of the country life" in the Dec. 27 edition prompted me to ponder the unique meaning of a farm stay.
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 3, 2019

Comedian Akira Ohashi 100% reveals his naked ambition

His naked tray act may not be to everyone's liking, but Akira Ohashi is too focused on the positives to worry about that. The Saitama-born, 44-year-old comedian, who is better known by his stage name Akira 100%, clearly loves being in the public eye, and after more than two decades struggling to make...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / 2019 Outlook
Jan 2, 2019

Economic outlook for 2019: More uncertainty for Japan's economy amid planned tax rise and global slowdown

While it is not known which events will hold back global commerce, professional economic soothsayers appear in agreement that growing risks and uncertainty will slow Japan's growth.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2018

20 Questions: The best answers of 2018

It's been an entertaining year of 20 Questions — here's our top picks of answers in 2018.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 28, 2018

Invest in education and save the economy

Giving birth to dynamic companies in Japan will require nothing but education that values and nurtures extraordinary individuality.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2018

Raking it in: Kumade craftsmen carry on Edo Period tradition making ornamental talismans

On a chilly night in late November, Seizo Hashimoto, 65, was stood beside his stall at Otori Shrine in Asakusa, Tokyo, selling ornamental bamboo rakes that are believed to "catch and rake in" wealth and good luck in the coming year.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2018

There's more to Charles Dickens' festive fare than just 'A Christmas Carol'

Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in 1843 in part because he was appalled at the living conditions of England's urban poor, especially after a visit that September to a so-called Ragged School for London slum children. But he also wrote it because he needed money. His sixth novel, "Martin Chuzzlewit,"...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 24, 2018

What happens when Alexa gets too smart or too human?

Millions of users of Amazon's Echo speakers have grown accustomed to the soothing strains of Alexa, the human-sounding virtual assistant that can tell them the weather, order takeout and handle other basic tasks in response to a voice command.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 23, 2018

The crew at TELL Japan wants you to know you're not alone during the holidays — or at any other time

The holidays can be tough for foreign nationals in Japan. For those hired in the summer, the thrill of being in a new country is starting to fade. Open social media feeds and you'll be bombarded with photos of family and friends back home celebrating. If you're not careful, you can fall into a rut.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Dec 20, 2018

Russian whistle-blower probably died in 2012 of natural causes, U.K. inquest finds

A Russian mafia whistle-blower who was found dead after going out for a run near his home in southern England six years ago probably died of natural causes rather than from an elaborate poison plot, a British coroner found on Wednesday.

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?