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Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA / CHUBU CONNECTION
Mar 23, 2013

Myanmar beautician has Tsu-do list

Aspiring Myanmar beautician Yin Myat Noe Aung came to Japan with the hope of opening her own salon back home one day.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 22, 2013

Rise of Jesuit to papacy surprises cerebral order's membership

Pope Francis belongs to the Jesuits, a religious order whose members take an unusual — and at the moment seemingly ironic — vow: not to strive for a higher office.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / MIXED MATCHES
Mar 19, 2013

Couple find happiness, plan to settle for life

Joerg Schnackenberg, 51, from Germany, and his wife, Teruka, 59, met in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, in 1995. Joerg, a biochemist who came to Japan right after finishing his Ph.D. at a German university, had been working at a private marine technology institute in Kamaishi for three years. Teruka, a nihonga...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Mar 17, 2013

Ghosts of Cowra breakout haunt Japan to this day

Prisoner A: " 'Never live to experience the shame of being taken prisoner by the enemy' ... that's what the Imperial Japanese Military Regulations say, hence there must be no prisoners. So what's happening here now are the dreams of ghosts" — from "Cowra no Hancho Kaigi" ("Honchos' Meeting in Cowra")....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 15, 2013

Classical community unites to celebrate bicentennials of Verdi and Wagner

This year marks the bicentennials of the births of two great composers: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Richard Wagner (1813-83), both giants of the classical music world who brought opera to the peak of its artistic expression in the 19th century.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 14, 2013

Abe push to weaken currency erodes Japanese tourist spending in South

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to weaken the yen is echoing through the duty-free shops and tourist sites of South Korea, where Japanese visitors spent about $4.5 billion last year.
Events
Mar 9, 2013

Free information on residence status offered

Foreign residents are invited to attend a free counseling session with licensed administrative scriveners about their residence status from 1 to 4 p.m. on March 17 in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 7, 2013

Hitoko Urago's 'Connected': blot-tests of portraiture

Hitoko Urago pairs paintings — portraits with abstractions — though each work is not necessarily conceived at the same time. "Untitled (Lynda)" (2012), for example, depicts a profile of a black woman with big hair against a green background. She is paired with a soft, spotty green abstraction, which...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2013

U.S. headed toward Italian-style politics

Since Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, a recurring theme of our political discourse has been how crazy Republicans appear to have become. Birthers, death panels, shariah law, legitimate rape: The heretofore successfully repressed tendencies of the Reagan coalition blossomed like a noxious flower...
EDITORIALS
Mar 4, 2013

Tourism in Japan and the world

Japan remains an untapped tourist destination, although it saw international tourism revenue rise 37 percent in 2012, higher than most nations.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 3, 2013

Solution to bullying lies in 'resetting' culprits

"The biggest problem in Japanese education is the idea that you can eliminate bullying by reforming the system."
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2013

A long way to gender parity

Regarding Joseph Jaworski's Feb. 21 letter, "Cut the irrelevant gender data": While the treatment of female pop stars is not specifically a factor in Japan's low ranking of 101 out of 135 nations in The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report, the low ranking is not irrelevant. The ranking and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2013

The nations that make it easier for bands to leap overseas

At the end of last November, a flock of Canadians descended on concert venue Duo Music Exchange in Tokyo's bustling Shibuya district. It wasn't an attack of any sort; the Canuck invasion was only peppered with spirited calls to "Clap with us!"
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 17, 2013

Hiding from strangers in the global village

In his 1993 novel "Hanauzumi," Junichi Watanabe pictures a prosperous farming village in Saitama. The year is 1868. The Meiji Restoration has just occurred. The shogun has been overthrown. The teenage Emperor Meiji has been conveyed from the ancient imperial capital of Kyoto and installed in Tokyo. Great...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 14, 2013

Colo brings tribes together in Osaka

It's December and small flocks of young, creative-looking types are making their way to a shipyard in Osaka's Namura district. Tucked among an expanse of otherwise drab warehouses there is Creative Center Osaka, and tonight is "Hot Docks 2," an art and music spectacle.
Reader Mail
Feb 14, 2013

Resolving conflict in the schools

Regarding the Feb. 11 AFP article "Violent coaching rooted in militarism": There has been a bit of discussion on the "culture of bullying" in schools and sports but not much deep thought about how to create a healthy and nurturing atmosphere to replace it.
Reader Mail
Feb 10, 2013

Town spoiling for dressing-down

Regarding the Feb. 7 AFP article "Put pants on 'David' replica, locals urge": Who would have thought that there was such a level of modesty in a culture that created such graphic works of erotica as the Shunga illustrated texts for newlywed couples or the modern "adult" manga? What gives?
Reader Mail
Feb 10, 2013

A homemade recipe for cruelty?

Ian Martin's Feb. 1 article, "AKB48 member's 'penance' shows flaws in idol culture," calls attention to Minami Minegishi, a member of the Japanese girl pop band AKB48. She violated the Golden Rule for idols by going out on a date. The video of her making a tearful apology after she had shaved her head...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 8, 2013

Founder of TIS makes creativity cornerstone of school's curriculum

Patrick Newell, 47, founder of Tokyo International School, calls himself a “learning activist,” a zealot on the frontlines of learning.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 4, 2013

Navigating the Tokyo high school minefield: a foreign parent's tale

Not too long ago, I heard from a foreign resident of Tokyo looking for a high school for her daughter, a 14-year-old who will begin her final year of junior high in April. Both parent and child were extremely excited about recently discovering a nearby public school featuring a cosmopolitan atmosphere...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 28, 2013

Blame it on the hara: harassment vocabulary makes us all victims

Japan has a new hara. No, the nice couple down the hall didn't just have a baby; according to recent news, yet another form of harassment is supposedly becoming a social problem.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2013

Rising son can't resolve India's leadership crisis

When Rahul Gandhi was formally anointed to the number two position in India's Congress party, his installation as vice president was accompanied by the usual shenanigans among party operatives.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 26, 2013

Paying a record tuna price is simply good advertising

“Even considering that Ooma tuna is a prestige brand, its tuna might normally sell for about u00a54,000 to u00a55,000 per kilogram,” a seafood trader tells Nikkan Gendai (Jan. 8).
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jan 23, 2013

New Osaka coach Cartwright brings major credibility

"I remember when I was in college, people told me I couldn't play in the NBA. There's always somebody saying you can't do it, and those people have to be ignored."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Jan 14, 2013

Advising Abe on the wisdom of a nuclear restart

Readers offer some advice to the new prime minister on the contentious issue of nuclear power in post-3/11 Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Jan 14, 2013

Canadian has English-language rakugo dream

Katsura Sunshine wants to spread the world of rakugo (traditional comic storytelling) to people all over the world, including his home country Canada, by delivering English-translated versions.

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