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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 23, 2013

North Korea occupies Fukuoka in Murakami's alternate world

Not to be confused with another famous Japanese novelist who has the same surname, Ryu Murakami is known for being an overtly political, even subversive, writer. "From the Fatherland, With Love," his latest novel to be translated into English, cements that reputation. Taking place in an alternate world...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 21, 2013

Gallus: Torishiki spinoff is a chick of the same feather

It's always exciting when a favorite restaurant sprouts an offshoot, especially if that restaurant is among the best of its kind in the city. And even more so when it's such a hot table that reservations are nigh-on impossible.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 21, 2013

'After Earth'

It's the year 1,000 A.E. — After Earth, hence the name of the movie — a millennium since humanity fled an ecologically ravaged Earth for a new home on another planet. Commander Cypher Raige (Will Smith) and his sulky 13-year-old son Kitai (Jaden Smith) are out on a routine training mission when their...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jun 21, 2013

Beer garden in Shiba Park; Turkish cuisine at Hilton Nagoya; photo exhibit at ANA Tokyo

Prince hotel beer garden in Shiba Park
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 20, 2013

Are we all blinded by our sense of beauty?

Sophie Calle is an enigma. She is an artist, writer, photographer and filmmaker yet doesn't work exclusively in any of these areas. She has become famous for her work in photography but her objects and later films have drawn equal attention — work that carries with it the curiosity of a detective who...
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2013

San Francisco hits sex-slave remarks; Hashimoto defiant

Osaka Mayor and Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader Toru Hashimoto remained defiant Wednesday in the face of a fresh round of domestic and international criticism over his comments that Japan's wartime "comfort women" system of sex slavery was necessary at the time.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 20, 2013

'Leo Lionni: Book! Art! Book!'

Leo Lionni was an accomplished painter, sculptor and graphic designer, but he is best known as the acclaimed author and illustrator of popular children's books such as "Swimmy" and "Frederick."
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2013

'Abenomics' in a race against clock

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party is headed for victory in July's Upper House election, yet the batteries to Abe's revival plan are running out.
BUSINESS
Jun 20, 2013

When the sun doesn't shine, who should pay?

It's a sight that would bring joy to anyone who has ever paid an electric bill: that little wheel on the meter outside your home literally spinning backward, signaling a reduction in your payment and the distribution of excess electricity to your neighbors.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 19, 2013

With refrigerators, bigger is better in more ways than you think

Smaller is not cheaper when it comes to refrigerators.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / ABE'S PROMISES
Jun 19, 2013

Lofty educational ideal: Ability to prevail on global stage

Universities are starting to try out all sorts of new and innovative ways for Japan to develop human resources capable of 'prevailing on the world stage.'
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 18, 2013

Turkish unrest could spread as potential flash points abound

The turmoil in Turkey entered a new stage Sunday, with riot police tearing through residential neighborhoods in Istanbul to clear streets of protesters as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a fiery speech to tens of thousands of supporters on the city's outskirts.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jun 17, 2013

'Abenomics' and the wild pursuit of inflation for inflation's sake

From June 5 to 6, more than five months after launching his Cabinet, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened the government's three councils on economic and fiscal policy, industrial competitiveness and science and technology.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 17, 2013

Ultra-easy money experiment impedes reform

The ultra-easy monetary experiment is impeding the necessary process of deleveraging, threatening central banks' 'independence' and raising asset prices.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 16, 2013

Historical biography captures the spirit of early feminist Japan

Time distorts, concealing the individual drops of humanity within the great tide of history. "Beauty in Disarray" attempts to reveal one such individual threatened to be lost in time, a woman named Noe Ito. In telling Ito's tragic story, biographer Harumi Setouchi (now known by her Buddhist name Jakucho)...
JAPAN
Jun 16, 2013

Potter Kakiemon Sakaida dies at 78

Eminent potter Kakiemon Sakaida, who maintained the tradition of Kakiemon-style porcelain, dies of cancer at a hospital in Saga at age 78.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 16, 2013

Writers' elegant letters to each other suffer from lack of venom and indiscretion

The demise of letter writing is the cause of widespread lament.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 15, 2013

Soul singer has handle on the ups, considerable downs of creative life

When vocalist Herb Kendrick, better known simply by his nickname "Q," takes the stage next week in Tokyo, he will be appearing onstage for the first time in nearly a year. The gig at What the Dickens in Ebisu is being billed as the singer's comeback. Not only is it a comeback, it's nothing short of a...
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Jun 14, 2013

Proof of 'Abenomics' pudding is in execution

The third pillar of 'Abenomics' approved by the Cabinet may have lacked the impact of its two predecessors, but everything will hinge on the steady execution of all three.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 14, 2013

'Great Gatsby' reunites Luhrmann, DiCaprio

"The Great Gatsby" is a classic novel from 1925 that is often a required part of the school curriculum in North America. However, it has yet to become a classic film.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 14, 2013

'Kiseki no Ringo (Miracle Apples)'

Raised on a small farm in Southern Ohio, my grandfather hunted and grew much of the food we ate at the enormous Sunday dinners my grandmother prepared, from tasty quail and rabbit to fresh sweet corn and tomatoes. The piece de resistance was often apple pie, made from fruit harvested from backyard trees....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 14, 2013

'The Impossible'

Clint Eastwood's "Hereafter" had the misfortune of having opened in local cinemas just before March 11, 2011. After the trauma of a real-life tsunami hitting Japan, few were in the mood to see a Hollywood special-effects version of the same.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 14, 2013

'The Great Gatsby'

Baz Luhrmann does justice to F. Scott Fitzgerald's most intriguing creation: Jay Gatsby, the man referred to in the book title as "The Great." As far as adaptations go, Luhrmann's version beats the 1974 version that starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow hands down. That was a sorrowful, soulful tale...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 13, 2013

'Edo's Four Seasons: Seasonal Events and Scenes of Daily Life in Ukiyo-e'

During the Edo Period (1603-1867), celebrating the characteristics of the four seasons was a popular past time, and it involved hosting traditional events that people still enjoy today. These include hanami (cherry-blossom viewing) in the spring, the Tanabata star festival in summer, tsukimi (moon viewing)...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 11, 2013

Can brain scans explain crime?

University of Pennsylvania neuroscientist Adrian Raine, author of "The Anatomy of Violence," believes that advances in brain imagery are helping to explain the biological roots of crime. American Enterprise Institute scholar and psychiatrist Sally Satel, co-author of "Brainwashed," is wary of the seduction...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 11, 2013

Hague Convention on child abduction may shape Japan's family law — or vice versa

Giant Hello Kitty-emblazoned kudos to Japan for finally signing the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. Now comes the hard part: actually making it work.

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