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Japan Times
JAPAN / YEN FOR LIVING
Mar 5, 2019

Japan's tax laws get in way of more women working full time

One of the key elements of the Abe administration's efforts to stimulate the economy is getting more women into the workforce. As it stands, Japan has one of the highest rates of working women in the developed world, so the problem is not so much jobs but rather the quality of the jobs women get and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / G20 host cities special
Mar 5, 2019

Japan's lively 'gateway to Asia'

Fukuoka, the biggest city in Kyushu and considered a gateway to Asia with its historical and geographical background, is a lively metropolis that has both urban and countryside charm with its fantastic shopping, eateries and abundant nature to explore.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / G20 host cities special
Mar 5, 2019

Onsen and castle grounds steeped in history

Matsuyama, which will host the Labour and Employment Ministers' Meeting on Sept. 1 and 2, is the biggest city on the island of Shikoku. The capital of Ehime Prefecture is known for the famous Dogo Onsen, which is regarded as Japan's oldest hot spring with a history dating back around 3,000 years, drawing...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 2, 2019

'No one wants to be homeless': A glimpse at life on the streets of Tokyo

Seventy-year-old Yoshitomo Hara now lives in a housing facility, but he is well-versed in strategies to deal with sleeping rough in Tokyo during winter.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Mar 2, 2019

Katsuo Shokudo: Celebrating the umami tradition

When it comes to seafood, we all have our favorites. It might be maguro (tuna) sushi, charcoal-grilled unagi (eel), a salmon steak or a nice fillet of batter-fried plaice. For Mai Nagamatsu, though, there's no question: Her fish of choice is katsuo (skipjack tuna).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Mar 2, 2019

Kenkichi Yamamoto's 'The Singing Heart': A window into modern Japanese poetry

Noted Japanese literary critic and writer Kenkichi Yamamoto's 'The Singing Heart' provides a satisfying, thematic introduction to modern Japanese poetry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 1, 2019

Fukui’s Obama: Overshadowed by a president

Although the presidential-themed euphoria surrounding the city of Obama has faded, the area's very tangible cultural legacies make it well worth a visit for the foodie and the history buff alike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE NOTES
Feb 28, 2019

Will 'Queer Eye' show a different view of Japanese culture?

Netflix's popular reality series "Queer Eye" recently wrapped up filming for a number of special Japan-based episodes. The footage from the recent trip to the country won't air until later in the year, so curious viewers will have to wait to see just how the Fab Five highlight the country to the world....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 27, 2019

Yusuke Ogawa: The man in Japan giving jazz fans their rare record fix

'There are just so many records in Japan," says Yusuke Ogawa, owner of Universounds, a used record shop selling jazz, soul and funk in the Western suburbs of central Tokyo. Now, with the rise of internet sales as well as the increasingly interconnected music world, buyers worldwide are catching on to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 26, 2019

The complicated perception of heroism

As the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art's final Heisei Era (1989-2019) exhibition, this ambitious and somewhat provocative show looks back on the socio-political roles art played in the midst of the past 90 or so years.
Japan Times
Rugby
Feb 26, 2019

Fukuroi ready to welcome fans for Rugby World Cup

When it comes to international sports, the cozy western Shizuoka Prefecture town of Fukuroi has already been there and done that.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Feb 25, 2019

Japanese city to use AI to predict seriousness of school bullying

The Otsu City Board of Education has decided to implement a digital solution to one of the country's most pressing problems.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Feb 25, 2019

Ambassador sets course to spread cultural knowledge

Iranian Ambassador Morteza Rahmani Movahed was appointed to his newest position in July, but although he's lived in Japan for over six months, his schedule hasn't given him a lot of time for sightseeing.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 25, 2019

Five reported killed as India toughens Kashmir crackdown against militants and detains over 160 separatists

Five people were killed in a gun battle between members of a Pakistani militant group and Indian security forces in disputed Kashmir on Sunday as India intensified a security crackdown, including detaining more than 160 separatists this weekend.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 24, 2019

Israel arrests senior Muslim cleric after Jerusalem holy site unrest

Israeli police in Jerusalem arrested on Sunday a senior Muslim cleric attached to the sacred compound in the Old City, two days after he re-opened a mosque sealed by Israel during a Palestinian uprising in 2003.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 23, 2019

'Tokyo Ueno Station' shows the dark side of the postwar boom

In her new novel, 'Tokyo Ueno Station,' writer Yu Miri connects Japan's modern past with the homeless in Ueno Park, giving faces and voices to the dispossessed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 23, 2019

Corey Mah: Fashioning a new life in Tokyo

From retro video games to avant-garde Comme des Garcons' fashion, moving to Japan became a calling for Corey Mah.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / The Emperor’s 30-year Anniversary
Feb 22, 2019

Exercising goodwill in symbolic role

Emperor Akihito marked the 30th year of his reign on Jan. 7, and the government will be holding a ceremony on Sunday to celebrate this milestone. On April 30, after three decades on the throne, the Emperor will be the first living Japanese monarch in about 200 years to step down.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2019

Telling the musical story of Japan's ambient era

At the time, the Japanese music scene of the 1970s felt pretty flat to Daisuke Hinata. "But (then) Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) and Plastics came out, and we thought the market would open up for more new sounds," the Los Angeles-based musician tells The Japan Times. Along with three Japanese classmates...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2019

'Fly Me to the Saitama': Tokyo takes on its revolting neighbors

Places considered cool and uncool sometimes exist in uneasy proximity, like New York City and New Jersey — or Tokyo and Saitama. The prefecture adjacent to the Japanese capital has the image of being a land of boring commuter towns with no cultural attractions beyond shopping malls and family restaurants....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Feb 20, 2019

Same gripes, different country: Japan ain't the only place with squat toilets and table charges

It's not easy being an expat. While most of us choose to live in Japan of our own volition, there are still times when we're frustrated with the way things work — or don't work — and the Community page often serves as an outlet for our gripes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2019

Hikaru Uzawa blends old and new to add vitality to the world of noh

Hikaru Uzawa is a noh performer who marries her work within the traditional confines of the art form with performing in contemporary pieces internationally, bringing freshness to the traditional world of noh.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 19, 2019

TV personality Chiemi Hori announces advanced-stage cancer diagnosis and vows not to 'lose this battle'

TV personality and former pop idol Chiemi Hori, 52, said she has been diagnosed with stage 4 tongue cancer — the most advanced stage of the disease — in an official blog post published Tuesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 19, 2019

Ethiopian coffee farmers are betting on blockchain to make trade fairer and boost business

On a bustling street near the shiny new international airport in Ethiopia's capital is a small coffee roastery with big dreams.

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