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LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 5, 2014

Students getting less exercise

Nearly a quarter of second-year junior high school girls nationwide do no exercise at all except in physical education classes at school, according to a government survey released Dec. 14.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT ENGLISH
Jan 2, 2014

Schools fret about assistant teachers ahead of proposed 2020 reforms

With education reform expected to place a great deal of emphasis on English, officials worry about the uneven quality of foreign assistant language teachers.
EDITORIALS
Dec 28, 2013

Year of ups and downs for Japan

Japan in 2013 was besieged by problems in politics, business and society even while several key events helped to rekindle a sense of confidence in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2013

Kumakawa blends ballet and business — with panache

Being good at business may be "the most fascinating art," as Andy Warhol said — and few likely know that better than Tetsuya Kumakawa, dancer extraordinaire turned extraordinary businessman.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 25, 2013

First lady scrutinizes blackballing of beauty queen

Ikumi Yoshimatsu's pursuit of stalking charges against powerful talent agency executives Genichi Taniguchi draws the attention of first lady Akie Abe.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 20, 2013

To tap tourist yen, think train-packing, plastic grub and sumo

I think it is time for some up-to-date experiences — ones that the waves of tourists due to flood Japan up through the 2020 Olympics might savor more than those that revolve around traditional Japanese culture.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 19, 2013

Comiket, where otaku come to share the love

The Tokyo International Exhibition Center, better known as Tokyo Big Sight, boasts an area of more than 80,000 sq. meters of exhibition space. It's the country's largest convention center and will host wrestling, fencing and taekwondo during the 2020 Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2013

Japanese couple's canvas alive with the art of love

Being an artist can be hard enough — but being part of an artist couple comes with a truckload of angst, as director Zachary Heinzerling demonstrates in his debut documentary feature "Cutie and the Boxer." This is about the life and times of artists Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko, who have been...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 16, 2013

Long reform march from China's Third Plenum

Although China's leadership succession was completed earlier this year, the policy agenda for the coming decade has only just been revealed at its Third Plenum.
WORLD
Dec 15, 2013

Some Afrikaners unmoved by Mandela death

Dirk Smit's reaction to the death of Nelson Mandela, it would be fair to assume, puts him in the minority of South Africans.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 11, 2013

Celebrity stands up to talent agency 'stalker'

Miss International, Ikuu00admi You00adshiu00admau00adtsu, files criminal and civil charges against one of Japan's most powerful talent agencies' executives for stalking her and attempting to ruin her career.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 7, 2013

Wabori: Traditional Japanese Tattoo

It may not have been their sole purposes for visiting Japan during their respective reigns, but Queen Victoria's grandson George V and the last emperor of Russia, Nicholas II, both received tattoos on visits to Japan, despite the government's ban on a craft reserved primarily for the branding of criminals....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2013

UNESCO honor gives traditional fare boost

UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage designation of “washoku” has the government and food industry hoping for a boost in its appeal, both overseas and at home.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Dec 4, 2013

In Japan, no escape from The Eye's perpetual policing glare

In Japan, The Eye compels you towards collective behavior: Mustn't be forceful or push back against the status quo, lest you get hairy-eyeballed.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 2, 2013

Obama may be rare ex-leader who stays in Washington after presidency

Throughout his time in office, President Barack Obama has opened many outside-the-Beltway speeches with a suggestion that he, too, feels like an outsider in the nation's baffling, frustrating capital city. He shouts to the audience about how good it is to be wherever he is that day — Cleveland, Miami,...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Nov 28, 2013

Ethiopia's traditional rhythms are about to dance across the nation

The Ethiopian National Cultural Troupe is in Japan from Nov. 30 to hold performances, workshops, and dance nights at eight different venues across the country. Offering a variety of dance performances from different ethnic groups of the east African country, this is a great opportunity for anyone wanting...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 23, 2013

Ozeki's work reflects her complex identity

Ruth Ozeki's recent novel, the 2013 Man Booker-shortlisted "A Tale For the Time Being," is best described as a hybrid: a fictional masterpiece with footnotes and appendices like a research paper; a colorful scrawl of inventive creativity marked by scientific asides ranging from ocean gyres to quantum...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 20, 2013

Yoji Sakate celebrates in style

To celebrate its 30th anniversary this year, the Tokyo-based Rinkogun theater company determined to present four original plays by its founder, the renowned playwright and director Yoji Sakate.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 16, 2013

Writer-farmer seeks hope in country life's future

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his administration have recently been mulling major changes to the country's farm policy. The move comes against the backdrop of high production costs and average farm size not having grown much since 1965.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 16, 2013

Amano: tracing Japan's arc through its ads

Though Yukichi Amano's field of expertise was advertising, he used his weekly newspaper columnsto comment on popular culture in general, and frequently provided other media outlets with his personal take on social trends.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 16, 2013

Nationalism, Tibetans and Uighurs in today's China

Nationalism arouses solidarity and generates identity politics that threaten ethnic and religious minorities. Defining the "we" also defines the "they" — and the latter is inexorably marginalized.
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Nov 14, 2013

Tokyo holds its very first Myanmar Festival

Although 2014 marks the 60th year since relations between Japan and Myanmar were established, for many, Myanmar's culture and customs remain a mystery. This Sunday, however, you'll get an opportunity to experience the Southeast Asian nation at a special festival in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2013

WEF chief does more than talk the talk

As a child growing up in Germany during the war, Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, witnessed the consequences of all-out conflict, and the stark contrast between war and peace.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 9, 2013

Kokeshi: From Tohoku With Love

Kokeshi dolls are a mainstay of tourists shop across Japan, yet many visitors to the country may not know that these simple handmade wooden dolls are, by and large, associated with Tohoku, the region in the northeast that was so devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 8, 2013

Capturing the life and lives of Tokyo, one day at a time

Every day we presumably walk past about 2,000 or 3,000 people we don't know anything about,' French photographer Cedric Riveau says. 'But everyone has his or her story to tell.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 7, 2013

Money, censorship and the future of Asian cinema

Flitting around Roppongi Hills during the week of the Tokyo International Film Festival, you get to meet and chat with any number of interesting people, but one of the better conversations I had was sitting down for coffee with Jacob Wong, curator of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, held each...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 2, 2013

Shunga secrets bared between the covers

It looks like a classic coffee-table book, a hefty hardback of more than 500 pages and almost as many color illustrations — but be careful who you ask round for coffee if you're displaying the latest volume from the British Museum. That's because it's the lavish accompaniment to its new exhibition,...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
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