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 Daisuke Kikuchi

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Daisuke Kikuchi
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2016
Girl group's Nazi-like costume draws online backlash
The idol group Keyakizaka46, a branch of Japan's top-selling girl band AKB48, has sparked outrage on social media over their Halloween costume, which resembled the uniform worn by Nazi SS officers before and during World War II.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 28, 2016
Manga on overwork hell goes viral in wake of Dentsu suicide reports
After the Christmas 2015 suicide of an employee at ad giant Dentsu Inc. was reported as an official case of karoshi (death from overwork) this month, making headlines nationwide, a manga portraying the mindset of those worn out on the job went viral earlier this week and had been retweeted over 131,000...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2016
Shibuya readies for Halloween party throngs
To avoid turmoil near JR Shibuya Station when it is flooded with partygoers over Halloween, the Metropolitan Police Department will for the first time dedicate two nearby streets to pedestrians only from Friday through Monday, depending on traffic conditions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 24, 2016
Can Spotify dent streaming-averse Japan?
Spotify's long-awaited launch last month has industry watchers wondering whether it will make a major breakthrough in altering Japan's $3 billion music industry, where 80 percent of sales still come from CDs and other physical formats.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2016
Filipinos in Japan optimistic about changes Duterte is making
While all eyes are glued on new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his brutal crackdown on drug traffickers, Filipinos living in Japan are happy with the job he's doing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2016
Shibuya's tourism car gets Sanrio makeover to ward off Halloween chaos
In a bid to thwart the more rambunctious revelers who gather in Shibuya Crossing on Halloween night, the green train car and information center in front Shibuya Station has been dressed up to look like Sanrio's popular character Pom Pom Purin.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 21, 2016
Nintendo releases video of new game crossover product Switch
Nintendo on Thursday released the name and a video image of its yet-to-be launched video game product.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 21, 2016
Odakyu plans to debut new luxurious Romancecar on Hakone run in 2018
Odakyu Electric Railway Co. has unveiled a new design for its signature Romancecar limited express train connecting Tokyo with the hot-spring resort of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 20, 2016
Japanese comedian Pikotaro's video 'PPAP' cracks the Billboard Hot 100
Comedian Pikotaro’s music video “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen,” abbreviated as “PPAP,” that recently went viral on social media has entered the weekly U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at 77th.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2016
Tokyo named third most magnetic city for global talent
Tokyo ranks as No. 3 in the world when it comes to drawing creative types.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2016
Journalism students headed for Kyoto in cultural exchange
Journalism students from universities will have the opportunity to travel to Kyoto and report on Japan with the help of local peers under a new cultural exchange initiative launched recently.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2016
Japan gets reprieve in international effort to clamp down on ivory trade
A committee meeting at an international conference for animal conservation votes unanimously to ban domestic trade in elephant ivory.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 2, 2016
Vet pushes for shelters that can keep pets and owners together during disasters
A veterinarian from Kumamoto Prefecture who provided shelter to pets and their owners in the wake of April's earthquakes in Kyushu urges lawmakers to prepare similar facilities for future disasters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 29, 2016
Spotify finally launches in Japan, a nation where other music streaming services have struggled
Popular music streaming service Spotify is trying its luck in Japan, where consumer demand for packaged media such as CDs is traditionally strong and the market for streaming still has huge potential to grow.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Sep 22, 2016
Disabilities group cries foul over name secrecy in Sagamihara care home massacre
Members of People First said Wednesday the withholding of names went to the crux of why they felt discriminated against.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 22, 2016
A conduit to China, Japan dodges pressure to ban ivory sales
Defying international pressure, Japan has stopped short of deciding to shut down its market for elephant ivory, traditionally used to carve hanko (personal seals). Instead it is promising to put trade on a tighter leash.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2016
Fan club formed to promote Fukushima produce
Nearly 5½ years after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, a fan club was launched last week with an ambitious membership goal: gain 200,000 members by 2020 and boost the region's products in the process.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 12, 2016
Woman who contracted Zika in Vietnam diagnosed in Tokyo
A Vietnamese woman has been confirmed infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the first case in Tokyo since the government recognized the disease as Class-4 in February.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 8, 2016
Cats take over second installment of biannual Gift Show
The focus of this year's Tokyo International Gift Show is an animal that has become a purring and recurring issue in the news recently: cats.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Sep 4, 2016
Champion of craftsmen on mission to showcase Japan's masters online
Keigo Omaki, director of the video website Nippon Teshigoto Zukan (Japan Handwork Encyclopedia), has an almost addictive interest in traditional items made by Japanese craftsmen, and he's not sure why.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?