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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 12, 2015

Tasting the many shades of Japan's regional sake

At the risk of sounding like a killjoy, I have to confess that drinks festivals rarely excite me. These events are often promoted as learning opportunities that can help you improve your tasting skills and discover new brands. While the lure of convenience (the chance to sample hundreds of varieties...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 12, 2015

Free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman dies at 85

Ornette Coleman, a self-taught alto saxophone player who polarized the jazz world with his unconventional "free jazz" before coming to be regarded as an avant garde genius, died on Thursday morning in New York at the age of 85, according to his publicist.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2015

Russian president's secrets are right on his face

What does Vladimir Putin's face reveal about his personality and likely actions as Russia's leader?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 11, 2015

'Mockingjay' rises toward a revolution

Today's Hollywood is great at catering to the superfan. Whether it's the dedicated following that supports (or argues over) TV shows like "Game of Thrones," "True Blood" or "The Walking Dead," or the comic-book enthusiasts that salivate over every detail of a superhero flick like "Avengers: Age of Ultron,"...
WORLD
Jun 11, 2015

Hackers targeted Iran nuclear talks: Kaspersky Lab

A computer virus was used to hack into venues linked to international talks on Iran's nuclear program, the Russian computer security company Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 11, 2015

Liberating the robot from factory floor by inflating it

Kevin Albert is playing the part of lion tamer. The 33-year-old engineer, with a passing resemblance to Joe Namath, sticks his head into the four-fingered grip of a robotic hand, pauses for a moment and then emerges unscathed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 10, 2015

Life inside a Nepalese cable car in 'Manakamana'

One summer in Tokyo, as I was unemployed and without any better ideas about how to occupy myself, I spent an entire day riding the Yamanote Line. It takes roughly one hour to complete a loop of the line and, in the course of the day, I managed 19 laps before having to stop and catch the last train home....
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2015

International students face job hunting hurdles in Japan

A 23-year-old student from China who attends the prestigious University of Tokyo is now looking for a job in Japan.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2015

National Stadium architects reject reports they may be fired

The architects behind Tokyo's new National Stadium deny reports that they may be fired from the project as criticism mounts over the building's cost and appearance.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 9, 2015

Apple boasts new music streaming to bolster lead in tunes segment, preps News app, ups OS ante

Apple Inc. showed off a new streaming-music service that will give users access to a vast inventory of songs for $9.99 a month, seeking to regain ground against upstarts that have lured listeners by offering unlimited access to music.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jun 9, 2015

Cops grill woman who worked at N.Y. prison where two killers bolted; schools on alert

Authorities were questioning a woman who worked at an upstate New York prison where two convicted killers escaped over the weekend as a manhunt entered its third day, police said on Monday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 8, 2015

Toyota museum breaking records as tourists flock to Nagoya

A museum dedicated to the history of Toyota Motor Corp. is attracting so many foreign visitors that attendance has set a new all-time high.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 8, 2015

Hedge funds seek returns in Japan as China bubble concerns mount

While China's world-beating stock market rally is generating headlines, some of the biggest Asia-focused hedge funds are looking further east for profits.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / ADOPT ME!
Jun 7, 2015

Number one: a tabby named Tournesol

Tournesol is a young, gorgeous tabby that wants to schmooze his way into your world.
CULTURE / Music
Jun 7, 2015

Rush hour with bangin' bass: My night on ageHa's EDM train

A woman with purple hair sits in the waiting room on the platform at Nerima Station, surrounded by salarymen who look exhausted from their workday. Nearby, a private security guard herds four friends wearing matching floral-print pants and light-up shoes toward a line. An assortment of middle-aged workers...
CULTURE / Music
Jun 7, 2015

Old Lacy Bed and a legacy left by Vivian Girls

"Share the Joy," the 2011 album by Brooklyn trio Vivian Girls, starts off with the distinctive rumble of a drone strike in progress before suddenly veering into a lollygagging eighth-note groove for beginner musicians.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2015

Why the new USA Freedom Act is worthless

Most of the United States' controversial Patriot Act will remain in force under the USA Freedom Act.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jun 7, 2015

NEC develops way to ID everyday objects

Envision a container filled with tens of thousands of metal screws made from the same mold. Is it possible to tell one from another?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jun 6, 2015

Osamu Dazai's travel guide 'Return to Tsugaru' is more concerned with people than place

In the northernmost reaches of Honshu, Japan's largest island, lies Tsugaru, an area isolated even from its neighbors in Aomori Prefecture, let alone the rest of Japan. As a celebrated author and son of Tsugaru himself, Dazai Osamu must have seemed the perfect choice for this 1944 volume in Oyama Shoten's...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Jun 6, 2015

Japan goods popular in India; Nazis roll into Paris; mine death toll passes 160; Japan passes U.S. as top donor

100 YEARS AGO
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jun 6, 2015

Law still a long way behind fertility boom

As the population declines, the number of domestic businesses involved in fertility is growing, giving birth to a slew of additional problems.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 6, 2015

Tariq Aziz, Saddam's voice through war and crises, dies

Through long years of conflict and crisis in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, Tariq Aziz was his master's voice to the outside world — an urbane, cigar-smoking diplomat who relayed Saddam's tough and uncompromising stance to his enemies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2015

Malaysian jungle graves add to Obama's TPP headache in Congress

The discovery of scores of graves in people-smuggling camps in Malaysia is casting a shadow over President Barack Obama's signature trade deal as U.S. lawmakers consider punishing trading partners that are soft on human trafficking.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2015

Ministry announces new junior high school English exam

To fix Japan's English-learning failures, the education ministry will create a new test based on a European index and urge prefectures to compete against one another.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2015

Celebrities promote prisoners' handicrafts

A two-day exhibition that started Friday at Tokyo's Science Museum provides a glimpse at efforts being made at prisons nationwide to help inmates return to society through handicraft skills.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE HIGH GROUNDS
Jun 5, 2015

Zen and the delicate art of demitasse coffee

Shingo Naganuma isn't exaggerating when he compares the atmosphere of his coffee shop, Nejimakigumo, to a temple. Open the menu here and you'll find a list of rules, ranging from prohibitions (no smoking, no pets) to a requirement that laptop users buy extra drinks if they plan on occupying one of the...
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 5, 2015

Investors must take climate change into account: study

Most investors need to make a significant behavioral shift and start factoring climate change into their portfolio risk management, a study on its impact on financial market returns found on Thursday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 5, 2015

After divers find no more signs of life, China starts righting capsized cruise ship

Chinese authorities began late on Thursday to right the cruise ship Eastern Star, which capsized on the Yangtze River, after divers sent to search for survivors found no signs of life inside.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan