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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 7, 2013

'Hakoiri Musuko no Koi (Blindly in Love)'

In a recent interview, Steven Soderbergh complained that critics are "too easily fooled." "Their reading of filmmaking is too superficial," he added. While I am as much a fan of deep insight as the next guy, I am also perfectly happy to be fooled. That is, if a director manages to salvage his pig of...
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2013

Video of Tokyo cop's crowd-control comments goes viral

A Tokyo police officer is winning praise for quick-witted comments that kept excited soccer fans from getting out of hand Tuesday night in Shibuya after Japan won a ticket to the 2014 World Cup.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 7, 2013

Eatrip: A healthy diet of peace and quiet

Food, flowers and tranquility: Eatrip is not just a restaurant, it's an unlikely oasis in the busy shopping district of Harajuku. Call it a Garden of Eating.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2013

Miuras cite red bean rice, dirty jokes

Steamed red bean rice and dirty jokes may have been the key for climbing Mount Everest at age 80, famed alpinist Yuichiro Miura and his son, Gota, said Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 7, 2013

'Olympus Has Fallen'

This latest bit of Hollywood "propatainment," "Olympus Has Fallen," is basically "Die Hard" in the White House, with Gerard Butler's disgraced former Secret Service agent trying to save the president (Aaron Eckhart) from a team of crack North Korean commandos who plan to pry America's nuclear launch...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / SWEET INSPIRATIONS
Jun 7, 2013

Japanese desserts with an alcohol kick

"There are two types of people," my dear old landlady used to say, handing me a bowl of frothing matcha tea: "Those who like alcohol, and those who like sweets."
EDITORIALS
Jun 6, 2013

'Shock and awe' of another kind

Maybe it's just something in the air this time of year that prompts reruns of Igor Stravinsky's century-old, riotous ballet 'The Rite of Spring.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 6, 2013

Mono no aware: subtleties of understanding

The essence of the 'Mono no aware and Japanese Beauty' exhibition, currently at the Suntory Museum of Art, is the appreciation of things in the shadow of their future absence.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 6, 2013

Real scandal is the power IRS wields

American Republicans on Capitol Hill are abuzz with the possibility that the scandal at the Internal Revenue Service will lead to tax reform.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 6, 2013

Metal act Gotsu Totsu Kotsu swap vikings with samurai to instill fear in fans

When pop fans hear the words 'death metal,' they may cringe as they imagine songs about nails in the neck or impalements by bands with names like Cannibal Corpse and Dying Fetus. What may not spring to mind are songs about feudal Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 6, 2013

'Kawai Gyokudo: Depicting Japan, Heart and Hearth'

Nihonga (Japanese-style) artist Kawai Gyokudo's nostalgic imagery of nature and people made him a national favorite in Japan. Combining the teachings of the Kano and Maruyama-shijo schools of the late 19th century, Gyokudo (1873-1957) achieved a distinctive style that earned him the Order of Culture...
WORLD
Jun 6, 2013

Vegetarians live longer, study suggests

A vegetarian diet may help people, particularly men, live longer than those who regularly eat meat, according to a study of more than 70,000 Seventh-Day Adventists.
CULTURE / Music / MONEY AND MUSIC
Jun 6, 2013

Been down so long, it looks like up

I've been to a lot of music-industry conferences over the years, and for the past decade I've listened to the same old song: How can the recording industry fight online piracy, which it blames for plunging music sales?
Reader Mail
Jun 6, 2013

Avoiding corporal punishment

Regarding the June 2 article "Severe sports training methods became taibatsu in time": The writer concludes: "The trick is to determine in modern society where hard training ends and assault or violence, which is and always has been a criminal offense in Japan, begins. And that is not an easy thing."...
WORLD
Jun 6, 2013

Christie orders election for October

Faced with a politically perilous dilemma with far-reaching implications, New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday ordered an October special election to fill the senate vacancy created by the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a decision Christie said was rooted in a desire to quickly deliver...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Jun 5, 2013

It's lots of tasty, messy fun when babies bake

The master chefs are hard at work: slicing bananas, whisking a sticky mixture in a bowl, squeezing piped cream across a cake.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2013

Cheap yen exacts toll on fishing

The cheap yen caused by the Abe administration's economic policy, which is centered on the Bank of Japan's massive monetary easing, has led to price rises on imported items. Fishermen especially are suffering from rises in fuel oil prices. Because wholesalers and volume sellers basically control the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Jun 5, 2013

Do self-driving cars need to cost so much?

"The best is the enemy of the good," said the 18th-century French writer Voltaire. It's a maxim that has a particular resonance for tech designers, because it highlights the intrinsic tension between ambition and pragmatism that haunts them. Many perfectly viable products have never made it beyond the...
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2013

China constitution debate hits nerve with ruling party

After a country's new leader proclaims the overriding authority of the constitution — a document that guarantees freedom of speech and press — it's worth noting afterward when the same government heavily censors all discussion about that constitution.
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jun 5, 2013

Lack of American heavyweights sad

What if they held a world heavyweight title fight and no one in America showed up?
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 5, 2013

Abenomics cannot succeed without cheap nuclear power

Everybody knows that Japan has an energy crisis. We also know that the yen has greatly depreciated, by some 20 percent in just a few weeks. It's time to put these two facts together.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 4, 2013

Japan urged to play more visible role on continent

The mood of hope at the end of TICAD V is mingled with uncertainty about the steps in store for the conference and Japan-Africa relations as a whole, especially regarding political exchanges at the highest levels.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2013

Importance of private sector's role featured in Yokohama Declaration

TICAD V ends with the adoption of the Yokohama Declaration, a pledge to promote private sector-led growth in achieving sustainable development.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji