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Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 21, 2016

Neuroscientists chart new gray matter map pinpointing key areas of cerebral cortex

Neuroscientists acting as cartographers of the human mind have devised the most comprehensive map ever made of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher cognitive functions such as abstract thought, language and memory.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 20, 2016

Republican platform blasts China on isles, rights, trade

The U.S. Republican Party has come out guns blazing against China in its latest party platform — a marked contrast from the softer tone of its last charter in 2012.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 20, 2016

Pyongyang says triple missile test simulated attack on South Korean ports and airfields

North Korea said Wednesday it had conducted a ballistic missile test that simulated preemptive strikes against South Korean ports and airfields used by the U.S. military, a likely reference to the launches of three missiles on Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 19, 2016

Nagoya professor distraught by Dhaka massacre, says killings go against Islam

Rahman M. Khondaker, a professor at Nagoya's Nanzan University, was shocked by the July 1 massacre of diners at a restaurant in Dhaka.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jul 17, 2016

Kuma confident about National Stadium's prospects ahead of 2020 Games, clears up gripes about design

When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrapped Zaha Hadid's design for the new National Stadium on July 17 last year, many feared the venue might not be completed in time to host the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 17, 2016

Slot Machine plans to show Fuji fans how Thailand rocks

Thailand has been a destination for Asian artists looking to expand their markets. From J-rock to K-pop, fans in Bangkok have been able to listen to their fill. Rock band Slot Machine wants this to be a two-way conversation and the members say they'll begin it this year by being the first Thai band to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jul 17, 2016

Retailer hopes to lift returning firms in Namie by tapping pipeline to Qvevri-made Georgian wine

Matsubaya, a retail and wholesale firm from the town of Namie near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is trying to revitalize businesses that were based in the district, using Georgian wine.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jul 16, 2016

Anime discovers a rural outpost

For the past few years, the beginning of July has found me on a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles to attend Anime Expo (AX), the largest annual North American convention devoted to Japanese popular culture, and its related industry-only event, Project Anime (PA). Both continue to break attendance records....
WORLD / Society
Jul 15, 2016

U.S. lawmakers introduce bill to criminalize 'revenge porn'

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced long-stalled legislation on Thursday that would make it a federal crime to share sexually explicit material of a person online without the subject's consent.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2016

China keeps upper hand in geostrategic arena

Beijing's shrill rejection of an international tribunal's ruling should induce grave pessimism among those who wish to contain China's march toward hegemony in Southeast Asia.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 13, 2016

The Qualite Fantastic! Cinema Collection festival has choice gems among the trash

Opened in 2012, Cinema Qualite has been a welcome anomaly amid the grim decline of Japan's once-vibrant "mini theater" (arthouse) scene.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 12, 2016

The fall and rise of the Empire line

The Pola Art Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and as part of this, the Pola Museum of Art has organized an ambitious exhibition that aims to present a cross-disciplinary view of art, product design and women's fashion of 19th- and early 20th-century France.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 12, 2016

Nagoya firm among those tapping workers who need flex-time jobs

More and more small- and medium-size companies are allowing full-time employees to work shorter hours so they can spend more time with their families.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 12, 2016

Why the Philippines' South China Sea legal case matters

A panel of five judges at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is set to announce on Tuesday their ruling in a case brought by the Philippines against China over its actions in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 10, 2016

Bo Ningen: 'We're Japanese, but a London band'

Though seasoned music festival veterans overseas, the four members of British rock band Bo Ningen had never been to a Japanese event until Fuji Rock in 2013.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jul 10, 2016

Japan's discriminatory koseki registry system looks ever more outdated

Once part of a panopticon-like system in which everyone would feel that they were being monitored but could also participate in the monitoring process, the kosei is now showing its age.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 9, 2016

Cracks are appearing in Japan's 'healthy' image

Few people snack on baby carrots. Most prefer the sweet, fat, high-calorie fare colloquially known as junk food.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jul 8, 2016

In search of 'natsuzake,' Japan's summer sake

Summer is my least favorite season in Japan. Stepping outside, the heat and humidity hits with startling force: the hot air weighs heavy on my limbs, enveloping me in a stifling and unwelcome embrace. The thought of spending the height of summer in Tokyo fills me with existential dread.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 7, 2016

Beijing warns U.S. on sovereignty ahead of South China Sea ruling

The United States should do nothing to harm China's sovereignty and security in the South China Sea, China's foreign minister told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, ahead of a key court ruling on China's claims in the disputed waterway.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jul 7, 2016

Kawachi takes role with new league

For 11 seasons, Toshimitsu Kawachi was the face of the bj-league. As the only commissioner in league history, he was the front man for the league's growth from six teams in the 2005-06 season to 24 clubs this past season as well as its success stories and problems.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jul 6, 2016

Skip City International D-Cinema Festival is not just for film buffs

Launched 13 years ago in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture to present movies in the then-emerging digital format, the Skip City International D-Cinema Festival has since become a leading domestic showcase of feature, short and animated films by up-and-coming filmmakers from Japan and around the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 5, 2016

The embellished world of Kozan Miyagawa's ceramics

In 1954-55, three Kyoto ceramists of the Sodeisha group of artists began a revolution by creating objects that fulfilled no practical role.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 5, 2016

Seeing Greece, before its civilization peaked

We are only a month or so away from the Rio Olympics. While the world will soon be focused on that, in Japan many will also be thinking four years ahead to the Tokyo Olympics. It is easy, then, to see why the Tokyo National Museum is holding "A Journey to the Land of Immortals: Treasures of Ancient Greece."...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 4, 2016

Gifu town looks to share-house initiative to meet depopulation challenge

A small village in central Japan facing depopulation has renovated an empty home into a share house in a bid to attract young women who want to experience life in the countryside.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 3, 2016

Western media cherry-pick facts and phalli to fit the 'no vagina' narrative in Japan

In Western media coverage of Megumi Igarashi's case, a commonly expressed view has been that Japanese society suppresses vaginal art while celebrating all that is penile. This view is untenable.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jul 3, 2016

Japanese teens take their love from 'purikura' to the web

Like many teenage couples, Kazumasa and Riko love documenting important memories in their relationship — say, an anniversary or a trip to Okinawa. They also like to share short movies about their life as a couple online, and so far their clips have been viewed more than 18 million times.

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