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JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 17, 2012

Medical interpreters in growing need

As Filipino Anamaria Ogahara can testify, going to a hospital in a country whose language you don't speak fluently can be a highly challenging and unnerving experience.
Events / KANSAI: WHO & WHAT
Nov 17, 2012

Free kimono fitting by professionals in Toyonaka

Offering a slice of traditional Japanese culture, professional fitters will help non-Japanese dress in kimono Nov. 25 in Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 16, 2012

'Woody Allen: A Documentary'

Given that Woody Allen pours so much of himself into his films — despite his protests to the contrary — can we really expect to learn more from a documentary? Director Robert B. Weide ("How to Lose Friends & Alienate People") attempts to dig deeper in "Woody Allen: A Documentary," an over-arching...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Nov 14, 2012

The return of Furby; Minnie sleeps over

Takara-Tomy has a habit of producing or distributing weird and wacky toys that incorporate interesting uses of technology, and two of its most recent releases are no exception.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 13, 2012

Designer Cynthia Rowley hits the double digits

New York-based designer Cynthia Rowley celebrated her brand's 10th year in Japan with a special talk show and cocktail dinner for VIP guests during Tokyo Fashion Week. The Barrington, Illinois, native's name has long been on the lips of American sportswear fans with her bright and feminine takes on casual-to-cocktail-style...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 10, 2012

Cooking oil's second life: biodiesel

Japan has seen an increase in efforts to recycle used cooking oil — a byproduct of supermarkets and cafeterias — as biodiesel to use as a substitute for light diesel oil fuel for vehicles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Nov 9, 2012

Today's J-blip: Otoshidama Kit Kat

Money's yummy, but how about a otoshidama Kit Kat?
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 9, 2012

Grandson of famed noh actor to debut

Many young artists experience a make-or-break moment in their careers. For 24-year-old noh actor Motoi Imai, his debut as the shite (lead) character in the production of "Tsunemasa" could be that moment.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 9, 2012

Cultural institute hosts symposium, concert on postquake art scene

On Nov. 16, the Goethe-Institut Tokyo will host an event titled "Die Niemandsklänge" ("The Sounds of Nobody"), which will feature a symposium and a concert focusing on artistic expression in Japan following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, and the ensuing nuclear disaster.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 9, 2012

'Poulet aux Prunes'

Iranian expat author/artist Marjane Satrapi had a breakthrough hit with "Persepolis," her graphic novel about growing up in revolutionary Iran, and she teamed up with director Vincent Paronnaud to bring her story to the big screen in 2007. It worked fantastically well, fully retaining the unique black-and-white...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 7, 2012

Overseas Japanese museums' representatives share ideas in Yokohama

Museums dedicated to the history of Japanese emigrants are increasingly becoming important for their descendants to understand the history of their ancestors as they become integrated in the societies they live in, according to participants of a recent symposium in Yokohama.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Nov 7, 2012

This year's must-have gadget is a 7-inch tablet, but which one?

With the recent closely-timed releases of new tablet devices by Apple, Google and Amazon, the battle for control of the 7-inch tablet market has turned into an all out war. And with Japanese cellphone carriers wading into the fray by releasing tablets in the local market, it's easy to get shell-shocked...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Nov 7, 2012

Visit Britain on British Airways; designer amenity kits on Cathay; discounts on Korean Air to Europe

BA VisitBritain campaign
EDITORIALS
Nov 6, 2012

Wider nuclear emergency areas

The Nuclear Regulation Authority has established new guidelines to better protect people in the event of severe accidents at nuclear power plants, including expanding emergency zones where special preparations are required from the current radius of 8 to 10 km around each nuclear plant to a radius of...
EDITORIALS
Nov 4, 2012

Gaming addictions getting worse

Gaming addictions have increased in Japan, according to recent reports from counseling services and treatment centers. Counseling services have received hundreds of requests for consultations over the past year.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 4, 2012

'Legacy Liquidation Expert'; 'The Fly Woman Who Loves'; CM of the week: Panasonic

There is a business called ihin seiri gaishi, companies that clean up after dead people. The most common request for such services comes when a person living alone dies and the family doesn't want to go through the trouble of disposing of his or her belongings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 3, 2012

Antinuclear rallies an eye-opener for university students

Some 300 people joined an Oct. 27 antinuclear rally staged by a citizens' group at Hisaya Odori Park in Nagoya. Observing them were 10 students from Chukyo University.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 3, 2012

Time stands still on Amami Oshima

We had already been on Amami Oshima for a week waiting for Typhoon No. 21 to pass. But the typhoon was meandering around the Pacific like a drunken sailor, zigzagging a path north-west, once making a U-turn then righting itself, and another time its path taking a complete pirouette.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 1, 2012

Chatmonchy "Henshin"

Since making their major label debut in 2005, Chatmonchy has established itself as one of the country's most popular female rock bands. As a trio, they released several chart-topping discs and sold out gigs at the iconic Nippon Budokan. In 2010, the band played its first American shows with Spin Magazine...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 29, 2012

Halloween in Japan: no trick or treat, but scary spots galore

Japanese people generally have a well developed appreciation for the supernatural, and while the American practice of ringing doorbells in the neighborhood to demand "trick or treat" has yet to take root, Halloween-related events continue to grow in popularity.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 21, 2012

Using the noodle to gain insight into Japanese culinary culture

SLURP! A Social and Culinary History of Ramen — Japan's Favorite Noodle Soup, by Barak Kushner. Global Oriental, 2012, 289 pp., $90 (hardcover) Under the heading "Ramen is Japan" Barak Kushner asserts: "Ramen (regular and instant) permeates all features of contemporary Japanese life." He goes on to...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Oct 20, 2012

Then and now

I remember well my first Halloween in Japan, mostly because I was invited to speak about it at a junior high.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2012

Fans of the GazettE spread news abroad

the GazettE celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and what better way is there to spend an anniversary than with a trip abroad. Well, sort of.

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