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Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
May 18, 2014

Seeds of change in rice-growing country

A group of farmers in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, is exploring ways to market biodiesel fuel made from sunflower seeds, which many consumers are shunning over radiation fears.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 18, 2014

Monster hits continue to survive the Internet age

A monster lays waste to America's cities, smashing skyscrapers and tearing up passenger trains. It's the familiar tale of Godzilla, a mutant lizard last seen rampaging through cinemas in 1998 and now back on the big screen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 18, 2014

Japan home electronics makers play dumb on smart TVs

One company dominates Japan's smart TV market, and it isn't Japanese.
EDITORIALS
May 18, 2014

Protecting the water cycle

The Diet has enacted a basic law on the water cycle, but the law falls short of meeting local governments' demand to legally define underground water as common public property.
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2014

China plays down GDP size

China's government does not sound comfortable with new World Bank figures indicating that China will overtake the U.S. this year and become the No. 1 economy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 17, 2014

Commemorating national trauma in South Korea

Memorials suggest neighbor has no inclination to forgive or forget colonial rule, a past Japan downplays
JAPAN / History
May 17, 2014

Wrong to judge early imperialist Japan too harshly?

"Korea turned out to be this nice, laid-back place..."
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2014

Casino gambling bad bet in Japan

Letting the gambling industry operate in Japan would be a terrible bet, as the bulk of gambling tax revenue would be offset by expenditures for treating addictions and fighting crime.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2014

Suntory to focus for now on repaying Beam debts

Closely held Suntory Holdings Ltd. said it will focus on repaying debts from its $16 billion buyout of Beam Inc. before seeking further acquisitions.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 16, 2014

China's hunger for sea cucumbers reaches African islands

As evening falls over Sierra Leone's Banana Island archipelago, bats stream from their beachside roosts to circle in their thousands over the jungle village of Dublin.
BUSINESS
May 15, 2014

Trilateral investment deal on course

A three-way investment deal involving Japan, China and South Korea will take effect Saturday, China's Commerce Ministry said, despite tension between the neighbors.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2014

Blanchett channels Blanche for Oscar-winning role in 'Blue Jasmine'

When actress Cate Blanchett took to the stage at this year's Academy Awards, winning the best actress Oscar for her performance in "Blue Jasmine," she delivered a memorable and eloquent speech.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2014

'Wood Job!'

Shinobu Yaguchi has become a consistent hit maker by following a simple formula: generate laughs from the stumbles and mistakes of heroes learning a new job, art or sport. This formula usually results in audience cheers and tears when triumph finally arrives after many ups and downs. Examples include...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 15, 2014

'Post Tenebras Lux'

If you wanted to make a parody of the modern art film, you'd have a hard time making it more ridiculous than Carlos Reygadas' glacially paced, obtuse, festival-focused film "Post Tenebras Lux," which somehow won him Best Director at Cannes in 2012.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 15, 2014

Unique long-necked dinosaur unearthed in Argentina

It is not exactly small at 30 feet long (9 meters), but you might want to call this newly identified dinosaur the littlest giant.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2014

Sony posts massive annual net loss

Sony Corp. continues to struggle to rebuild its electronics businesses, reporting on Wednesday a ¥128.4 billion net loss for the business year that ended March 31.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 14, 2014

Nagoya hosts works from one of the largest collections in the U.S.

For Malcolm Rogers, the Ann and Graham Gund Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), visiting Japan in mid-April had a special resonance. The MFA this year celebrates its 15th anniversary of ties with what is not only its very first sister museum, but also its sole sister museum in Asia: the...
EDITORIALS
May 14, 2014

Redressing vote-value disparity

Lawmakers' personal interests should not be allowed to stand in the way of reforms to reduce the disparity in the value of votes.
Reader Mail
May 14, 2014

Where the war buck stopped

With regard to Timothy Bedwell's letter, "Denier won't let war wounds heal," I'd like to add my two pence worth.
Japan Times
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
May 14, 2014

Zaccheroni sticks to his guns despite surprise Okubo choice

Yoshito Okubo's dramatic World Cup recall may have grabbed the headlines when national team manager Alberto Zaccheroni unveiled his squad for Brazil on Monday, but the Italian's final roster was anything but impulsive.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 13, 2014

Population panel draws line in sand

To prevent a crisis, Japan should try to keep its population at 100 million for the next 50 years by devoting more resources to child-rearing, a panel says.
JAPAN
May 13, 2014

Abe to get Article 9 proposals Thursday

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Article 9 panel will propose its conditions for using collective self-defense under a reinterpreted Constitution on Thursday.
JAPAN
May 13, 2014

Inamine to lead anti-base group to Washington

Nago Mayor Susumu Inamine will lead a delegation of Okinawa residents and politicians to Washington on Thursday, as tensions rise between the mayor and the central government over the plan to build a U.S. military replacement base in the city's Henoko district.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
May 13, 2014

Message themes woven into songs by J-pop's Hart

Chris Hart's appearance on "Kohaku Uta Gassen," NHK's annual New Year's Eve music extravaganza last December, "became one of the two most memorable stages (of his career) so far," he said in a recent interview.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
May 13, 2014

Let's not forget the sake at world food events

On the afternoon of April 28, at an intimate gathering in London's Ametsa restaurant, a cluster of admirers with champagne flutes in hand fluttered around chef Helena Rizzo. The Brazilian Rizzo, who helms the acclaimed restaurant Mani in Sao Paulo, had recently been named the World's Best Female Chef,...

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan