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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2014

Wena Poon on life and death in occupied Kyoto

As a child living in a tiny apartment in Singapore, Wena Poon listened to radio plays broadcast in a variety of languages and watched TV — everything from Chinese sword-fighting operas to popular American series such as "M*A*S*H." "There was nowhere to go outside," Poon says, "so I just sat around....
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 18, 2014

Building economic society driven by human values

The world is groping for a new growth structure to replace the economic society led by financial activities. A new model should be driven by the pursuit of human values.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2014

Top-paid Nikkei 225 female exec shows Japan gender hurdles

Only one female executive made it to the top-earner list of the Nikkei 225 companies last year. She is an American who lives in New York.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 13, 2014

Robin Williams fondly remembered by Japan's film industry

It was an open secret among Japanese film distribution companies that Robin Williams, who died at his California home on Monday in an apparent suicide, was a "yobitai sutaa" ("a want-to-invite star").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 6, 2014

Dabba

The Japanese may feel like they have perfected bentō (lunchbox) culture, but India has a formidable lunchbox culture of its own, in the form of the dabba. Some 6 million of these meals are delivered each day to offices in Mumbai by dabbawallahs, and "Dabba" (released internationally as "The Lunchbox")...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2014

History wars restarted to hook schoolchildren

South Asian well-wishers of Indian Prime Minister Nerendra Modi may not be amused to hear that books will be sent to the schoolchildren of Gujarat, describing an 'undivided India' that encompasses the nation-states of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2014

Most shared Japan Times stories from July

In case you missed them, here are the most shared stories from The Japan Times for July 2014. The top 10 most shared new stories Welfare ruling stuns foreigners The landmark decision by the Supreme Court that permanent foreign residents of Japan are not entitled to welfare benefits will discourage more...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 25, 2014

Anime enjoys summer homes in Los Angeles

For more than two decades, post-production, audio and creative studio Bang Zoom! Entertainment in Burbank, California, has been delivering the anime fix abroad. Founder and CEO Eric P. Sherman talks about how it all began.
Reader Mail
Jul 23, 2014

Confusing race with nationality

Regarding the July 14 front-page article "Rola altering DNA of pop culture": Japanese pop culture talents like "Rola," "Becky" and Jun Hasegawa are Japanese citizens despite being ethnically "half." The Nationality Law does not recognize half citizens. A person is either a citizen or not.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / NFL NOTEBOOK
Jul 21, 2014

Noll lives on through Steelers legacy

The late Chuck Noll, legendary Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, has his name on a street outside Heinz Field and the team's training camp site. Now he will have a day named after him.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jul 18, 2014

As Scotland decides, not all Scots get a say

Ruth McPherson was born and educated in Scotland but left to work in London two years ago and so has no say on whether her native country should end three centuries of union with England.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2014

Female workers may finally get foothold

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe showed up last Sunday for the 19th International Conference for Women in Business, Kaori Sasaki — who has been organizing the gathering to empower women since 1996 — finally felt that society was changing.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2014

Young artists grow through international exchange

Japanese and foreign high school students had the honor of winning prestigious awards at a ceremony for the 15th International High School Arts Festival at a Tokyo hotel July 5.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 10, 2014

Cooling off sizzling summer streets; the most important meal of the day; experience Turkish food and wine

Cooling off sizzling summer streets As part of a community collaboration project, the Tokyo Station Hotel is offering a special accommodation plan on July 25, which allows customers to join local community activities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / OUR MAN IN TOKYO
Jul 8, 2014

Aussie envoy a student of Japan

Bruce Miller, Australia's ambassador to Japan since August 2011, has been interested in Japan since he was a boy of 11.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 8, 2014

Ainu restaurant offers a delicious cultural excursion

Spring usually comes in early May in Hokkaido, and it is high season to pick sansai, or edible wild mountain plants. Among them, the Alpine leek — kitopiro in Japanese and pukusa in the native Ainu language — is the most attractive.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jul 7, 2014

Letters: adoption from Japan, book bores, returnees, workers' rights and fleeing U.S. guns

Some letters in response to recent articles in the Community section about a wide range of subjects.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 5, 2014

A firsthand account of vice and profit in Edo

Riding the circular Yamanote Line on a Sunday in Tokyo, it is easy to daydream. Those who have found themselves at times wondering what the city might have been like in the past are likely to enjoy the aptly named "Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard, by an Edo Samurai,"...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 2, 2014

Belgian beer, food and music

Who doesn't enjoy a frosty cold beer in the hot weather? This weekend you can drink to your heart's content, while enjoying a little culture at the Belgian Beer Weekend in Yamashita Park.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2014

GM is no transformer and that's the problem

General Motors' inability to look outside of itself for talent, relying on company lifers even in the face of undeniable evidence of deep cultural rot, is what you'd expect from a corporation for which sponsoring a movie about car-robots from outer space seems to count as a meaningful step toward actual transformation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / JAPAN TIMES FORUM ON FEMALE SCIENCE MAJORS
Jun 30, 2014

Majoring in science may expand opportunities for women

Moderator: Let's discuss the challenge of hiring more female science majors and solutions to that issue. Let me first ask you what kind of skills are you seeking in women? I wonder if the marketing skills of female science majors, instead of just their capabilities in research and development, could...
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Jun 27, 2014

Foreigners invited to Yukata Day in Nishinomiya

The Nishinomiya City International Association in Hyogo Prefecture will hold a Yukata Day from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on July 5 in which foreigners can learn how to wear the summer kimono and enjoy a tea ceremony afterward.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2014

Ajinomoto looks to take 'umami' worldwide

Ajinomoto Co., the creator of monosodium glutamate flavoring more than 100 years ago, plans acquisitions and is looking to expand in Poland as it seeks growth in frozen food and seasoning in Europe and the United States.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Jun 22, 2014

All-consuming school clubs worry foreign parents

School club activities — something that most Japanese parents accept as a normal and desirable rite of passage in their child's development — can leave foreign parents quaking in their boots at what lies ahead.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 21, 2014

Deep Kyoto Walks

"Deep Kyoto Walks" edited by Michael Lambe and Ted Taylor is the perfect guide for anyone who wants to get off Kyoto's beaten tourist track. With personalized views of what to see and do in Kyoto — by people who have lived there for extended periods of time — it essentially offers a curated guide...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2014

Americans should be worried about polarization

Americans should worry about a new Pew report on political polarization not because there's too much genuine ideological competition, but because our most energetic citizens appear to be dividing every more coherently into factions that can't stand each other.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jun 19, 2014

Yokohama's French connection

Around 150 years ago, silk traders from Lyon in France went all the way to Yokohama to buy silkworm eggs that they heard could resist an epidemic disease that was ravaging the French silk industry. Since then, the two cities have built a strong business variegated relationship and friendship.

Longform

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