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ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 12, 2016

Talking to Trump's team: China's high-flying U.S. expert

China's top diplomat, who recently met a senior adviser to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, is a high-flying former Chinese ambassador to Washington with a deep understanding of U.S. politics, a country he has clashed with, too.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 12, 2016

To email in Japanese, take a layer cake of etiquette and stuff it with meaning

Having set up a bunch of standard remarks at the beginning and end of your email, your job is then to fill it with meaning.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Dec 10, 2016

DIY — a power tool for distracting kids

My 4-year-old daughter's eyes light up when she spies something sitting on the work table. Unlike her normal playtime preferences, it is not a rainbow-haired unicorn, felt tip pens or a plastic doll that has caught her attention — it's an industrial looking electric screwdriver.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 10, 2016

'My Life in Japanese Art and Gardens': Autobiography of 'wild boar' Zenko Adachi

By all accounts, Zenko Adachi (1899-1990) was quite a character. He described himself once as a "reckless, charging, wild boar kind of man" and this autobiography portrays him as a force of nature with a sensitive appreciation for the finer things in life, specifically gardens and art.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 10, 2016

Trilateral talks on shaky ground after Park impeachment

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga hinted Saturday a pending trilateral summit with Seoul and Beijing was unlikely to be held following the vote to impeach South Korea's president.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Dec 9, 2016

Tokyo's progressive French restaurants are developing a taste for sake

The first time I drank sake at a non-Japanese restaurant was nearly seven years ago at Coi, a Michelin-starred establishment in San Francisco that serves modern Californian cuisine. I had opted for the beverage-pairing course, and the drink came with a dish of tofu mousseline in a thickened mushroom...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2016

Why SoftBank's Son is betting big on Trump

Pledge by Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son to invest $50 billion in the U.S. is savvy, but it's a big blow to Japan Inc.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 9, 2016

Remarkable feathered dinosaur tail found encased in amber

Some 99 million years ago, a juvenile dinosaur got its feathery tail stuck in tree resin, a death trap for the small creature. But its misfortune is now giving scientists unique insight into feathered dinosaurs that prospered during the Cretaceous Period.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 8, 2016

Antlers' Kanazaki provides winning header against Auckland City in Club World Cup opener

Mu Kanazaki came off the bench to score an 88th-minute winner as J. League champions Kashima Antlers beat part-timers Auckland City 2-1 on Thursday to advance to the second round of the Club World Cup.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2016

Ishizaki switches guitars for scripts in his on-screen debut

Making his on-screen debut in Daigo Matsui's multistranded, disorderly and, at times, moving film "Japanese Girls Never Die" ("Azumi Harako wa Yukie Fumei"), singer Huwie Ishizaki admits that he was nervous prior to stepping in front of the cameras. The 32-year-old solo artist is used to putting on intense...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 8, 2016

Elites must engage populists

Populists cannot be eliminated, but they can be co-opted.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 7, 2016

Japan's taxman sticks his OAR in, looking for leviable expat assets held abroad

Experts answer readers' queries about the overseas assets reporting law aimed at taxing wealth held outside Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2016

'Smoke': the movie that blazed a trail for indies

Just in time for Christmas, Yebisu Garden Cinema is reviving a film that was one of the cinema's biggest hits in the 1990s, director Wayne Wang's "Smoke," in a crisp new digital remastered version. Watching it again after all these years, it's hard not to feel a little pang, for in many ways it recalls...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2016

'The Lady in the Van': Getting old can sometimes cause a stink

Many Japanese have dreamed of living their last days in London, just as Americans in the 1920s used to dream of romantically passing away in Paris. Now, as Japan grows grayer with each passing year, an increasing number of older Japanese are eyeing Great Britain's capital city with a particular longing....
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Dec 7, 2016

Kashima's J. League title win a fitting end to flawed format

There was always a danger that the J. League's ill-fated introduction of a playoff championship format in 2015 would produce a deeply unsatisfying result somewhere down the line. Kashima Antlers' coronation as champions on Saturday night duly delivered it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 6, 2016

Early days for Sejima's Hokusai museum

At some point in the future, the new Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo will be considered with great affection by a lot of people. Like Tokyo Tower and Starck's Asahi Beer Hall — which have had their fair share of criticism but are now an inextricable part of what makes Tokyo one of the world's kookiest...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 5, 2016

'Tis the season for 'tegami' — and for facing your Japanese letter-writing fears

There are elements of etiquette involved in letter-writing that can make students of Japanese stop before they even start.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2016

EU can lead on clean energy

Despite the European Union's caution on promoting renewables, Donald Trump's lack of interest is leaving the door wide open to global leadership.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2016

Toyota to revamp Camry early to defend turf in U.S. sedan market

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to unveil a redesigned Camry in Detroit next month, rolling out a new take on the best-selling car in the U.S. after just three years as Asian automakers defend their turf in the shrinking market for midsize sedans.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2016

Japan's first lady offers critics a household hotline to Abe

With high approval ratings stoking speculation that Shinzo Abe could become Japan's longest-serving prime minister in recent history, he faces the risk of becoming complacent. Enter Akie Abe, his wife of 29 years.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 5, 2016

Errors cost Liverpool, United points

Premier League heavyweights Liverpool and Manchester United were caught by late sucker punches in two games that finished far more dramatically than they began on Sunday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 4, 2016

Ryan Adams set to show Japan fans new material at solo show

When Ryan Adams performs at Studio Coast on Dec. 9, it will mark his first ever headlining gig in Japan, after playing Fuji Rock twice — in 2005 with the Cardinals and 2015 with the Shining. On his third visit to the country, he's hoping this one goes better than his first.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Dec 4, 2016

Riding while foreign on JR Kyushu can be a costly business

A problem regarding buying JR train tickets in Kyushu and a reminder to travelers to get the correct travel documents before booking their flights to Canada.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Dec 4, 2016

Riken mind bender stays one step ahead of virtual reality

Imagine you are standing on the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped bridge suspended 1,200 meters above the Colorado River. You are likely to get dizzy and freeze up at the thought of venturing out onto the 10-cm thick glass.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 3, 2016

Abandoned buildings still house problems

Japan's vacant house problem will become worse before it becomes better. According to government estimates there are 8 million residences in Japan with no one living in them, a number that Bloomberg reports will increase to 20 million by 2033, representing a third of all the homes in Japan. A good portion...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past