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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 16, 2018

Hyoe Yamamoto dives into Japan's culture of corporate corruption in 'Samurai and Idiots: The Olympus Affair'

Speaking as a Japanese person, it's a bit disheartening to see the words "samurai" and "idiot" in the same sentence. Filmmaker Hyoe Yamamoto's documentary "Samurai and Idiots: The Olympus Affair" not only pairs the two, it shows the lack of logic and wisdom behind the so-called samurai spirit that many...
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2018

Promoting a new global optimism

In showing that the world has never been less violent, cognitive scientist Steven Pinker is at the forefront of the new outbreak of global optimism.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Taking the Lead
Apr 15, 2018

Hands-on Toyota exec passes down monozukuri spirit

Mitsuru Kawai drops by a bathhouse for factory workers at Toyota Motor's headquarters in Aichi Prefecture each day before work.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 19, 2018

Laird confident Fighters can compete in 2018

Brandon Laird rounded third base wearing a big smile on Saturday afternoon at Jingu Stadium. As he headed for home, Laird held out his left hand and tapped his palm with the index and middle fingers of his right, pantomiming someone making sushi, as he does after all of his home runs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 17, 2018

Nagaya nostalgia: The long and the short of Tokyo's famed 'row houses'

Nagaya have been disappearing from downtown Tokyo for many decades, with row upon row of these "long houses" torn down to make way for more comfortable — and profitable — residential complexes and office blocks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 15, 2018

Isao Yukisada swaps feel-good teen drama tropes for brutal honesty in 'River's Edge'

In a two-decade directing career that began with the 1997 relationship drama "Open House," Isao Yukisada has made everything from the critically acclaimed "Go" (2001), with its rebellious Zainichi Korean hero battling his way through a Japanese high school, to the smash hit "Crying Out Love in the Center...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jan 27, 2018

Yumiko Oho teaches the ABC's of life in Italy

The desire to escape Japan's old-school notion of gender roles paved the way for a former bank employee to discover business opportunities overseas.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 18, 2017

In case you missed them: a year of responses to Community stories, part 3

The last in a series of selections of unpublished letters about Community stories from the previous year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 16, 2017

Steven Soderbergh looks to get 'Lucky' with a new distribution model for films

He's been away for such a short time, you may not have noticed Steven Soderbergh had even stopped making movies. In 2013, the director — who won the Palme d'Or at Cannes with his 1989 debut, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape," when he was just 26 years old — announced his retirement from filmmaking, citing...
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 13, 2017

Taking minimalism to the next level

Ever since the release of Marie Kondo's 2011 bible on the Japanese art of decluttering, much of the developed world has been somewhat fixated on tidying up.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2017

For Uhnellys, surviving Tokyo's live-scene circuit has been an exercise in perseverance

When you're an independent rock band, maintaining a do-it-yourself ethic long-term can be difficult. Many acts eventually have to scale back, and dreams of a musical career turn into the reality of having a really cool hobby. Uhnellys, however, have kept up the fight.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 8, 2017

Living doll: Licca-chan's legacy lives on

As Takaratomy's popular toy celebrates its 50th birthday, we examine how it has evolved over the past five decades to reflect the times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 8, 2017

'Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8': 'The Reason I Jump' author returns with new English collection

The accomplishments of Japanese poet, novelist and essayist Naoki Higashida are impressive. He's published more than 20 books in Japanese, pens a popular blog and is seeing the release this month of his second book in English — all before his 25th birthday in August.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 25, 2017

Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia teams up with Exile's Hiro to create a contemporary fusion of vision and sound

From its debut in 1999 as the passion project of actor Tetsuya Bessho, Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia has grown into a big event on the local and regional film calendar. Size is one reason: The 19th edition, which unspools from June 1 to 25 at six venues in Tokyo and Yokohama, features nearly 250...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2017

America's dangerous internet delusion

The more we connect our devices and instruments to the internet, the more we create paths for others to use against us.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 15, 2017

Finding a family in Japan's foreign drag scene

Western drag queens living in Tokyo, Kansai and Nagoya discuss the differences between the scene in Japan and back home.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 12, 2017

Noise outfit Endon takes a hard look at itself in the mirror

The term "noise music" has come to define a variety of artists and sounds, from guitar feedback to drones to white noise. Japan is certainly no stranger to the concept, birthing formidable pioneers of the genre such as Merzbow, Hijokaidan and Incapacitants over the years. However, singer Taichi Nagura...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 25, 2017

Naoto Fukasawa: Between craft and design

Naoto Fukasawa is probably best known internationally for his designs for Muji, in particular for the wall-mounted CD player he created in 1999, which was featured in Gary Hustwit's popular 2009 documentary "Objectified." Now he remains a creative adviser for Muji, while still designing interiors, lighting...
CULTURE / Film
Jan 11, 2017

Cliff Martinez: composing through the chaos

So much movie music sounds like just that: movie music. It's rare these days to come across a score with character that really makes you sit up and listen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 4, 2017

From Japanese horror to American intrigue

As a second-generation Japanese-American working in Hollywood, Shintaro Shimosawa stands out. Take his name for example, he prefers Shintaro over his given "American name," Edward.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 15, 2016

From the latest titles to VR and cosplay, the Tokyo Game Show has been in Japan's corner for 20 years

Twenty years ago, two new video game trade shows launched in Tokyo with the hopes of capturing the attention — and yen — of gamers in Japan. The first Tokyo Game Show (TGS) took place from Aug. 22 to 24, 1996, and was followed that November by E3 Tokyo, a Japanese offshoot of the U.S.-based Electronic...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 18, 2016

Japanese fans shrug off crime and Zika in Rio, look forward to Tokyo's turn

Japanese attending the Rio Olympics say they have found the host city safer than they were led to believe and are looking forward to welcoming the world at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Aug 14, 2016

After 30 years in Japan, teacher from Zambia is still learning

Globe-trotting son of Zambian envoy thought he'd seen it all until he arrived on these shores.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 3, 2016

Foreign wives provide insight into temple lives

Japan's temples are an integral part of the country's traditional culture. For the majority of us, visits are usually limited to specific events such as New Year's Eve, or perhaps as part of a sightseeing agenda if the temple is a famous one. The lives of some Japanese, however, still revolve around...
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2016

Japan's first lady, Akie Abe, speaks her own mind

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has outlasted those that scoffed at his return to power as leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party in 2012. And yet while the prime minister appears to have established himself as an increasingly dominant force in domestic politics over the past decade, the most...
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 24, 2016

How the World Health Organization's cancer agency confuses consumers

Thanks to scientists working under the auspices of the World Health Organization, you can be fairly sure your toothbrush won't give you cancer. Over four decades, a WHO research agency has assessed 989 substances and activities, ranging from arsenic to hair dressing. It found only one that was "probably...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 26, 2016

Andrea Pompilio: 'Keep wearing fashion the way you want to'

Name: Andrea PompilioAge: 42
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 31, 2016

Ningen Isu explores death, lust on new album

When the members of hard rock band Ningen Isu left the stage at Ozzfest Japan in 2013, they thought that was it for their Ozzfest experience. Little did the "Japanese Black Sabbath" know, Ozzy Osbourne himself would soon be calling them back for an encore.

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