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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 12, 2019

A rare glimpse into the world of Japan's cozy snack bars

Cigarette smoke wafts across rows of whisky and shōchū bottles with dedicated name tags draped around the necks as an elderly man, microphone in hand, belts out a Showa Era enka tune playing on the karaoke machine.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 12, 2019

Japan's vernacular press coverage tiptoes around tattoo controversy

Before the Olympic Games come to Tokyo in the summer of 2020, Japan will get a chance to prove its mettle as an international sporting events host with the Rugby World Cup this fall. The games will be spread out among 12 stadiums nationwide, which means the whole country will be the focus rather than...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 10, 2019

Perfume goes back to dance basics ahead of Coachella debut

Perfume keeps finding new opportunities more than 15 years into its career. This spring, the electro-pop trio embarks on its latest international tour, with stops in Asia and North America, but the real development comes at the very end of that jaunt when the group plays the Coachella Valley Music and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Jan 10, 2019

Mayor blasts Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki as Ginowan city abstains from vote on Henoko land reclamation

Amid long-standing political wrangling over construction of a new U.S. base in Okinawa, the mayor of the city of Ginowan in the prefecture has said the municipality will not participate in a prefectural referendum set to be held over reclamation of land in order to build the new military facility, and...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jan 9, 2019

'Shoe wars' target Japan's endurance runners

As the Tokyo-Hakone Round-Trip College Ekiden Race has grown into one of Japan's biggest sporting competitions, the event has increasingly become somewhat of a showcase event for running shoe manufacturers.
SOCCER / J. League / J. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 9, 2019

J. League bids farewell to era-defining group of legends

There are few praises which have not already been sung for Yokohama F. Marinos defender Yuji Nakazawa and Nagoya Grampus goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki, both of whom announced their retirement on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2019

With new 777 on the way, time runs out on government's 747 for VIPs

The government's official aircraft for VIPs will be decommissioned at the end of March after carrying prime ministers and Imperial family members for a quarter of a century.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 7, 2019

Traffic safety-conscious group of bald men in Mie Prefecture breaks up due to aging

In 1985, about 30 bald men in their 30s who were running businesses in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, created a group called Hagetemo Katsura wo Kaburan Kai, which roughly translates to a group of men who won't wear wigs even if they go bald.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 6, 2019

Should we all be having nightcaps?

Where does the term 'nightcap' come from, and what exactly does it mean?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 5, 2019

Examining Japan's traditional paper trail

As temperatures drop across the country, washi makers nationwide enter their peak production season.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 5, 2019

Buoys, fisheries and aquaculture join the internet of things

Combining technology and data, the 'internet of things' matches supply and demand, increasing the chances of unwanted fish being returned to the sea alive and making seafood more sustainable.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 5, 2019

Singaporean publisher mines Asia's wealth of short stories

Two stories by Japan-based writers appear in the "The Best Asian Short Stories 2018" anthology published by Kitaab in Singapore.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 4, 2019

Exploring Jiyugaoka's venerable shopping arcade

Winter winds whistle as I exit Jiyugaoka Station in Tokyo's Meguro Ward, surrounded by a flock of boisterous high school students in black uniforms. Their joyous chatter as we walk into brilliant sunshine at the station's main exit reminds me that the station and area was named in 1930 for a nearby high...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 3, 2019

Japanese kamikiri performer's elaborate pieces draw interest from readers of Nagoya newspaper

Hayashiya Niraku is a 51-year-old practitioner of kamikiri, a Japanese performance art that involves cutting silhouette images out of a plain piece of paper based on requests from the audience. Adding to the challenge, artists create their pieces without drawing an outline beforehand.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 1, 2019

Japan's most exciting book releases in 2019

2019's impressive lineup of books on Japan, include classic reprints, new fiction and studies of the nation's international relations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / New Year Special 2019
Jan 1, 2019

Traditional activities to ring in the new year

Shogatsu, or New Year's holidays, are a special time for Japanese, who typically revisit and take part in long-standing traditions. It's a time when those who left their hometowns go back to visit their families, invite relatives and friends to their homes and wear kimono. It's also a time for foreigners...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2018

The year in energy — moving backward

The ugly truth is that the emissions battle will be won or lost (and at present is being lost) thanks to the energy policies of China, India, the U.S. and Russia.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 29, 2018

20 Questions: The best answers of 2018

It's been an entertaining year of 20 Questions — here's our top picks of answers in 2018.
EDITORIALS
Dec 25, 2018

Trump loses a guardrail

With the resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, the world waits with mounting anxiety for Donald Trump's next decisions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 25, 2018

Nationalism doesn't have to be a dirty word

Like any political ideology, nationalism has many faces and some are beneficial and worthy of affirmation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 24, 2018

Nagoya community effort to recycle food waste wins U.N.-related award

A decade-old community effort in Nagoya to recycle food waste from supermarkets and school lunches to make compost for vegetable farming has been awarded the Biodiversity Action Award by the Japan Committee for United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB).
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2018

Heard on the grapevine: How the Pacific trade pact primes New Zealand wine for Japanese market

From sleepy New Zealand hillsides to sleek Tokyo dining scenes, a bottle of Hawke's Bay wine shipped to Japan traces an arc that exporters like Nigel Avery see as an avenue for multimillion dollar growth built on a free trade pact.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 21, 2018

Facebook's spiralling data misuse could pressure U.S. FTC to act, leading to billions in fines

The latest revelations about how Facebook Inc. shared user data could put pressure on the Federal Trade Commission, heightening the risk of a multibillion-dollar fine for the social media giant.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 20, 2018

2018 was a busy year for gamers in Japan, with established franchises and open world epics reigning supreme

Many gamers began 2018 by teaming up with a garishly outfitted cat and rushing into battle against a big, angry monster. Some of those same people will usher out the year by punching Nintendo icon Mario in his famously mustachioed face.

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.