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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jul 4, 2015

Yasunari Kawabata's 'Palm-of-the-Hand Stories' are taut tales of the human heart

"Palm-of-the-Hand Stories" is a collection of 70 very brief stories by Nobel Prize-winner Yasunari Kawabata that were written between the early 1920s and 1970s. It contains poetic depictions of emotions, a focus on feelings rather than understanding. These stories present the chaos of the human heart,...
Reader Mail
Jul 4, 2015

Yoga has benefits for everyone

The article of "Modi leads Yoga Day amid skepticism" (June 28, 2015) tells us that June 21 is the International Day of Yoga. It is good news since people all over the world can know yoga and enjoy a better health by doing yoga. I myself have been healthy for many years thanks to yoga practices. Even...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 2, 2015

Sabu tempts fate in new film

Sitting across from me with his sunglasses, dark leather jacket and mohawk, Hiroyuki Tanaka — better known simply as Sabu — doesn't look like the kind of guy who lets his emotions get the better of him, yet even he was almost brought to tears by the reaction his movie "Chasuke's Journey" ("Ten no...
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2015

NRA warns it may halt inspections at Mihama reactor Kepco aims to restart

Although Kansai Electric Power Co. aims to extend the life of the Mihama plant's No. 3 reactor by 20 years, the operator may be forced to scrap the 39-year-old facility instead.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jul 2, 2015

Reputed mobster 'Big Tony' convicted in businessman's '01 murder amid gambling ship feud

Reputed U.S. mobster Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello was convicted of first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2001 slaying of a prominent Florida businessman during a power struggle over a lucrative fleet of gambling ships.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 1, 2015

Getting creative when it comes to finding the motivation to study Japanese

I respect people who possess a high-level of Japanese proficiency the same way I respect people who are well-built. I don't respect the results of the effort so much as the discipline required to attain it. I can't deny that focus and perseverance are character traits I lack and thus envy in others because...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 1, 2015

Sion Sono is back with buckets of blood and a three-faced heroine in 'Tag'

Sion Sono is a director of extremes — including an extreme dislike of being categorized. Just when you thought you had him pegged as a maker of violent black comedies with classical music scores, such as "Ai no Mukidashi"("Love Exposure"), he turns out heartfelt, albeit still violent, dramas with nuclear...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 27, 2015

Humans may face a singular concern when it comes to robot employment

The trouble with machines is, they do things better than we do. "Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth," said the third-century B.C. Greek inventor Archimedes, lever in hand. The Earth has been moving ever since, ever faster.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jun 27, 2015

Natsuko Aoike: ‘Appreciate the moment you are living in’

Japanese announcer on ukiyo-e, Kiss and living in the moment
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2015

Government releases first female empowerment guidelines

Japan releases its first guidelines on female empowerment so women can play a more active role in a society that customarily treats them less than equal.
EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2015

Pope Francis as environmentalist

Pope Francis has issued a powerful call on mankind to protect the environment, achieving an important alignment of science and religion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2015

Japan executes convict for murdering woman in Nagoya

A 44-year-old convicted murderer was executed by hanging on Thursday after six years on death row, the first execution authorized by Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa since she acceded to the post last October.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 24, 2015

The pathetic state of the DPJ

With the opposition camp, notably the DPJ, in tatters, everything is working to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's advantage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 23, 2015

Young British directors take Tokyo by storm — but why?

This year it's quite noticeable how many non-Japanese are directing plays in Tokyo — not frequent and famed visitors such as David Leveaux, Robert Lepage and Simon McBurney, but relative unknowns here making their debuts at two leading large commercial theaters that almost always feature Japanese dramatists....
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 23, 2015

Germany should buy — and show — Hitler's art

The German government should exhibit Adolf Hitler's artwork publically to help people better undersand what happened to Germany in the 1930s and '40s.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 20, 2015

Medaka: the fish that helps us understand gender

The diminutive medaka (Japanese rice fish) have been kept as pets since the Edo Period (1603-1868). They are hardy animals, an important quality for a pet, and they naturally occur in a variety of colors, including gold. They have distinctive, some say attractive, eyes (for a fish) — indeed, medaka...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2015

Grasping the key to innovation

Japan should make 'new combination' innovation the nucleus of its growth strategy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jun 19, 2015

Some of the world's cities take baby steps to protect women

Going out for dinner and not sure which area would be safer at night for a woman traveling on her own? Want to track your daughter to ensure she gets back from college safely?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 18, 2015

Can the BRICS fulfill their former promise?

The ability of the BRICS countries to develop institutions that support greater economic freedom, with more reliance on market competition and less on government, will likely be the main determinant of their long-term success.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 16, 2015

Turning Japan's universities into genuine global players

If Japan wants to raise its own profile in the world, along with its universities, it must place greater emphasis on group discussion, debate and public presentation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 13, 2015

Ojika's residents beat the rat race by abandoning it, bucking a national trend in the process

If only there was an island somewhere ...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2015

How outrage became a U.S. growth industry

Intolerance is making the U.S. less free, and less fun.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 12, 2015

Women in jungles and deserts; George Clooney and super-fabulous people; CM of the Week: Daiwa Securities

This week's special two-hour "life with ups-and-downs" edition of the travel show "Sekai Naze Soko ni Nihonjin" ("Why Are Japanese People in That Part of the World?"; TV Tokyo, Mon., 9 p.m.) focuses on two women, one working in a tropical jungle, the other living in the desert.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2015

Putin is no James Bond villain

Vladimir Putin is a rogue dictator, but that doesn't mean that he is intent on destroying the world with nuclear weapons unless it bends to his will.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2015

Tokio Marine buys HCC for $7.5 billion in biggest takeover

Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. agreed to buy HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. for about $7.5 billion (about ¥941.3 billion) in the biggest acquisition by a Japanese insurer, stepping up an overseas expansion to counter stagnation at home.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 10, 2015

Foreign same-sex couples here enjoy rights that Japanese don't

Gay and lesbian non-Japanese couples married abroad can register as spouses with authorities here, but Immigration has mixed messages for foreigners married to Japanese same-sex partners.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 10, 2015

Zach Braff on the many woes of American dads and crowdfunding

The American dad is doing well, even if he is not what he used to be. Despite the lasting effects of the Great Recession on the U.S. economy and all the other bad stuff that undermines the morale of American males, he is still around — you'll see the evidence in "Wish I Was Here."

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