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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 4, 2015

Success of Doraemon film in China reflects thaw in ties with Japan: expert

The success of a Japanese animation film recently released in China reflects a thaw in relations between the two nations as Beijing opens up to cultural exchanges, according to a Japan-based expert on the communist country.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 2, 2015

Job growth missing from China's economic rise

China's focus on industrialization explains why its economic miracle has created relatively few new jobs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 1, 2015

Home for aging guide dogs, owners in works

The Chubu Guide Dog for the Blind Association based in Nagoya is working to build the nation's first intensive care nursing home where elderly people and retired guide dogs can live together.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
May 30, 2015

Flora, fauna and fellows on the river

With summer's heat punching in early this year, I'm already angling for riverside relief. I trundle down to Ota Ward's Rokugodote, the southernmost train station in Tokyo's 23 wards, and a stone's throw from the Tamagawa (Tama River). The 138-km-long Tamagawa, which in this location divides Tokyo from...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 29, 2015

Def Tech celebrates 10 years and taps into a Hawaiian vibe on 'Howzit!?'

Def Tech's Yuki "Micro" Nishimiya and Shenan "Shen" Brown greet me with an "Aloha" as I walk into their small office in Harajuku to discuss their 10th anniversary and new album, "Howzit!?"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 29, 2015

Pirokalpin gets a taste of the majors and opts for indie

Getting signed to a major label is a goal many bands aspire to, but what happens when your contract ends halfway through the making of your sophomore LP? You start your own label and put it out yourself.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EMBASSY AVENUE
May 28, 2015

Central American Film Festival in Tokyo

Scenes and stories of contemporary Central America will be shared through films in Tokyo next week.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 28, 2015

Taicoclub gets bigger with new stages

Taicoclub, the electronic-music event that unofficially marks the beginning of Japan's music festival season, is expanding this year to include a stage sponsored by Red Bull Music Academy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
May 28, 2015

Rainbow spas at Hotel Nikko Tokyo; Feast Hawaiian-style at the Imperial; Fireworks buffet at ANA Crowne Plaza

Rainbow spas at Hotel Nikko Tokyo
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU SPECIAL 2015
May 27, 2015

New shinkansen line to cement Nagoya’s status as business hub

The Chubu region refers to the central part of Japan, and at its heart is the city of Nagoya. With a population total of over 2.26 million, Nagoya has played a vital role over the years as the core of central Japan's economy. Its importance will further increase when operations begin on the Linear Chuo...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 26, 2015

'Newcomer,' 56, wins Kishida

Named after a prominent early 20th-century playwright, author and translator, and presented annually by the Hakusuisha publishing house since 1955, the Kishida Kunio Drama Award is indisputably Japan's top honor for writers of plays premiered the year before.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 25, 2015

UNESCO faces Japan's legacy of forced labor in heritage bid

News earlier this month that a UNESCO advisory panel had recommended putting Japanese sites from the Meiji industrial revolution on the World Heritage list excited the public, especially residents near the sites who campaigned for the honor.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 25, 2015

Gifu lanterns get remake to showcase artisanal brands

Several cities in Gifu Prefecture are collaborating to create "Made in Gifu" andon lanterns that showcase special crafts dear to each one, from Mino's Honminoshi paper products to the Tono region's Minoyaki pottery, used to make the base.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 24, 2015

Murry named MVP after fourth-quarter heroics

Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix guard Nile Murry carried his team in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s bj-league championship game.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 23, 2015

Don't build castles in the air, go see Ehime Prefecture's real ones

I'm more than happy to start my day off on a literal high point, but as we tackle the steep incline up to Matsuyama's hilltop castle, I am beginning to doubt our chosen method of arrival.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 23, 2015

The changing face of Tokyo's 'red-light' district

"How would I describe Kabukicho? Frankly, I'm not sure," popular author Hirokatsu Azuma was quoted as saying in the now-defunct monthly Gendai magazine back in January 1999. "If you say it's a scary place, you could be right; and if you say it's a place where you can have fun, well, that's right too."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2015

The must-see list is long at Short Shorts film fest

When it comes to getting a movie fix these days, more people opt for their computer screens than venturing outside to a theater. Hollywood has countered this trend with a slew of 3-D blockbusters and cinematic largesse, but how does the short film fare?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 20, 2015

Drone-makers say demand will take off in Japan

Despite a spate of headlines showing drone users to be reckless attention-seekers or outright dangerous, the industry believes the sky is the limit for demand for unmanned copters.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 20, 2015

YouTuber Ken Tanaka tweaks the nose of our obsession with identity

The best way to talk to (and about) the entertainer and artist Ken Tanaka is to discuss his YouTube videos, of which there are many, and which vary wildly in terms of popularity, production and themes. But first, some biography:
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
May 19, 2015

'Coach Crusher' likes Hamamatsu's chances going into Final Four

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with personalities in the bj- league. Coach Tomoya Higashino of the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / NOTEBOOK
May 19, 2015

Upgrade improves customer tracking

Kozo Keikaku Engineering Inc. has begun marketing the latest version of a video-based marketing support solution, "People Counter," with new features.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 19, 2015

Mixed ruling partially favors Apple in Samsung patent case

Apple Inc was handed a mixed ruling by a U.S. appeals court in the latest twist in a blockbuster intellectual property battle with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., as a prior patent infringement verdict was upheld but a trademark finding that the iPhone's appearance could be protected was thrown out.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 18, 2015

Aichi's oldest pathologist sees society in flux

The oldest police pathologist in Aichi Prefecture retired in March, after performing autopsies on more than 4,000 bodies in his 50 year career.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 14, 2015

Automakers should invest in future while yen is on their side: analysts

Japanese automakers enjoyed solid sales and profits in fiscal 2014 thanks to the benefits of the weakened yen, and fiscal 2015 looks set to drive further growth.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
May 14, 2015

Beloved Doraemon voice actress Nobuyo Oyama struggling with dementia

A veteran anime voice actress of Japan's beloved Doraemon robot cat is struggling with dementia, her talent agency and husband have revealed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 13, 2015

Japan's first international defense show opens in Yokohama

Japan's first-ever international defense trade show kicked off in Yokohama on Wednesday, attracting more than 100 exhibitors as the country aims to ramp up its global security role.

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