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Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2014

June wages in Japan rose less than forecast in risk to spending

Wage growth slowed in June, highlighting the risk to consumer spending as inflation squeezes household budgets.
WORLD / Society
Jul 31, 2014

Nigeria opens battle of ideas with program to combat Boko Haram ideology

In classrooms facing a sandy courtyard in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna, Maska Road Islamic School teaches a creed that condemns the violent ideology of groups like Boko Haram.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 31, 2014

Japan flirts with recession; planned tax hike in doubt

Japan could be flirting with recession after the weakest factory output since 2011, which, following a surprising fall in exports last week, could pressure the central bank to ease policy and complicate a decision on whether to raise taxes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 30, 2014

Vampire Academy

Knock-off; noun: a copy or imitation of something popular. Knock off; transitive verb: to do hurriedly or routinely. Meeting both definitions is "Vampire Academy," a tween-targeted novel franchise penned by Richelle Mead, which has been adapted to the big screen as a lazy, deja-vu-inducing mess. Director...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 30, 2014

China ex-leaders OK'd Zhou probe

Two former Chinese leaders gave their consent to investigate ex-domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, a sign the corruption probe won't open a rift in the Communist Party.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 30, 2014

Emoto brothers' 'Godot' looks set to startle

"First off, we probably used to think we were too young to do 'Waiting for Godot,' because it's sometimes uncomfortable talking like gnarled old men," 27-year-old Tasuku Emoto said during a recent Japan Times interview with him and his younger brother Tokio, 24, who will play the central roles in Tokyo...
Events / Events In Tokyo
Jul 29, 2014

'Eco Edo' art aquarium is a different kettle of fish

Japan loves goldfish, especially in the summer, during which festival goldfish-scooping games are always popular and yukata (light summer kimono) and hand-held fans often sport goldfish patterns. The delicate sound of the furin wind chimes and images of fish swimming in clear water evoke a relieving...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Jul 29, 2014

Meet the artisan family striving for a better fish flake

The local train bound for Yamakawa bucked and buckled down the coast, jouncing us until our teeth rattled, and Yamakawa was so dinky we had to walk across the train tracks to exit the station. The taxi took us through a confusing rabbit warren of streets and, after asking directions several times, we...
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jul 29, 2014

Abe's flawed contingency plan

If the barren state of Tokyo-Seoul ties continues, Shinzo Abe's call for the exercise of the right to collective self-defense as well as the protection of Japanese citizens on the Korean Peninsula in an emergency is doomed to become pie in the sky.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Jul 29, 2014

Organic Cafe Polan no Hiroba: Vegetarian and vegan fare in Nagoya

Finding a decent vegetarian meal in Nagoya can be a tough task in and of itself, so finding an almost-all-veggie venue that is also vegan-friendly is a very rare treat indeed.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2014

Expert pushes plan he says can quickly solve Futenma issue

Military analyst Kazuhisa Ogawa says that he has a plan that could solve the Futenma base mess in just two days.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 28, 2014

Safe alternative rites to female circumcision

New rites of passage to replace the traditional practice of female genital mutilation offers hope of protecting woman from bodily harm and helping them to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives in Africa and the Middle East.
WORLD
Jul 28, 2014

Xinjiang extremists may have joined Iraq conflict, China envoy says

Muslim extremists from China's far western region of Xinjiang have gone to the Middle East for training and some may have crossed into Iraq to participate in the conflict there, China's special envoy for the Middle East said on Monday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 28, 2014

'Hercules' no match for 'Lucy' in U.S. weekend box office race

"Lucy," starring Scarlett Johansson as a woman with a super-powered brain, collected $44 million to win at domestic box offices, outmuscling "Hercules," but both releases helped pump life into a lackluster summer at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 27, 2014

A modest proposal for alleviating the endangerment of Japanese eels

In Japan, most eel is consumed on one day of the year.
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Jul 27, 2014

JBA vacillates as clock ticks on possible FIBA suspension

It's nice to know there are people who will elucidate what's really happening with the Japan Basketball Association-led merger talks between the bj-league, NBL and NBDL.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 27, 2014

U.S. evacuates embassy after 'free-wheeling militia violence' in Libya

The United States evacuated its embassy in Libya on Saturday, driving diplomats across the border into Tunisia under heavy military escort after escalating clashes broke out between rival militias in Tripoli.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 26, 2014

Traci Consoli: 'Follow your dreams and your heart'

What first brought you to Japan? I graduated. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
WORLD
Jul 25, 2014

Over half of China military airfields threatened by high-rises

More than half of China's military airfields have flight paths that are obstructed by tall buildings, causing accidents and airport closures, Chinese state media reported on Friday.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 24, 2014

A taste of Hawaii in Tokyo; fine French dining; cruising, dining in Yokohama

A taste of Hawaii in Tokyo
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014

Love beyond the realms of erotic cinema

The varieties of love are many: From the chaste and platonic, to the sexually uninhibited and emotionally obsessed. In a long career as a pinku eiga (pink film) director Yuji Tajiri has concentrated on the latter end of the scale, but in his latest film, "Koppamijin (Broken Pieces)," he makes a successful,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014

Godzilla

The old Godzilla movies made by Japan's Toho studio between 1954 and 2004 were B-grade monster movies. They were cheesy and primitive, for the most part, but displayed the charm of inventive filmmakers who were trying to transcend the limitations of budget and technology by having a guy in a rubber lizard...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2014

Ex-Goldman trader says his bitcoin exchange will fill Mt. Gox void

Yuzo Kano quit Goldman Sachs Group Inc. twice: once for a rival bank, the second time to open Japan's first bitcoin exchange since the collapse of Mt. Gox.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2014

Success of Chinese reform is key to BRICS' rise

Last week, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) took a decisive step toward building institutions that could plausibly challenge the long geopolitical and economic ascendancy of the West. But Vladimir Putin's posturing at the meeting just hours before a Malaysia Airlines jetliner was shot down in Ukraine was one indication of the group's inability to offer an acceptable moral and political alternative to Western hegemony.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE PERSISTENT VEGETARIAN
Jul 22, 2014

Defying old habits with Taiwanese faux-meat

I happen to be one of those vegetarians who has never developed even an inkling of a taste for meat. It was thus one of the most bizarre culinary experiences I could have imagined to bite into a juicy, steaming dumpling of flesh — albeit fake flesh — during a recent dining experiment.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jul 22, 2014

Just what is so wrong about Yoko Ono?

As Yoko Ono prepares to take the stage at Fuji Rock Festival on July 26, a BBC video of her performing the 1969 Plastic Ono Band track "Don't Worry Kyoko" at this year's Glastonbury festival has racked up nearly 2 million views, largely from people tuning in to see the "worst live performance of all...

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo