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Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 7, 2015

Rikuzentakata looks to future with new tourism ventures

The coastal town of Rikuzentakata in southeastern Iwate Prefecture became an international symbol of the devastation wreaked by the tsunami that followed the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. Lashed by waves up to 13 meters high in places, the sections of the town closest to the sea were...
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 7, 2015

Chasing Chinese planes 400 times a year stretches Japan's top guns

Fighter pilot Jun Fukuda sits edgily on the couch in his flight suit, waiting for the call that sends him sprinting to his jet. On any given day, he will chase and warn off Chinese military planes nearing Japanese airspace.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2015

Hyogo woman finds ¥1.9 million in used furniture item; police seek owner of the cash

A woman who bought secondhand furniture at a recycling shop in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, earlier this month found ¥1.9 million in the item, and police are looking for the owner of the cash.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 6, 2015

Islamic State torches oil field near Tikrit as militia advance

Islamic State militants have set fire to oil wells northeast of the city of Tikrit to obstruct an assault by Shiite militiamen and Iraqi soldiers trying to drive them from the Sunni Muslim city and surrounding towns, a witness said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2015

Cartoon worlds collide as 'The Simpsons' meet 'Akira' in 'Barkira'

Last year, animated TV show "The Simpsons" spoofed the films of director Hayao Miyazaki. This spring, bootleg Bart Simpson T-shirts line the boutiques of Harajuku.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2015

Parasophia to take Kyoto into the now

What goes through your head when you look at contemporary art? Standing in front of, say, Damien Hirst's shark in formaldehyde ("Is this art or taxidermy?"), Tracey Emin's bed ("Anybody could do that"), Jeff Koon's giant balloon-like poodles ("Kitsch," or "preemptive kitsch," as one critic called them)...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2015

Countermeasures for Japan's changing demographics

The government can no longer afford to postpone efforts to effectively address Japan's population problem.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Mar 4, 2015

Seeking pollen protection in Japan with sprays, apps and nose plugs

Here are a few examples of how people in Japan combat, or endure, the harsh allergy season.
WORLD
Mar 4, 2015

Colombia detains China-flagged ship for illegal arms transport

Colombian authorities detained a China-flagged ship traveling to Cuba for illegally transporting around 100 tons of gunpowder and other materials used to make explosives and arrested the captain, the attorney general's office said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 3, 2015

Fact takes post-hardcore to a rawer place on 'Ktheat'

It has been a year since post-hardcore group Fact released an artist photo with the six members' faces revealed. Before then, the band always wore traditional Japanese noh masks.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 3, 2015

Boko Haram posts video showing execution of two men for spying

Boko Haram posted a video showing two men who were beheaded after they were accused of spying on the Nigerian Islamist militants.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 3, 2015

For North Korean defectors, fame brings cash — and suspicion

Kang Myung-do, then son-in-law of North Korea's premier, made a spectacular claim about Pyongyang's nuclear capability when he defected to the South over two decades ago, asserting the secretive country had built five atomic bombs.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 3, 2015

In U.S., Netanyahu warns an Iran deal could threaten Israel's existence

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the United States on Monday that the nuclear deal it is negotiating with Iran could threaten Israel's survival and insisted he had a "moral obligation" to speak up about deep differences with President Barack Obama on the issue.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 2, 2015

Terrorism is low on the list of dangers threatening Japan

The history of the U.S. and other Western democracies since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has been a depressing tale of massive over-reactions to a very limited threat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 2, 2015

Cyfuse said to raise ¥1.4 billion for human tissue printing

Cyfuse Biomedical K.K., the Japanese developer of a 3-D printer that produces human tissue, has raised ¥1.4 billion ($11.8 million) from investors including robotic-limb maker Cyberdyne Inc., people familiar with the matter said.
WORLD
Mar 2, 2015

10% of those picked for top U.K. bank jobs pull out of vetting process

More than one in 10 people picked for the top jobs in British finance pull out during a regulatory vetting process which has become tougher since the financial crisis.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2015

Netanyahu flies to U.S.; signs of some easing of tensions over Iran speech seen

The United States and Israel showed signs of seeking to defuse tensions on Sunday ahead of a speech in Washington by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu when he will warn against a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Mar 1, 2015

In lycra and online, foreigners are doing their bit for Tohoku

Four years on from the catastrophic events of March 2011, Lifelines introduces two examples of how foreign nationals are pitching in for Tohoku and having fun in the process.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Mar 1, 2015

As young as you feel: a dog named Shirokichi

Shirokichi is hoping to find someone with a big heart who will reach out, love him and make his final years happy ones.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 28, 2015

A winter world of monkeys and men

My overnight bus from Ikebukuro, Tokyo, packed full of bleary-eyed college students on holiday, rolled into Shiga Kogen around dawn and began making stops along the belt of 21 interconnected ski resorts that make up Japan's largest ski area.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 28, 2015

Shibuya's same-sex move kicks off debate

On Feb. 13, Asahi Shimbun's daily Vox Populi, Vox Dei column mentioned Morizo and Kiccoro, the official mascots of the 2005 World Expo held in Aichi Prefecture. These two "woodland fairies" supposedly hailed from Seto, which issued them the same resident cards (jūminhyō) held by everyone who lives...
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Feb 28, 2015

The candy, the whip and freedom of press in Japan

We are familiar with the carrot-and-stick approach in the West, but the phrase in Japan is "ame to muchi" — literally, the candy and the whip.
JAPAN
Feb 27, 2015

Takahama assembly to vote on restarting nuclear reactors

The town assembly of Takahama, Fukui Prefecture, which hosts Kansai Electric Power Co.'s Takahama nuclear power plant, will decide by March 20 whether to approve the restart of the plant's No. 3 and 4 reactors, which recently cleared central government inspections.

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