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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 27, 2016

Van Sant plots a bleak hike through Aokigahara

At least Arthur Brennan didn't want sushi, an AKB48 concert or a night out on the town with a maiko (trainee geisha) on his arm. As Japan's ranking soars on the international travelers' destination lists, the more cliched their itineraries seem to get. But Matthew McConaughey's Brennan of Gus Van Sant's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 26, 2016

Hidden poverty growing under Abe, particularly among young and single mothers

As the government tells it, Japanese have it pretty good.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Apr 23, 2016

The changing values behind school uniforms

Japan and China depend on each other economically, but not necessarily in an equal way. Sometimes slight changes in commercial prospects in China can have a profound effect on Japan, or, at least, more of an effect that people realize.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Apr 20, 2016

Loeb's pick to run 7-Eleven operator faces next task: boosting margins

The head of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan survived an attempt by his boss to remove him and emerged as president at Seven & I Holdings Co. His next hurdles: turn around weaker units and navigate a leadership transition at the country's largest retailer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 19, 2016

Abe insider wages one-man campaign to challenge foreign media over reporting 'mistakes'

An Internet strategy adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keeping his eyes peeled for what he calls "mistakes" by foreign media, because he thinks nobody in the government or the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has ever paid proper attention.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 18, 2016

Looking at migration as an opportunity to be managed

Japan's demographic trend can't be cured quickly. It has to be managed creatively.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Apr 17, 2016

Baby sitter option gains little traction amid parental reluctance

Nearly half of parents in Japan who responded to a recent survey by The Japan Times have considered using baby sitters but have not done so, with many citing lack of know-how on finding the right sitters as well as financial constraints.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 16, 2016

Donald Richie: The legacy of an entrenched view

The late Donald Richie lived at apartment number 804 in a block directly facing Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo's Ueno Park. The writer would lead visitors through his home's dimly lit entrance area — crammed with bookshelves — and his minuscule living room to the balcony, beneath which a vast lotus pond...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 16, 2016

Obama has unfinished business in Hiroshima

Barack Obama will attend the G-7 Ise-Shima summit of leading industrial nations in Mie Prefecture next month, sparking speculation that the U.S. President might venture to Hiroshima to pay respects at the Peace Memorial Park.
Japan Times
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Apr 16, 2016

Matsui far from alone in pushing nuclear debate

Out from the murky, quivering flames/ Of burning, festering Hiroshima/ You look so monstrous, but could not know/ How far removed you are now from mankind— Excerpted from Toge Sankichi's "Hibakusha" ("A-Bomb Survivor"), translated by N. Palchikoff
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE UNRELIABLE FOOD CRITIC
Apr 15, 2016

Osaka, give us this day our decent European bread

Encountering strangers on trips back to Europe, I find myself falling into a familiar conversational call-and-response:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 11, 2016

Press freedoms under attack

Freedom of speech and of the press, a key democratic right, is increasingly under threat around the world.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2016

BOJ's backfire hangs over central bankers as IMF meetings start

The world's central bankers, already hitting the limits of their effectiveness on growth and inflation, are now contending with another risk: that additional stimulus could produce lackluster results and undercut investor confidence.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2016

G-7 foreign ministers to weigh nuclear future at Hiroshima meeting

The G-7 foreign ministers' summit taking place in Hiroshima carries a symbolic meaning as it offers an opportunity for world leaders to be reminded of the horrors of nuclear arms.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 6, 2016

Japanese researchers to test new weapon on unbeatable cancers

The National Cancer Center in Tokyo has unveiled a new weapon to treat cancers long considered unbeatable: neutrons that attack cancer cells only.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 4, 2016

Abenomics failure explained

It's taken two Nobel laureates to point out how Abe has squandered a rare opportunity to shake up Japan Inc.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 4, 2016

Wild-card topics may trump main agenda in coming Mie G-7 summit

On May 26 and 27, the leaders of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Canada, along with the presidents of the European Council and European Commission, will attend the annual Group of Seven leaders' summit in the Ise-Shima district of Mie Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Apr 4, 2016

Okinawan's Taiwan redress ruling reignites calls for 'comfort women' compensation

A recent Taiwanese court ruling that found a Japanese man was entitled to compensation over his father's presumed death during the so-called 228 Incident has reignited calls for Japan to redress the former colony's few remaining "comfort women."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Apr 3, 2016

Seeking Japanese courses for mature students; reconnecting with a lost mother

A British reader is keen to come to Japan and learn the language, and a woman in the U.S. hopes to get in contact with her Japanese birth mother.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 2, 2016

Finding the locus of David Mitchell

David Mitchell's world is always growing. Raised in England's West Midlands, Mitchell lived in London for a time before moving to Japan in 1994 — while he was in his 20s — to work as an English teacher. After eight years in Hiroshima, he returned to the U.K. to launch his career as a novelist.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Mar 30, 2016

Centurion Okazaki looking for balance after win over Syria

National team striker Shinji Okazaki thanked his teammates for helping him reach 100 caps but warned the hard work is still to come after Japan topped its 2018 World Cup second-round qualifying group with a 5-0 win over Syria on Tuesday.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 28, 2016

Let's discuss tourists and their tattoos

The Japan Tourism Agency has asked spa operators to allow tattooed foreign tourists into their facilities in a bid to get more overseas visitors experiencing the nation's onsen.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2016

Activist investor Loeb warns Seven & I on nepotism deciding CEO

Third Point LLC's billionaire founder Daniel Loeb has targeted Seven & I Holdings Co. for management succession planning criticism, warning the grocery and retail group against letting nepotism determine its next chief executive officer.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 27, 2016

The fin. tries to break through borders with its 'Through the Deep' EP

For the members of The fin., being a Japanese rock band isn't easy. Ever since its inception, the four members say they have felt a sense of being on the outside of an industry that rarely embraces those who challenge established conventions. Even after garnering attention two years ago with debut EP...
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2016

Happiness in short supply

Ranked 53rd out of 156 countries, Japan is a less happy place now than it was a decade ago, according to the World Happiness Report.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Mar 23, 2016

Halilhodzic looking to stoke competition in World Cup qualifiers

Japan should have little trouble clinching its place in the final round of 2018 World Cup qualifiers when it faces Afghanistan and Syria over the coming week, but manager Vahid Halilhodzic will nonetheless be looking to lay down a marker for the year ahead.
EDITORIALS
Mar 22, 2016

The Minamata Convention

Having experienced the dreadful results of mercury poisoning, Japan has a responsibility to help other countries in their efforts to prevent such pollution.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’