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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
May 13, 2014

Nanaezushi: Edo-kei sushi without the sticker shock

We need to talk about sushi. First, any discussion of sushi isn't worth its wasabi without a mention of the perspicacious octogenarian Jiro Ono, star of the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," about his Michelin-starred restaurant in Ginza — you know, the one that Obama took Abe to, or was it the other...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 28, 2014

Kyoto photography show pushes the frame

Mars has landed in Japan and is best viewed from a beanbag in the annex of The Museum of Kyoto. "Mars, a Photographic exploration" is the worthy headline event at this year's Kyotographie International Photography Festival, which brings together remarkable photos of the red planet, with imagery captured...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 23, 2014

French to the fore on SPAC's 2014 festival menu

It is often said that "variety is the spice of life," but in the multifarious world of theater it is more a staple than a special condiment. That said, "variety" is the keyword chosen by Satoshi Miyagi, artistic director of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC), to capture the upcoming and especially...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 22, 2014

Arisugawa-no-Miya's no mere people's park

Tokyo's weather in February is unpredictable, so when the day I have set aside for exploring features a record-breaking blizzard, I'm not surprised. So, bundled up like Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, I exit Hiroo Station in Minato Ward to find the air feathered with swirling flakes and the streets...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 30, 2014

Fifteen minutes . . . and counting

Across the ages, individuals standing at the peak of each society's pyramid of power and fame have depended on artists to ensure their immortality: Khafre, pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, conscripted an army of artisans to carve his likeness into the Great Sphinx to preserve it through the eternal...
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jan 1, 2014

The most viewed sports stories of 2013

The sports story most read online in the year in which Japan won the bid for the 2020 Olympics should come as no surprise. Baseball fans had plenty to celebrate, and figure-skating followers had no shortage of drama. Let's hope to see some Sochi gold medals in this round-up next year.
EDITORIALS
Oct 20, 2013

Firms hiring more foreign students

Japanese companies surveyed are increasingly looking to hire foreign students from China, South Korea and other Asian countries despite the less-than-rosy political relationships.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2013

October Live

October seems to be a good time for indie music. A lot of the smaller artists that need to do the festival circuit in Britain and the United States take a break in September and October, which gives them the chance to pop over to Asia for one last shout out before the New Year's holidays.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 22, 2013

Aichi Triennale's best works deal with disaster

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, a lot of art here has dealt with disaster. Not all the pieces in the second installment of the Aichi Triennale are on this theme — but the best ones are.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jul 25, 2013

Blood pressure medication huge cash cow

Earlier this month Kyoto University revealed that a study one of its researchers carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug Diovan, which lower blood pressure, was probably "erroneous." Though the university did not say the drug itself was ineffective, it did admit that the data of "those...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 3, 2013

The 'floating world' that drifted to the West

The main pleasure of any extensive ukiyo-e (woodblock print) exhibition, like the "Floating World" show now on at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, is the evocation of the unique civilization that underlies this particular slab of global modernity.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Jun 27, 2013

Summer's best festivals are off the beaten path

For the past 10-15 years, Japan's festival season has been dominated by four main events: Fuji Rock, Summer Sonic, Rock in Japan and Rising Sun.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 27, 2013

July Live

Though you might be dreading July, with its sweltering heat and seasonal rain, the month makes up for it with a slew of exciting concerts. It's time to let loose — and pray the venues have air conditioning. Here's a selection of what July has in store.
Reader Mail
Jun 16, 2013

Condition of the Crown Princess

The June 11 Kyodo story "Crown Prince marks two decades of marriage, happy wife is on the mend" continues the parade of euphemisms about the Crown Princess and the Imperial Household Agency.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 23, 2013

Guitarist Dustin Wong brings singer Takako Minekawa out on a 'Toropical' journey

Guitarist Dustin Wong hesitates for a split second. It's a pause that would go unnoticed during most other sets, but Wong has spent the last 40 minutes seemingly in a trance while playing guitar and looping the notes via an array of pedals in front of him. The flurry of interlocking sounds he's produced...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Apr 24, 2013

New-style Japanese souvenirs; Cinco de Mayo Festival in Tokyo

NEW PRODUCTS
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 31, 2013

Cummings, father share hoop bond

Terry Cummings' success as an NBA player inspired his son, T.J., who now plays for the Sendai 89ers, to follow in his footsteps.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 28, 2013

April: Karl Hyde to headline SonarSound

The next month features a great mix of concerts for all sorts of live-music fans. Several long-running bands visit Japan in April, as do some of the most hyped-up young outfits in the world today. Whether you like apocalyptic postrock or Swedish indie rock, the next 30 days have you covered.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 28, 2013

March: Grimes, Andy Stott head east and west

March means the (eventual) return of nice weather, so you no longer have to bundle up or stay indoors cursing the cold world beyond your apartment. And as the climate warms up, for those in need of more incentive to venture outside, there are several great gigs going down across the country.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Oct 9, 2012

Parco puts the spotlight on Shibuya's evolving youth culture

Department store Parco is aiming to fill the vacuum created by the rapidly declining gyaru (gal) culture that used to define the Shibuya area of Tokyo. By taking aspects of the otaku (geek) culture of Akihabara and re-imagining them through art and fashion in the context of a popular shopping district,...
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2012

Exports slide again on EU, China gloom

Exports fell 5.8 percent in August from a year earlier, declining for a third straight month on weak demand in Europe and China, resulting in a trade deficit of ¥754.1 billion, the Finance Ministry said Thursday.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Reproaching the nationalists

Regarding the Sept. 10 article "Lee says 'true meaning' of comments about emperor not conveyed to Japan": South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's clarified position is exactly true. Japanese people often, for the sake of national pride, do convey a propensity to defend or water down their history.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 19, 2012

Rumbles in the jungle

Japan's poorest prefecture is Okinawa — and on Okinawa the poorest region lies along the northeastern coast blanketed by the dense Yanbaru jungle. Here, the villages of Higashi and Kunigami were the last areas on the island to receive electricity and running water. Until 1978, they lacked even a paved...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / FUJI ROCKERS
Aug 2, 2012

James Blake says nothing beats mum's advice

Two gigs in one day, you must be busy balancing your schedule right now.
Reader Mail
Jul 26, 2012

Adults accountable for bullying

The July 24 Kyodo article "Ministry to establish team to battle bullying" once again highlights our failure to act in due time and respond to the small acts. We once again chose to wait for the extreme to happen before taking serious action to curb or prevent such situations. We are always reactive,...
COMMENTARY / World
May 18, 2012

Enabling Asia's women to fulfill their potential

Everyone's eyes are on Asia's rise. China, once dismissed as poor and backward, is now the world's second-largest economy. India, with its huge population, scientific prowess and entrepreneurial vitality, is another powerful engine of Asian growth.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 8, 2012

Nuke dangers nowhere near resolved: Kan's crisis adviser

In December, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced the "conclusion" of the meltdown crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, saying Tokyo Electric Power Co. was managing to keep the three crippled reactors cool, as well as the facility's spent fuel pools.
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2012

LDP chief pursues snap election at party rally

Liberal Democratic Party President Sadakazu Tanigaki pledged Sunday to force the ruling Democratic Party of Japan to dissolve the Lower House as early as possible so a snap election can be held to return the conservative party to power.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 24, 2011

Tokyo's bookworms find readers' paradise in used bookstores

First of two parts

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes