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CULTURE / Film
Mar 27, 2014

'Ain't Them Bodies Saints'

Comparisons to Terrence Malick are unavoidable with "Ain't Them Bodies Saints," which takes its Southwestern milieu and feckless outlaw couple from "Badlands" but filters it through the more mystical lensing and languid pacing of "Tree of Life." And just like Malick, director David Lowery's weak point...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2014

Singh: missing for a decade

It would be interesting to know just what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — in office for a decade but rarely in power during that time — thinks the job requires beyond being a sycophant toward the first family.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 2, 2014

Getting all mixed up with mixed kanji readings

Gyūdon (牛丼, beef-over-rice bowl) and tonjiru (豚汁, miso soup with pork and vegetables) have much in common. Not only are they a nice combo for a quick lunch (and that it's almost noon while I'm writing this), but on closer inspection both terms also turn out to be a little off with regard to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2014

'End of Watch'

Director: David Ayer
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 17, 2014

Knights vs. samurai: It's the ultimate crossing of swords

Is the samurai blade swift enough to outsmart the knight's sturdier sword? Japan's first Armored Battle is about to find out.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 15, 2014

Miyuki Miyabe's latest puts the history in Japanese horror

Better known for her crime and fantasy writing abroad, precious few of the prolific Miyuki Miyabe's tales of terror have actually made it into the English language. Haikasoru's publication of "Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo" addresses this oversight. Capably translated by Daniel Huddleston, this collection...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 14, 2014

Asia's democratic dramas

Socially and economically, Asia now stands roughly where Europe was at the start of the 20th century. One can only hope that its democratic journey will be shorter and less violent.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Feb 13, 2014

The symbiotic relationship between anime and games

Japan excels at making you play. From its flower arrangements to tea ceremonies to karaoke, nothing much happens until you get into the game, and a big part of Japan's appeal to non-natives is its invitation to engage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 5, 2014

Yokohama's annual feast of TPAM

As befits its designation as a "Cultural City of East Asia 2014," Yokohama is about to host Japan's foremost annual platform for contemporary performing arts.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Feb 4, 2014

Butcher Brothers: Quality meat dishes that won't break the bank

Rib steak, bangers and mash, lamb chops, simmered tripe: At Butcher Brothers, meat is much more than just an option; it's the main event, the reason you're there. And with a name like that, what else would you expect?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 1, 2014

Tsuruga: truly a 'port of humanity'

The man in the black-and-white photograph wore a dark jacket with wide lapels. His hair was cut short and parted to one side. His eyes were directed toward the camera as if he were looking directly at me. I recognized him immediately: Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese vice-consul in Lithuania who helped...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 23, 2014

Getting a hustle on the Oscars

David O. Russell's "American Hustle" is cleaning up in the early part of an awards season that was meant to belong to Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave." And that ain't no con.
Japan Times
JAPAN / DAVOS SPECIAL 2014
Jan 23, 2014

Japan's traditional washoku cuisine feeds body and soul

Whenever I am away from my homeland for too long, there is one meal that fills my dreams. At the center is a bowl of plain steamed rice, white and glistening. On the side, a steaming bowl of fragrant miso soup. There's fish, perhaps sanma (Pacific saury), so hot from the grill that its skin sizzles when...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 22, 2014

Komanosuke Takemoto: a rare voice of tradition

The traditional performing art of bunraku (ningyō jōruri) involves three puppeteers together operating a cast of single puppets, with a gidayū bushi to the side comprising a story-teller (tayū) and a shamisen player (shamisen- hiki) seated on a round platform (yuka).
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 20, 2014

Lego could help girls build their future careers

Writer Rachel Cooke believes that if more girls were encouraged to play with building toys such as Lego, then there may be more female architects and engineers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jan 18, 2014

Exploring the realm of Lewchew

When I told the Japanese woman with whom I'd struck up a conversation in central Tokyo's very handy Haneda airport that I was flying to Lewchew, she looked puzzled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2014

Why Winding Refn doesn't care if you hate his movie

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn was a film-school dropout who gained sudden acclaim at the tender age of 24 with his ultraviolent 1996 film "Pusher," which was eventually developed into a trilogy. He reached wider audiences with "Fear X" (starring John Turturro) and British crime flick "Bronson,"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 15, 2014

'Kaz' Kumagai brings tip-top tap to town

"Anyone can enjoy being be a tap dancer in their daily life; all you have to do is casually make a rhythm with your feet when you're walking down the street," Japan's leading exponent of the art, Kazunori Kumagai, insists — seemingly oblivious to the gulf between him and most of the rest of clod-hopping...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 8, 2014

Hop, step and thump

The audience bursts into applause and a green-, black- and terracotta-striped curtain called the joshiki-maku comes down on a sparkling kabuki performance; rather, it's rapidly pulled across from stage left to right. But as everyone knows, it's not time to leave the auditorium, as what comes next is...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 6, 2014

Obama's Asian 'pivot' went flying off like a divot

Even in Washington-centric Washington, President Barack Obama gets the award for having the worst year in Asia. His 'pivot to Asia' looked more like a divot.
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2014

Boy band member Junichi Okada lands manly acting roles due to his physical prowess

Although he started his career as a member of boy band V6, Junichi Okada has become more well-known in recent years for the macho roles he plays as an actor.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 22, 2013

Danish PM's 'selfie' snapshot of her credibility crisis

When Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt took a "selfie" on her smartphone on Dec. 14 — like millions of people do every day — she doubtless had little idea of the commotion that would ensue. In the photograph, taken at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela, the most admired political...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2013

Xi factor may not influence contentious issues

The Chinese president's authority has certainly increased under Xi Jinping, but Xi is powerful only when he has the votes. On contentious issues, he is but one of seven top leaders.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 21, 2013

For the love of haiku

"Haiku," edited by haiku practitioner David Cobb, and "Haiku Love," edited by Japanese language scholar Alan Cummings, are both fun books. Originally published by the British Museum, they are sumptuously illustrated with nihonga (Japanese-style painting) and ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) from the museum's...
JAPAN
Dec 19, 2013

Is wife Abe's main opposition rival?

Akie Abe is Japan's first lady of conviction and action, describing herself as an 'opposition force at home' who doesn't shy away from speaking out in public against the policies of her husband, Shinzo.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Dec 16, 2013

Zaccheroni aiming for stars with World Cup ambitions

National team manager Alberto Zaccheroni on Monday refused to put a limit on Japan's ambitions at next summer's World Cup, but stopped short of claiming his team can win the trophy.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 10, 2013

A perfect role model for an imprisoned politician

Former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, now the imprisoned leader of that country's opposition, writes a tribute to South Africa's Nelson Mandela, emphasizing that one of the few gifts that imprisonment can bestow is the ability to begin to see more clearly the inner workings of the human soul.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 9, 2013

Otaku culture gets under the skin

Tattoos in Japan have long moved on from the kind often romanticized by the West — that imagery of flamboyant yakuza that so many seem reluctant to relinquish. But a brief glance at the policies of Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto reveals a nation still unwilling to allow tattoos into mainstream society...
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 6, 2013

United faces improbable climb to defend title

WARNING: The opening paragraph does not make happy reading for Manchester United fans. The champions have won only two points from their last three games, they are in ninth position, their lowest ever at this stage of a Premier League season. They have scored fewer goals at Old Trafford than basement...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 25, 2013

U.S. pushing new trade treaties at expense of national sovereignty

New trade treaties being pushed by the United States undermine national sovereignty.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake