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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2013

Manga: Gekiga capture the underbelly of ’70s Japan

'I don't know much about manga but I know what I like' could well be the title of this review. Despite the urgings of enthusiastic friends ever since the 1970s, I sedulously avoided reading works in this genre.
EDITORIALS
Oct 26, 2013

Is job hunting a suicide risk?

The stress of job hunting has become so extreme in recent years that one in five college students contemplates suicide during the job-hunting process, according to a poll taken last summer.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 25, 2013

Ferguson open for criticism after revelations in book

It is difficult to judge which produced the bigger laugh in "Sir Alex Ferguson — My Autobiography," launched this week in a manner that makes Hollywood premieres seem like a quiet evening in.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / HOTEL SPECIAL 2013
Oct 24, 2013

Oasis of peace in Tokyo

In the middle of the downtown Tokyo district of Ebisu, there is a green oasis where people can forget about the hustle and bustle of city life. The new garden at The Westin Tokyo in Yebisu Garden Place is called The Westin Garden and was opened this April to let guests enjoy a refreshing time in the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 24, 2013

'Bashauma-san to Bigmouth (The Workhorse and the Bigmouth)'

It's hardly surprising that gaman ("perseverance") is the watchword of many a local movie. Just as their heroes gut through to glory in film after film, real-life Japanese endure everything from deadly natural disasters to boring meetings, telling each other to ganbaro ("keep trying"). How admirable,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 23, 2013

Japan: no safe country for foreign women

When I first moved to Japan, I tolerated the staring, following and the persistent pickup artists, but after being assaulted twice in public, they have taken on darker undertones.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 23, 2013

The importance of being Yokoyama

Big exhibitions of famous Japanese artists are usually held on important anniversaries of their birth or death. The Taikan Yokoyama exhibition now on at the Yokohama Museum of Art, however, breaks with this convention. Rather than marking the 150th, 100th or 50th anniversary of the birth or death of...
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Oct 20, 2013

Experts play down fish radiation fear

Given the flood of radioactive water gushing into the Pacific from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 complex, how safe, or dangerous, are fish caught off northeast Japan?
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 20, 2013

Ahead of World Cup, inequities ignite ire in Brazil

The night of June 30 was one of intense drama in Rio de Janeiro. Inside the newly refurbished Maracana stadium, still slick with plaster dust, a gladiatorial atmosphere turned to celebration as Neymar scored Brazil's second goal in a 3-0 victory over Spain in the Confederations Cup final, on the cusp...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 19, 2013

U.S. helped asylum-seeker Wang tell Beijing about Bo in 2012: Clinton

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has disclosed new information about the United States' role in a major 2012 diplomatic incident in which a Chinese official sought asylum at a U.S. consulate but was turned away. The incident — which helped trigger the downfall of prominent Communist...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Oct 18, 2013

Norma Field, champion of Japan's leftist literature, retires — but not from anti-nuclear activism

A colleague once told me he didn't want to be attached to lost causes,' says academic Norma Field. 'I've never understood thinking like that. The bright spots in human history are so few. We should embrace and magnify them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2013

Terajima brings legacy to TIFF

The 40-year-old is a dramatic force, with undiluted acting DNA coursing through her veins. Her father is kabuki actor Onoe Kikugoro VII, whose family lineage can be traced back seven centuries. Her mother is treasured actress Sumiko Fuji, whose own father was a famed producer for Toei Films.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 16, 2013

'Edward II': The director's take

Two years ago, Shintaro Mori made his directorial debut at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, with a minimalist production of Samuel Beckett's absurdist masterpiece "Waiting for Godot." Now, at age 37, he's back there at the helm of probably one of the West's first-ever plays with an openly gay theme —...
Reader Mail
Oct 16, 2013

Kanji delays students' objectives

Regarding Shinjiru Kanda's Oct. 10 letter, "Kanji requirement for daily life": Today kanji serves only a decorative purpose in the Japanese language and daily life. It is not essential for communication or written expression when hiragana plus some katakana can do what kanji does.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Oct 16, 2013

Adoption and fostering, animal homes and a tribute: readers' mail

In response to a recent story about adoption and foster parenting in Japan, one woman recounts her life of doing both.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Oct 15, 2013

Take the kids to the future at Miraikan

The National Museum for Emerging Science and Innovation stands prominently near the shore of Tokyo Bay, but it looks more like a space station on the edge of a far-off galaxy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 15, 2013

Perfume dances to No. 1 with hard-edged new album 'Level3'

"Level3" is No. 1 on Japan's Oricon music chart this week, but it is not a J-pop album.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 12, 2013

U.S. role in aiding Pinochet

To bomb or not to bomb? That is the question that has been exercising self-proclaimed liberal interventionists over the past two decades, from Bosnia to Syria. The argument that divides public opinion across the Western world is how far military means can be used to punish dictators.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 11, 2013

How I bought drugs from 'dark net' — it's just like Amazon run by cartels

Dear FBI agents, my name is Carole Cadwalladr and in February this year I was asked to investigate the so-called dark net for a feature in a newspaper. I downloaded Tor on to my computer, the anonymous browser developed by the U.S. Navy, Googled "Silk Road drugs" and then cut and pasted this link silkroadvb5piz3r.onion...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 11, 2013

Strays become woman's calling

It's a typical evening in the Mercer-Tojo household. Susan Mercer, 37, has just settled down their 2-year-old for the night, tucking him in as he cuddles with five or six cats. Several dogs prowl restlessly, eager for a pat or a kind word. Scooping a kitten off the floor, Mercer settles down to wait...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 11, 2013

Social polarization dated back to Stone Age

Social polarization wasn't invented yesterday. Ask the scientists studying the bones of prehistoric Europeans. Hundreds of skeletal remains, many from a newly discovered cave in Germany, have produced a startling reminder of the power of social boundaries.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 10, 2013

Etw.Vonneguet designer draws inspiration from Pina Bausch for new collection

Under the alias "Olga," the Japanese designer behind Etw.Vonneguet has long been part of the official Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo, all the while challenging the institution by opening public auditions for models and welcoming anyone to her shows. This time she will break away from the official event...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2013

Yellen aims to take over Herculean effort at Fed

President Barack Obama formally nominated Janet Yellen as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, ensuring that the powerful U.S. central bank will be led for the next four years by someone who shares the basic philosophy of the current chairman, Ben Bernanke.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
Oct 8, 2013

As China targets graft, bribes abound in schools

For years, Yang Jie's friends warned her to save up for her daughter's education. Not for tuition or textbooks, but for the bribes needed to get into the city's better public schools.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 2013

Averting conflict over water

In an increasingly water-stressed world, shared water resources are becoming an instrument of power, fostering competition within and between nations and impacting ecosystems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 4, 2013

Passion for swords led Briton to forge career as expert

Tucked away in a quiet residential street in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward, the Japanese Sword Museum offers a glimpse into an era where men staked their honor and their lives on the blade.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo