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Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Oct 29, 2019

With full power restored, Yuzuru Hanyu looks unbeatable

Two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu opened his Grand Prix campaign in dominating fashion with a huge victory at Skate Canada on Saturday. More important than winning, however, was his return to what appears to be complete health.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 26, 2019

'Studies from Nature': Kitagawa Utamaro's glorious prints

Utamaro is justly remembered as one of the greatest ukiyo-e print designers of the 18th century. The Folio Society's reproduction of his 'Studies from Nature' reminds us why.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 20, 2019

Linguistic ignorance can be bliss

When it was revealed that Pico Iyer knew only a 'smattering' of Japanese despite living in Japan for 25 years, some were critical. However, could there be artistic benefits to not being fluent?
Japan Times
Rugby
Oct 15, 2019

All Blacks' Dane Coles happy to consign 'Great Escape' pass to history

Former All Blacks scrumhalf Justin Marshall screamed "what a pass" in his television commentary, while New Zealand and Irish media credited it with sparking "The Great Escape."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 9, 2019

China state newspaper hits Apple over map app use by Hong Kong protesters

The Chinese Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, lashed out on Tuesday at Apple Inc. for allowing an app on its app store that tracks the movement of police around Hong Kong and is used by protesters in ongoing and sometimes violent demonstrations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Sep 29, 2019

Stand-up plans: Trading caricatures for awareness

A half-hour into chatting with Patrick Harlan over coffee at a Yotsuya bakery, two women grab seats nearby.
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 19, 2019

Rugby 101: A primer on the rules

Rugby in the modern age is a high-paced game of skill and attrition in which 15 players on opposing sides spend 80 minutes hammering away at each other’s goal line. Watching a game, however, how can you spot the difference between a ruck and a maul? And why does the referee keep blowing their whistle...
Japan Times
Rugby
Sep 19, 2019

Why rugby is the greatest game in the world

As we approach the start of what some claim is the third-largest sporting event in the world behind the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, it's time to lay down some very clear markers as to why the tournament sits head and shoulders above other global rivals eyeing top spot. For the uninitiated, here's...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Sep 11, 2019

South Korea surges ahead of North in building up military

South Korea and North Korea have continued to pour resources into modernizing their militaries despite a frenzy of diplomacy since 2018, creating tension that has sharpened as talks have stalled.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 10, 2019

'Aki Inomata: Significant Otherness'

Sept. 14-Jan. 13, 2020
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2019

Human capital can make Tokyo better

Regarding the commentary "Making Tokyo more competitive" by Haruaki Deguchi in the Aug. 27 edition, a moderate climate makes life pleasant, but weather is not holding Tokyo back from being a leading world city. The city already has a first rate communications and transportation infrastructure, and with...
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2019

Trump is risking global catastrophe

Regarding Koichi Hamada's superb commentary, "U.S.-China spat is more than just a trade war," in the Sept. 2 edition, knowledge of basic negotiation, finance, geopolitics, macroeconomics and history reveals that Donald Trump's "strategy" is ignorant and risks a global economic crisis — or worse.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Aug 31, 2019

'Lessons in the Fundamentals of Go': Wisecracking wisdom worth rereading

In his classic treatise on go, the late Toshiro Kageyama elucidates the difference between amateurs, who merely 'play at the game,' and professionals, who 'labor at it.'
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 28, 2019

As maritime rows resurface, Duterte readies to raise South China Sea ruling with Xi

When Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte visits China this week, he'll need to salvage something from a "pivot" to Beijing that has left him empty-handed and exposed his neighbors to a new level of brinkmanship in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 28, 2019

Japan slow to offer support to women's sumo

"It's not only boys who can practice and enjoy sumo. There are girls that like sumo too. I hope someday women can become pros."
Japan Times
SUMO
Aug 27, 2019

Girls wrestle in the Wanpaku sumo ring for the first time ever

It was a historic weekend for sumo in Japan as the first-ever Wanpaku national championships for elementary school-age girls took place at Okudo Sogo Sports Center in Tokyo’s Katsushika Ward on Sunday.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Aug 20, 2019

U.S. test of previously banned missile raises fears of new nuclear arms race

The U.S. military has conducted a flight test of a type of missile banned for more than 30 years, under a treaty from which it bolted earlier this month, the Pentagon said Monday, in a move experts said was likely to have been closely watched by China, Russia and even North Korea.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Aug 17, 2019

Game not over: Japan's amusement arcades tap community spirit to stay relevant

"Kana," to call him by the nom de guerre he uses when he is competing in arcade game tournaments, is so good at The King of Fighters '97 that he can beat most other players one-handed.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 14, 2019

Deploying new U.S. missiles would be 'reckless act': North Korean media

Any move by the United States to place new ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in South Korea could spark a "new Cold War" and an escalating arms race in the region, North Korean state media said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
SOCCER / From the Spot
Aug 7, 2019

Soccer commentator turned dream into reality

Foreigners living in Japan have few opportunities to introduce their favorite sports teams. For English teachers, it's usually in front of a class of attentive elementary or junior high school students. For others, it's an easy way to start a conversation at their local bar, especially while a Premier...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 7, 2019

Russia accuses Japan of trying to meddle in domestic affairs with protest of island visit

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga rejected criticism by Russia on Wednesday, after Moscow summoned Japan's ambassador and accused Tokyo of trying to interfere in Russian domestic affairs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 5, 2019

There's more than just page numbers in the index of a Japanese literary magazine

Folding out with a wealth of linguistic and cultural lessons, the index can act as a makeshift classroom for the imaginative.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2019

China and U.S. plan next round of trade talks for September

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators have said they plan to meet again in early September, after the latest round of negotiations ended with few signs of concrete progress.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 27, 2019

Aligning 'access journalism' and press freedom

On July 19, NHK's morning information program, "Asaichi," featured a very special guest. Hiroshi Kume is one of the most important figures in the history of Japanese media, initially as a popular announcer in the 1970s and early '80s, but mainly as the anchor of TV Asahi's ground-breaking news show "News...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2019

In praise of demographic decline

Our expanding ability to automate human work across all sectors makes an ever-growing workforce increasingly irrelevant to improvements in human welfare. That's good news for most of the world, but not for Africa.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jul 11, 2019

U.S. Forces Korea acknowledges North Korean ICBM can hit anywhere in the United States

U.S. Forces Korea has said for the first time that North Korea's powerful Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can hit targets anywhere in the mainland United States, with an estimated range of nearly 13,000 km (8,000 miles).
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2019

Oh no, another kimono scandal

A more secure, internationalized future for kimono may lie with those innovative designers who are taking it down from its high pedestal and unburdening it from its more restrictive cultural symbolisms.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G20 Osaka Summit Special
Jun 27, 2019

G20 host has work cut out for it in creating consensus

One of the largest and most important gatherings of world leaders outside the U.N. General Assembly — the Group of 20 Leaders' Summit — arrives in Japan for the first time ever this week, bringing with it over 30 presidents, prime ministers and leaders from international organizations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 26, 2019

'Disturbance' gives a voice to victims of domestic violence

Standing alone, high up on the balcony of the Musicasa theater in Tokyo, the character of Jane — a wife, mother and a victim of domestic abuse — leaves a red analog phone with a coiled cable hanging over the balustrade.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?