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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 13, 2014

Ueno Park to welcome springtime with a song

The cherry trees of Ueno Park are inspirational in full bloom. Come early spring and Tokyoites head to the area early to snag spots beneath the pink blossoms, which inspire romance, revelry and perhaps more than a few visionary ideas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 13, 2014

Sebastian Masuda's mission to take Harajuku art global

New York is not a city one automatically associates with the Japanese concept of kawaii — lovably, irresistibly, dependably cute. But if Sebastian Masuda, the so-called "king of kawaii," has his way, the mean streets of "Goodfellas" may one day emanate a candy-colored glow.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Mar 13, 2014

BitSummit reveals tantalizing homemade worlds of play

After a successful debut last year, former Q-Games producer James Mielke once again shone a light on Japan's independent gaming scene with the second edition of BitSummit, a gathering of independent developers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 12, 2014

The many reinventions of Masamu Yanase

If ever an artist was in a constant state of reinvention, it was Masamu Yanase (1900-1945), now the subject of a full-scale exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, Hayama. "Yanase Masamu: A Retrospective 1900-1945" brings together more than 500 of the artist's works, large and small, for a comprehensive...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 12, 2014

Paris Opera Ballet chief hails Japan 'challenge'

Thanks to Louis XIV's love of dance, French is the language of ballet and Paris has remained the center of the art for more than 300 years since the Sun King's splendiferous 72-year reign ended with his death in 1715.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 12, 2014

'Nakamura Kazumi'

The oil paintings of Kazumi Nakamura — sometimes visually simple as the works of Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko, and at other times as complex as a Jackson Pollock — are the result of an exploration of the ultimate question of artists: "What is the meaning of a painting?"
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 11, 2014

Catalan cuisine, sake's international pairing pal

"Please, just one bite," cajoled Derrick Lim, patting my shoulder like a solicitous Asian grandmother. "You have to try this dish." A certified sake professional, Lim had been explaining the concept behind his latest venture — a sake-and-tapas bar called Bam, located on Singapore's trendy Tras Street...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 10, 2014

Stakes high as ailing U.S. Navy sailors take on Tepco over Fukushima fallout

If successful, this U.S. court case opens up the possibility of Fukushima-related claims from not just American military personnel and their dependents but potentially thousands of Japanese who experienced the fallout.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2014

Life indoors exacts toll on Koriyama children

Some of the smallest children in Koriyama, a short drive from the ruined Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, barely know what it's like to play outside — fear of radiation has kept them indoors for much of their short lives.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 9, 2014

I hereby take myself as my lawfully wedded yome

I was trudging home the other night with a dōryō (同僚, colleague) after another in a series of sābisu zangyō (サービス残業, unpaid overtime) sessions, debating whether to skip dinner or stop off at the nearest 24-hour sūpā (スーパー, supermarket). Out of the blue, my colleague asked...
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2014

The Ukraine balancing act

The crisis in Ukraine appears to be receding and morphing into a balancing act between the interests of Russia and the West, with Crimea set to vote on its future in a referendum.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Mar 9, 2014

Honda's robotics tech headed for homes of the future

As technology evolves, every household is predicted to have at least one robot in the future, just as many of today's consumers feel incomplete without Internet access or a mobile phone.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 9, 2014

Missing Malaysia Airlines jet mystery deepens with stolen passports

Oil slicks signaled that a missing Malaysia Airlines jet may have crashed in the Gulf of Thailand even as the mystery surrounding the plane deepened with the discovery that two passengers used stolen passports.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 8, 2014

Media complicit in normalizing xenophobia

Since Japanese reporters are averse to characterizing domestic right-wing positions as being extreme, those positions come across as being normal, even sensible.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 8, 2014

3-D printers may make human organs

Three-dimensional printing used to construct everything from art to toys to spare parts for space stations may one day produce human organs at a hospital near you.
COMMENTARY
Mar 8, 2014

A student's responsibility for education

It's good that Japan is open to improving its system of education, but it may want to consider the disadvantages of the American approach that practically exempts students of responsibility for their education.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 7, 2014

Job market set to overheat with labor shortage

Kazufumi Yamamoto is having such a hard time finding waiters and sushi chefs to fill jobs at Ganko Food Service Co. that he's going to boost wages for the first time in more than a decade.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 6, 2014

All-genre focus is the key to Art Fair Tokyo's success

It is difficult to criticize Art Fair Tokyo, the commercial art fair that celebrates its ninth edition at Tokyo International Forum in Yurakucho this weekend. Truth be told, it's a wonder that the event has reached nine editions at all, what with the inherent fickleness of the art market and Japan's...
EDITORIALS
Mar 5, 2014

Much more than mere vandalism

Although most of more than 300 copies of 'Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl' and other Holocaust-related publications recently discovered vandalized in Tokyo and Yokohama libraries have been replaced, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department should leave no stone unturned in its effort to find those responsible for the acts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2014

'Field Reflection'

For this show, "field" is not simply a geographical space; here it refers to a delicate composition of nature, weather and people.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 3, 2014

Loved abroad, hated at home: The art of Japanese tattooing

The perception gap between international views of irezumi and those of Japanese people dates back more than 150 years, to when foreigners first laid eyes on Japanese tattoos. Since that time, however, Japanese tattooists have influenced their foreign counterparts in remarkable ways — and sometimes vice-versa.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 3, 2014

Tokyo: What's the story behind your tattoo?

Some foreign residents spill the stories behind their ink.
BUSINESS
Mar 2, 2014

Underwater gold rush spurs fears of ocean calamity

This is the last frontier: the ocean floor, 4,000 meters beneath the waters of the central Pacific, where mining companies are now exploring for the rich deposits of ores needed to keep industry humming and smartphones switched on.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Mar 1, 2014

Masako Shirasu: woman of the world

"If you use beautiful things every day, you will naturally cultivate an eye for beautiful things without giving it a second thought. In the end, you will be repelled when you encounter the ugly and the fake. If only all Japan would come to see this, how much more joyous our lives would be and how genial...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 1, 2014

Doraemon, the robot cat, gets your tongue

An earless blue robotic cat, one pocket bulging with gadgets from the future and a lifelong fear of mice: Who is he? Japan roars the answer — but English readers may be stumped. Because, even though he's a government-appointed "cultural ambassador" and a familiar face in more than 30 countries, with...

Longform

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most iconic players in NPB and MLB history, was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote.
With Hall of Fame induction, Ichiro makes himself heard loud and clear