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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Aug 22, 2015

'Murasaki Shikibu: The Tale of Genji' unlocks Japan's legendary 1,000-page novel

Dennis Washburn's new translation of "The Tale of Genji" brings the total number of English options to four and a half, but the novel remains as daunting as ever. How do you approach a 1,000-page novel from 1,000 years ago, in which most of the characters don't even have proper names? The book's insight...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Aug 21, 2015

Japan celebrates the GIFs that keep on giving

GIFs — which stands for graphics interchange format, don’t you know — have made the Internet an even more enjoyable place than before, and we have the receipts to prove it.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 20, 2015

Kirin buys Myanmar's biggest brewing company for $560 million

Kirin Holdings Co. said it acquired Myanmar's biggest beer company for $560 million (about ¥69.7 billion), as it seeks to expand abroad with an aging population at home reducing domestic demand for its beverages.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 17, 2015

U.S. marine wins compensation for Okinawa toxin exposure and calls for tests on residents near Futenma

The U.S. government has awarded compensation to the ailing former marine at the center of allegations that Agent Orange was dumped on Futenma Air Base in Okinawa.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 17, 2015

Let's discuss emoji in ads

In a world where promotional videos are ignored and online ad banners are blocked, advertisers have learned to speak emoji.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 14, 2015

Wagyu: More at stake than craftsmanship for marginalized slaughterhouse workers

When it comes to cuts of meat, there are few sights that raise expectations like the marbling of a prime cut of wagyu beef. Brands like Kobe and Matsuzaka are already household names in Japan, and increasingly consumers and chefs the world over are buying into the luxury meat, with import bans lifted...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2015

Mullah Omar: more trouble dead than alive

The Taliban's lies over two years that the notorious Mullah Muhammad Omar Mansoor was still alive will have widespread ramifications.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 13, 2015

Japan can offset China yuan move by easing: Abe adviser

Japan "need not worry" about China's devaluation of the yuan because it can always offset the effects by easing monetary policy, said an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 12, 2015

Give Beijing's currency devaluation a chance

By devaluating the yuan, Beiing might be buying some economic stability so it can accelerate its reform process.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 11, 2015

There's a residual energy to Cai Guo-Qiang's explosive works

Japanese artist Taro Okamoto once said, "Art is an explosion." This was despite the fact that his own works were carefully planned and developed, as the exhibition "Taro Okamoto's Paintings: From Impulse to Realization" at the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art made clear back in 2006. Okamoto's famous dictum,...
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 10, 2015

Let's discuss 'Star Wars ' floats at the Aomori Nebuta festival

Organizers of the Aomori Nebuta Matsuri will not allow much-awaited floats based on 'Star Wars' characters to parade on the city's streets.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 9, 2015

Republicans pile on Trump following controversial debate comments

Rival Republican presidential candidates piled on Donald Trump Saturday for his caustic remarks about a female debate moderator, and the billionaire celebrity candidate backpedaled in an effort to keep his campaign from unraveling.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 7, 2015

Achieving true reconciliation

It takes two to tango, and to achieve reconciliation.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2015

Abe advisory panel cites wartime 'aggression' but fails to address recent revisionism

A key advisory panel to Shinzo Abe published its report Thursday on Japan's modern history and postwar reconciliation, strongly criticizing the wartime "aggression" against other Asian countries but touching little on recent controversies over what is widely regarded as the prime minister's revisionist...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 3, 2015

Abe, Renzi agree to beef up security, economic ties

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his visiting Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi, agreed Monday to strengthen bilateral security and economic ties, and cooperate further on a wide range of global issues.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 3, 2015

Let's discuss rice and the TPP

Japan is proposing to set a 70,000-ton tariff-free import quota for U.S. rice in bilateral talks for a Pacific free trade agreement, in return for maintaining a high tariff on the country's staple food.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 29, 2015

'Obon no Ototo' is one director's attempt to portray his real life through a fictional self

'Life imitates art far more than art imitates life," quipped Oscar Wilde, but in the film world mining one's own life for the sake of art — or rather, a script — is an ancient and hallowed practice. The resulting film, however, may have only a tenuous relationship with the filmmaker's actual biography....
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 27, 2015

A crash course in wartime Japanese terminology for foreign demons

Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, here's a look at the words, phrases and concepts that found wide usage in the fateful years leading up to 1945.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 27, 2015

Let's discuss scorching weather in Japan

At least three elderly people died and hundreds were taken to the hospital as Japan continued to bake under scorching temperatures.
EDITORIALS
Jul 26, 2015

Alarmist defense white paper

By highlighting the threat posed by China, the government appears to be using the white paper to drum up public support for the Abe administration's controversial security legislation.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jul 26, 2015

Hashimoto's proposed Kansai-centric party no easy sell in region, where rivalries limit appeal

No stranger to making headlines and raising eyebrows in politics, the fiery Toru Hashimoto did it again on July 4.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 20, 2015

Let's discuss the plan for a new National Stadium in Tokyo

The complicated design of Tokyo's new National Stadium meant only a limited number of contractors could tackle the project and was the biggest cause of its budget blowout.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 20, 2015

Netanyahu reaping a bitter harvest

The bad blood between Netanyahu and the West is exposing Israel to a risk no less significant than that posed by Iran: the danger of international isolation.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jul 16, 2015

Museums are the place to be this summer thanks to new dinosaur discoveries

Whether you live with a 4-year-old expert in dinosaurs, or were once one yourself, this summer offers some exciting opportunities for further discovery about the giant animals that long ago roamed the Earth. And best of all, they're all right here in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2015

Student group's pandemics study wins Japan Times award

A student group addressing the growing threat of pandemic diseases in the age of globalization received the grand prize for this summer's presentations in The Japan Times Youth Project.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 13, 2015

Let's discuss safety on trains

There were calls for security checks to be instituted on users of bullet trains nationwide after a self-immolation on Tuesday left the perpetrator and one other passenger dead, and two people seriously injured.

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