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Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 19, 2016

SMAP fans relieved but perplexed by apology over rumored breakup

Exceptional TV ratings, the apparent overloading of Twitter's servers and even a comment by the prime minister show the importance that Japan placed on the announcement that SMAP isn't breaking up.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 19, 2016

A wake-up call for Widodo

Indonesian President Joko Widodo must show the same leadership on the economy as he has in response to the Jakarta attacks.
CULTURE / Art
Jan 19, 2016

'The Great Masterpieces of Museum's Collection: "Red and White Plum Blossoms" and "Tea-leaf Jar With a Design of Wisteria" '

Jan. 29-March 6
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 19, 2016

The rise of drones: Can nations control the spy in the sky?

In India, it's illegal for a civilian to use a drone, though you wouldn't know it if you went to a Bollywood-style wedding.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jan 18, 2016

Kudo, Saito lead Class of '16 into Japan's Baseball Hall of Fame

Masaki Saito and Kimiyasu Kudo, a pair of former MVP hurlers, were voted into the Japanese baseball Hall of Fame, the organization announced on Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jan 18, 2016

Loving you for a long time with 'zutto'

Introducing various meanings and ways of using the adverb u305au3063u3068, which expresses greatness.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2016

Israel pays close attention to Putin, with good reason

Israel's interests vis-a-vis Russia run wide and deep, and are impossible for Jerusalem to ignore.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 18, 2016

Indonesia's Jokowi under pressure to revamp terrorism laws following Jakarta attack

The first Islamic State-linked attack on the world's most populous Muslim nation puts more pressure on Indonesian President Joko Widodo to give the military a bigger role and add legal heft to anti-terrorism efforts.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 17, 2016

Inspiration that comes in dreams and rice balls

Ichiko Aoba takes her seat at an old-fashioned coffee house in Tokyo's Shibuya district, and places a sketchpad and a plump pouch of rolling tobacco on the table. During the hour-long conversation that follows, the tobacco goes untouched, but the sketchpad gets a thorough workout. As she talks, the 25-year-old...
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jan 17, 2016

Foreign tourism emerges as bright spot amid Japan's dim economic prospects

With few positive signs of recovery for Japan's slumping economy, foreign tourism remains a sole ray of hope, and tourism authorities, local governments, industry players as well as retailers are eagerly awaiting another possibly record-breaking surge in Chinese tourists during next month's Chinese New...
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jan 17, 2016

Fukushima town hopes to translate kanji and sake into tourism cash

Residents of Kitakata, a northwestern Fukushima Prefecture city known for promoting antiquated Japanese kanji, are stepping up efforts to attract more tourists by linking the pictographs to sake breweries in the area.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 16, 2016

Murakami is right about jazz and the brain

"Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering."
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Jan 16, 2016

Smart ways to keep the smartphone in good shape

The attraction to Iina-inobe cables
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 16, 2016

Lost Japan

Originally published in Japanese in 1993 (with the English translation following in 1996), "Lost Japan," the first book by Alex Kerr, has recently been re-released by Penguin. A fascinating chronicle of Kerr's diverse interactions with the country, the book spans such subjects as restoring a traditional...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 15, 2016

The joy of eating Japan's traditional clay-pot cuisine

It's the autumn of 2013, and dusk falls over the historic Nagatani-en pottery works in the hills above the city of Iga, Mie Prefecture. As the employees finish their shifts and head home, the squat buildings fall quiet and dark — all except the 200-year-old residence at the heart of this artisan complex,...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 15, 2016

More aid trucked into besieged Syrian towns; U.N. brands starvation tactic war crime

A second batch of aid reached a besieged Syrian town and two trapped villages on Thursday and the United Nations accused rival factions of committing war crimes by causing civilians to starve to death.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 14, 2016

Ted Cruz reportedly did not disclose 2012 Senate campaign loan

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz failed to disclose to the Federal Election Commission a loan from Goldman Sachs for as much as $500,000 that was used to help finance his successful 2012 U.S. Senate campaign, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 13, 2016

North Korea turns more erratic as Kim's inner circle shrinks

Days after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test, its official television network showed the No. 2 man in the regime, 60-something Gen. Hwang Pyong So, kneeling and covering his mouth to address leader Kim Jong Un, who nodded in his seat as he turned his face away.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2016

Fujikyuko to introduce new Fujisan train to commemorate 90th anniversary

Railway firm Fujikyuko Co. is set to introduce a new Fujisan View Express train later this year as a part of a project to commemorate its 90th anniversary.
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 13, 2016

Warnings emerge of Islamic State in Philippines, latest nation in region to face threat

There are growing signs of support for the Islamic State group in the southern Philippines, despite assertions by Manila that militants in the region are little more than criminal gangs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 12, 2016

'Leonardo Da Vinci: Beyond the Visible'

Jan. 16-April 10
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 12, 2016

Kim impressed after 11-year-old You wins national title

History was made in Seoul on Sunday at the South Korean national championships when 11-year-old You Young won the senior women's singles competition.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2016

Regional interests fuel Middle East's Cold War

The Iran-Saudi Arabia rivalry could derail efforts to stabilize the Middle East and make a bad regional environment much worse.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2016

The business of being Bowie

David Bowie could see the future more clearly than most people.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jan 12, 2016

Merkel facing pressure as German gangs target foreigners after Dec. 31 assaults blamed on migrants

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced growing pressure to harden her line on refugees on Monday as the first extensive police report on New Year's Eve violence in Cologne documented rampant sexual assaults on women by gangs of young migrant men.

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