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Japan Times
JAPAN / TELLING LIVES
Sep 4, 2015

Patrick Harlan, an American who can make the Japanese giggle

Japan's entertainment business is a come and go affair. Hundreds of local and foreign talents have entered the spotlight with a joke or two, only to vanish a year or two later when their gags ran out of chuckle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 2, 2015

Al Pacino's 'Danny Collins' is so charming he doesn't need to be good

What's the difference between Bill Murray and Al Pacino these days? Not much. Pacino might be shorter, Murray might have less hair, but otherwise they could be spiritual brothers from alternate cinema universes — seriously. Someday, a producer will stumble upon that truth and make a buddy movie with...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Aug 22, 2015

The same old story on rural depopulation

A story that is constantly upbeat quickly becomes tiring. Conflict and resolution are necessary to maintain interest, and while happy endings are still more popular than depressing ones, characters should go through some sort of emotional turmoil before arriving at them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 22, 2015

Chie Suzuki: 'I'm always thinking about what to make next'

Wooden clog designer on ukiyo-e, cats and sushi
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2015

English-immersion share house offers cultural experience

On any given weekday some 15 to 20 residents of a four-story apartment building in the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu converge in the Scandinavian-style cafe-lounge at around 9 p.m. to converse in English.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 15, 2015

Add looming poverty to list of seniors' woes

What a sad country this is. Granted, Spa! magazine paints in primary colors. Maybe it's missing a nuance or two? Maybe things aren't really so bad? Maybe. Hopefully.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Aug 14, 2015

Almost 30% of young people don't want to work for a company, survey finds

A survey revealed Thursday that some young people in Japan maintain an unenthusiastic and rather cool attitude toward employment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 11, 2015

There's a residual energy to Cai Guo-Qiang's explosive works

Japanese artist Taro Okamoto once said, "Art is an explosion." This was despite the fact that his own works were carefully planned and developed, as the exhibition "Taro Okamoto's Paintings: From Impulse to Realization" at the Taro Okamoto Museum of Art made clear back in 2006. Okamoto's famous dictum,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 25, 2015

Will 'neurotic' Japan go postcapitalist?

Is Japan on the threshold of postcapitalism? If it is, as Morris Berman suggests in "Neurotic Beauty: An Outsiders Look at Japan," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doesn't seem to have received the memo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 21, 2015

Tokio Marine to use Citic to grow in China after U.S. foray

Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., fresh from its biggest acquisition in the U.S., is now looking for opportunities in China.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 13, 2015

Pope heads home to Rome after urging youth in Paraguay to help their peers, seek dignity

Pope Francis, drawing to a close his three-country tour of South America, on Sunday urged tens of thousands of youths in Paraguay to look after their less fortunate peers and fight for a dignified life filled with hope and strength.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2015

Russia's dissidents return

It is high time for Russians to be reminded of the ideals on which perstroika were based.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 27, 2015

Fertility experts divided over benefits of freezing eggs cryogenically

Public broadcaster NHK aired a current affairs program on fertility in 2012 that caused a stir nationwide. Titled "The Impact of Aging Eggs," the program warned viewers that women in their 30s and 40s were flirting with disappointment by delaying any attempt to conceive until they are older.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 26, 2015

OMSB counts his blessings on 'Think Good'

Rapper and producer Brandon Katou (aka OMSB) is an artist that, while humble, exhibits a sense of pride in his work atypical of Japanese artists. In recent interviews he's done for his new album, he's compared himself to big-name acts like Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West, remarking that his work is up...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 25, 2015

Nintendo's virtual warriors secure same-sex marriage victory

In a sign of the growing embrace of diversity in virtual reality, Nintendo Co. said Thursday its Fire Emblem fantasy role-playing game series now allows characters to have same-sex relationships.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2015

Julianne Moore takes on a role that her peers would avoid in 'Still Alice'

Julianne Moore says she was surprised to learn that people in some parts of the world have mistaken "Still Alice," her film about Alzheimer's disease, as "science fiction" and even "horror-comedy."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2015

Why the pope cares about the Earth

By invoking St. Francis in his encyclical on the environment, the pope calls us to remember the fundamental interdependence of all life.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2015

Russia's totalitarianism 2.0

The Putin regime's approach can best be described as 'hybrid totalitarianism.'
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 29, 2015

Prefontaine's legacy still growing 40 years after death

'I'm not afraid of losing. But if I do, I want it to be a good race. I'm an artist, a performer. I want people to appreciate the way I run.' — Steve Prefontaine
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 25, 2015

Overseas interest in relocation campaign surprises Kagoshima village

A little hamlet in Kagoshima Prefecture with a population of just 372 people has been taken by surprise after a sudden rise in interest about its immigration program.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
May 17, 2015

Black filmmakers 'find their edge' in Japan

This month's green-tinged Black Eye focuses on black filmmakers in Tokyo — a group of brothers forging their dreams into reality, getting it done here in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 14, 2015

Japan's low-earning adults find it hard to leave home, marry

Freelance writer Kenji Ayase was 25 when he moved back in with his parents after finding he couldn't afford to live on his own. He tried, but found within a year that it just wasn't paying off.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 12, 2015

A prosaic picture of Japan's rural decline

With all the current problems facing Japan's rural communities, "Salt of the Earth" at the Tokyo Gallery is a visual contribution to an ongoing debate on their value and survival. The rhetoric of the show espouses the humble virtues of life in Amami, a group of islands between Kagoshima and Okinawa,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2015

Sound waves: the music of Okinawa

How is it possible that a people who have experienced poverty, famine and discrimination, outlasted efforts at cultural annihilation and suffered the indignities of occupation can manage to celebrate life in song and dance with a passion and joy that belies everyday reality?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 2, 2015

Dramatist brings citizens of all ages together

Public theaters across the country are holding significantly more community productions and workshops aimed at local residents who are looking to get involved in performance art.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 25, 2015

Memoirs of Yoshiko Yamaguchi, Manchuria's 'Fragrant Orchid'

Often the conflicts between countries are best expressed through the personal story of a single citizen, and this is true with "Fragrant Orchid," the autobiography of famed actress and singer Li Xianglan. Born Yoshiko Yamaguchi — her birth name as an ethnic Japanese — the book details her upbringing...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2015

Cash shortfall among the elderly could push Japan over the edge

Last summer the welfare ministry reported that a record number of households were receiving government assistance, and 47.1 percent of these households were made up of either elderly people only or the elderly and unmarried family members under 18. The media has been reporting for years that an increasing...

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