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EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2013

Reducing the toll on taxpayers

As government subsidies for discounted expressway tolls are set to be scaled back in April, the current scheme that relies heavily on taxpayer money should be replaced with a more sustainable one that takes into account the need to renovate aging infrastructure this century.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 17, 2013

Some of the year's best music was free

Variety wasn't something the Oricon Charts delivered much over the course of 2013. With few exceptions, the biggest sellers were the same as they ever were — Johnny's boy bands such as Arashi, Kanjani 8 and Kis-My-FT2; AKB48 and their affiliated projects; and a variety of rock 'n' roll fossils. Not...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 11, 2013

The noisy posters of the silent 1920s

When the Communists seized control of Russia in late 1917, they found themselves in a difficult position. According to Marxist theory, the revolution should have happened hundreds of miles further west in one of the more industrialized countries, such as Britain or Germany, with a working class that...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 7, 2013

Fabled strand of 500 pines

Beautiful beaches, we've all seen our share, right? But a beautiful beach that's also historic and sacred? That sounds worth driving out of our way for — especially as the way takes us over a span I've long yearned to traverse: the Ondo Bridge, a delightful crimson structure over the Ondo Strait, a...
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 4, 2013

Judge says Detroit can file for bankruptcy

A federal bankruptcy judge granted Detroit unprecedented powers Tuesday to shed billions of dollars in debt, including the ability to slash city employee pensions despite a state constitutional provision protecting them.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 27, 2013

Suspicious of NSA spying, Microsoft eyes encryption

Microsoft is moving toward a major new effort to encrypt its Internet traffic amid fears that the National Security Agency may have broken into its global communications links, people familiar with the emerging plans said.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 1, 2013

U.S. evaluates blowback from revelations it spied on allies

Weeks before he was sworn in, President-elect Barack Obama was given an extensive briefing on the secret operations of U.S. spy agencies, as well as a warning: "You need to give up your BlackBerry," Obama was told, according to former officials familiar with the meeting. "If you use that phone, you are...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 26, 2013

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo: Invisible touch

Clothing that morphs into a person's body shape at the flick of a wrist sounds like something straight out of a science-fiction film, but such innovations were on display at the wonderful Anrealage show at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo last week. Designer Kunihiko Morinaga has developed an in-seam...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 26, 2013

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo: Walking the line

The menswear schedule looked somewhat lacking on paper this season at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo. The big names that would normally take the lead in international coverage — namely, Takeshi Osumi's post-Phenomenon project, Mr.Gentleman, or the internationally friendly Whiz Limited — were...
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Oct 22, 2013

Preferred Hotel's loyalty program; Talking about digitization in education; Exhibition of Edo Period kimono stencils

NEW SERVICES
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Oct 11, 2013

Camera Grandma's photos document Gifu village's demise

Izu Photo Museum in Nagaizumi, Shizuoka Prefecture, is exhibiting the work of late amateur photographer Tazuko Masuyama on the Tokuyama Dam in Gifu Prefecture, where a small village vanished under the waters of a reservoir decades ago.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 10, 2013

Fashion Week's side shows give the public a rare seat next to their runways

Next week is Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo but, chances are, you’re not invited. Before that teen trauma of being excluded sets in, don’t panic — there’s a ton of alternative events to get dolled up for.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON: FASHION
Oct 7, 2013

Madstore, Christian Dada, Alexander Wang make Tokyo debuts, while Parco pushes the envelope

Alexander Wang lands in Aoyama
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 17, 2013

How Wal-Mart's Waltons maintain their billionaire fortune

Visitors to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, leave appreciative notes on a glass wall near the entrance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 11, 2013

'Soul of Meiji: Edward Sylvester Morse, His Day by Day With Kindhearted People'

American zoologist Edward Sylvester Morse was one of the leading figures in the popularization of Japanese ceramic art overseas. While on a science research trip to Japan in 1877, Morse amassed a collection of more than 5,000 pieces of pottery. For his service and academic contributions to Japan, he...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON: FASHION
Sep 9, 2013

Louis Vuitton celebrates its muses, while Control Bear heads its own store

Louis Vuitton is celebrating six of its designer's 'muses' in an interactive exhibition at the Tokyo Station Hotel. 'Timeless Muses' honors supermodel Kate Moss, film director Sofia Coppola, French actress Catherine Deneuve, novelist Franu00e7oise Sagan, architect Charlotte Perriand and, to bring the 'timeless' into context, 19th-century French Empress consort Eugu00e9nie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Sep 3, 2013

Closely knit friends in Daikanyama

I am sitting at a low wooden table with a group of Japanese mothers discussing the pros and cons of different knitting stitches.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 31, 2013

Irish poet, 'Beowulf' translator Seamus Heaney dies

Seamus Heaney, the Irish poet whose verse captured the transcendent power, darkness and humanity of his conflicted homeland, died Friday at a hospital in Dublin. He was 74.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Aug 29, 2013

Weekday organic lunch at ANA Tokyo; Mount Fuji desserts in Hakone; try champion bartender's cocktails

Weekday organic lunch at ANA Tokyo
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Aug 24, 2013

Reflecting at leisure on who we are and where we live

My day job as a professor in Japan offers precious few chances to take a step back from work and give the old brain a bit of free rein. But August is one such golden opportunity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 12, 2013

Toyokazu Nagano: Dad's pictures of the kids that others do want to see

In 2008, Toyokazu Nagano, like proud parents do, started taking pictures of his daughters: eating breakfast, playing outdoors — slices of everyday life. However, for each candid image he took, he was vexed by missing another perfect moment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 12, 2013

Ainu fight for return of plundered ancestral remains

Shigeru Kayano, one of the most well-known and respected Ainu figures of modern times, writes in his autobiography "Our Land Was a Forest" about the loathing he felt as a young man for the shamo (Japanese) researchers who used to visit his village and family home.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 4, 2013

NSA leaks allow Wyden chance at privacy debate

It was one of the strangest personal crusades on Capitol Hill: For years, Sen. Ron Wyden said he was worried that intelligence agencies were violating Americans' privacy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 29, 2013

Recommendations for Setouchi Triennale island hoppers

This year more than 150 new artworks are being introduced at the Setouchi Triennale, making a total of around 200 pieces in the islands' collection.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 28, 2013

Idaho mom sues Obama over surveillance program

Anna Smith is a mother of two who lives in rural Idaho, works the night shift as a nurse and goes to the gym a lot. She rarely follows the news and knows little about the debate over government surveillance and privacy that has rocked Washington in recent weeks.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 28, 2013

Breakneck NSA growth fueled by insatiable demand for its product

Twelve years later, the cranes and earthmovers around the National Security Agency are still at work, tearing up pavement and uprooting trees to make room for a larger workforce and more powerful computers. Already bigger than the Pentagon in square meters, the NSA's footprint will grow by an additional...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 26, 2013

Bankrupt Detroit pins hopes on arts

James Morris is the owner of DSE, a downtown Detroit T-shirt business. He hadn't noticed that his city had filed for bankruptcy and he doesn't particularly care. "There hasn't been a moment when Detroit wasn't dealing with problems. Now it's just official," he said.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji