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JAPAN
Aug 15, 2014

Three ministers visit Yasukuni on surrender day anniversary; Abe refrains

Three Cabinet ministers visit war-related Yasukuni Shrine as Japan marks the 69th anniversary of its surrender in World War II.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Aug 15, 2014

Bon bonfires to be lit on five Kyoto mountains

Five mountains in Kyoto will be illuminated with huge bonfires on Saturday, the last day of the Bon festival, when ancestors' spirits are welcomed back to the world of the living.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 15, 2014

Rise of the machines? Tiny robot horde swarms to form shapes

They look vaguely like miniature hockey pucks skittering along on three pinlike metal legs, but a swarm of small robots called Kilobots at a laboratory at Harvard University is making a little bit of history for automatons everywhere.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 15, 2014

Japan imposes asset freeze on North Korean shipping firm

The government on Friday froze the assets of the operator of a North Korean ship seized for smuggling arms, the Foreign Ministry announced, just as Tokyo is engaged in talks with Pyongyang to return Japanese citizens kidnapped decades ago by North Korean agents.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2014

A glut of unoccupied houses

Roughly one in every seven houses throughout Japan is unoccupied, and the number keeps growing. Blame the graying of society, the depopulation of rural areas and the 'fixed-property' tax break.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 15, 2014

First dust particles from interstellar space are found in samples collected from comet

A NASA spacecraft that was dispatched 15 years ago to collect samples from a comet also snared what scientists suspect are the first dust specks from interstellar space.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Aug 15, 2014

Islamic State puts 'invincible' Kurd warriors to sword

The Kurdish peshmerga fighter ran out of ammunition but saved two bullets to end his own life in case Islamic State militants caught up with him as he fled the front line in northwest Iraq.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2014

Pixies to bring 'Indie Cindy' to Summer Sonic

Sat on the upper deck of his band's tour bus, Pixies frontman Black Francis shrugs his shoulders and screws up his face. This is, I've come to realize, how the man born Charles Thompson IV tends to field questions before, if and when the fancy takes him, forcefully making his point — a technique strangely...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 14, 2014

Seiho to take Summer Sonic into the night

Three years ago, Seiho Hayakawa could often be found playing shows at basement venues around Osaka. Today, he's all over the map.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2014

The bright sparks of photography

Photography, because it is both familiar and accessible, is an excellent medium for young people to use for self-expression. With this as a guiding principle, the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts (K*MoPA) in Yamanashi Prefecture has sought since its founding in 1995 to contribute to society by purchasing...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Aug 13, 2014

Magic Beach is bubbling over with music

Awa Odori — Japan's largest dance festival held in Tokushima Prefecture as part of Obon festivities in August — attracts more than a million tourists, who go to enjoy traditional Japanese folk dances.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Aug 13, 2014

Art from the margins of society

A show of brilliant color combinations, unusual shapes and a creative use of materials, "Art as a Haven of Happiness" at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum showcases the work of artists with Down syndrome and other disabilities. Free of any fixed ideas or concepts that often limit the definition of art,...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Aug 13, 2014

Lighting the way for o-Bon

Toro nagashi is a long-held Japanese tradition where candle-lit lanterns are released into rivers to guide the spirits of ancestors back to the other world during the o-Bon season.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 12, 2014

Chi-na aims to win fans over one step at a time

For many musicians, dreams of success take the form of a big break: perhaps a major label record contract, a lucrative tour deal or a barnstorming festival set. However, a quick fix isn't the style of Tokyo indie quintet Chi-na, who is gradually growing in stature through a steady process of connecting...
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
Aug 12, 2014

International woodblock art; an airport space for kids; heating up the hoodie

exhibitions
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 12, 2014

Liberia awaits Ebola drug samples

U.S. authorities have approved a request from Liberia's government for sample doses of the experimental ZMapp drug to treat Liberian doctors infected with Ebola, the Liberian presidency said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / CHILDREN LEFT BEHIND
Aug 8, 2014

Once state support ends, life is difficult to navigate

The main reason youths are placed in children's institutions is abuse and neglect, but experts say society knows little about the situations these children face.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Aug 8, 2014

Kids can learn a lot from being on the factory floor

Children can be full of questions: "Why is the sky blue?" "What happened to the dinosaurs?" "How are babies made?"
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Aug 8, 2014

Ceramic, pottery festivals; Nara Tokae Festival; children's rights seminar

Kyoto Gojozaka Pottery Festival this weekend
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 8, 2014

Cockpit voice recorder in crashed Air Algerie jet unintelligible

Cockpit voice recordings from an Air Algerie jet that crashed last month in northern Mali are unintelligible, investigators said on Thursday, depriving them of vital clues on what sent it into a sudden plunge that killed all 116 passengers and crew.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2014

China says Japanese fighter jets shadowed its planes on patrol over disputed waters

Japanese fighter jets shadowed Chinese aircraft patrolling over disputed waters, China's Ministry of Defense said on Thursday, in the latest flare-up of a spat over air space that has deepened a rift between the two countries.
WORLD
Aug 8, 2014

China imposes new restrictions on instant messaging tools: Xinhua

China will force real-name registrations on public accounts of instant messaging tools and require those wishing to publish or reprint political news to seek prior approval, state media and Tencent Holdings Ltd said on Thursday.
WORLD
Aug 8, 2014

Spy agencies hit in new cyber-espionage campaign: Kaspersky Lab

Security researchers at Kaspersky Lab said they have uncovered a cyber-espionage operation that successfully penetrated two spy agencies and hundreds of government and military targets in Europe and the Middle East since the beginning of this year.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’