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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 15, 2015

When it comes to art, individuality rises above nationality

In the context of the current debate over Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, the "Artist File 2015" show of up-and-coming contemporary artists at The National Art Center, Tokyo, is tantamount to a declaration of peace. The remit of this annual event is to showcase "some of the freshest and most substantial...
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2015

End the nuclear 'safety myth'

The International Atomic Energy Agency's final report on the Fukushima disaster provides a stark lesson on the need to avoid slipping into the same old 'safety myth' surrounding nuclear power.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 12, 2015

Harajuku's underside style surfaces, uu delights kids and Snoopy's Belle is in town

Harajuku's underside is surfacing
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 12, 2015

Jesus Christ, the Nobel Prize and Shusaku Endo

In 1994, on the day when Kenzaburo Oe was announced as the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature — the second Japanese writer to receive the award — eminent literary scholar Donald Keene received a long-distance call from Peter Owen, publisher of novelist Shusaku Endo's works in London, demanding...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2015

Garbage imperialism? Nope, all trash is local

The developed world is doing better about handling its electronic waste, but a crisis is looming in developing nations as gadgets become more affordable.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 10, 2015

'Ant-Man' brings 'Phase Two' of the Marvel cinematic strategy to a close, what's in store for 'Phase Three'?

Have you noticed there's been a lot of comic book-based movies lately? The idea of plotting to take over the world isn't an unusual one for a comic, so it makes sense that Marvel Studios has been slowly conquering the film industry for the past eight years.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2015

Thai terror blast a symptom of deeper illness

Thailand remains the 'sick man' of Southeast Asia, and the terrorist attack in Bangkok has exacerbated its condition.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2015
Sep 9, 2015

The impact and effects of changes in China's economy

Since late August, China's economy and stock prices have dominated headlines worldwide.
BUSINESS / 'SUMMER DAVOS' SPECIAL 2015
Sep 9, 2015

Young Global Leaders are the vanguard in business, politics and society

In March, the World Economic Forum announced this year's Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGLs), the most exceptional leaders 40 years of age and younger, who are believed to be the architects of future society.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Sep 7, 2015

Rich gulf Arab nations' refugee response questioned

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, fellow Persian Gulf states raced to shelter thousands of displaced Kuwaitis. Fast forward 25 years, and the homeless from nearby Syria's war have found scant refuge in the Arab world's richest states.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 7, 2015

Nuclear waste dump is one option for Australia's faltering rust belt

South Australia, a rust belt state that's 60 percent desert, is staring into the abyss.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Sep 6, 2015

Why Japan's right keeps leaving the left in the dust

The left keeps losing, and much of it is its own damned fault.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 5, 2015

Students oppose Abe's assault on the Constitution

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continues to say he will try to gain the public's understanding on the government's controversial security legislation, but there are few signs that he is winning anyone over.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 5, 2015

An analysis of 'Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack'

Is the soundtrack to the original Super Mario Bros. game a musical achievement and pop-culture milestone on par with Miles Davis' Bitches Brew? Author Andrew Schartmann sets out to build exactly this case in "Koji Kondo's Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack" — part of Bloomsbury's 33 ⅓ series on classic...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2015

Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward picked as most 'Sensuous City' in Japan

Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward has been chosen as the most "Sensuous City" among 134 in Japan, according to a new city ranking report released by a Tokyo-based think tank Thursday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 2, 2015

Olympian effort needed to save Tokyo's, Asia's heritage

The Hotel Okura is just the latest victim of Tokyo's penchant for tearing down its storied past to make way for a generic future.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 2, 2015

'Pixels' is more of an insult than ode to Pac-Man

When you're a film critic, you are occasionally assailed by one of two overwhelming urges: first, to quit, and second, to punch Adam Sandler in the face.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2015

Takashi Homma's window on today's crafts

Broadly speaking, compared to Britain, Germany and the United States, France and Japan have shared an alternative approach to design since the industrial revolution, focusing more on the appreciation of handmade and luxury goods. This economic necessity reverberates today as a mutual affection of these...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2015

A Korean woman recalls the tragedy of two wars

Seventy years have passed since the end of World War II, but memories of it and the Korean War that followed remain vivid in the mind of a 90-year-old Korean woman.
CULTURE
Aug 29, 2015

Culture clash: Entertainers add weight to government protests

Judging from recent comments posted on Twitter and websites such as abe-no.net, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't appear to have endeared himself to a number of celebrities who hold plenty of sway over public opinion with regards to his moves to change the nation's Constitution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 29, 2015

The revolution will be streamed online

Local media have been cautious in their coverage of the protest demonstrations that have materialized in recent years, but they appear to be intrigued by the college-age activists known as SEALDs (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy).
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2015

Caution on the new school curriculum

Students benefit best from a school curriculum that strikes a balance between discovery learning and explicit guidance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 29, 2015

Composer Shiro Sagisu scores songs to be devoured to on 'Attack on Titan' soundtrack

During one scene in Shinji Higuchi's recent film "Attack on Titan," soldiers leap from building to building battling a carnivorous giant with nothing but swords. The horror is heightened by the music: razor sharp synthesizers accentuate a foreboding orchestral melody. It's hard to imagine the action...

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