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Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Apr 3, 2015

Sweet tweet forges ties between sword-making town, ice cream maker

A humorous tweet earlier this year about an ice cream bar boosted new ties between the city of Seki in Gifu Prefecture, well known for its swords, and sweets maker Imuraya Group Co. that otherwise would not have been nurtured.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2015

U.S. regional ambitions seen favoring Japan in Australian submarine tender

Washington's strategic ambitions in Asia are looming large over Australia's multibillion dollar tender for new submarines, giving Japan a possible edge over competitors from Germany and France, defense and industry sources say.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 28, 2015

Postwar education at a vexing crossroads

In July 1995, a special edition of Aera magazine reflected on 50 years of postwar evolution. Education was among the topics covered.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 27, 2015

Aichi police aim to put the brakes on speeders with special traffic lights

The Aichi Prefectural Police are trying novel approaches to reduce traffic accidents, including installing light signals that can't be seen from a distance and making streets much narrower at pedestrian crossings so drivers must slow down.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Mar 22, 2015

Election results in Kansai will weigh on Abe's plans

In Kansai, the outcome of the national unified local elections on April 12 and 26 might change Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's budget and policy priorities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 20, 2015

Pottery-makers may embrace 3-D printing to hone their designs

In a field renowned for its handcrafted artistry, 3-D printers are gaining a foothold in the pottery industry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2015

LLLL stays 'Faithful' to honest approach

Despite his elusive online persona, Kazuto Okawa, aka LLLL (pronounced "four-el"), is strikingly open and honest about his views in person. Speaking in a small Koenji cafe, he discusses his sophomore album, "Faithful," released this week via Tokyo label Progressive Form, with a critical approach that...
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Mar 15, 2015

Death toll grows in 3/11 aftermath

Four years after calamity struck Fukushima in March 2011, the death rate among its nearly 120,000 nuclear evacuees is growing conspicuously amid the stresses of refugee life.
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2015

Inappropriate teacher warning

For the first time in 40 years, the education ministry has advised teachers to be careful about using 'inappropriate' supplementary materials in the classroom.
Japan Times
JAPAN / UN WORLD CONFERENCE ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
Mar 14, 2015

Many disaster-related meetings, exhibitions to be held

While dozens of conferences will be held at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction at the Sendai International Center, in the center of Sendai, many other side events will be held in other facilities in Sendai, other cities in Miyagi...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 13, 2015

At 9, girl may be youngest to spot supernova

Two sisters from Mukaiyama Elementary School in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, have discovered a supernova, becoming rising stars in Japan's astronomical society.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 11, 2015

Clinton admits it would have been better to have second email address

Likely Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday it would have been better if she had used a government email account and a separate mobile device as U.S. secretary of state, but said the vast majority of her correspondence went to employees using government addresses.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Mar 9, 2015

Tohoku pins rebound hopes to atom smasher

As the disaster-hit Tohoku region struggles to recover from the deadly tsunami four years ago, many residents have hopes for what is considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to galvanize the area's resurrection.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 6, 2015

Abandoned boats pose tsunami hazard at Nagoya port

Nagoya authorities are worried that the more than 100 abandoned boats in its port pose a potential hazard to navigation — as well as a danger to the general public — if a major tsunami were to strike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 4, 2015

In the cinematic wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster

In January 2013 Eiga Geijutsu magazine released its annual "Best 10 and Worst 10" lists. The two worst films of 2012, as chosen by the magazine's panel of critics, were Sion Sono's "Himizu" and "Kibo no Kuni (Land of Hope)." The former is about a teenage boy (Shota Sometani) driven to violence by his...
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 / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 28, 2015

Inflammatory articles aren't helping mags' circulation numbers

In a controversial column by 83-year-old author Ayako Sono that appeared in the Feb. 11 issue of the Sankei Shimbun under the headline "Maintain a 'suitable distance,'" Sono suggested that when and if Japan changes its immigration policies to accept more foreign workers, they should live in racially...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Feb 27, 2015

'The Anime Encyclopedia' goes full digital

"The Anime Encyclopedia, 3rd Revised Edition: A Century of Japanese Animation" will be released March 3.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 27, 2015

Artist delivers heartfelt tribute to 3/11 cleanup workers

A couple from Nagoya have been posting daily pictures of heart-shaped images dedicated to those cleaning up the mess at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and other disaster-stricken parts of the Tohoku region.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 20, 2015

Accidents involving unregulated mini-boats on rise

Accidents involving miniboats, which require no license or qualification to operate in Japan, are on the rise.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Feb 17, 2015

Kawabuchi draws on J. League success to push for Japan basketball's transformation

When the J. League was being set up in the early 1990s, its chairman, Saburo Kawabuchi, said that he heard a lot of pessimistic voices about its formation. But the Japan Football Association stuck with its plans and started the league.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Feb 15, 2015

LGBT students may be ready to come out, but are Japan's schools ready to accept them?

When university student Osamu Inoue, 19, came out openly in high school two years ago and admitted he was gay, he had hoped that at least his school would have adopted a more positive attitude toward sexual minorities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Feb 15, 2015

New Fukushima bus service broadens options for residents near no-go zones

Local residents in Fukushima Prefecture saw the return of public transportation on Jan. 31 after East Japan Railway Co. began a bus service that passes through the exclusion zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Feb 14, 2015

Argentine state prosecutors face intimidation, interference

Argentine public prosecutors have always needed steely nerves to investigate high-ranking officials, business tycoons and criminals, facing blackmail, threats to kidnap their children and attempts to impeach them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Feb 13, 2015

Tiled air raid shelter in Aichi hailed as work of art

A private World War II air raid shelter exquisitely lined with colorful tiles has recently been opened to the public in Handa, Aichi Prefecture.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight