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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 25, 2012

The convoluted crime spree of Amagasaki's 'piranha family'

By next week, the media will start compiling lists of the top news stories of 2012. The short list can be expected to include natural and manmade disasters, political bombshells, international disputes, indiscretions by celebrities in the worlds of sports and entertainment and, of course, sensational...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2012

Following delays and tight supplies, Nintendo launches new Wii U home console in U.S. market

Nintendo Co. began selling its Wii U home console in the United States on Sunday amid tight supplies and delays in implementing a new TV-viewing service, aiming to prove it can still succeed by marrying its hardware to exclusive software.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Nov 18, 2012

Roller derby dames get rough and tough on the rink

The whistle blows and Kristina "Ragin' Redhead" Owens Hawkins, a jammer for the Yokosuka Sushi Rollers roller derby team, darts quickly as she approaches an aggressive pack of blockers. She scans for a weak spot between two ladies in the back. She spots a gap. It's not too big, but it's large enough...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2012

South Korean band Ulala Session wins hearts on talent show

The boys of Ulala Session originally came together because of their love of dance. As young men, however, they are now regarded for their music, live performances and backstory.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 11, 2012

The war legacy that binds Okinawa and Vietnam

As the motorbike taxi I'm aboard zigzags through the traffic in Da Nang, Vietnam's fourth-largest city, a bus pulls out of nowhere, causing my driver to brake, swerve and slam us into a sidewalk stack of bamboo cages packed with soft plump ducklings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 9, 2012

Jazzing up the industrial city

On one side you have Montreux, a Swiss resort town on the banks of Lake Geneva that has seen many famous residents over the years, and which has been immortalized in the lyrics of the Deep Purple song "Smoke On The Water." On the other you have a Japanese city in the heart of the world's most heavily...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Nov 1, 2012

Today's J-blip: Mangazara

You can now justify playing with your food as again.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Oct 30, 2012

Science tells us that dolphins are something special

Dear people of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture,
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 28, 2012

Context the key at alt fashion fest

Watching the Fashion Week Tokyo models pounding polished catwalks in the glitzy Hikarie building in shopping-central Shibuya, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Paris.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 21, 2012

Enka scandal keeps star in the news

The conflict between Japan and South Korea over Takeshima/Dokdo has spilled over into the entertainment realm. Some Korean actors and K-pop stars have stated publicly that the group of islets belongs to Korea, causing Masayuki Matsumoto, the president of NHK, to express concern. Last month he hinted...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 21, 2012

All about Yo; "Words make the world"; CM of the week: Tsutaya

Kimiko Yo's career has followed a different trajectory from that of most Japanese actors. She started in theater at the age of 20 in 1976 and didn't land her first movie role until 1987. She has since made a resume of solid supporting roles but didn't gain traction as a leading lady until the dawn of...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 12, 2012

Tea ceremony party holds more in store than just a quick drink

Whether you're a practitioner of the Japanese tea ceremony or not, the annual Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony abounds with opportunities for cultural enlightenment.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 10, 2012

Softbank feels the need for speed

Softbank Corp. unveiled on Tuesday its new product lineup for this winter and spring, putting more focus on a fast network and entertainment-related services.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Oct 9, 2012

Parco puts the spotlight on Shibuya's evolving youth culture

Department store Parco is aiming to fill the vacuum created by the rapidly declining gyaru (gal) culture that used to define the Shibuya area of Tokyo. By taking aspects of the otaku (geek) culture of Akihabara and re-imagining them through art and fashion in the context of a popular shopping district,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 7, 2012

Shigesato Itoi shares lots of 'delicious life'

Shigesato Itoi is an established name in the Japanese cultural scene, but what he is known for may differ depending on who you ask.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2012

DoCoMo shows off smartphone robot technology at CEATEC show

Everywhere a visitor turns at this year's CEATEC, Japan's biggest high-tech exhibition, smartphones are being used to connect to everything from TVs and microwaves to air conditioners and automobiles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 4, 2012

Sony's Hirai says efforts to revive TV business are ahead of schedule

Sony Corp. earnings are "moving in the right direction" as it accelerates a plan to turn around its unprofitable TV business, Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 2, 2012

Olympus deal a slow cure for Sony

In the end, Sony Corp.'s alliance in the medical equipment business with scandal-tainted Olympus Corp. will help the loss-making electronics giant, it's just a matter of giving it enough time, analysts say.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 27, 2012

NHK uses carrot and stick approach to get your money

NHK finds new way to get paid, but there's also a new way to avoid paying.
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 23, 2012

Street dance sweeps young Japan

The cool, wild and powerful movements of rhythm-heavy hip-hop dance are gripping the body and soul of ever more Japanese children and young people.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2012

Game show highlights smartphone offerings

Producing more quality social games will be a key to succeeding in the growing smartphone video game market as devices become more powerful and high-speed networks spread, according to Yoshikazu Tanaka, the president of game site operator Gree Inc.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2012

'The Hunger Games'

In 2000, filmmaker Kinji Fukasaku came out with his adaptation of the novel "Battle Royale," a dystopian fable set in a near-future totalitarian Japan where a law called "BR" has been established to keep ninth-graders under strict control in a world of torturous fear and brutal murder. Twelve years later,...
Japan Times
Uncategorized / TRAVEL INSIDER
Sep 19, 2012

Fly China Airlines, ride Taiwan high-speed train for free; Virgin's Haneda plans

Taiwan plane, train offer
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2012

Nice guy actor Ryo Kase plays rough in 'Like Someone in Love'

There are two types of actors: ones who disappear into their roles and ones who make their roles disappear into them, playing versions of themselves in film after film.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 9, 2012

Sail through time with hobikisen on Lake Kasumigaura

It's difficult to imagine what Lake Kasumigaura in Ibaraki Prefecture would have looked like a century ago. Most of its surrounding areas have now become dormitory towns for Tokyo, just 50 km to the southwest. These days, too, where the traditional old lotus paddies do remain, they tend to be covered...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2012

'Yume Uru Futari (Dreams for Sale)'

Ever since her 2003 directorial debut "Hebi Ichigo (Wild Berries)," a black comedy about a dysfunctional family, Miwa Nishikawa has been exploring the infinite human capacity for duplicity and the elusiveness of truth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 7, 2012

'Safe House'

Watching "Safe House" reminded me of something a savvy girlfriend once said to me: "When a guy tells you that his top-secret real job is working for the CIA, get out of the relationship as fast as you can." Not because of the obvious risks such a job may involve, she said, but because "the guy is a big...

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?