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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 11, 2014

'Vallotton: Fire Beneath the Ice'

In 1914, Swiss artist Felix Vallotton (1865-1925) was rejected by the French army because of his age. Unable to fight, he chose to express his feelings about World War I in what became one of his most-famous works, the wood-print series "This is War." Vallotton's paintings often had similar dark and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jun 9, 2014

Algae underfunded in energy hunt

Could algae power your car? In the search for new energy sources, scientists are turning the green goo into oil.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2014

The irony of Putin's appearance at Normandy

The embarrassing presence of President Vladimir Putin on the Normandy beaches for the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings was a useful reminder of the fact that Russia is not some Asiatic tyranny on Europe's eastern borders. It is a European country that has played a major role in the continent's affairs for centuries.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 7, 2014

'Battle Royale' wins the game for hungry fans

I should probably start this review with somewhat of a disclaimer. About 10 years ago — not long after Kinji Fukasaku's film adaptation of Koushun Takami's controversial novel "Battle Royale" became a cult hit overseas — I bought a screen-printed poster from a London-based design studio called Airside....
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 6, 2014

Fans go nuts for Shiga banana carver

An electrician by day and banana artist by night, Keisuke Yamada has attained renown at home and abroad for his banana sculptures.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 5, 2014

'Godfather of ecstasy' dies at 88

Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, a biochemist and former Dow Chemical Co. researcher who introduced psychologists to the drug MDMA and became known as "the godfather of ecstasy," has died. He was 88.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2014

'Balancing Act'

It's a sad, anxious world when a hard-working dad has no choice but to sleep in his car and eat at a soup kitchen. Such is the fate of 40-year-old Giulio (Valerio Mastandrea), whose act of infidelity (sex with a colleague in the archives room of the Rome city office where he works) causes a deep, irreparable...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2014

'Hummingbird'

What would British action movies be without Jason Statham? As quiet as a wake for an old man with no friends. Thankfully, Statham is still at the top of his game, even if his new movie, "Hummingbird," is a bit of a muddle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 4, 2014

Chocolatecake are no sweeties

Its name translates as Chocolatecake Theatre Company, but there's nothing self-indulgent about topics Gekidan Chocolatecake gets its teeth into.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2014

Tokihiro Sato: A breath of fresh photography

Using a penlight at night and a mirror during the day, the photographs in Tokihiro Sato's 'Photo-Respiration' series show trails or spots of light in darkened landscapes, of which probably the most audacious are scenes of central Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2014

How Japan crafted its modernization

When Japan ended its isolation in the mid-to-late-19th-century, it had lots of disadvantages compared to the other major powers. But one distinct advantage that its isolation had preserved was its craft industries and the skills of its craftsmen.
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2014

'Essays in Idleness: Enjoying Classical Literature Through Art'

The collection of essays "Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness)" written by Yoshida Kenko in 1330-31 is considered as one of the three greatest zuihitsu (collection of writings) in Japan, along with "Makura no Soshi (The Pillow book)" by Sei Shonagon and Kamo no Chomei's "Hojoki (An Account of My Hut)."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 4, 2014

'Hirayama Ikuo: Message to the Next Generations'

Ikuo Hirayama (1930-2009), who experienced the World War II atomic bombing of Japan, based his artistic values on his strong Buddhist faith and his search for peace. He traveled along the Silk Road to research the history of Japanese art and worked on many bold and grand paintings with Buddhist themes,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 3, 2014

Patinastella: French cuisine by way of California in Shibuya

From the hubbub of central Shibuya, the walk to Patinastella takes only five minutes, but it feels like jumping several time zones. This spacious, glass-enclosed dining room could have been beamed from an affluent neighborhood of Los Angeles.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jun 2, 2014

Happinets' Boykin reflects on season

In his many decades in the game, Kazuo Nakamura tinkered with an up-tempo style of basketball he wanted his teams to play. And in recent years, it often involved several of his players taking quick 3-point shots as often as possible.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
May 31, 2014

When industry works in step with nature

It was about 15 years ago when an old friend, Yoshito Umezaki, invited me to dinner in Tokyo to meet a friend of his named Masayoshi "Mike" Ushikubo — "a really great guy who loves mountains, travels all over the world and is a company president who has a little problem."
JAPAN
May 30, 2014

New agency to modernize Japanese arms procurement in works

Japan plans to set up an arms procurement agency to streamline Tokyo's spending on defense-related hardware for exports and take charge of advanced weapons research.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2014

Farmers find a new cash crop in solar power field

The campaign to boost renewable power supplies since the Fukushima nuclear disaster is producing some unlikely winners: vegetable farmers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2014

Short-film festival offers flicks for free

Short films are today both everywhere but nowhere, even for many who consider themselves film fans.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 29, 2014

Tropfest gives Japan a peek at Australia

The homegrown Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia will have competition for eyeballs this year as Australia's Tropfest descends on Japan. The event claims — perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek — to be the "world's largest short-film festival."
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
May 28, 2014

World Cup 2014 views from Tokyo: Uruguay, Colombia and Japan

A Uruguayan mother, a Colombian researcher and a Japanese company worker in Tokyo discuss their national teams' chances in Brazil.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 28, 2014

Talking Pinter with Leveaux; an 'authorized' interaction

When we met last weekend, the world-renowned English theater director David Leveaux was relaxing with a cigarette "in the lovely sunshine" outside a rehearsal studio by Tokyo Bay. He was there for an intensive afternoon's work with the three Japanese actors who form the cast of his upcoming production...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 28, 2014

'Go-Betweens: The World Seen Through Children'

A pioneer of social-documentary photojournalism, Danish American social reformer Jacob Riis (1849-1914) used photography to help reveal the plight of impoverished immigrants in New York during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He used the term "go-betweens" to describe the children of the immigrants,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 28, 2014

'Mt. Fuji by Taikan: In Commemoration of the First Anniversary of the World Heritage Designation'

Alongside the likes of Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) and Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858), Taikan Yokoyama (1868-1958) has produced some of Japan's most famous painters of Mount Fuji. In his lifetime, he worked on more than 1,500 paintings of Japan's largest peak.
COMMENTARY / World
May 27, 2014

Will India's Modi resist the lure of nationalism?

If newly elected Narendra Modi runs into trouble as Indian prime minister, will he be the prime minister for all Indians, as he has promised, or will he revert to his divisive roots?
Japan Times
WORLD
May 26, 2014

As Egypt votes, some still caught in political crossfire

Samir El-Gamal, a 10-year-old Egyptian boy, died in his mother's arms last year, struck in the back of the head by a stray bullet while they were walking near clashes between supporters and opponents of deposed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 24, 2014

Ball and chain: gambling's darker side

With lawmakers debating whether to legalize gambling in time for the 2020 Olympics, we look at the other side of the coin — addiction
BUSINESS / FOCUS
May 24, 2014

Business as usual in Thailand

Many of the wealthy Thais who come to investment manager Charles Blocker have a question for the generals who seized control of the country in a military coup last week: What took you so long?

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb