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Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Oct 28, 2017

Missing our Thanksgiving feast in Japan, with all its bustle and chaos

A free-range turkey supplier in Ishikawa Prefecture offers nostalgic North Americans a taste of home.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 28, 2017

'Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan': Traditionally spooky felines

Cats. Modern Japan loves them in all shapes and sizes. But they weren't always so cuddly.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 28, 2017

How would the U.S. look built from scratch?

Our leaders fail us in innumerable ways, but perhaps their worst sin is to accept things the way they are simply because that's the way they have always been.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 27, 2017

MUFG brokerage manager claims paternity harassment led to unpaid leave

Glen Wood, an equity sales manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., filed a harassment claim against the brokerage and asked a Tokyo court to order the firm to withdraw its decision to put him on unpaid leave.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 26, 2017

'Comfort women' issue is far from black and white

Despite widespread perceptions, not all 'comfort women' were coerced into that existence, and not all were treated badly.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Oct 26, 2017

Ancient Papua New Guinea skull called oldest-known tsunami victim

A mysterious partial skull unearthed in Papua New Guinea in 1929 — that once was thought to belong to an extinct human species — now turns out to have another unique distinction. Scientists believe it belongs to the oldest-known human tsunami victim.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 26, 2017

Osaka's ¥1 sales energize shoppers but not good for BOJ's inflation quest

Osaka is famed for it's cheap prices, with ¥1 supermarket sales, ¥10 drinks and discount train tickets sold right next to the station. That attracts thrifty consumers and tourists, but may be undercutting the central bank's efforts to generate sustained price rises.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 25, 2017

Eco-friendly and self-driving cars showcased at Tokyo Motor Show

Green-energy vehicles, self-driving technologies and internet connectivity are expected to be the rage at this year's Tokyo Motor Show slated to open to the public Saturday at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center in Koto Ward.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 24, 2017

Game makers deploy deep-learning AI algorithms to keep players coming back for more

In today's game industry, titles like "Clash Royale" and "Pokemon Go" are free for most people to enjoy because there's a small number of players who pay for extras, like special weapons or more lives. Game developers have to strike a delicate balance in this free-to-play model between drawing the masses...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 22, 2017

Japan-born American finds freedom in not playing the part

Young man caught between two cultures finds freedom in disregarding the expectations of others, be they Japanese or American.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 22, 2017

The traditional kimono never goes out of style

The fusion of traditional Japanese culture with contemporary life isn't a new concept, but as trends change the results can vary greatly. On the runway, we are seeing sophisticated ideas that infuse new looks with time-honored tastes in subtle yet effective ways; while on the streets, the stylings of...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Oct 21, 2017

Viral dance crazes highlight a generational shift

Japan is certainly no stranger to viral dance videos and one doesn't have to think too far back to recall the popularity of the koi (falling in love) dance routine that took the internet by storm last year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Oct 21, 2017

'A Brief History of the Samurai': offers thrilling take on Japan's ancient warrior class

On reading Jonathan Clements’ brief history of the samurai, first published in 2010, you can’t help but see parallels with the recent blockbuster television series “Game of Thrones.”
Reader Mail
Oct 20, 2017

More proactive communications

I agree with "The need for more proactive communications" by Ross Rowbury in the Oct. 16 edition.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 20, 2017

Spain looks to suspend Catalonia autonomy and impose direct rule in response to independence threat

Spain's central government said on Thursday it would suspend Catalonia's autonomy and impose direct rule after the region's leader threatened to go ahead with a formal declaration of independence if Madrid refused to hold talks.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Oct 19, 2017

U.N. jury still out on whether to declare Myanmar violence against Muslim Rohingya genocide

The United Nations has yet to determine whether violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar meets the legal definition of genocide, Jyoti Sanghera, Asia-Pacific chief at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Wednesday.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Oct 19, 2017

Maltese prime minister promises reward to find killer of journalist, who was his major critic

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat offered on Wednesday a major reward to anyone with information about the killing of prominent journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, saying no expense would be spared in solving the crime.
EDITORIALS
Oct 18, 2017

The U.S. leaves UNESCO, again

The new director general of UNESCO should strive to restore its focus on nonpolitical issues, such as protection of World Heritage sites.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 18, 2017

Catalonia rejects Madrid's Thursday deadline for renouncing symbolic declaration of independence

Catalonia refused on Tuesday to bow to the Spanish government's demand that it renounce a symbolic declaration of independence, setting it on a collision course with Madrid later this week.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 17, 2017

Madrid and Catalonia clash over jailed pro-independence leaders as protests called

Authorities in Madrid and Barcelona locked horns over whether two jailed Catalan pro-independence leaders were political prisoners, as their detention looked set to reignite secessionist protests.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 17, 2017

Psych-rock act Kikagaku Moyo makes a virtue of DIY and keeping it 'sloppy'

If you were to glance at Kikagaku Moyo's tour itinerary for 2017, it would be easy to forget that the group was Japanese at all. The psych-rock quintet recently completed the second leg of a European tour that encompassed nearly 50 dates, having racked up 26 shows around North America earlier in the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 17, 2017

'Prints in Paris 1900: From Elite to the Street'

Oct. 18-Jan. 8
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 17, 2017

'David Shrigley: Lose Your Mind'

Oct. 14-Jan. 21
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2017

Osaka, Japan's gritty second city, suddenly a destination amid Asian tourist boom

Amid the gloom and struggle that Osaka has gone through in recent years, a tourism boom has been an unexpected boon for Japan's gritty second city.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 17, 2017

Big and brilliant: Study links large size of sperm whale's brain to complex social behavior

Cetaceans — whales and dolphins — are among the brainiest of beings. In terms of sheer brain size, the sperm whale is tops on Earth, with a brain six times larger than that of a person.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 16, 2017

Do automakers dream of electric cars?

The automotive industry is precariously poised between a glamorous past and an opaque road ahead.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Oct 16, 2017

Former Minnesota athletics chief Joel Maturi says Japan can benefit from college sports overhaul

Joel Maturi, an ex-director of athletics for the University of Minnesota, thinks it is "insane" and "crazy" that some of the major NCAA schools make a large amount of money through sports.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 14, 2017

Success is elusive on the wrong side of the wealth gap

When the political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) visited the infant United States in 1831, he was struck above all by the "equality of condition" that prevailed there.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Oct 14, 2017

'A Hundred Years of Japanese Film': Donald Richie gives us the long shot

Donald Richie didn't just open a window on Japanese cinema — the renowned film critic broke down a wall and put in a cultural door.

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