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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 17, 2011

Beat the heat in the green hills of Izu

Nobody likes Japan's cities in the summertime — at least not those south of Hokkaido. With heat rising off the tarmac and radiating from the concrete, and humidity that clings like a wet towel, thoughts of escape come readily to mind — and there's no better tonic than getting up into the hills and...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jul 16, 2011

What a waste! A human waste

Meet Ususama Myo-ou. He purifies the unclean. He hangs out in bathrooms. He's the guardian deity of the toilet. I'm thinking of inviting him to do a residency. Here's why.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Jul 15, 2011

Life is sweet ... for some men

They are men, and they like to eat sweets. They are the men who eat sweets.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 15, 2011

See real stars at Yebisu Garden Place's summer film screenings

The era of the drive-in movie theater might be gone, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy your favorite flicks under the stars.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 15, 2011

"Creatures' Paradise: Animals in Art from fhe Kyoto National Museum"

For those who aren't familiar with Japanese art, works with animal motifs may be more accessible and enjoyable to see.
EDITORIALS
Jul 15, 2011

Japan's power-short economy

The Bank of Japan's tankan economic survey for June, released in early July, shows that the economy was in bad shape that month but expects that it will rebound in September.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 15, 2011

'Peace'

Most serious documentaries made in Japan, especially for television, follow a basic just-the-facts format. A presenter or narrator and various talking heads explain and interpret what we are seeing, from beauty shots of tourist spots to footage grabbed on the run in a war zone. Meanwhile, in the background,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 15, 2011

'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2'

As we approach the eighth and final installment in the "Harry Potter" series, what can I say? You don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind's blowing. The fans are already getting their tickets, while the less-committed have long since departed, especially since director David Yates has pretty...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 15, 2011

Bistro Authentique: Authentic flavor in a tiny bistro setting

Tokyo is well served for Vietnamese food these days, and there's no compelling need to venture far from the center when the craving arises for pho, cha gio and banh xeo. Even so, many of our favorite places are far from the mainstream. But few are as obscure — or as worth searching out — as Bistro...
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2011

Japan must ditch nuclear power: Kan

Japan should gradually become a society that does not have to rely on atomic power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday amid the continuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
BUSINESS / U.K. JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Jul 14, 2011

Japan needs credible plan to reduce public debt to stave off fiscal crisis

Japan has had two decades of sluggish growth as it went through the bursting of the late 1980s bubble and a subsequent banking crisis. Are many of the Western economies that saw their own bubbles burst after the 2008 financial crisis going to follow a similar path? And is Japan, whose ratio of public...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 14, 2011

Website Nico Nico Douga goes live ... house

Online video-sharing website Nico Nico Douga has become a popular place for young Japanese to check out new music. Now imagine stepping inside the site to experience those tunes live.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2011

Kan plan set to end nuke goals

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday the administration plans to propose a new energy policy "in the near future" and that the current goal of increasing dependency of nuclear power to 53 percent by 2030 needs to be abandoned.
COMMENTARY
Jul 13, 2011

China raises undersea ante

Nestled on the deck of its mother ship, China's most advanced deep-sea submersible is on its way to the depths of the central Pacific Ocean in a program that is being closely watched in Asia and the West for its mining and military potential as well as its scientific research.
COMMENTARY
Jul 12, 2011

A grandfather's plea for an Israeli soldier

Marking five years since the capture of Gilad Shalit, international human rights organizations continue demanding the release of the Israeli soldier.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jul 11, 2011

Cool drinks and eats to beat the heat

Chilled curry sauce on nuddles? Doughnut jellies? Menthol Shock? Japan's got 'em all this summer.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jul 10, 2011

A cross-cultural pas de deux comes to town

Following David Bintley through the corridors of the cavernous New National Theatre, Tokyo — where he is the artistic director of the National Ballet of Japan — is a bit like following Moses across the Red Sea.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 10, 2011

Marvelous Minakami: the great year-round escape

Face it, you need to get out of Tokyo during the dog days of summer, when it gets like a fetid sauna.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 8, 2011

Live from Tokyo, it's Saturday Night!

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Saturday Night Live Japan!
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 8, 2011

Daring stunts feature at circus

Come one, come all to the 109th Kinoshita Circus, complete with lions, elephants and tremendous feats of daring.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 8, 2011

'Bal'

As Hollywood films become ever more breathless — with special effects sidelining nearly all plot and character development, and digital-editing abuse leading to few shots that last beyond a second — art cinema has moved just as extremely in the opposite direction, with slow, meticulous pacing; long,...
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2011

Job 1 for Hirano is rebuilding public trust

Tatsuo Hirano, who Tuesday replaced Ryu Matsumoto as reconstruction minister, has a full plate and his first task will be to re-establish trust with survivors of the March 11 catastrophe in the Tohoku region that his predecessor damaged with insulting remarks just one week into the job.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 7, 2011

Ming Wong re-casts classics to reveal our roles in modern society

Brightly colored billboards, draped curtains and theater seats have transformed the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, into a cinematic space. But there are no feature films being screened here — this is Singaporean artist Ming Wong's first solo show in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 7, 2011

Rethinking Japan's Myanmar policy

An historic meeting June 29 between parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Makiko Kikuta and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon highlights Japan's increasing willingness to look beyond its self-interest and promote democracy in the region.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2011

LDP planning major energy policy rethink

The Liberal Democratic Party, which promoted nuclear power during its postwar reign of nearly five decades, launched a special committee Tuesday to draft a new comprehensive energy policy that its members say could lead to a drastic shift in thinking.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan