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Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 9, 2011

The narrow roads of Senju

In the frantic yearend season known as shiwasu (lit. "teachers running"), when even dignified people grow harried, a friend invited me to play hooky from the madness and take a ramble together around her Tokyo neighborhood. Since the gift of time together is a great one, I hopped the next train to Senju...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Jan 9, 2011

Are Japan's fish lovers eating tuna to extinction?

Pick up a newspaper in Japan these days and you'll almost always find a story in it about the state of bluefin tuna somewhere in the world.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jan 8, 2011

Tokai firms test mettle of migrants from Brazil

On the shop floor of a factory filled with the telltale scent of welded metal, Japanese-Brazilians are working hard to produce filtering tanks for lubricating oil.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2011

Subculture inspires young male cross-dressing trend

He's a 52-year-old medical doctor who goes by the name Ayaka Ogawa when living out his cross-dressing fantasies of being a woman in her mid-40s.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 7, 2011

Buzz overseas spells success at home

For Japanese music acts, success abroad has traditionally been the reserve of noise-rock bands such as Boredoms and Melt-Banana, for whom potential barriers like language or cultural disparities do little to hinder their pursuit of abstraction. More conventional Japanese indie bands have traditionally...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jan 7, 2011

New Year's lobster lunch course

The Hotel East 21 Tokyo is serving a New Year's Ise-ebi (Japanese spiny lobster) lunch course at its Chinese restaurant Toen through Jan. 31.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jan 5, 2011

The best of last year's games and looking forward to 2011

Last year was a rough one for Japan. China overtook the country as the world's second largest economy, yet another prime minister upped and resigned and the economy was stagnate as ever. Things weren't much better for the game industry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 28, 2010

Kabuki going strong, 400 years on

The media frenzy over kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo's drunken midnight brawl in Tokyo last month may be a testament to how, 400 years after its birth, the genre remains a highly popular form of entertainment integral to Japanese culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 25, 2010

Nagoya's 'recycled veggies'

It has been three years since a project to grow vegetables using compost made of untreated garbage from local supermarkets, school lunches and restaurants was started in Nagoya.
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 24, 2010

New Year's Eve celebrations

On Dec. 31, the Park Hyatt Tokyo is offering a night of elegance at its New York Grill & Bar on the 52nd floor, allowing you to bring the year to a close with breathtaking views of the Tokyo skyline.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Dec 20, 2010

Trends in Japan 2010: yama boom

2010 was the year in which young women, clad in brightly colored Gore-Tex, were drawn to mountain hikes and natural power sports.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 18, 2010

University to fund those seeking study abroad

Nagoya University of Foreign Studies in the city of Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, plans to start a new program from next fall that subsidizes all the costs necessary for its students to study abroad.
BUSINESS
Dec 18, 2010

Mixi feels Facebook lacks local appeal

Mixi Inc., owner of Japan's largest social networking service, expects to fend off Facebook Inc. because its website is better suited to domestic users and personal data are more secure, President Kenji Kasahara said recently.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 17, 2010

Hatano best Japanese board man

Who is the bj-league's top Japanese rebounder?
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2010

Ad pitches papers for family time

The 102 newspapers belonging to the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association are running an advertisement Wednesday to promote reading newspapers and having breakfast with the family.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 11, 2010

UNESCO villages in battle with modernity

Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture and Gokayama in Toyama Prefecture, the historic villages dotted with "gassho-zukuri" thatched-roof houses where people still follow traditional lifestyles, are marking their 15th anniversary this month since making UNESCO's World Heritage list in 1995.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Dec 10, 2010

Pop in to Tokyo's latest pop-ups

The trend of pop-ups, promoting goods and brands in temporary spaces, shows no signs of slowing down.
LIFE / Style & Design / STYLE WISE
Dec 9, 2010

A toast to Marc Jacobs, Pierre Cardin, Issey Miyake, Diesel

Jacobs Tokyo flagship: great styling, inside and out The opening of the new Marc Jacobs' Tokyo flagship may have been on hold for several years, but it's finally come through with enough buzz to put a bee to shame.
BASKETBALL
Dec 6, 2010

Sharp-shooting Golden Kings rout Shining Suns to stretch winning run

Fueled by strong shooting, the Ryukyu Golden Kings extended their winning streak to four games on Sunday by trouncing the visiting Miyazaki Shining Suns 101-77.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Dec 5, 2010

Matsumoto Koshiro IX: A lifetime of kabuki

"Koraiya!" shouts someone in the audience, acclaiming the actor center stage. Feeding off the adulation, he launches into his next line. "What a useless fellow you are," he yells, berating the servant at his side. "You shall pay dearly!"
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 4, 2010

Mie housing serves notice on pet-owning tenants

Tenants who keep pets at public housing in Mie Prefecture are facing a tough choice — whether to give up their beloved pets or vacate the property.
BASKETBALL
Dec 4, 2010

Apache, Alvark hold historic scrimmage

The bj-league's Tokyo Apache and JBL's Toyota Alvark have knocked down the first barrier separating the nation's two professional basketball leagues, even if it happened in secrecy, The Japan Times has learned.
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2010

Getting JAL on its feet

Japan Airlines Corp. on Nov. 30 received approval from the Tokyo District Court for its reconstruction plan. JAL achieved a consolidated operating profit of ¥132.7 billion in the April-October period helped by a strong yen and a temporary upturn in the Japanese economy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 3, 2010

There are no words to describe the mystery of the ancient 'rubber people'

That which we know the least about is often the most interesting. A case in point is the civilization of the Olmecs. This flourished in Mexico between 1500 B.C and 400 B.C., leaving behind much intriguing evidence in its art and archaeological remains but no written record to explain anything. Because...

Longform

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