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December 21, 2024
 

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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
May 8, 2002

A cult hero hangs on to his cool

From the moment one squeezes through the six thick hanging slabs of foam that serve as the old saloon-style entranceway to Jun Miura's current exhibition at the Laforet Museum, it is apparent that this is no ordinary art show. "Jun Chan Intense #3" is the latest installment in the artist's popular Laforet...
COMMUNITY
Aug 19, 2001

Tradition in transition

Art went private at the beginning of the 20th century. Back then Cubism's quest for a new visual language, abstract art's pursuit of purity of form, and Surrealism's sense of inwardness had little appeal to a public who viewed Modern Art as self-serving and difficult.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 18, 2022

Ukraine's Donbas, where Putin sowed the seeds of war

In the Donbas region, everything suddenly fell apart. This was part of Putin's grand plan, and it helped lay the groundwork for the invasion of Ukraine. Now things are heating up again.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 8, 2022

For Boris Johnson, a tumultuous tenure ends with a messy exit

The risk-taking bravado of Britain's colorful prime minister was not enough to compensate for his shortcomings, or overcome a catastrophic loss of party support.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2021

The era of depending on U.S. military might for security has passed

The global battlefield has shifted and the world's democracies should and can no longer rely on America to guarantee their security.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 28, 2020

News outlets clash over tone of COVID-19 coverage

The government's COVID-19 subcommittee held a news conference on Nov. 9 to discuss nationwide increases in infections this winter. The government itself seems hesitant to call this sudden spike the "third wave," a term that has become normalized in the media, but the subcommittee definitely sees it as...
SUMO
Jul 29, 2020

History shows Abi's flouting of virus protocols will likely be last straw for Japan Sumo Association

Many of those who have transgressed against the JSA's myriad rules (whether official or unwritten) in the past have found themselves out of the sport in short order.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 31, 2019

'Life for Sale': Yukio Mishima's comically psychedelic take on the adventure novel

'Life for Sale' — first serialized in Weekly Playboy in 1968 — was, for long years, dismissed as mere 'entertainment.' Yet the surprising bestseller is a terrific example of Mishima's fecund imagination at its most free-wheeling and unfettered best.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 2, 2019

Making inclusivity a goal for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics

The 2020 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games are a potent catalyst for concrete progress in achieving a barrier-free, more equitable Japanese society.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2019

Carlos Ghosn's wife has a message for the G20

She wants the world leaders gathered in Osaka to notice how Japan's 'hostage justice' system has mistreated Nissan's ex-chairman.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 20, 2019

Downsized dwellings: Inside Tokyo's tiny living spaces

Twenty-five-year-old Sotaro Ito lives in a 9.46-square-meter apartment with a loft in the capital's retro-hip Koenji district.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2018

Is the U.S. getting Sputnik Syndrome all over again?

In the 1950s, Americans were afraid of the Soviet Union overtaking their economy. Now it's China's turn.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 18, 2017

Ad money makes the news world go round

In a Nov. 8 press release, the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center announced that Katsuya Takasu, the most famous plastic surgeon in Japan, was no longer a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery (AACS). Previously, the center had been urging the AACS to expel Takasu because of his public...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 28, 2017

Why Dutch sentiment has turned against immigrants

Soon after she moved into her new neighborhood, Ijburg, on the eastern outskirts of Amsterdam, in 2005, Xandra Lammers started a blog about it. Ijburg is a curious place, an architectural wonder, built in the middle of a lake on reclaimed land and partly on water. She still keeps the blog alive, but...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 14, 2017

Curtain call: Examining the evolution of Japan's humble 'noren'

The shōtengai (shopping street) in Katsuyama, a rural hamlet located on the banks of the Asahi River in Okayama Prefecture, wouldn't look completely out of place in a Richard Scarry picture book for young children.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 30, 2016

Europe must act in Aleppo because it can

Will Europe surrender what remains of its soul in Aleppo, or will it stop the killing?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Sep 17, 2016

Did Japan fudge the truth about whaling?

If you've been following the tragic farce that is Japan's official stance on whaling, you'll know that the arguments made by the country's Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) to try and justify the hunting of whales have been soundly rejected. Japan maintains it needs to kill whales as part of a scientific...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
May 14, 2016

Change in the brain: Central nervous system cells finally get the recognition they deserve

As you read this, some 100 billion neurons are transmitting information through electrical and chemical signals via synapses in your brain.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Oct 11, 2015

Japan’s Constitution won’t protect revolting foreigners

It's worth bearing in mind that the most prominent case concerning the constitutional rights of foreigners involved an American who got kicked out of the country for participating in antiwar protests.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 21, 2015

Don't take my life, please, as Pakistan's comics roast nation's woes, try not to bomb, blaspheme

The crowd exploded into laughter as Pakistani comedian Shehzad Ghias Shaikh threw them his final punchline, gripping the microphone as he roasted the dating app Tindr and traditional South Asian family matchmaking.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Apr 11, 2015

Take a slow, deep dive into marine life

Island nations have a unique relationship with the sea, and for Japan these connections often manifest themselves through its culture and cuisine. This can make an aquarium visit doubly interesting: Come for the fish, stay to watch the visitors as they admire each tank's inhabitants with a unique mixture...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 4, 2015

At age 50, seeing the writing on the wall

At half a century old, I only look forward — to see how much time is left before my clock runs out.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 15, 2014

Eels face the slippery slope to extinction

Last week I was crossing the River Thames on the way to work in London, and I happened to see a cormorant emerge from the water with a thrashing eel in its mouth. The bird juggled the fish, skillfully managing to position it so it could swallow the wriggling animal headfirst.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 4, 2014

Chinese Communist Party's great leap backward

Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign was supposed to signify a shift toward a more transparent system based on the rule of law, but the officials who have been purged so far have been Xi's political adversaries. Xi appears to be pulling China backward politically.
OLYMPICS / ROBERT WHITING'S 1964 OLYMPICS RETROSPECTIVE
Oct 24, 2014

Negative impact of 1964 Olympics profound

The 1964 Tokyo Olympics had a profound impact on the capital city and the nation. In the final installment of a five-part series running this month, best-selling author Robert Whiting, who lived in Japan at the time, focuses on the environmental and human impact that resulted from hosting the event....
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 8, 2014

Stupid advice for women worried about rape

Anyone who doubts that politically correct online activitists are out to lunch need only read up on their reaction to a nail polish that allows women to discreetly discover whether their drink has been spiked by one of several common 'date rape' drugs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 7, 2014

Economic divide fueling surge in Xinjiang unrest

Hundreds of migrant workers from distant corners of China pour daily into the Urumqi South railway station, their first waypoint on a journey carrying them to lucrative work in other parts of the far western Xinjiang region.
JAPAN / Media
Apr 30, 2014

Advisers assess Japan Times performance after INYT tie-up

Now that The Japan Times is being distributed together with the International New York Times, the advisory board members agreed that there should be a newsroom shift toward even more coverage of Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 17, 2014

Confronting unending lies

Perhaps what is most amazing and regretful about the situation in Russia is the nearly complete absence of truth and objectivity in the mass media covering Ukrainian events.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Feb 20, 2014

Family flashbacks to a psychedelic day with Kitty

In this column, it has been my sworn duty to share Tokyo's bounty of kid-friendly activities with interested parents like you. I hope earlier columns indicate that I take this responsibility seriously, striving to showcase only places that add much-needed components of fun, culture and education to the...
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
43-year-old man arrested over Kitakyushu McDonald's stabbings
A McDonald's outlet in Kitakyushu where two teens were stabbed, one fatally, on Saturday. Police arrested a 43-year-old suspect on Thursday morning.
National Police Agency panel calls for stricter rules against host clubs
The streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district in 2020. Consultations over matters relating to host clubs have been increasing every year at police stations nationwide, according to the National Police Agency.
Nippon Steel to join iron ore mine project in Canada
Nippon Steel headquarters in Tokyo
Bank of Japan opts for caution as Trump factor and wage concerns weigh
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda holds a news conference after a BOJ policy meeting in Tokyo on Thursday.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.
With rare Asia carrier deployment, France seeks greater interoperability
The flight deck of the French Navy's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier during a stop at Changi Naval Base in Singapore in May 2019
Taiwan’s bullet train a testament to shinkansen’s export potential
A Taiwan High Speed Rail bullet train arrives at Nangang Station in the city of Taipei.
Looking for ways to be charitable in Japan? Give the gift of reading.
Book Santa is a program that delivers books to children in need for Christmas, but it also operates year-round.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono
The celebrated artist ‘updating’ the kimono

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