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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 28, 2019

China's Huawei sees little impact on sales from U.S. broadside

The U.S. campaign against China's Huawei is having little impact on the company's sales and it is unlikely many countries will follow the United States in banning Huawei from building next-generation mobile networks, its rotating chairman, Eric Xu, said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 26, 2019

Michiyo Yagi pushes the boundaries of traditional music with her koto playing

I'm sitting in Koen-Dori Classics, a darkened club in the basement of a church on Koen-dori, in Tokyo's Shibuya district. The audience is small, seated in a few rows facing the performers at the front. Silence, then the performance begins. Textured sounds emanate from the guitar, keyboard, laptop. Then...
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2019

Nintendo shares climb after report of two new Switch models in works for avid and casual gamers

Nintendo Co. shares had their best day in almost eight months after The Wall Street Journal reported the company plans to introduce two new models of its Switch console as early as this summer.
Japan Times
Mar 25, 2019

Yamaha NIKEN Wins 2019 Red Dot “Best of the Best” Award for Design

- Fourth Yamaha Motor product to receive honor -
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 24, 2019

Robert Ryker carved a niche for Tokyo Sinfonia by rescoring more than 500 classics

Conductor Zubin Mehta once told Robert Ryker that Mehta's two orchestras, the Montreal Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, had the world's two finest tuba players. Ryker, then 22 years old, was one of them. It was a rare compliment for any musician, most of whom never gain professional recognition....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 24, 2019

Small Japanese firms fear foreign laborers will abandon them when new visas kick in

As Japan braces for a fresh influx of foreign workers from the new visa system starting next month, small and midsize firms fear the system will end up helping only major firms in large cities, since those who qualify for the two new "specified skills" visas will be free to switch companies in the same...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 23, 2019

Denki Groove campaign reveals what Japan truly thinks of celebrities embroiled in drug scandals

It doesn’t take much for a celebrity drug scandal to be picked up by domestic news outlets in Japan, so when TV personality Pierre Taki was arrested on suspicion of cocaine use on March 12, it’s perhaps not surprising that TV and print media jumped on the story. Segments featured on morning shows...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2019

White nationalism is a terrorist threat, but not like radical Islam

The U.S. can't use the same tactics against white supremacists as it uses against Islamist terrorists.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 21, 2019

Study on 'punch drunk syndrome' could help identify and treat Alzheimer's patients

Scientists studying damaged brains of boxers and other sports people have found key details about a head injury-linked disease called "punch drunk syndrome" that could help the development of new diagnostics and treatments for Alzheimer's.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 20, 2019

Mariners newcomer Yusei Kikuchi eager to make first MLB start

When Yusei Kikuchi makes his first start as a major league player at Tokyo Dome on Thursday, he won't be too far away from Seibu Dome, where he stood on the mound for the first time as a professional in June of 2011.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 20, 2019

If you want to fix the problem of overtourism then just look overseas

I was speaking with a woman the other day who had recently been to Japan. She acknowledged that Japan is the "in" place to travel to and, as if to qualify this fact, complained that "Kyoto was so crowded, I couldn't even get a photo of the Golden Pavilion because of all the Chinese tourists."
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2019

Stakes rise for Boeing as EU and Canada up scrutiny of 737 Max after crashes

Europe and Canada said they would seek their own guarantees over the safety of Boeing's 737 Max, further complicating plans to get the aircraft flying worldwide after they were grounded in the wake of two accidents killing more than 300 people.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2019

Fervent fan revels in Ichimeter Lady fame

The line of fans began by the fence in the right-field stands at Tokyo Dome and stretched all the way to the back wall, snaking up through rows 1-14 and 15-21 and around the corner.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 18, 2019

Aichi 5-year-old has waist-length hair shorn to help make wigs for sick kids

A 5-year-old girl from Aichi Prefecture decided to have her waist-length hair cut in January so it can be made into wigs for children who have suffered hair loss from cancer or other illnesses.
SUMO
Mar 17, 2019

Sumo 101: Nicknames

All sumo wrestlers have a shikona (ring name).
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 17, 2019

Non-Japanese people are poorly represented in Japanese media: That needs to change

For almost a decade, the Japanese TV show "Why Did You Come to Japan?" has operated on the premise of finding foreign tourists and asking them the titular question. It might seem like an innocent query at first, but in fact this show and its ilk embody everything that is wrong with the depiction of non-Japanese...
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Mar 16, 2019

Boeing 737 crashes raise tough questions about automation

Tom Enders just couldn't resist the swipe at the competition. It was June 2011, and the chief executive officer of Airbus SE was on a stage at the Paris air show after the plane-maker won in a matter of days an unprecedented 600 orders for its upgraded A320neo airliner, while Boeing Co. stood on the...
EDITORIALS
Mar 16, 2019

Beefing up our quake defense

Given the certainty of devastating quakes hitting Japan, we must do everything we can to be better prepared.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Mar 15, 2019

Japan's Netflix contender bets on youth-driven viral hits

On a Friday night at a downtown Tokyo television studio, 12 teen models with cutesy nicknames like "Ayamin" and "Kyokyo" are waiting nervously to find out who has won coveted spots on the cover of Popteen magazine, a Japanese fashion bible.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Mar 15, 2019

As population declines, Fukushima Prefecture to lose 15 of its 96 high schools

The Fukushima Prefectural Board of Education will reduce its number of prefecture-run high schools by 15 by the end of fiscal 2023 as the region continues to struggle with a dwindling number of students due to a declining birthrate.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 13, 2019

Drones retain their buzz at Japanese trade show, with industrial uses expected to bolster growth

With the market for business-use unmanned aircraft looking promising in coming years, a large-scale drone expo that kicked off Wednesday showed more companies are eager to get involved with the industry.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 12, 2019

'Sense of Humor'

March 15-June 30
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Mar 12, 2019

Lose your wallet or cash in Okinawa? It's more than likely you'll get them back, police data shows

Lost wallets or hard cash reported to the Okinawa Prefectural Police last year had a higher chance of being returned than in the preceding four years, earning praise from foreign tourists who got their money back.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 11, 2019

Have Japan's yuru-kyara reached critical mass? Minds behind the mascots discuss

Over the past few decades, towns, cities and prefectures throughout Japan have been churning out mascots to represent and promote themselves, resulting in an annual contest, the Yuru-kyara Grand Prix, that has come to symbolize their popularity.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 10, 2019

A new approach to volunteering in Tohoku

When Angela Ortiz describes what it felt like to return to Aomori Prefecture five days after the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, she uses words like "horror," "incredulous disbelief" and "intense curiosity."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Mar 9, 2019

Spotify has one eye on untapped podcast market in Japan

Spotify paid nearly $340 million to acquire podcast producer Gimlet Media and services provider Anchor in deals disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, prompting analysts to start considering what this all meant for the industry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / A Weekend In
Mar 8, 2019

A weekend in Osaka: A sensory feast in the nation's kitchen

Osaka will host four games for the Rugby World Cup at its Hanazono Rugby Stadium. Check out our guide to the city to find out what to do when you're in Osaka for the weekend.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.