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Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 16, 2016

Jo Kanamori and Oriza Hirata retell 'La Bayadere' with a dose of political awareness

The atmosphere at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, must have been electric on Feb. 4, 1877. That was the day Austrian composer Ludwig Minkus premiered "La Bayadere" — the latest masterpiece of classical ballet by French choreographer Marius Petipa — to some of Europe's...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 13, 2016

Aichi students take cruise ship crews on quick Nagoya tours

University students from Aichi Prefecture are volunteering to show crew members of luxury cruise ships around Nagoya when the vessels visit the port.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 11, 2016

The peacemakers of Okinawa

Sixty years ago this week, the U.S. government released the controversial Price Report, triggering mass protests on Okinawa that gave birth to leaders who, while renowned in the prefecture, remain little known outside it
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Jun 11, 2016

Sweet times at Tokyo's monster cafe

Maybe it is Nasty's electric blue hair, cascading in braids around her doll-like face. Perhaps it is the gothic-style black lipstick of her friend Candy. Or the surreal fabric limbs sewn onto the dress of lilac-haired Baby.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 11, 2016

Shibuya Parco Museum Final Exhibitions I, II, III

Shibuya Parco gets ready for a rebirth
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2016

'Phoenix': Osamu Tezuka's epoch-spanning manga masterpiece

"Hi no Tori" ("Phoenix" ) is a 12-part masterpiece by manga legend Osamu Tezuka. Started in 1954, Tezuka worked on the manga until his death in 1989. Acclaimed for both its story and style, "Phoenix" rises above the greatness of Tezuka's "Astro Boy" or "Black Jack" — it was, in translator Frederik...
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Jun 10, 2016

June 11, 2016

Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jun 9, 2016

Can Netflix's 'Hibana' spark a revolution in Japanese TV?

With the recent announcements made by both Netflix Japan and Amazon Japan that they will be putting out original locally made content, the country seems to be moving further into the age of internet-based TV. And it appears that the team at Netflix could be one step ahead with the recent release of its...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2016

The secret of Putin's survival

Crimea's 'return' to Russian control had a profound effect on public sentiment — one that seems to have strengthened Vladimir Putin's grip on power, even as Russia faces deepening political and economic challenges.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 7, 2016

'Brexit' would leave EU less liberal, less inclined for future enlargement

A European Union without Britain would be financially poorer, less economically liberal and free-trading, less Atlanticist and less open to further enlargement.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jun 5, 2016

Landmark dyslexia event in Yokohama aims to educate and inspire

The Asia Pacific Dyslexia Festival & Symposium in Yokohama will be the first major event focusing on dyslexia ever held in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Jun 5, 2016

West-inspired anime chief propels Polygon Pictures to success

Polygon Pictures, one of the oldest digital animation studios worldwide, has been turning its lights off at 10 p.m. sharp since 2011. Employees can turn them back on again but they automatically go dark every hour.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jun 4, 2016

Forest horror led to an honor from 'foes'

As I write this in my home outside Kurohime, it's astonishing to realize it has been 36 years since I came to live in the hills of northern Nagano Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 4, 2016

Black Illumination: Haruo Sato's lush, gloomy landscapes

Most of us, when we feel sad, assume there is a cause for our sadness. Often there is, and the feeling can then be addressed, diagnosed, resolved. But what about sadness without a cause? This is the terrain of melancholy and, while melancholy has a rich and varied history in the West, it takes on unique...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 4, 2016

'Mechademia 10: World Renewal' attempts to link 3/11 and parallel universes

Mechademia is an annual English-language academic journal on Japanese pop culture and related topics. Each issue has its own theme, and volume 10's is "World Renewal." In theory, this includes not only the branching timelines and parallel worlds of games and anime such as "Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni"...
EDITORIALS
Jun 4, 2016

Get science back on solid ground

The government needs to assess its policies on research funding to make sure everything possible is being done to keep Japanese science on top.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2016

Japan's Monju reactor a costly hot potato no one wants to handle

Japan is missing its own deadline to find a new operator for a prototype nuclear power program that has failed to succeed in the two decades since it was built, threatening the resource-poor country's support of a technology other nations have abandoned.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jun 2, 2016

Olympic chiefs back five sports for Tokyo 2020

Five sports, including baseball, skateboarding and surfing, are set to feature at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after the IOC on Wednesday recommended them to attract a younger audience and boost local support for the games.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2016

Why was Nagasaki nuked?

Hiroshima and Nagasaki will remain a burden on American conscience — Hiroshima because it was the world's first atomic bombing, setting a precedent, and Nagasaki because it was a blatantly wanton act.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 1, 2016

'Deadpool': Shooting off at the mouth and at the hip

Living in Japan, you get accustomed to scrolling through a film's release dates on IMDb, only to discover that it's arriving here months behind the rest of the world. Such has been the case with "Deadpool," which opened everywhere from the U.S. to the Republic of Macedonia back in February, but has taken...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
May 30, 2016

Obama visit highlighted differences in Japan and U.S. over 'an apology'

Prior to U.S. President Barack Obama's recent Asian visit, many of his critics back home were already mocking the trip, calling it an "apology tour."
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2016

Is Chancellor Angela Merkel on the brink?

The internal EU and German domestic debates are testing Merkel's leadership as never before.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 29, 2016

Japan won't go quietly into the night as population falls

For a nation that rebuilt itself from the ashes of war, the modern challenge of repopulation should surely not prove impossible.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 29, 2016

Industry helps Chinese game their way into and through U.S. colleges

The advertisements were tailored for Chinese college students far from home struggling with the English language and an unfamiliar culture.

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