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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2019

Japanese artisanship: As real as it can get

From perfect replicas of fruit to tiny articulated dragons, Japan's ceramic, metal, wood and other craft industries excel at making decorative items that are so detailed and realistic, they can fool the naked eye.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 24, 2019

Fashion week applauds Fukushima Pride

Though it has been 12 years since Junko Koshino's designs hit Tokyo fashion week runways, the acclaimed designer shines her spotlight on Fukushima handicraft artisans.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 24, 2019

Robert Ryker carved a niche for Tokyo Sinfonia by rescoring more than 500 classics

Conductor Zubin Mehta once told Robert Ryker that Mehta's two orchestras, the Montreal Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, had the world's two finest tuba players. Ryker, then 22 years old, was one of them. It was a rare compliment for any musician, most of whom never gain professional recognition....
Japan Times
JAPAN / WAW! and W20 Special
Mar 22, 2019

Social norms 'hinder' women's career growth

Michiko Achilles says she and her husband have endured a difficult period of juggling work and raising their two daughters by handling it as if they were "playing games."
Japan Times
JAPAN / WAW! and W20 Special
Mar 22, 2019

Supplementary events address health, career trends

A series of events addressing female empowerment in the workplace and women's health and happiness began in January. Spurred by the fifth World Assembly for Women in collaboration with Women 20, which are scheduled for March 23 and 24, and International Women's Day that fell on March 8, they will continue...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2019

Fervent fan revels in Ichimeter Lady fame

The line of fans began by the fence in the right-field stands at Tokyo Dome and stretched all the way to the back wall, snaking up through rows 1-14 and 15-21 and around the corner.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 17, 2019

Non-Japanese people are poorly represented in Japanese media: That needs to change

For almost a decade, the Japanese TV show "Why Did You Come to Japan?" has operated on the premise of finding foreign tourists and asking them the titular question. It might seem like an innocent query at first, but in fact this show and its ilk embody everything that is wrong with the depiction of non-Japanese...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 17, 2019

This dachshund is the toast of the town

Little Kongari has been sitting at ARK for nearly six long years — and that's a long time for a cute little 7-kilogram dachshund not to be swept up and taken home.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 15, 2019

Galleries galore! Tokyo’s must-visit museums

Which are the best museums to visit when in Tokyo? Read on to find our favorite galleries and exhibition spaces, exhibiting everything from fine art to the weird and the wonderful.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 12, 2019

Heisei Era: Slow decline or hope for new collaboration?

How Japanese view the Hesei Era varies by generation, with young people having a more positive image of it than older generations.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Mar 11, 2019

Two Belgian women, renouncing Islamic State, fear they will never go home with their six kids

Two Belgian women who joined Islamic State in Syria said on Sunday they were losing hope they will ever go home after a Belgian court overturned a ruling to repatriate them with their six children.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11: Moving forward
Mar 10, 2019

'Recovery Olympics' moniker for 2020 Games rubs 3/11 evacuees the wrong way

Residents in the area view the preparations as something happening in the background. In fact, some believe they are actually hindering the region's recovery.
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11: Moving forward
Mar 9, 2019

Foreign workers helping Tohoku seafood companies recover from 2011 quake and tsunami

Fish processors are now trying to stem their losses by turning to foreign trainees as firms deal with a severe labor shortage in the region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 6, 2019

'Running Again': Solving problems with a good run

Running scenes have been a staple since the start of the movies, but in the silent days the fleet-footed hero was usually trying to outrun the police. Now, competitive running in its various forms, from the ekiden relay to the marathon, has become a subset of the feel-good sports film in Japan, with...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 5, 2019

The real threat to your children isn't Momo

What's fundamentally wrong with the hoaxes is that they establish a false link between internet use and suicide where plenty of real links exist.
LIFE / Travel / G20 host cities special
Mar 5, 2019

Japan's lively 'gateway to Asia'

Fukuoka, the biggest city in Kyushu and considered a gateway to Asia with its historical and geographical background, is a lively metropolis that has both urban and countryside charm with its fantastic shopping, eateries and abundant nature to explore.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2019

More marine heat waves threatening fish and corals: study

The frequency of ocean heat waves has surged more than 50 percent since the early 20th century in a threat to fish, corals and other marine life stoked by global warming, an international study showed on Monday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Mar 2, 2019

Tomoko Houtzager: Moving to the bush just to live off the land

A WWOOF trip to Australia leads to a new way of life for a former city girl.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2019

Tokyo restaurateur develops spore sheet to speed up aging of meat — and fish

Mikio Atobe carefully peels a layer of rayon netting from a chunk of farmed bluefin tuna, revealing a secondary sheet of cloth clinging to its exposed flesh, partially yellowed by the mold coating it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2019

'The Island of Cats': Stress-free living with furry friends

Japanese movies about cats and their human companions are by now an established local genre — or rather a feel-good-movie sub-genre since nearly all try to leave the audience with warm smiles and lowered blood pressures. This has proven to be a reliable box office strategy: The owners of Japan's nearly...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Feb 25, 2019

Japanese that's so beautiful it belongs in a museum

What if there was a Museum of Exceptional Japanese? Daniel Morales discusses the kinds of words he would like to see in such an institution, but what words would you donate?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Feb 23, 2019

Sho: Oden, but not as you'd ever imagine it

At Nami Kawahara's oden restaurant, Sho, she hasn't been afraid to depart from tradition in both decor and dishes, opting for simplicity and elegance over a rough-and-tumble vibe.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Feb 23, 2019

'From Truant to Anime Screenwriter': A raw glimpse into the soul of an impressive talent

Filmmaker Mari Okada's own story, 'From Truant to Anime Screen Writer,' that of a child trapped in the prison of her hypersensitivity, is baldly and grimly told, a struggle against her demons of isolation, humiliation, and self-loathing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2019

Hikaru Uzawa blends old and new to add vitality to the world of noh

Hikaru Uzawa is a noh performer who marries her work within the traditional confines of the art form with performing in contemporary pieces internationally, bringing freshness to the traditional world of noh.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2019

Toshiko Okanoue gives us pieces of her mind

Despite being unaware of the surrealists in Europe, Toshiko Okanoue created collages that were so unusual for the 1950s, they caught the attention of Shuzo Takiguchi, the leader of Japan's surrealism movement.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / WORKS BY JAPANESE WOMEN
Feb 16, 2019

Discover new worlds beyond the 'here and now' with Nahoko Uehashi's inventive fictions

Nahoko Uehashi revolutionized the fantasy genre in Japan with her naturalistic works of fiction, using her background as a cultural anthropologist to craft realistic imaginary worlds that garnered her legions of fans across genders and ages.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Feb 16, 2019

There are many sides to a great warrior

Almost nothing is known of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's early years with warlord Oda Nobunaga, but by 1570 we see him commanding a detachment, 3,000 strong, in battle against a Nobunaga rival. The peasant boy has come a long way.
JAPAN / History / Heisei Icons
Feb 14, 2019

Sadako Ogata: Waging peace on war

A 1993 photograph of a diminutive, sexagenarian woman surveying the front lines of conflict has left an indelible mark on the international community as a true example of commitment to humanitarian aid.

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years