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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2016

'Born to be Blue': Biopic goes free-form on Chet Baker's story

For casual fans or people who have yet to encounter Baker, 'Born To Be Blue' is a good place to start, perfectly encapsulating the fragility and self-destructive urges that underlined his uniquely beautiful and melancholic music.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 22, 2016

Spirit of Ninagawa and Shakespeare strong in Takahiro Fujita's daring take on 'Romeo and Juliet'

Takahiro Fujita was really looking forward to the new year in 2016. He'd already been honored when dramatist supreme Yukio Ninagawa asked him to write a play for him to direct. Now, they were each set to stage separate versions of "Nina's Cotton," that new work inspired by the life of Japan's worldwide...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 22, 2016

Overwork sanctioned by both firms and unions, with dim prospects for state intervention: expert

When the suicide of a female worker at ad giant Dentsu Inc. was recognized as karoshi, or death from overwork, many blamed a corporate culture that glorifies the "warrior" workers who sacrifice themselves for the good of the firm.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Nov 20, 2016

Believe it or not, virtual reality's takeover now underway

For game lovers, 2016 is likely to be remembered as the year when virtual reality technology, having become widely affordable, began to take over.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Nov 20, 2016

We Americans are 'baka' but we ain't that baka ... ?

After the euphoria of Barack Obama's tenure, it's back to politics as usual — but at least Donald Trump's open about his racism.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 19, 2016

The shifting sexual norms in Japan's literary history

More than 3,000 women and almost 900 men — that's the number of lovers the main protagonist in Ihara Saikaku's 1682 novel "Koshoku Ichidai Otoko" ("The Life of an Amorous Man") tallies up as he reminisces. Saikaku, born in Osaka in 1642, became a renowned poet who wrote about the fluid, open sexuality...
WORLD / Politics
Nov 18, 2016

Case on Trump confidentiality pledge raises conflict of interest question

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has often boasted about the strict confidentiality pledges he exacts from his employees.
Reader Mail
Nov 18, 2016

A message of sharing for the world's leaders

A thatched-roof farmhouse together with the deep red-orange color of a ripe persimmon tree is an archetypal scene of late autumn in Japan. Such a view makes our country so beautiful and has a unique power of healing with a nostalgic feeling.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 16, 2016

'The Girl on the Train' charts a rough ride

Why does modern society assume that all women want the same three things: love, sex and babies? The short answer is, because pop culture has decreed it so.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2016

Little blue dots in a big red sea

The Democrat foisted the tired Clinton dynasty on a struggling rust-belt nation and stumbled badly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 12, 2016

South Sudan and Japan: a tale of love and civil war

If you can call South Sudan "stable," you can call anything stable. You can call anything anything.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 12, 2016

Sentimental reflections on late Cubs supporters after team's epic wait for World Series title

During the 11 days since the Chicago Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years, much has been written and circulated about the dedicated fans, supporters and players who lived their lives and died before they could experience the exhilaration enjoyed earlier this month by the living Cubs faithful....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2016

Hate Trump and Clinton? There are better alternatives

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the least popular presidential candidates of all time. So why vote for either one?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2016

Reality and imagination: a double brush

One take on the past two centuries of artistic development is as a cacophonous cache of "isms." With latter-day Japanese museum curation, impressionism regularly glistens as the golden-haired, oft-cited draw among recurrent "ism"-titled exhibitions — historical precedents, collection-building imperatives,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 8, 2016

The Setagaya Art Museum's 30th Anniversary Exhibition: Five Stories from the Collection

Nov. 19-Jan. 29
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 6, 2016

Ghost soldiers: Russian mercenaries secretly dying for Kremlin in Syria

The start of this year proved deadly for one unit of about 100 Russian fighters supporting President Bashar Assad's troops in northern Syria.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 4, 2016

Clinton, lead shrinking in polls, Trump target North Carolina battleground

Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump headed to North Carolina on Thursday in a final effort to shore up support in the swing state as polls showed Clinton maintained her lead nationally just days ahead of the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2016

Holocaust comedy snares grand prize at 29th Tokyo International Film Festival

Philippine trans people, Scandinavian reindeer herders and a romantic comedy about the Holocaust dominated the closing ceremony of the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 2, 2016

Movie about 'shogi' master Satoshi Murayama closes Tokyo International Film Festival

For the premiere of "Satoshi: A Move for Tomorrow," actors Kenichi Matsuyama and Masahiro Higashide and director Yoshitaka Mori were on hand to greet fans before the screening of their film, which closes the 2016 Tokyo International Film Festival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 29, 2016

Tokyo offers a wealth of innovative design, some of it for free

Tokyo Design Week has kicked in, with its first session ending on Oct. 31 and its second session running Nov. 2 to 7. But if the innovative products, architecture and robotics in Meiji Jingu Gaien are not enough to satiate your design curiosity, there are several free exhibitions in the city that are...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Oct 27, 2016

France finishes clearing Calais 'Jungle' camp of migrants

French authorities said on Wednesday they had finished clearing the "Jungle" shanty town outside Calais built by migrants who had hoped to cross to Britain but who are now mostly being dispersed around France.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2016

'Heart of a Dog': Living with the heartbreak of loss

I wake up on a Sunday and my friend is gone. Cancer. I had known, but it was sudden. Memories of her come in a rush, accompanied by old photos re-shared, emails lingering deep in the inbox, a handwritten note. Her absence — the knowledge that I'd never get any more of her stream-of-consciousness texts...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 24, 2016

Ex-SDF officer believed responsible for blast in Tochigi posted warnings on social media

Toshikatsu Kurihara had been posting online messages about family troubles and warned of a desperate move.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Oct 23, 2016

Time to consign 'death by overwork' to Japan's history

As 'karoshi' continues to steal young lives, workers must stand up for their own rights and watch out for their colleagues' wellbeing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Oct 23, 2016

Osaka bids to rekindle magic of 1970 Expo but taxpayers doubt lofty plan's claims

Like millions of others who attended Osaka's 1970 World Exposition, Kazuhiko Masuda, who was just 10 years old at the time, can still vividly recall it today.

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