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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 13, 2019

Lovers, comrades! Forbidden love in North Korea finds a way in Vietnam

A young couple with matching expressions stare nervously into the camera with deep brown eyes. He, a Vietnamese student, has just met the love of his life. She, a North Korean, is forbidden to love him back.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 12, 2019

Japanese companies warming up — slowly — to four-day workweek

Once synonymous with long work hours, Japanese companies are beginning to embrace — or at least consider — the idea of a four-day workweek.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 12, 2019

'Kinkakuji': Staging a Japanese classic with a German twist

A new opera based on the quintessentially Japanese novel "Kinkakuji" is set to open in Tokyo following a premiere held not in Kyoto, where the famed golden pavilion of its title is to be found, but at the Opera National du Rhin in Strasbourg, France.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Feb 10, 2019

Japanese makeup guru on crusade to revamp men's grooming habits

As a university student, Hiroki Takahashi could barely step outside his home without a surgical mask on. Even when he did venture out, he was terrified of the fluorescent lighting ubiquitous in convenience stores and trains that ruthlessly illuminated what he was desperately trying to hide — a mass...
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Feb 9, 2019

'Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets': Revisiting the work of one of Japan's most celebrated contemporary poets

A new edition of popular contemporary poet Makoto Ooka's 'Beneath the Sleepless Tossing of the Planets' includes the original Japanese texts of each poem, early drafts, photos from the poet's life and a new introduction by translator Janine Beichman.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Feb 8, 2019

Hall of Famer, pioneer and first African-American MLB manager, Frank Robinson dead at 83

Hall of Famer and trailblazing baseball legend Frank Robinson passed away Thursday at the age of 83.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 6, 2019

'Whistleblower': Corporate drama dialed up to 11

Japan is justly praised for its law-abiding citizenry. Drop your wallet on the street here and a kind local is likely to come running after you to return it. On the corporate level, though, scandal follows scandal. One of the most common sights on Japanese news shows is company bigwigs bowing in apology...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 6, 2019

Rohingya refugee women take on new roles as workers and learners amid 'forced societal change'

On a blue mat in their mud-and-bamboo home in the middle of the world's largest refugee settlement, Mohammad Selim is pacing his 9-year-old daughter Nasima Akter on her taekwondo drill.
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 5, 2019

Acid attack survivors say Cambodia is illegally denying them care

For Moung Sreymom, survival comes down to accessing doctors that will treat her wounds for free.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 4, 2019

Breaking the spell of aging

Extending the working lives of the elderly by offering better employment conditions is a top priority for Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Feb 3, 2019

Adventurous choices lead to broadcasting in Japan

Peter Barakan is a familiar and comforting presence to many. People around the nation look forward to his radio programs, where he acts as a sound sommelier of sorts, serving up an eclectic dose of music.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Feb 3, 2019

Rethinking the media's coverage of 'theatrical crime' in Japan

Ten minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, Kazuhiro Kusakabe drove a rental car into pedestrians on Harajuku's famed Takeshita-dori, injuring nine people.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Jan 30, 2019

Demand for non-Japanese engineers is growing, but know what you're in for before you apply

IT engineering is a field in which there are a lot of opportunities for non-Japanese who possess sufficient skills to work in Japan. There are 28,000 non-Japanese IT engineers working in Japan currently, comprising about 3 percent of all IT engineers in Japan, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 30, 2019

'The Shutendoji Picture Scroll': Japan's grisly tale of demonic drama

The Nezu Museum showcases Sumiyoshi Hironao's 'Shutendoji Monogatari' ('The Tale of the Drunken Demon' scrolls in their entirety for the first time in the museum's history.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2019

Planning group for 2025 Osaka expo looks to design event showcasing Japan's cutting-edge tech

A planning committee for the 2025 World Expo in Osaka held its first meeting Friday afternoon, with members emphasizing that the event should be a collaborative effort involving the broader Kansai region and an occasion to showcase Japan's cutting-edge technologies.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 25, 2019

Ice diving in Hokkaido: All adrift beneath a frozen sea

Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula is a treasure trove of forests, wild animals and birds. But from early February to early March it is the home of ice diving, scuba diving beneath the drift ice that blows south from the Sea of Okhotsk.
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2019

Reviewing the lay judge trial system

Resolving issues surrounding lay judges hold the key to sustaining the system.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jan 23, 2019

Waxing philosophical in English class with 'Thinking Experiments'

If you've ever taught English at a Japanese school, you'll likely be familiar with a certain kind of silence — pervasive and tinged with teenage ennui. Authors Alexander Dutson and James Hill want to recommend breaking the ice with philosophy.
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.

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