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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.
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Japan's discriminatory koseki registry system looks ever more outdated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.
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.
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.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jul 2, 2016

The eels, windmills and holy cars of Narita

To most, the city of Narita is a blur seen out the window of a train traveling between Japan's largest international airport and downtown Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 2, 2016

Fatal Tesla crash revs up criticism of on-road beta testing for self-driving vehicles

Tesla Motors Inc. says the self-driving feature suspected of being involved in a fatal crash on May 7 is experimental, yet it's been installed on all 70,000 of its cars since October 2014.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 29, 2016

Expo offers glimpses of a future assisted by artificial intelligence

From robotics to deep learning and image recognition, a glimpse of science fiction-like technologies developed by the nation's artificial intelligence industry is on display at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2016

Post-Brexit, Japan redefines idea of safe havens

Risk-averse investors who flocked to the yen in the aftermath of Brexit may want to consider a safer haven.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 28, 2016

Paris' Pompidou waves the flag of French art

Seven decades of art history; one masterpiece for every year, each created by a different artist from France or closely connected with the country; and all from the collection of an iconic Paris art institution — that's the premise of the current exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 27, 2016

Aichi university, Toyota in joint project for robot-aided seniors complex

Fujita Health University in Toyoake, Aichi Prefecture, is partnering with Toyota Motor Corp. to open a Robotic Smart Home — a base for nursing robots at the Toyoake apartment complex — next spring.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 26, 2016

Never mind Japan's looming pension disaster — here's a cute squirrel

On our island of just 529 people in the Inland Sea, we have one post office and one bank. The bank, run by the almighty JA (Japan Agriculture), shares an office with the JA dry goods store, which offers everything from rodent poison to a new water heater.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 25, 2016

Indulging Hawaiian culture, cuisine in Japan

Boasting beautiful beaches and endless sunsets, Hawaii has long been a popular holiday destination for tourists from Japan.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.