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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 16, 2020

'Last Letter': Love letter delivers sweetness and slush

Takako Matsu reunites with director Shunji Iwai to play a middle-aged woman who exchanges letters with her late sister's high school flame.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 15, 2020

Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi challenges Japan's workplace norms with decision to take paternity leave

Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said he will take paternity leave later this month, a rare move in a country where most men do not take the time off.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2020

'I'm happy he did it': In Beirut, Ghosn's wife slams Japanese justice system

Carlos and Carole Ghosn, the former first couple of carmaker Nissan, are united again in Beirut. They hold hands in the street and whisper together in a mix of Arabic and French. They kiss.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 14, 2020

Where to find some of Tokyo's tastiest vegan ramen

Vegans shouldn't feel left out of Tokyo's expansive ramen scene. The Japan Times has sourced five of the best options in the capital for flavorful vegan noodles that even nonvegans will say are delicious!
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Women of Taste
Jan 11, 2020

Marie-Josee Laforest: Harvesting the rewards of organic permaculture

From five holy basil seeds, an oregano plant, a few stems of orange mint, six fig tree cuttings and a handful of butterfly pea seeds, Marie-Josee Laforest's sprouts have grown to become a 200-hectare organic permaculture farm in the mountains Oita Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jan 11, 2020

'Childhood Years': Junichiro Tanizaki's precious memories of Tokyo

Autobiographies tend to reveal only as much as the subject chooses to share. Here, Junichiro Tanizaki is surprisingly forthright in detailing his inner life, especially those pertaining to the germination of his sexuality.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2020

Sussex Inc. can work as royal spinoff

Allowing some royals to step away from 'senior' status makes sense if you think of the British monarchy as a business.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 11, 2020

Harry and Meghan would find friendlier media in Canada but no foolproof way to escape scrutiny

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan can expect less intense local media scrutiny than they have faced in Britain should they move to Canada, experts said on Friday, though international press attention will be impossible to avoid.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Jan 10, 2020

NHK raises the dead for 'Kohaku' to mixed reviews

After NHK brought deceased enka singer Hibari Misora back to the 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' stage, reaction from viewers was mixed.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 9, 2020

10 surprises for Japan in 2020

Japan's prospects for the new year appear stellar.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Jan 9, 2020

Once a hero in Japan, Carlos Ghosn's news conference unlikely to restore his image

While international media has focused on criticisms of the Japanese criminal justice system, domestic media outlets have been more critical of Ghosn violating bail conditions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 9, 2020

Raving from the past into the future with WaqWaq Kingdom

Shigeru Ishihara and Kiki Hitomi release a second album, fusing an eclectic mix of genres with a deep and personal set of lyrics
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2020

'Complicity': Heartfelt film serves up food for the soul

Indie director Kei Chikaura's first feature — and winner of the Audience Award at Tokyo Filmex — avoids cliches in its realistic portrayal of Japan-China understanding.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 9, 2020

Fugitive ex-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn hits out at carmaker, names names, says Japanese prosecutors treated him 'brutally'

Carlos Ghosn, speaking publicly for the first time since his dramatic escape from Japanese justice, said on Wednesday he had been treated "brutally" by Tokyo prosecutors and was the victim of an inside job to oust him from the helm of automaker Nissan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 7, 2020

Rakushin: A flavorful harmony of Japanese-Flemish cuisine

It's Belgian-meets-Japanese for this collaborative four-hands meal organized by Arts Flanders Japan at Osaka's Rakushin.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2020

The half-century miracle of Asian resurgence

To turn optimistic long-term forecasts into reality, Asian states will have to overcome the major challenges of mass poverty, jobless growth, rising inequality and the middle-income trap.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 4, 2020

Predicting Japan's digital trends of the next decade

Last year was all about looking back. Between the end of the Heisei Era (1989-2019) and the decade coming to a close, people appeared to go to extra lengths to reflect on the recent and not-so-recent past (this column included). Now that we’ve entered 2020, though, it’s time to leave the highlights...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 4, 2020

2019's best movies (for lessons in behavioral economics)

The annual Becons single out 'Luce,' a perfect example of 'motivated reasoning.'
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 3, 2020

Reviewing last year, previewing 2020 in sumo

Happy New Year to you all. Here's to a great 2020.
Reader Mail
Jan 3, 2020

Beware Trump's sleaze tactics

Regarding Donald Trump's historic impeachment, one thing is indisputable: He will plunge to the darkest depths of unfathomable sleaze once he grasps that his Titanic-like presidency has run full tilt into a self-made iceberg, even if the Republican-majority Senate acquits him (as is expected).
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2020

Despite risk from the 'Big One,' are Shizuoka and the rest of Japan becoming complacent about earthquakes?

When Hokkaido native Tatsushi Ueda landed a job at the Shizuoka Prefectural Government nearly 40 years ago, he was given a somber send-off that made him feel like he might never see home again.
Japan Times
JAPAN / New Year's Special
Jan 1, 2020

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike looks ahead to 2020 Games and end of her term

With a little over half a year to go until the start of the Summer Games, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike says the host city is all set for the sporting extravaganza and is focusing on ensuring the games will have a long-lasting legacy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 1, 2020

20 Questions: The best answers of 2019

Craig Mod
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2019

Christmas is over, but the 'quinceaneras' just roll on

A dazed parent ponders a Latin American coming-of-age ritual that knows no bounds.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 30, 2019

NASA's Mars 2020 rover set to hunt Martian fossils, scout for manned missions

A NASA robotic rover is nearing completion ahead of a journey next year to search for evidence of past life on Mars and lay the groundwork for the space agency's mission to send humans into deep space.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2019

How Instagram has changed the way we shop

It has also transformed the way we brag about what we bought.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 28, 2019

Childhood in Japan is certainly not getting any easier

The girl was 15, the teacher in his early 30s. He recognized her ability, encouraged her, befriended her, seduced her. He took her to a love hotel and said, "This is what grown-ups do."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / Fiction
Dec 26, 2019

Christmas on Happy Road: The Passion of the Franz

Chapter 4
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 25, 2019

Big history helps understand today's issues

A sweeping study of historical data yields fascinating revelations about the past, present and future.

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