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Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 24, 2014

Skin divers turn to tourism to stem the tide

At the Sea People restaurant in Shima, a coastal hamlet in Mie Prefecture, sea diver Machiyo Yamashita wants a piece of a tourism industry dominated by the cities that sapped her town's vitality by luring away its youth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 24, 2014

College students' savings habits indicate anxiety about the future

In the last 10 years student savings has increased by 80 percent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 23, 2014

French to the fore on SPAC's 2014 festival menu

It is often said that "variety is the spice of life," but in the multifarious world of theater it is more a staple than a special condiment. That said, "variety" is the keyword chosen by Satoshi Miyagi, artistic director of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC), to capture the upcoming and especially...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2014

Endless inspiration to be found in Mount Fuji and spring flowers

It's often said by Japanese painters that the most difficult subject of all is Mount Fuji. How is it possible to come up with an original take on a theme that has been painted so often and by so many talented artists? Yet for all their angst, artists clearly manage, as demonstrated by the sheer variety...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2014

'Chinese Style Dresses: From Fujishima Takeji to Umehara Ryuzaburo'

During the Taisho era (1912-1926), Chinese culture fascinated many Japanese. For example, Chinese themes could be found in the novel "Toshishun" by the renowned writer Ryunosuke Akutagawa (1892-1927), and similarly in art, Takeji Fujishima (1867-1943) began working on paintings of women in Chinese dresses....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 21, 2014

Mt. Gox CEO Karpeles sought both control, escape

In June 2011, when customers of now-bankrupt bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox agitated for proof that the Tokyo-based firm was still solvent after a hacking attack, CEO Mark Karpeles turned to the comedy science fiction novel "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy".
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 21, 2014

Adopting a child from Japan: one U.S. couple's story

Chicago residents Mari, a Japanese national, and Jonathon, an American, considered adopting from the U.S. or South Korea, but cultural and citizenship concerns sealed their decision to adopt from Japan. The new addition is one of only a handful of children adopted from Japan into the U.S. each year.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 19, 2014

Christel Takigawa gets Akita 'omotenashi'; a dandy drama; CM of the week: Nisshinbo

Former news anchor Christel Takigawa gets to sample some of that famous Japanese omotenashi (hospitality) she promoted during the bid process for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is this week's guest on NHK's travel show "Tsurube no Kazoku ni Kampai" ("Tsurube Toasts Families"; NHK-G, Mon., 8 p.m.), the...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 16, 2014

Berlusconi gets community service for tax conviction

A court has ordered former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to serve a tax fraud sentence by doing community service with the elderly, in a ruling that restricts his movements but not his political activity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2014

In test of post-Fukushima policy, town rallies for restart of reactors

For residents of Satsumasendai, their old nuclear plant jobs take priority over a quake they never felt and an atomic disaster they never had to deal with.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 11, 2014

U.S. accuses Russia after Putin warning on gas supplies to Europe

President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that Russian gas supplies to Europe could be disrupted if Moscow cuts the flow to Ukraine over unpaid bills, drawing a U.S. accusation that it is using energy "as a tool of coercion."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Apr 8, 2014

Inakatei: Local Kyoto cuisine heavy on the fish and veg

When faced with a six-page menu allied with a supplementary page loaded with specials and all in a language that makes less sense to you than abstract art, what do you do? Get up and leave is one answer, as proven by the nearby holidaying couple, American I assumed by accent and attire, who left shortly...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 8, 2014

How to unlock Africa's economic potential

The former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management believes that Nigeria could become one of the top 15 economies in the world by 2050.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 7, 2014

Japan's Hutterites hold on to a dream for community

Otawara — yes, that's spelled with a "t" — is one of those places few people know and most confuse with somewhere else (in this case with Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 6, 2014

California gurus find success via celebrities

Even in California, where people come to convince themselves of just about anything, it is not common for a celebrity couple on the verge of divorce to declare undying love and say they are closer now than ever.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 5, 2014

Some local governments think health checkups save money, and some don't

Conventional wisdom says when it comes to health care you have to spend money to save it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 5, 2014

Reinventing the wheel: the future of cycling in Tokyo

On Jan. 24, a full-page advert appeared in the Tokyo edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun for a petition on behalf of the capital's cyclists. "Join the new governor in making Tokyo a bicycle city," read the headline for the ad, which reeled off a series of suggested improvements: more extensive cycling lanes,...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 5, 2014

Lessons of Fukushima: Reactor restarts are unwise

Kyle Cleveland, my colleague at Temple University Japan, recently published a report in the online Asia-Pacific Journal, "Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty" that has drawn widespread media attention. Based on numerous interviews with government officials,...
Reader Mail
Apr 2, 2014

Most restaurants still don't get it

Regarding the March 31 article "Airports eager to cater to Muslims' needs": It is good to see that Japan is catering to Muslims at airports and a few other places. But as a regular visitor to Japan, I am astounded that Japan is doing nothing for the millions of global tourists who are used to enjoying...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Apr 2, 2014

Left-behind dad eyes an end to abduction culture

How Richard Cory rescued his daughter and lost his abducted sons.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 1, 2014

10 ways crisis in Ukraine could change the world

As Moscow and the West dig in for a prolonged standoff over Russia's annexation of Crimea, risking spillover to other former Soviet republics and beyond, here are 10 ways in which the Ukraine crisis could change attitudes and policy around the world.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Apr 1, 2014

Pining for the communal flavor of Israeli cuisine

I thought I missed hummus. By which I mean: I missed being able to pick up a tub at the supermarket. But to hear an Israeli acquaintance talk of it is to learn that there is so much more to miss.
EDITORIALS
Apr 1, 2014

Watanabe should come clean

Your Party chief Yoshimi Watanabe's lame excuse that he borrowed ¥800 million for individual rather than political expenses from a cosmetics firm chairman only adds to people's distrust of politicians.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2014

Tokyo Metro unveils subway navigation app for visitors

Tokyo Metro Co. is providing a free smartphone application to help foreigners navigate the capital's subway system.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’