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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 30, 2014

'A Five Star Life'

Unless one has a lot of wealth at handy disposal, one goes through a fair share of less than luxury hotels. Though in my case, "less" tends to lean toward "vastly less." Anyway, here's the story of a woman whose job is to stay at the best hotels in the world. Nice, huh? "A Five Star Life" traces a few...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2014

SKY Perfect JSAT plans all-Japan channel in Indonesia

SKY Perfect JSAT Corp. announced Thursday it will launch a channel next month in Indonesia that will show Japanese programs around the clock to popularize Japanese content in the growing economy and promote Japan itself.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jan 30, 2014

Apologetic Balentien faces long road back

Wladimir Balentien has apologized twice now — once in the United States and, on Wednesday, back on Japanese soil — with much of his time spent atoning to the Tokyo Yakult Swallows fans and the organization.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 27, 2014

A death in detention in Tokyo and a bitter belated farewell

What was the back story to this Ghanaian's death from pneumonia? A pre-existing condition? Or something the immigration authorities wanted hidden? Without an autopsy, there would be no answers to these gnawing questions. We already knew all we would ever know.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2014
Jan 23, 2014

Japan's traditional washoku cuisine feeds body and soul

Whenever I am away from my homeland for too long, there is one meal that fills my dreams. At the center is a bowl of plain steamed rice, white and glistening. On the side, a steaming bowl of fragrant miso soup. There's fish, perhaps sanma (Pacific saury), so hot from the grill that its skin sizzles when...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 20, 2014

Snowden a 'thief who may have had Russian aid,' U.S. lawmaker claims

Edward Snowden, the fugitive former contractor who leaked classified National Security Agency documents, "was a thief" who had possible Russian assistance and has "incredibly harmed" the U.S. military, the House Intelligence Committee chairman said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 18, 2014

Exploring the realm of Lewchew

When I told the Japanese woman with whom I'd struck up a conversation in central Tokyo's very handy Haneda airport that I was flying to Lewchew, she looked puzzled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 18, 2014

"Henry Black: On Stage in Meiji Japan"

Former journalist Ian McArthur's study of Henry Black, a Briton who became a professional rakugo-ka (storyteller) in Meiji Era (1868-1912) Japan, is a reminder that many colorful characters from that turbulent time — especially foreigners — remain little known to contemporary readers.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 17, 2014

Mourinho in form ahead of Man United showdown

With Jose Mourinho it is usually a metaphorical knife in the ribs followed by a supportive arm around the shoulder.
LIFE
Jan 16, 2014

Google brats are ruining Frisco for the locals

Just under a year ago, Rebecca Solnit, a writer living in San Francisco, wrote a sobering piece in the London Review of Books about the Google Bus, which she viewed as a proxy for the technology industry in nearby Palo Alto, Mountain View and Cupertino.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2014

Planned demolition bonds mark end of era

After educating children since 1956, Kiyokawa Elementary School stands abandoned, its walls and roof crumbling because there are no longer enough pupils to fill it and the town can't afford to demolish the building.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 13, 2014

Inequality nightmare continues to plague world

While demand for private jets is booming, 60 percent of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day. As the world overall grows richer, the benefits continue to flow overwhelmingly to a tiny elite.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jan 12, 2014

Display technologies set to turn heads in cars and windows

From smartphones and high-definition TVs to digital displays, display technology has advanced in leaps and bounds to become ubiquitous the world over.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
Jan 10, 2014

Divisional playoffs often produce upsets

Welcome to the divisional playoffs, aka the upset round of the NFL postseason.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 10, 2014

Kim looking like a lock for second gold medal in Sochi

With less than a month to go until the Sochi Games begin, all signs are that defending Olympic and world champion Kim Yu-na is rounding into form and will be in top shape when she enters the rink at the Iceberg Skating Palace.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 8, 2014

Darren Almond: All things pass

A wall of 450 flip-clocks all display 15:26 in the entryway to "Second Thoughts" at Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito. Seconds pass ... CLICK, all synchronized to the minute. The sound of 15:27 is so overwhelming it's surprising to see only one digit change: 6 to 7. Standing, waiting for 15:28,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 7, 2014

Japan, Turkey to pursue economic partnership agreement

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed Tuesday in Tokyo that the two countries will work toward starting negotiations for a bilateral economic partnership agreement, hopefully before the end of this year.
JAPAN / BULLETIN BOARD
Jan 6, 2014

Tokyo job fair to help students from Southeast Asia

A job fair for students from Southeast Asian countries seeking employment in Japan will be held Sunday in Tokyo. Recruiters from various industries, such as manufacturing, travel, transportation and retail, will be in attendance.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 4, 2014

Slippery slope to Yasukuni, Nago oiled by lucre

As with the Yasukuni story, most of the commentary on Okinawa base relocation deal focused on its contentious nature, but also like the Yasukuni story, the main impetus behind the actions reported was economic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Dec 31, 2013

Juicy Chinese dumplings will Shanghai your taste buds

People have opinions about xiao long bao. And for good reason: xiao long bao (or XLB, or soup dumplings, or shoronpo as they're called in Japanese) are enchanting: semi-translucent satchels of dough encasing balls of minced pork suspended in, curiously, soup. In that magnificent way that the Chinese...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 31, 2013

2013 was an amazing year in tech

If you go by the headlines, the iPhone 5S and Google Glass were the big technology stories of 2013, and Twitter's IPO was the event of the year. The coverage of Glass focused mostly on its privacy implications — not its ability to change the world. And iPhone and Twitter were just more of the same....
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Dec 29, 2013

Syrian civil war tests borders drawn less than a century ago in Mideast

That half of his farm lies in Syria and half in Lebanon is a source of mystery and inconvenience for Mohammed al-Jamal, whose family owned the property long before Europeans turned up and drew the lines that created the borders of the modern Middle East.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 29, 2013

Hungry animals, people use 'Levy walk'

Imagine you are a member of a hunter-gatherer tribe living in a remote part of the sprawling African plains, and your stomach is growling. How do you search for something to eat?

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji