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BUSINESS
Jan 25, 2014

Automakers gird for Super Bowl

From the Muppets to James Franco, Hollywood will be working hard for carmakers at the Super Bowl.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2014

Kobe's tofubeats moves from blogs to the big time

Like many kids growing up in the 1990s, Yusuke Kawai's initial brush with the World Wide Web happened in elementary school.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 13, 2014

The avant-garde of old and new, plus a quick reminder that the 'real' sales are nigh

In November last year, Issey Miyake opened an extra-large Omotesando shop called "Reality Lab," which features his more experimental lines all under one roof. These include 132 5., a wearable line of origami-folded clothing cut from fabric derived from recycled PET bottles, and IN-EI, a line of pleated...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Dec 28, 2013

In the realm of the Fujiya Hotel

It's a different matter with ryokan, Japan's traditional and often premium-priced inns, but outside the stellar class of regular hotels charging astronomical rates, their down-to-earth cousins aren't usually the kind of places to feel too strongly about. You generally expect little by way of character...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 23, 2013

Automated driving tech comes to the fore

In November, a prospective customer was at the wheel of Mazda Motor Corp.'s new sport utility vehicle during a demonstration in Fukaya, Saitama Prefecture. With a sales rep in the passenger seat, the 38-year-old man drove the car toward a urethane mat hanging 7 meters ahead to test the collision avoidance...
Japan Times
Events / Events In Tokyo
Dec 19, 2013

Bright lights in our big cities

Christmas holiday lights can be quite the spectacle in towns and cities celebrating the festive season. And as the days get shorter and colder, they can often brighten the gloomy evenings of a frosty winter.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Dec 16, 2013

Sorting out that battery-life problem

This month saw the launch of the hybrid Arrows A SoftBank 301F, Fujitsu's latest Android 4G LTE smartphone for SoftBank customers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 5, 2013

Treading a healthy path — whichever road you take

In the mid-19th century, a British undertaker by the name of William Banting was struggling to shed some pounds despite having tried every diet known at the time.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2013

Can Xi's reforms succeed?

Will it be possible for Xi Jinping to liberalize China's economy while trying to tighten the Communist Party's political grip?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 19, 2013

Elen Never Sleeps "Rum"

Recent advancements in recording technology has made it easier than ever before for anyone with computer access to create and distribute their work from the comfort of home. Paradoxically, these advances also allow artists to hide themselves within their songs. There are countless effects and tools designed...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Nov 18, 2013

New and old ways to take snapshots, plus other gadgetry for adults and kids

A 'natural' way to lifelog?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 29, 2013

McCartney, One Direction and Atoms for Peace head to Japan in November

He's been knighted, named the richest rock star in the world, has an Oscar, has done a guest spot on "The Simpsons," has played to the largest stadium audience in history and has been imprisoned right here in Japan. That's right, rock god Sir Paul McCartney returns to Japan after an 11-year hiatus in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 28, 2013

Smashing ideas on future design and technology

While contemporary art is still transfixed by its own reflection, veteran Japanese curator Yuko Hasegawa has focused her cultural microscope on something quite different. "Bunny Smash Design to touch the world," the current group exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, is a hit-and-miss...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 22, 2013

Perfume "Level3"

"Level3" is going to look amazing live. Perfume member Ayaka "A-Chan" Nishiwaki reportedly told producer Yasutaka Nakata that her trio wanted songs suited to the huge venues they'd perform it in. Nakata has obliged. Perfume's fourth studio album — the first with access to Universal Music's deep pockets...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 3, 2013

Nara, Aomori enter uncharted territory as expansion squads

History will unfold for two new franchises on Saturday.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 26, 2013

Floats make Oirase fest a treat

The town of Oirase, Aomori Prefecture, seems like a good place for homesick Americans to settle down. It's known for its own Statue of Liberty — bigger than the one that sits at the edge of Tokyo Bay.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Sep 26, 2013

Upgraded Caramelo, pastry shop at Cerulean; Hokkaido fair at Tokyo Dome Hotel

Tokyu Hotel's Caramelo restaurant and its pastry shop, both on the lobby floor, have been renovated and reopened from Sept. 1.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Sep 24, 2013

Gamers' dilemma at this year's TGS: PS4 or Xbox One?

When each new generation of game hardware begins, gamers are presented with choices: Which console will they buy? Will they be satisfied with one company's machine or will they need to buy rival hardware too?
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 19, 2013

Festival brings old films out of storage

Every year, nearly 100 of the films produced in Japan are said to "go into storage."
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Sep 16, 2013

New smartphone enhancements, health help, free coupons and eye protection

Sony unveiled its high-end lens attachment for mobile phones at the consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin on Sept. 4 .
CULTURE / Music / TOKYO JAZZ FESTIVAL
Sep 11, 2013

Tres-men

Tres-men are made up of percussionist Takahiro "Matzz" Matsuoka, DJ Yoshijiro Sakurai and keyboardist Yusuke Nakamura.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 11, 2013

Nissan revamps Rogue to challenge Honda, Ford in small SUVs in U.S.

Nissan Motor Co., seeking a boost for its second-best-selling U.S. model, has revamped the Rogue small sport utility vehicle to get a bigger share of the growing crossover segment from Honda Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 9, 2013

Renovating business and hope in Onomichi

The city of Onomichi in the southeastern part of Hiroshima Prefecture, which looks out to the Seto Inland Sea, has a rich and long tradition as a hub of trade. During the Edo Period (1603-1867), it prospered as a key docking point for domestic ships peddling goods, and from the early 20th century it...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / TRAVEL INSIDER
Sep 3, 2013

SAS fare sale extended; Cathay in-flight Cantonese specialties; Garuda Mount Fuji raffle

SAS fare sale extended
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 24, 2013

Chilling tales are tops when trying to beat the heat

Perhaps stemming from the belief that hearing a scary story will send a chill down the spine and provide welcome relief from the summer heat, August is Japan's favorite season for traditional tales of horror. At local festivals and in theme parks, the obake yashiki (haunted house) is a standby for dating...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 10, 2013

Toba and Kashikojima: pearls of tranquillity beside Ise Bay

In places where land submerges itself beneath water, modes of transportation immediately change and, in some cases, endings become beginnings.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 8, 2013

'World War Z'

I recall watching "Quantum of Solace," the 007 movie directed by Marc Forster, and thinking, "This man should never have been put in charge of an action movie." A fine director of art-house fare such as "Finding Neverland" or "The Kite Runner," Forster handled his cherry chase scene — always a signature...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Aug 1, 2013

Marusen Seimen: Chicken ramen to bowl you over

It's summer: You're not supposed to have an appetite. All you feel like is eating noodles? Welcome to the club. Here's one place where I've been finding nourishment in this most difficult of seasons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 1, 2013

Linkin Park returns to Summer Sonic

Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park always starts his trips to Tokyo the same way. Jet-lagged and unable to sleep on the first night, the band's founding member has made a ritual of hitting up the Tsukiji fish market around 4 a.m. for sushi and a beer.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?