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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 6, 2016

Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke to join event paying tribute to 'disruptive' artist Tony Conrad

Of the many words used by friends and collaborators to describe Tony Conrad, who died last April at the age of 76, one of the most frequently heard is "disruptive." In a career that straddled experimental music, film, visual art and education, Conrad vigorously resisted the complacency that befell many...
Japan Times
SOCCER
Nov 6, 2016

Chelsea routs Everton to move top

Chelsea crushed Everton 5-0 on Saturday to storm to the top of the Premier League with a vintage display after Manchester City was held 1-1 at home by a last-minute goal from promoted Middlesbrough.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 6, 2016

Malnutrition battle triggers Euglena's eureka moment

Before venturing to Bangladesh at the age of 18, Mitsuru Izumo had believed that many people in the impoverished country were dying of starvation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 5, 2016

Washed up? Tokyo's iconic communal bath houses face an uncertain future

Walking around Tokyo, you may have noticed a number of tall, narrow chimneys rising above the skyline every so often. Such stacks are a good indication that you've stumbled across a sento, or communal bath house.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Nov 5, 2016

Campfire pleasures both old and new

My father went off to war and never came back to us. My mother remarried when I was 10 and my new Dad was in the Royal Navy. Until I was 13 he was mostly at sea, so lots of chores came my way.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 5, 2016

'Crooked Cucumber': The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki

Shunryu Suzuki, author of the influential "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind," is credited with introducing Zen to the West and founding California's first Zen Buddhist monastery.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 5, 2016

Clinton, Trump clash over economy in final campaign push

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump battled over the strength of the economy in the final stretch of their race for the White House on Friday, with Clinton praising the latest U.S. jobs report and Trump dismissing it as a fraudulent disaster.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 4, 2016

Rattling the nuclear cage, and look who is terrified

Japan's opposition to a U.N. treaty to ban nuclear weapons puts it on the wrong side of history.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 4, 2016

'PPAP' goes the world: How Pikotaro became a viral smash

Pikotaro still can't believe it all. Two days before he sits down with The Japan Times, the performer saw that American DJ duo The Chainsmokers had changed their Twitter name to "Pineapple & Pen," a nod to his song "PPAP." That pair previously claimed YouTube's most popular clip with "Closer" — until...
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2016

Promises to end 'karoshi' ring hollow

I was saddened to read of the suicide of Matsuri Takahashi, driven to depression by the culture of overwork, bullying and harassment at the Dentsu Inc. advertising agency. That a young, intelligent woman should be made so miserable that she would take her own life is truly a tragedy.
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2016

Coming to grips with Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize was a surprise, not because he didn't fully deserve the honor but because he did and because the Swedish awards committee fully understood this.
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2016

Trump's run really a grab for profit

As the campaigning for the next American president reaches its climax, it resembles more a soap opera than a serious political occasion to elect the most powerful individual on the planet.
Reader Mail
Nov 4, 2016

Safety in one-sidedness or in balance?

If we can see past the United States presidential campaign's diversionary mudslinging and charisma (or lack thereof) we realize we all just want to be safe, and that starts with strength in our leadership.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 3, 2016

Aung San Suu Kyi revisits old stomping grounds at Kyoto University, receives honorary doctorate

Democracy icon Suu Kyi pays a nostalgic visit to Kyoto University, where she is awarded an honorary doctorate.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2016

Win or lose, Hillary is finished

If Hillary Clinton is the most qualified person ever to have run for the U.S. presidency, why has her campaign been such a train wreck?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 3, 2016

China's Xi condemns 'cliques' and 'conspiracies' within party

China's President Xi Jinping condemned "cliques," "conspiracies" and "fraud" within upper echelons of the Communist Party and said there were urgent problems to be addressed, state media reported Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 2, 2016

Raising university rankings

The quality of an educational institution is determined by the skills and abilities of the teachers and their educational philosophy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 2, 2016

'Embrace of the Serpent': Amid the poisons of colonization

While Leonardo DiCaprio's masochistic lead performance garnered greater acclaim, perhaps the most striking aspect of "The Revenant" was the diligence it showed in telling the Native American side of the story. Yet for all the scenes of authentic Arikara dialogue, the indigenous characters in Alejandro...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Nov 2, 2016

Tokyo Station Gallery celebrates Ken Takakura's traditional virtues

Ken Takakura (1931-2014) was a major film star for nearly five decades. He also became a national icon for embodying traditional virtues, especially in his dozens of gang films for the Toei studio in the 1960s and '70s.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Nov 1, 2016

Halloween in Japan 2016: I scream, you scream, we all scream

This year, revelers got a full weekend of Halloween celebrations, including the chaotic free-for-all celebrations that occurred in Shibuya, the Ikebukuro Cosplay Fes and the three-day Kawasaki Halloween 2016 event, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary. Here's a sampling of scenes from some of Tokyo's...
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Nov 1, 2016

Slow start to season nothing new for Hanyu

Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu has made a habit of starting slowly during the Grand Prix season in recent years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 1, 2016

Japan may be too scared of failure to succeed

Unless inventive, aggressive companies are around to do something productive with the cheap cash the BOJ is generating, policymakers will never be able to jump-start the economy.
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2016

Pharma, aerospace industries seek Brexit assurances after Nissan deal

Britain's pharmaceutical and aerospace industries, both big exporters, are stepping up pressure on the government for assurances about their future after last week's post-Brexit deal with carmaker Nissan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 1, 2016

Every hero has a few human flaws

Ryoma Sakamoto (1835-1867), among Japan's most beloved heroes, came of age when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's Black Ships arrived demanding trade relations and ending the country's closed-door foreign policy. The old Japan ruled by the feudal Tokugawa shogunate was giving way to the modern nation state....
Japan Times
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Nov 1, 2016

San Diego, Chargers hold special place in writer's heart

San Diego may lose its NFL Chargers. And because MAS considers himself an honorary San Diegan, he is despondent over that possibility. Why? Well, it's a long but — MAS hopes — interesting story. So, here goes.

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