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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 24, 2014

Small presses fill a niche in books about Japan

Isobar Press (Tokyo)Speciality: Poetry
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 13, 2014

Pachinko parlors face taxing times

Moves toward legalizing casinos in Japan have reignited a debate over the legal status of pachinko, with a potential new tax mooted for a $200 billion gaming industry that has existed for decades on the fringes of the law.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TRAVEL INSIDER
Mar 4, 2014

SAS business class, keeping safety fun, high-flying patrol

SAS business class
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 26, 2014

Sands czar bets he will win Japan casino race

Billionaire Sheldon Adelson is willing to bet $10 billion that his Las Vegas Sands will become the leader in casino gambling in Japan, an offer he says his competitors can't match.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2014

Sony suffering seen as prelude to Loeb-inspired revamp

Sony Corp.'s latest earnings disappointment held a silver lining: the company's willingness to entertain some of activist investor Daniel Loeb's suggestions. And it may be just the beginning.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2014

Sony expected to lower profit outlook again

Nintendo Co. shocked investors last week by lowering its profit forecast for the year. Analysts are concerned Sony Corp. could be next.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 20, 2014

Citizen watchdogs see secrets law reviving tax money abuses

Democratic societies often have an ombudsman system of ordinary citizens who monitor how local and national tax money is spent.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
Jan 5, 2014

Bustling Shinjuku, the inn district that never sleeps

Tokyo's Shinjuku district never goes to sleep.
Japan Times
JAPAN / LIGHTING THE OLYMPIC FLAME
Sep 24, 2013

Harumi urged not to sit back and squander Olympic windfall

People who live in Tokyo's Harumi seafront district are excited about hosting the Olympic Village when the games come to town in 2020, but the trick will be parleying the construction into a long-term boon.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 21, 2013

PlayStation 4 to get jump in U.S.

Sony Corp. will start selling the PlayStation 4 in North America on Nov. 15, moving to obtain an early advantage in the largest video game market against Microsoft Corp.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2013

Sony rides weak yen to beat profit estimates

Sony Corp., considering Daniel Loeb's push for a partial sale of its entertainment assets, said Thursday it posted first-quarter earnings that beat estimates after cutting costs, introducing new smartphones and benefiting from a weaker yen.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2013

James Gandolfini and the art of 'The Sopranos'

James Gandolfini's legacy will remain a cascade of popular television programs that people who search for quality aren't embarrassed about to watch and debate.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2013

'Man of Steel' shoulders quest to lift DC into Marvel's league

In Warner Bros.' "Man of Steel," Superman tries to save the world from powerful villains. His real-life task is no cakewalk either: Turn the studio's DC Comics into a hit factory like Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel.
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jun 2, 2013

Sex gaffes and the voluble Osaka shyster

If the Japan Restoration Party — headed by Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, and former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara — needs a new political slogan, the proverb Kuchi ga wazawai no moto (The mouth is the source of great trouble) would do nicely.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 2, 2013

British wave washes over U.S. media market

The British are coming — actually, they're already here. And they're running some of America's top media and entertainment companies and successfully peddling their shows, newspapers and magazines to the former colonies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 28, 2013

Tokyo's Koreatown emerged from the flow of bilateral ties

Diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Seoul over territorial and historical disputes is making headlines once again, and Tokyo's right-wing protesters know just where to go to get in the face of its Korean residents: Koreatown in Shinjuku Ward's Shin-Okubo district.
BUSINESS
Nov 9, 2012

Boss quits at hacked Sony unit

Tim Schaaff, head of Sony Corp.'s online entertainment service that was hacked into last year, is resigning his post, the electronics maker announced Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2012

Let them dance!

The police have been cracking down on dance clubs over the past year, arresting operators and shutting clubs by suddenly enforcing a law about dancing and other amusement that goes back to 1948, and related regulations.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 13, 2012

High price of the most gorgeous show in town

Note to self: Never be a young woman in Japan. It's just too harrowing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jun 16, 2012

Clowning around in Tohoku to help children

The Japanese entertainment world is supposed to be a very hard one to crack for foreigners in these lean years of economic doldrums. Once in a while a few people manage to carve out a niche for themselves through a combination of talent, perseverance and luck.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2012

Public acceptance of high salaries for athletes contrasts with low regard for finance superstars

The biggest news around Cambridge in recent weeks has been Jeremy Lin, the Harvard economics graduate who has shocked the National Basketball Association by rising overnight from "nowhere" to become a genuine star, leading a losing New York Knicks team to an unlikely string of victories.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Mar 4, 2012

Taro Yamamoto: Actor in the spotlight of Japan's antinuke movement

On a rainy midwinter day, Taro Yamamoto stood with a small group of people in front of Shimokitazawa Station in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward and addressed passers-by in that artsy youth-culture hub.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 22, 2012

Can showbiz really sever yakuza ties?

Last August, comedian and TV emcee Shinsuke Shimada retired from show business following allegations that he'd been palling around with an underworld figure. His withdrawal came on the eve of the implementation of a well-publicized police crackdown on organizations that work with antisocial elements,...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Dec 23, 2011

New Japan Pro-Wrestling hits 40

High-impact slams, chokeholds and daredevil feats of athleticism aren't the usual way to celebrate a 40th birthday, but that's how New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) will be spending its big day.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Nov 24, 2011

Late-night dancing should not be a crime in Japan

Imagine a town where playing rock music is under a curfew and police crack down on unlicensed late-night dancing. Are you thinking of the town from the film "Footloose"? Or are you thinking of Fukuoka? Kumamoto? Yokohama?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 18, 2011

Volunteer-led Tohoku cinema provides welcome escapism

Following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11 in the Tohoku region, survivors received nearly every type of aid imaginable from thousands of volunteers, ranging from hot meals to haircuts. But they also faced long, soul-deadening hours in shelters and temporary housing, with little in the way...
BUSINESS
Oct 29, 2011

Sony pulls trigger on Ericsson venture purchase

Sony Corp. has agreed to buy Ericsson AB's 50 percent stake in their 10-year-old mobile phone venture to integrate the smartphone business with its gaming and tablet offerings.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 15, 2011

Nintendo et al roll out the big guns at E3

The annual Electronic Entertainment Expo is gaming's main event. It's when the industry's heavyweights face off with new games and new hardware. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo (which doesn't traditionally participate in the Tokyo Game Show) all go head to head. This year's E3, in Los Angeles, provided...

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?