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Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Sep 22, 2016

Alvark hold off Golden Kings as B. League opens inaugural season

Yoyogi National Gymnasium holds a special place in Japan basketball history, including its role in hosting tournament games during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 22, 2016

Kabuki's Bando Tamasaburo V takes Kodo drum troupe in an artistic new direction with 'Spiral'

To celebrate its 35th anniversary, the internationally renowned Kodo drumming troupe staged three days of performances at Tokyo's Suntory Hall in mid-August, with a different theme for each show.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Sep 22, 2016

AIIB holdout Japan risks missing out on the infrastructure contracts it seeks

When Canada said in August it would join the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, all eyes turned to Japan and the U.S.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2016

A conduit to China, Japan dodges pressure to ban ivory sales

Defying international pressure, Japan has stopped short of deciding to shut down its market for elephant ivory, traditionally used to carve hanko (personal seals). Instead it is promising to put trade on a tighter leash.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Sep 21, 2016

Alvark, Golden Kings eager to deliver entertainment, quality competition in B. League opener

One day before the opening game of the B. League's first season between the Alvark Tokyo and Ryukyu Golden Kings at Yoyogi National Gymnasium, the players and coaches were ecstatic, saying they are ready to put on a show the next day to usher in a new era of Japanese basketball.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2016

Hany Abu-Assad: Making strong voices heard

Ever since the first series of "Pop Idol" screened on British TV in 2001, the televised music competition has become practically inescapable, with franchises springing up everywhere from Macedonia to the Maldives. Given how cannily stage-managed these "reality" shows really are, though, it almost comes...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 20, 2016

Maintaining momentum on 2030 SDG goals

The first anniversary of the adoption of the sustainable development goals is an opportunity to celebrate all achievements made and to do more to make SDGs a reality.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2016

Snowden is turning into a liability for Putin

The Kremlin does its best to squeeze local critics out of the country or discredit them, but it's stuck harboring a foreigner whose initial gratitude may have worn out.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 18, 2016

The Novembers have an 11th-hour (or 11th-year) rock epiphany

Yusuke Kobayashi, singer and guitarist of rock band The Novembers, is wearing a black Pink Floyd T-shirt and sipping a tea as I sit down to chat with him in a cafe in Tokyo's Ebisu neighborhood.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2016

Putin picks new wave of ideological cronies

Russia's president is doing his best to fill the ideological vacuum created by the fall of communism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 17, 2016

Abe to seek Cuba's help over North Korea and boost trade during trip

In the first ever visit to Cuba by a Japanese prime minister, Abe hopes to gain Havana's support in dealing with its ally Pyongyang over its nuclear provocations.
WORLD
Sep 17, 2016

Syria airstrike killed Islamic State propaganda chief, U.S. military says

The Pentagon said Friday that a U.S.-led coalition airstrike on Sept. 7 killed an Islamic State leader who oversaw the militant group's propaganda.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Sep 16, 2016

How Chinese stir-frying snuck into Japanese homes

Stir-frying, often thought to be a part of all East and Southeast Asian cuisines, has a fairly short history in Japan. The method of rapidly cooking chopped food in oil over a hot fire was first introduced to the country by Chinese immigrants in the Meiji Period (1868-1912). This was the era when restaurants...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 15, 2016

From the latest titles to VR and cosplay, the Tokyo Game Show has been in Japan's corner for 20 years

Twenty years ago, two new video game trade shows launched in Tokyo with the hopes of capturing the attention — and yen — of gamers in Japan. The first Tokyo Game Show (TGS) took place from Aug. 22 to 24, 1996, and was followed that November by E3 Tokyo, a Japanese offshoot of the U.S.-based Electronic...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Sep 15, 2016

Chic dining in the heart of the city; celebrating Nagasaki cuisine; package offers indulgences for men

Chic dining in the heart of the city
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2016

Hungary's refugee response just the beginning

Global refugees are more numerous today than at any other time since 1950, but in 20 years there will probably be five or 10 times as many — and the borders will be slamming shut everywhere.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Sep 15, 2016

Enthusiastic players unite to promote new league

Players were upbeat and enthusiastic, and a positive vibe filled the room.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 15, 2016

Kerry, Lavrov look to extend Syria truce by 48 hours before waging joint strikes against terror targets

The United States and Russia agreed that the Syrian cessation of hostilities that began on Monday had largely held and should be extended for another 48 hours despite sporadic violence, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 14, 2016

Japan's dual citizens get a tacit nod but keep their status in the shadows

Is the 'don't ask, don't tell' status quo the ideal situation for a country that tends to be reflexively conservative on issues of race and nationality yet benefits from the dual-citizen population?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2016

'The Red Turtle': Studio Ghibli takes an intriguing turn

Two years ago the English-speaking internet world was shaken by the news that Japan's most beloved animation house, Studio Ghibli, would be closing its doors for good. The story, which originated from a fan blog and was picked up by a variety of more reputable outlets that should've known better, quickly...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2016

Japan tries to decode Duterte after joint U.S. patrols halted

A day after the Philippine president said he plans to halt joint maritime patrols with foreign navies, Japan's government was trying to make sense of developments, with one senior official saying Tokyo will persevere with a nuanced approach to ties.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 14, 2016

Don't assume that humans can't be replaced

Machines have never replaced humans before, but there is no reason why the future will look like the past.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic