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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 23, 2012

The Khitans: from Mongolic tribe to rulers of an empire

When I visited "The Splendor of the Khitan Dynasty" at the University Art Museum, Tokyo, I got a funny feeling that Japan somehow wanted to preserve good diplomatic relations with this mighty Empire. This makes perfectly good sense given this state's great military strength and strategic position in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 23, 2012

"Yoichiro Yoda: Dreams of Memory"

Yoichiro Yoda has spent most of his life living in New York, where he is increasingly alarmed at the frequent demolitions of the city's buildings and the incessant noise of heavy construction work. Upset to see his adopted hometown being gradually destroyed, Yoda chose painting as a way to memorialize...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Aug 22, 2012

Take the kids back in time this summer

Japanese people are rediscovering the charms of a simpler life, if only for a weekend.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2012

Region could drive a global economic revival

Amid concerns about sagging growth in both advanced and developing economies, Japan — which is heavily dependent on Asian demand — may take heart from the region's potential to drive a global revival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Aug 21, 2012

Meet Loco: blogger, author — and racist?

A glance of distrust on the sidewalk. A seemingly harmless question. An empty seat on an otherwise packed train.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 21, 2012

Do your research to avoid medical surprises in Japan

Understanding how Japanese medical practice differs from that in your home country can be crucial to avoiding unwelcome surprises next time you or a loved one find yourselves in need of treatment at a local clinic or hospital.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2012

Why do American junk food giants feel the urge to force-feed us tidbit sermons on social issues?

Since when does serving up junk food give someone a license to preach?
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 19, 2012

Yakuza face new battles within and without

The nation's largest underworld syndicate, the Kobe-based Yamaguchi-gumi, is 97 years old.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 19, 2012

Nursery rhymes that fly high with sound and color

JAPANESE NURSERY RHYMES: Carp Streamers, Falling Rain, and other Traditional Favorites, by Danielle Wright and illustrated by Helen Acraman. Tuttle Publishing, 2012, 32 pp., $16.95 (hardcover) With its many onomatopoeic words, the Japanese language booms and trills, echoing with musical lingo. Usually...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 19, 2012

Monster parents make matters worse for their children and teachers

In the West they hover and swoop. In Japan they stalk and are known to strike. We all have them and some of us have been them. And in recent years the media, both social and antisocial, have put them under the magnifying glass of criticism.
EDITORIALS
Aug 19, 2012

Japanese heat wave

This summer has been one of the hottest on record. In Japan, the number of heatstroke victims hit record levels. The Fire and Disaster Management Agency reported July had the highest number of people taken to hospitals by ambulances for heatstroke ever, more than 21,000 people.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2012

U.S. religious liberty feeling the weight of so many faiths

In the United States, Muslim women trying to maintain modesty should get female-only hours at the public pool, right?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Aug 18, 2012

Japan's career fairies — they're ready to help you

One job that exists in Japan that doesn't in my country is that of the career fairy. These are people, usually women, who work at places like the central post office or the bank and are on hand to help customers as they walk in the door. And as a customer, of course you need help.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2012

'Dogtooth'

Dogtooth" shows the kind of stark, nightmarish images that assail the senses during a fretful summer nap, when the body soaks the sheets and you're disoriented for a while afterward. What just happened here? It's not easy to say, except that the long procession of bizarre scenes evoke the distinct sensation...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 17, 2012

'Shokuzai (Penance)'

How much will they miss you when you're gone? Directors typically keep putting off the answer to that question as long as possible, working until they drop. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, whose 2008 dysfunctional family drama "Tokyo Sonata" won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival,...
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2012

Two Cabinet ministers visit Yasukuni

Marking the 67th anniversary of the end of World War II, two Cabinet ministers on Wednesday paid what they said was a private visit to war-related Yasukuni Shrine, the first by such high-ranking politicians since the Democratic Party of Japan took power in 2009.
EDITORIALS
Aug 15, 2012

The minimum wage dilemma

The number of people receiving livelihood assistance known as seikatsu hogo (literally, livelihood protection), Japan's final social safety net, increased for nine consecutive months and reached a record 2,108,096 as of March 2012.
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 14, 2012

Japan exceeded expectations during London Games

Sixteen action-packed days of competition — plus a few days of soccer that began before the Opening Ceremony on July 27 — delivered a better-than-expected performance for Japan at the 2012 London Olympics.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 14, 2012

London bids farewell to Olympics

The closing ceremony on Sunday night was a lot of things — boring wasn't one of them.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 12, 2012

Close call for Aizawa brings phrase into question

The Japanese translation of HBP, where a batter gets hit by a pitch, is "dead ball." I wish they would change that, eliminate the word "dead" and adopt the English phrase "hit by pitch."
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 12, 2012

Japan's Paralympians overcome adversity by leaps, bounds and innovative design

When Oscar Pistorius made his dramatic debut in the men's 400-meter race in London last Saturday — becoming the first double amputee to compete alongside able-bodied athletes in Olympics history — some people might have wondered if the South African's artificial legs gave him a competitive edge over...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Aug 12, 2012

New breed of single fathers should be a model for men across Japan

He is a much maligned creature at home and abroad. Some call him good for nothing; others say he is good for only one thing: bringing home the bacon ... and, in recent years, a most lean bacon it has become. On the weekends his primary pastime is gorone, to wit, snoozing in his clothes during daytime...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 11, 2012

Import club caters to need for home comfort

The blonde man in shorts and a baseball cap, sporting a lopsided grin and a dangling backpack and parking a rusty bicycle, looked less like a captain of industry than a superannuated college student. Yet American Chuck Grafft, 50, is founder and CEO of Foreign Buyers Club, one of the largest importers...
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 11, 2012

Bolt completes historic sweep with 200 victory

Jamaica had a run for the ages on Thursday.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Aug 11, 2012

The race to be at rest

"Japanese are supposed to be polite. It's a defining part of the national character."

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat