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COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2014

A Korean who cherished her Japanese teachers

An 89-year-old Korean in Pennsylvania calls the latest spats between Japan and South Korea 'infantile and lamentable.' She remembers her Japanese teachers as loving people who 'poured their heart and soul into making good human beings out of us.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Mar 27, 2014

Celebrating 20 years; water view of Tokyo; Shangri-La catering

Celebrating 20 years
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2014

Transparency in interrogations

A special panel of the Legislative Council proposes phasing in the process of electronically recording the full interrogation of a criminal suspect by an investigator. Will prosecutors go along?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2014

Shimooka Renjo, back in focus

It's not surprising that the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography has organized a retrospective on Shimooka Renjo, one of the first commercial photographers in Japan. What is surprising is that it didn't happen sooner.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 26, 2014

Let cherry blossoms light up the evening at Osaka castle

When it comes to spring beauty, nothing surpasses the sight of cherry blossoms in full bloom, especially when they are illuminated during the night. Add the grandiose view of Osaka Castle as the backdrop plus a delicious bento-box picnic, and you have a winning combination.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Mar 21, 2014

No love lost when Wenger, Mourinho face each other

Anthony Taylor will have his work cut out Saturday stopping two grown men trading insults.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Mar 21, 2014

Cracks in the ruling coalition

The exercise of Japan's right to collective self-defense has become Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's political creed, but ruling coalition partner New Komeito wants Abe to slow his approach, and others close to Abe have grown apprehensive about the rise of anti-American conservatism within Abe's Liberal Democratic Party. The ruling coalition is showing cracks.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Mar 20, 2014

All aboard Chiba Prefecture's Lab Train

The easternmost point of the Kanto region in Chiba Prefecture offers panoramic views of the coastline with rugged towering cliffs that resemble those of Dover — one of England's most recognizable landmarks. It's a place that many visit to watch Japan's first winter sunrise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Japan Showcase / AOMORI PREFECTURE
Mar 12, 2014

Freshly grilled squid on a winter train: Taking a ride on the Tsugaru Railroad

A continuous bluster rips snow from the white ground all around us and keeps sending it flying into our faces, as we stand on the platform of Kanagi Station in Goshogawara. It is frigid weather and I am relieved when I finally spot our train emerge out of the bleached hazy distance. Two identical orange...
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2014

The Ukraine balancing act

The crisis in Ukraine appears to be receding and morphing into a balancing act between the interests of Russia and the West, with Crimea set to vote on its future in a referendum.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 8, 2014

Disaster survival tactics and a 3/11 baby; CM of the Week: Daiwa House

This week marks the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. On a practical level, TBS's two-hour special, "Shinsai chokugo: Seishi wo wakeru 72-jikan ni subeki koto" ("Right After the Disaster: 72 Hours Means the Difference Between Life and Death"; Mon., 9 p.m.), offers advice on how to...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 6, 2014

Osaka challenges Tokyo with tallest skyscraper

Japan's tallest building will open Friday in Osaka, as Asia's third-biggest metropolitan economy aims to lure tourists and stem businesses from moving to Tokyo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO BAR ADVENTURE
Mar 4, 2014

Sober is the new drunk at juice-cocktail bar

In an izakaya or pub in Tokyo, a glass of orange juice can look out of place among a sea of beer mugs. For a nonalcoholic drinker who chooses to avoid pints for whatever reason, going out in Japan can be hard. While beer or wine lovers have a wide variety to choose from, those who can't drink are stuck...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 3, 2014

In Japan, you can leave it all up to the moving company

It's often described as one of the most stressful events of human life — but in Japan moving house is virtually a breeze.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 1, 2014

Women doctors profiled and advances in medical tech revealed; CM of the week: Nissan

It's a big week for physicians on television. First there's the two-hour special "Uman Dokuta, Mitchaku" ("Close Coverage of Women Doctors"; TV Tokyo, Mon., 7:54 p.m.), which reports on the activities of various female doctors working throughout the country. Japan has 300,000 doctors, 20 percent of which...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 27, 2014

Smaug the dragon to get fans fired up for 'Hobbit' sequel

The middle film in a trilogy can be a risky venture. The first film? Audiences are introduced to new characters and exciting possibilities. The final film? Hollywood pulls out all the stops to send those characters off with a bang. The middle? Well, directors often save their best tricks for the finale....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 25, 2014

Okinawa assembly probes why Nakaima reversed base stance

A special investigative committee of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly met last week and early this week to determine why Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima reversed his campaign pledge to get U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma moved outside Okinawa.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Feb 22, 2014

Arisugawa-no-Miya's no mere people's park

Tokyo's weather in February is unpredictable, so when the day I have set aside for exploring features a record-breaking blizzard, I'm not surprised. So, bundled up like Everest conqueror Edmund Hillary, I exit Hiroo Station in Minato Ward to find the air feathered with swirling flakes and the streets...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 22, 2014

Japan takes baby steps toward a proper debate about animal rights

On Jan. 10, convenience store chain Family Mart started selling a new bentō (boxed lunch) with a heavy-duty name to complement its hefty ¥600 price: Famima Premium Koroge Wagyu-iri Hamburger Bento, which "contains" high-quality Japanese ground beef. For an added touch of extravagance, it also came...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Feb 20, 2014

Spa retreat in Hakone, The Oak Door wine cellar, Osaka Restaurants Week

Spa retreat in Hakone From March 1, the Odakyu Hotel de Yama in the resort area of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, will offer an accommodation package featuring a spa treatment to help rejuvenate bodies worn down by the cold weather.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2014

Young K-Ballet School dancers get set for the big time

The splendid news about two Japanese high school students' outstanding achievement swept around the world this month.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2014

Vegan metalheads go to the Extreme

A little-known part of the music scene will be celebrated next week at Tokyo's Asakusa Kurawood venue, far from the candy-pop quirk of Harajuku. Obscene Extreme Festival (OEF) promises to be confrontational and dark and — yes, the capital letters are insisted upon — "UNLEASH HELL."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 18, 2014

Fukushima kids compose for Philharmonic

The Sony Music Foundation took the opportunity of the New York Philharmonic's current Asia tour to organize a special event on Feb. 11. The concert aimed to provide Japanese youth — some of whom were from Fukushima Prefecture — with first-class live performances by a top-rate orchestra.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 17, 2014

Westin feels it's perfectly positioned to pamper, keep ahead of rivals

The Westin Tokyo is currently enjoying brisk sales and expects business to continue to thrive as consumers presently have a propensity to spend money on luxurious food and accommodations, the hotel's general manager said recently.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 17, 2014

Filipino academic community in Japan unites to aid typhoon-hit homeland

Reggy Figer saw the news. A rapidly intensifying typhoon was heading towards his family in Tacloban. Concerned and nearly 3,000 km away in Nagoya, Figer sent a text message to his sister, Aileen Rose Figer-Peru, asking her to go to his parents' home.
Japan Times
Reference / SO WHAT THE HECK IS THAT
Feb 17, 2014

Coastal shipping

Dear Alice,
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Feb 15, 2014

Culture and nature vie over ancient hinoki

If you're looking for a fine piece of wood, you'd be hard put to improve on a slab of hinoki (Hinoki cypress, Chamaecyparis obtusa) from the Kiso Valley straddling Nagano and Gifu prefectures.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat