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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 / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 19, 2016

'Drop dead, Japan!' moms try to stay on message

Shiori Yamao is a University of Tokyo graduate, former public prosecutor, current Lower House lawmaker and mother. As a force for the opposition, she has been causing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe considerable grief over the past few months.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 17, 2016

Issey Miyake invites us to see his material world

Issey Miyake, designer of some of the world's most distinctive clothing and international symbol of modern Japanese craftsmanship, received France's Legion of Honor on Tuesday at the opening of a major exhibition of his work at The National Art Center, Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 26, 2016

Undergoing the third degree in prewar Japan

A New Zealander who was taken into custody by prewar Japanese police provides a haunting account of jailhouse torture.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Feb 22, 2016

With eye on Downing Street, Boris bets all on 'Brexit'

With one hand in his suit pocket and the other mussing his signature blond hair, Boris Johnson on Sunday took the riskiest gamble of his career: to oppose Prime Minister David Cameron by campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 16, 2016

Takashi Murakami collects more than just his thoughts

"Takashi Murakami's Superflat Collection" is an exhibition of other people's work, amassed as the result of one man's phenomenally successful artistic career. It's evidence that Murakami must have done something right, or wrong, depending on your view of culture. He's sometimes portrayed as a kind of...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 9, 2016

Dutch painters cut from the same canvas

The first noticeable thing about the exhibition "Vermeer and Rembrandt: the Masters of the 17th Century Dutch Golden Age" at the Mori Arts Center Gallery is the juxtaposition of the names. Vermeer's name comes before that of Rembrandt, marking him as the leading Dutch artist as far as the modern art...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 28, 2016

Opera Theater Konnyakuza perfects a union of stage and song

The world of opera has always found inspiration in the works of William Shakespeare, but adapting them for the stage requires flexibility.
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jan 16, 2016

'It is I who rule' — Japan's 'Manyoshu' morning

What fun civilization is in its infancy! How bright and fresh the world looks at the dawn of consciousness! Listen:
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2016

Japan's newest adults ponder politics on Coming-of-Age Day

Monday marked Coming-of-Age Day, bringing with it the usual festivities that saw Japan's 20-year-olds celebrate their newfound adulthood — each in their own way.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 12, 2015

Gerald Curtis, the ultimate insider in Japanese politics, retires

Gerald Curtis will retire this month from Columbia University, where he has been teaching since 1968.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2015

Hideo Nakata's 'Ghost Theater' recalls true horror

A decade or so ago, J-horror (Japanese horror) was a hot genre worldwide. Thinking they had a sure-fire box-office formula — implacable ghosts scaring the bejesus out of attractive women — filmmakers mass-produced sequels, spinoffs and knock-offs, to mostly diminishing returns.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 7, 2015

YouTubers in Japan with 100,000 fans and counting

YouTube threw a big celebration for more than 20 YouTubers living in Japan who have over 100,000 subscribers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 1, 2015

Entrepreneurial lawyer takes legal services into Internet age

Becoming a lawyer used to be the ultimate status symbol in Japan. Bar exams were extremely hard to pass, so hard that once they obtained the license, lawyers were pretty much guaranteed a successful life afterward.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2015

Kero Kero Bonito blend English and Japanese rap into bouncy pop tracks

Sarah Midori Perry remembers checking MixB, an online bulletin board for Japanese expats in London, almost every day ... and feeling underwhelmed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 10, 2015

Saitama's 'Little Edo' is big on Japan's colorful history

As my smartphone clock flashes from 11:59 a.m. to 12 p.m., I watch the visitors to Kawagoe, in Saitama Prefecture wipe the sweat from their foreheads and direct their attention toward a more primitive form of time keeping — the Toki no Kane (Bell of Time) tower in the middle of the town square.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 23, 2015

Neither here nor there: the families torn between Nigeria and Japan

Caught between instability in Nigeria and isolation in Japan, African immigrants fear the loss of their children's love.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 25, 2015

The 'other' Jizo-dori: culture set in stone

Mention Jizo-dori in Tokyo and everyone will think you mean the street in Sugamo, Toshima Ward, where the silver set combines bargain hunting with visits to the famous stone jizō (bodhisattva statue) there. Walking near Edogawabashi Station on the Yurakucho Line, I pass a less well-known Jizo-dori,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 28, 2015

Rap gets a new delivery from a wave of female artists

Hip-hop is a major force on the American music charts, but its presence has been less prominent in Japan. Elements of the wider culture have found their way into teenage wardrobes and pop-video dance routines, but even Japanese rappers admit they have a hard time grabbing the attention of new fans.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2015

Google's project for 'smart clothes' gets it right

If Google Project Jacquard succeeds, we'll be able to wear touch-sensitive clothing that can control electronic devices.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 3, 2015

Director Kawase disregards criticism of her sentimental leprosy drama 'An'

When I first interviewed Naomi Kawase in 1998, after she won the Cannes Film Festival's Camera d'Or award for her first feature, "Moe no Suzaku" ("Suzaku"), I remarked on her "quietly stubborn determination" to persist in the face of various detractors. If anything, criticism has increased in the intervening...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 27, 2015

Why does the surrealism in Ryan Gosling's 'Lost River' fail?

'They flooded a bunch of towns when they dammed the river. That's why they call this Lost River," says Rat (Saoirse Ronan), a character in actor Ryan Gosling's directorial debut, "Lost River."
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
May 22, 2015

Matsumoto Eiraku's lunch course is a seasonal delight

The establishments around Matsumoto Eiraku in Osaka's Kitashinchi neighborhood have names like La Madonna, Salon de Miyu, Lady Hawk and Blanc de Blanc. This may suggest the restaurant keeps ostentatious company, but you should never judge a building by its marble colonnades; the aesthetic inside is austere...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 12, 2015

The Louvre's spin on art history

The futuristic-looking National Art Center Tokyo (NACT) seems like a rather unusual venue for an exhibition of mainly 17th- and 18th-century European art sourced from Paris's famous Louvre Museum. But while the Louvre's collections are very much rooted in the past, the French institution has also had...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 25, 2015

Top bunraku artist ensures his master's name lives on

Traditional Japanese puppetry, known as bunraku, has its roots in 17th-century Osaka, but in the following century a variant emerged in which, rather than a puppet being handled by just one person, three performers working together operated each puppet in a play's cast.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2015

Poll finds fictional TV presidents are more popular than Obama

Whether it's the earnest Josiah Bartlet from "The West Wing" or the manipulative Frank Underwood in "House of Cards," Americans prefer television presidents to their real-life POTUS, President Barack "No Drama" Obama.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Feb 15, 2015

Mainstream Japanese society slowly working to accommodate sexual minorities

When she was in her teens, Yumiko Higuchi was suicidal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 4, 2015

Ninagawa still exploring in eighth take on 'Hamlet'

Yukio Ninagawa's "cherry-blossom" staging of "Macbeth" at the Edinburgh Festival in 1985, with actors in that famously Scottish play sporting kimono rather than kilts, was a sensation due to its radical reimagining of so revered a work.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji