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Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 19, 2018

Don't eat Jiro persimmons, drink them, town in Mie urges

Members of the Nippon Bartenders Association's branch in Mie Prefecture have created original cocktails that make use of typhoon-damaged Jiro persimmons — a local specialty of the town of Taki that is now in harvest — that cannot be shipped for sale.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Deep Dive
Nov 18, 2018

Japan's IT firms enthusiastically open doors to overseas tech workers

The dozens of young Chinese engineers looked nervous, but eager, as they presented their work in English during a hack-athon in September at the high-rise Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Nov 18, 2018

Exports of Fukushima-brand alcohol hit record in fiscal 2017

Exports of sake, liquor and other alcoholic beverages produced in Fukushima Prefecture reached a record high of about 296,000 liters in fiscal 2017.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 17, 2018

Live-action Pokemon trailer reaffirms Pikachu's enduring popularity

Ever since the original release of the “Pokemon” games for the Nintendo Game Boy back in 1996, the series’ central character — the electric, yellow rodent Pikachu — has found a permanent place in the world’s pop-culture zeitgeist. Pikachu has since shown up everywhere, including on countless...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 17, 2018

'On Haiku': A lifetime's consideration of the genre, distilled

In his latest book, 'On Haiku,' Japanese translator and poet Hiroaki Sato ruminates on the history of the genre and its defining features as well as its remarkable acculturation within American literary life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 16, 2018

Cabinet Office poster about sexual harassment draws online criticism

An attempt by the government to encourage men to take responsibility for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace has drawn an uproar online, with Twitter users saying it makes excuses for willful ignorance of the issue.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 16, 2018

Toyota gives top-selling Corolla a new look as it increases efforts in China

For Toyota Motor Corp., China wasn't always the first pit stop when it came to unveiling key car models. But this time, it's different.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 16, 2018

James Turrell's 'House of Light': A modern art house in old snow country

Contemporary artist James Turrell is known for experiential artwork that manipulates his primary medium: light. For the 'House of Light' in the Niigata Prefecture town of Tokamachi, Turrell took his inspiration from Junichiro Tanizaki's book 'In Praise of Shadows.'
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 16, 2018

Nintendo hopes new 'Pokemon' titles will lead to surge in sales for its Switch console ahead of holidays

Nintendo Co. is gambling that it can sell millions of Switch consoles this holiday season by introducing a new "Pokemon" game that interacts with the free-to-play mobile hit "Pokemon Go," as well as a new character that resembles a hex nut.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 15, 2018

Christmas lunch buffet awash in pink decadence

Pink pastries and jewelry boxes may not evoke the most classic of Christmas imagery, but who's to say things can't get a little creative sometimes? In the spirit of giving girly girls what they really want this season, Hilton Tokyo Odaiba Hotel happily presents its Girls' Sweets Coffret Christmas Dessert...
Japan Times
SUMO
Nov 14, 2018

Sumo 101: Tokoyama (Hairdressers)

Outside of wrestlers and stablemasters, there are three main jobs in the Japan Sumo Association: gyoji (referee), yobidashi (ring announcer) and tokoyama (hairdresser).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2018

Workers complain of unbearable foul smells at new Toyosu market

Workers at the new Toyosu wholesale food market in Tokyo are having to hold their noses as disgusting stenches, mainly of fish, have started to emanate from some locations in the site.
Japan Times
Nov 12, 2018

Yamaha Motor to Exhibit at CES 2019, World's Largest Consumer Electronics Show

Exhibiting Five Models Including the PPM Low-Speed Autonomous Mobility Service System with Onboard AI Conductor
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 12, 2018

From Yukio Mishima with love: Former lighthouse keeper reminisces about correspondence with novelist

Michio Suzuki, 87, of Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, met renowned novelist Yukio Mishima (1925-70) in March 1953 when he was working at Kamishima Lighthouse in Toba, Mie Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KONBINI WATCH
Nov 10, 2018

Carbo-load: Convenience store breads pile on the sweetness

Japan's big three convenience stores — Lawson, FamilyMart and Seven-Eleven — have plenty of rich (and caloric!) bread-based desserts to satisfy any sweet tooth.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 10, 2018

In first, Washington calls on Beijing to remove missiles from South China Sea

The United States has for the first time urged China to remove missile systems deployed to contested man-made islands in the South China Sea, the Pentagon said Friday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / A Weekend In
Nov 10, 2018

A weekend in Sapporo: Fresh crab, craft beer and sculpture gardens

For more than a third of the year, Sapporo is buried beneath thick snow. During its warmer months, however, the city shrugs off its winter coat and bursts into life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 9, 2018

A sad legacy of postwar upheaval, neglected graves hinder safety works in Okinawa

The area around the banks of the Hija River in the town of Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, is dotted with graves that are left unattended with no one to inherit them, posing a growing problem for urban development and safety works.
EDITORIALS
Nov 9, 2018

Heed opinions of all municipalities near reactors

Restarting the Tokai No. 2 nuclear plant will be a test case for whether reactor operators can build up enough goodwill to obtain consent from not only the host municipalities but those in the surrounding area.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 6, 2018

Waking up to Asia's growing role in art

One year after The National Art Center, Tokyo, and the Mori Art Museum presented the expansive "Sunshower: Contemporary Art From Southeast Asia 1980s to Now," The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, (MOMAT) has unveiled "Awakenings: Art in Society in Asia 1960s-1990s."
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 5, 2018

U.S. drones and the Khashoggi murder

The U.S.'s actions instilled Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's deep sense of impunity.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 5, 2018

Superrealistic face masks by Japan firm attract attention from facial-recognition system developers

Superrealistic plastic face masks produced by a firm in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, have recently attracted attention at home and abroad, from facial-recognition system developers to a Saudi Arabian royal family member.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 2, 2018

French film 'Amanda' takes top prize at Tokyo International Film Festival

French director Mikhael Hers' family drama, "Amanda," was awarded the Grand Prix at the 31st Tokyo International Film Festival on Friday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 2, 2018

'Divisive Donald at his worst': Democrats, some Republicans blast Trump ad as racially charged

U.S. President Donald Trump faced scathing criticism on Thursday for an advertisement linking Democrats and immigrants to violent crime, as Democrats and some of his fellow Republicans blasting it as the most racially divisive political ad in three decades.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Nov 1, 2018

Private party a perfect way to finish the year

For those looking for a party venue, the Hotel Century Southern Tower has remodeled its 21st-floor private dining rooms; and as an added perk, the standard ¥500 per person room fee has been waived for the rest of the year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Oct 29, 2018

Mother of Japanese boy killed in '92 U.S. shooting hopes her book will promote stricter gun control

Mieko Hattori, 70, from Nagoya, whose son, Yoshihiro, 16, was gunned down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1992, is working on a story for children that calls for stricter gun control measures in the United States.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2018

Gab.com fights to stay online after Pittsburgh synagogue massacre

The website where the suspected Pittsburgh synagogue gunman posted anti-Semitic views said on Sunday it was "working around the clock" to stay online after being cut off by payment processors and forced to switch web hosts.

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.