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Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 12, 2016

To email in Japanese, take a layer cake of etiquette and stuff it with meaning

Having set up a bunch of standard remarks at the beginning and end of your email, your job is then to fill it with meaning.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 12, 2016

Japan's consumers proving more resilient than thought, restyled GDP readings show

Decades of economic stagnation have taken a toll on Japan's consumers, who went from being big spenders before the bubble economy imploded in the 1990s to masters of thrift today.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 10, 2016

Last splash: How long will the immodest Japanese tradition of mixed bathing continue?

The main reason that mixed baths have endured for so long is that communities have still supported them. When an onsen stops being a gathering place for locals, there's less to stop it slipping into disrepute.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 10, 2016

Same-sex marriage sparks a 'culture war' in Taiwan

Taiwan is one of the most LGBT friendly societies in Asia, with an active gay community and possibly the largest annual gay pride parade in the region. In recent weeks expectations spiked that it would soon legalize same-sex marriage. On Dec. 3, The Economist opined, "It would be even better if the country...
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Dec 10, 2016

Inspired fashion: from Marie Antoinette nail art to '60s textiles to Wong Kar Wai movies

Marimekko's colorful past
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2016

Projector robot moves, learns, alters shape

Cerevo Inc. said Friday it has launched a shape-changing home projector robot that can turn ceilings, walls and floors into displays.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2016

Pension bill needs more explanation

The government has a duty to explain in detail and in an easy-to-understand manner how the reform bill now in the Diet would contribute to rebuilding the pension system's finances.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2016

Thanks to Trump, no more 'Ameri-splaining'

The U.S. has always been corrupt, savage and brutal. President Trump suits us fine.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 9, 2016

After air crash, Pakistan fights over legacy of 'disco mullah,' a rock star-turned-cleric

The death of Junaid Jamshed, a Pakistani rock star-turned-evangelist, in a plane crash on Wednesday has stirred debate over his legacy, raising questions that cut to the heart of Pakistan's widening cultural schisms.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 8, 2016

Antlers' Kanazaki provides winning header against Auckland City in Club World Cup opener

Mu Kanazaki came off the bench to score an 88th-minute winner as J. League champions Kashima Antlers beat part-timers Auckland City 2-1 on Thursday to advance to the second round of the Club World Cup.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 8, 2016

Meryl Streep pipes up on doing what you love

One of the best lines uttered in Stephen Frears' film "Florence Foster Jenkins" comes from Meryl Streep in the role of Florence — which the actress gracefully repeats for me during her interview for The Japan Times.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2016

'Smoke': the movie that blazed a trail for indies

Just in time for Christmas, Yebisu Garden Cinema is reviving a film that was one of the cinema's biggest hits in the 1990s, director Wayne Wang's "Smoke," in a crisp new digital remastered version. Watching it again after all these years, it's hard not to feel a little pang, for in many ways it recalls...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 7, 2016

'The Lady in the Van': Getting old can sometimes cause a stink

Many Japanese have dreamed of living their last days in London, just as Americans in the 1920s used to dream of romantically passing away in Paris. Now, as Japan grows grayer with each passing year, an increasing number of older Japanese are eyeing Great Britain's capital city with a particular longing....
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 7, 2016

Setting the record straight on war's start

Startling evidence has been unearthed revealing machinations by the Japanese military to shift blame after the war over the surprise attacks that started the conflict.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2016

Japan's 15-year-olds perform well in PISA global academic survey

Japanese 15-year-olds continued to rank high among their international peers in science and mathematics, according to a global academic assessment released Tuesday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 6, 2016

Early days for Sejima's Hokusai museum

At some point in the future, the new Sumida Hokusai Museum in Tokyo will be considered with great affection by a lot of people. Like Tokyo Tower and Starck's Asahi Beer Hall — which have had their fair share of criticism but are now an inextricable part of what makes Tokyo one of the world's kookiest...
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 6, 2016

Labor shortage is worst in least productive industries

Japan's aging and shrinking population is causing labor shortages that should be helping workers win higher pay.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 5, 2016

'Tis the season for 'tegami' — and for facing your Japanese letter-writing fears

There are elements of etiquette involved in letter-writing that can make students of Japanese stop before they even start.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 5, 2016

In denial with 'wake ga nai' and 'hazu ga nai'

Introducing two expressions — u308fu3051u304cu306au3044 and u306fu305au304cu306au3044 — that express strong denial.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 5, 2016

Both pressure and perks used to coax seniors into giving up driving licenses

These days have seen frequent news reports of elderly drivers losing control of their vehicles, slamming into stores, running over pedestrians and traveling in the wrong direction on expressways.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2016

Japan's first lady offers critics a household hotline to Abe

With high approval ratings stoking speculation that Shinzo Abe could become Japan's longest-serving prime minister in recent history, he faces the risk of becoming complacent. Enter Akie Abe, his wife of 29 years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2016

Embattled South Korean president turns to her 'Bulletproof Vest'

When South Korean President Park Geun-hye turned to a lawyer known as her "Bulletproof Vest" to defend her in a corruption case that could lead to impeachment and criminal prosecution, she may have had little choice.
JAPAN / History
Dec 3, 2016

Memories of 1941 Pearl Harbor attack continue to affect U.S., Japan in Asia

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II. The attack, carried out at dawn by Japanese fighter planes launched from aircraft carriers, was a then relatively new form of naval warfare that shocked the American public.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 3, 2016

'Bull sumo' on the subtropical island of Tokunoshima

It was 5 p.m. when my plane touched down onto the small airstrip at Tokunoshima, an island in Kagoshima Prefecture that, in its climate and fauna, bears a strong resemblance to nearby Okinawa.
Reader Mail
Dec 2, 2016

Immigrants should be treated better

Regarding "Japan enacts law to prevent abuse of foreign trainees" in the No. 18 edition, having watched Donald Trump's offenses against Mexican and Muslim immigrants in the U.S. during the presidential campaign, I started thinking about how Japanese society will be in the next couple of decades from...

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past