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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 29, 2016

The future of rice farming in Japan

Rice has been at the center of Japan's economy and culture for centuries. But changes are afoot. There is growing concern among Japanese farmers that the country's rice-producing capabilities are diminishing in the face of international trade pacts such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In fact, all...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / AEC SPECIAL
Jan 29, 2016

Tourism on the rise across ASEAN region

ASEAN is enriched with attractive tourism destinations that include renowned resorts in breathtaking natural surroundings and historical places that are designated as World Heritage sites.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 19, 2016

The frayed edges of modern Japan

In the Edo Period (1603-1868) and the years that followed, Japan made strenuous efforts to bring together its patchwork of feudal regions into a strongly centralized state with a unified culture. Accordingly, the nation now is one of the most homogenous in the world. But there are a couple of places...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 5, 2015

Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style

Tokyo, September 1964: A squad of plainclothes police descend on the tony Ginza shopping district and round up hundreds of Japanese youths who had outraged local businesses. Their crime? Loitering in what was then outre style — button-down shirts, skinny ties, suit jackets and chino pants. These delinquents...
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Oct 23, 2015

China graft-buster says must learn from ancients to tackle corruption

China's ruling Communist Party must learn from the traditional virtues that have defined Chinese culture since ancient times as it tackles corruption, a problem that still hangs "acutely" in front of them, the top graft-buster wrote on Friday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 13, 2015

Pow! Wow! to pack a punch in Tokyo

Inspiration comes in many forms: It could be a piece of artwork that changes your vision of the world, or it could be a phone call from a friend that spawns an international art phenomenon.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 1, 2015

Poster woman for the war against the U.S.-led TPP

For Yoko Inoue, art is like a bomb: Throw it into a crowded street and the truth just might explode out of it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 28, 2015

Diet passes bill aimed at boosting women in the workplace

The Diet passed a bill Friday aiming to promote the role of women in the workplace, along with greater female participation in the economy at a time when the country's population is expected to shrink further.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2015

Oral tradition and the bomb

A new program pairs volunteers with survivors of the atomic bombings to their memories, their stories and their words alive via the tradition of oral storytelling.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 18, 2015

Underneath the 'Orientalist' kimono

Is it "racist" for non-Japanese to wear kimono? That question has been fiercely debated since protesters entered Boston's Museum of Fine Arts in late June to decry an exhibition encouraging visitors to try on a red uchikake kimono in front of a 1876 painting by Claude Monet of his wife wearing a similar...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 18, 2015

Project Anime asks the right questions

More than 90,000 attended the 24th annual Anime Expo (AX), North America's largest Japanese pop culture convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 2 to 5. The four-day event featured a concert by idol group Momoiro Clover Z, who were joined onstage by two members of veteran American...
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE JAPAN TIMES FORUM ON ENGINEERING
Jun 29, 2015

Working to cultivate and grow the next generation of engineers

Moderator: Would you please talk about the successful human resource cultivation that will contribute to the development of science and technology and engineering in Japan?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 3, 2015

Pregnancy and birth in Japan: a cultural primer for foreign mothers

Some aspects of Japanese prenatal care may leave foreign women bemused, bewildered — or even belligerent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
May 16, 2015

Anime oasis of the Midwest flourishes

The 18th annual Anime Central (ACen), North America’s third largest anime convention, is underway this weekend in Rosemont, near Chicago. Last year's event drew a record 29,000 unique attendees, tallying 81,000 in total over its three full days. Organizers expect to breach those figures again in 2015....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 12, 2015

The Louvre's spin on art history

The futuristic-looking National Art Center Tokyo (NACT) seems like a rather unusual venue for an exhibition of mainly 17th- and 18th-century European art sourced from Paris's famous Louvre Museum. But while the Louvre's collections are very much rooted in the past, the French institution has also had...
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 24, 2015

Chicago artist marks Armenian genocide with work the size of 'Guernica'

One hundred years after the mass killing of Armenians, a Chicago artist has created a monumental painting to honor the victims and celebrate a culture that nearly vanished.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 21, 2015

The wanderer, writer and suspected spy who embraced Japan

T.S. Eliot may have written that "April is the cruellest month," but for Roger Pulvers, this spring is an extraordinarily felicitous one. In March, an English translation of his novel "Starsand" was published and in April, translations will be released of both an anthology of tanka poetry by Takuboku...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Mar 2, 2015

Putting a foreign face on the 3/11 recovery effort

Four years on, survivors of the Great East Japan Earthquake have a searing yearning to be remembered, says Amya Miller, who arrived in Rikuzentakata from the United States weeks after the March 11, 2011, disaster. She has been there ever since, and today works as a volunteer for City Hall, which still...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2014

Now boastful Japan not really in tune with what visitors want, foreign expert warns

Japan's self-professed "omotenashi" (spirit of selfless hospitality) is often misinterpreted to force predetermined services on foreign visitors, says one longtime observer.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 17, 2014

Readers' letters: What to do about 'haro'? And where to study, Japan or China?

A selection of emails received in response to recent Community stories.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 14, 2014

Stumped for gift ideas? We've got you covered

It's that time of the year again, and The Japan Times contributors and columnists are here to help.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 11, 2014

Rock music goes mainstream in Rouhani's Iran as old taboos start to fade

In the 10 months since his band was given official permission to perform, Iranian rock singer Ardavan Anzabipour has learned when to cool things down.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Nov 10, 2014

Foreign wives of Japan offer NHK and 'Massan' criticism and kudos

Ellie's successors question the character's swift mastery of Japanese and penchant for hugs but welcome the issues she raises.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Oct 24, 2014

Disney's 'Big Hero 6' animates a bridging of cultures

This week's Tokyo International Film Festival is hot on animation, featuring screenings of the collected works of Hideaki Anno, creator of the epic franchise, "Neon Genesis Evangelion," and 3-D shorts directed by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, producer of "Donkey Kong" and "Super Mario Bros." But the festival's...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

City rankings out of touch with 21st century reality

These days there are so many news stories about disease, disaster, doom and death that some media apparently want to lighten the gloom by reporting silly surveys on the most pleasant city to live in.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 6, 2014

Kanazawa City: the architecture of tea

One of the first things you see as you exit Kanazawa Station is a giant brass sculpture of a teapot sunken drunkenly into a mound of grass or, depending on your interpretation, tilting to fill a cup of the refreshing green brew the city is noted for. That a municipal piece of art should be dedicated...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 6, 2014

Veteran Tokyo editor turns his mind to crime

"Japan has her secrets, as you well know," a Kyoto art dealer named Takahashi tells American Jim Brodie. "Many are open secrets. We Japanese are aware of them, are ashamed of them, and don't speak of them often, if ever. Our embarrassing moments remain, for the most part, confined to these shores. The...

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