Search - culture

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 30, 2015

Republicans see Obama as more imminent threat to U.S. than Putin, Assad: poll

A third of Republicans believe President Barack Obama poses an imminent threat to the United States, outranking concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian strongman Bashar Assad.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 28, 2015

The messy, lonesome worlds of Risa Wataya

In 2003, two young female authors won the Akutagawa Prize — arguably the most important literary prize in Japan. One winner was 21-year-old Hitomi Kanehara for her novel "Snakes and Earrings" ("Hebi ni Piasu"); the other was Risa Wataya, who was only 19 at the time — the youngest winner of the prize...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2015

Why Chinese tourists love Japan

Despite the apparent ill will that Beijing, and occasionally the Chinese public, express toward Tokyo, Chinese tourists can't seem to get enough of Japan. In 2014, Chinese visits to Japan increased 83 percent on the previous year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2015

'Keith Haring Multiplexism'

March 21-Jan. 4, 2016
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 26, 2015

'Billowing Light: Ishida Takashi'

March 28-May 31
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 26, 2015

Twenty years of 'Riverdance' and it's never been out of step

"Riverdance" is returning to Japan. Twenty years on from its debut as an interval in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, the Irish step-dancing show that revamped and massively expanded the genre's global appeal is returning to Japan for its sixth tour.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 26, 2015

Where political 'fox' LKY stands in Singapore history

The late Lee Kuan Yew showed the world that economic self-improvement in Singapore had to have public policies grounded in best-practice pragmatisms rather than in ideological schematics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 25, 2015

An unrelenting depiction of Polish-Romany poet Bronislawa Wajs' merciless world

"Papusza" is a fascinating if bleak portrait of Polish-Romany poet Bronislawa Wajs, better known by her Roma — or Gypsy — name Papusza ("doll"). It's a decidedly unromantic look at Roma life, covering the 1940s and '50s, which saw two-thirds of Poland's Roma community massacred by the Nazis and the...
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2015

Saitama city blocks 'one-sided' exhibit on 'comfort women'

The city of Niiza, Saitama Prefecture, is refusing to let a citizens' group use a municipal facility for an exhibition on “comfort women,” claiming the display would promote the views of a particular group on the controversial issue.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 25, 2015

Summit spotlights school dramatists

"Diversity is the outstanding attraction of high school drama, so I'm always appreciating afresh theater's myriad charms," the prominent director Keisuke Tanaka said with a beaming smile during a recent interview ahead of the fifth annual High School Drama Summit at Tokyo's leading Agora Theater.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 24, 2015

Japan holds its own among Asia's best

A day before Asia's 50 Best 2015 awards ceremony earlier this month, chef Mitsuharu Tsumura (affectionately known as Micha) was up and about making ceviche, a cured seafood dish, at a Peruvian ceviche master class.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Mar 23, 2015

Cepeda hoping hard work pays off in second year in Japan

While much of the media horde tasked with covering the Yomiuri Giants has spent the spring either breathlessly reporting on every nuance of Shinnosuke Abe's transition from catcher to first base or peppering manager Tatsunori Hara about what's wrong with the club, Frederich Cepeda has been off to the...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 23, 2015

Poll finds fictional TV presidents are more popular than Obama

Whether it's the earnest Josiah Bartlet from "The West Wing" or the manipulative Frank Underwood in "House of Cards," Americans prefer television presidents to their real-life POTUS, President Barack "No Drama" Obama.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 23, 2015

U.S. Marines official dismissed over Okinawa protest video leak

The Pentagon has reportedly dismissed a senior U.S. Marine Corps official in Okinawa following the leak of on-base surveillance video to a Japanese neo-nationalist group.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 21, 2015

Pilots coach Reveno cherished time in Japan

"Konnichiwa."
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Mar 21, 2015

Fighters' Hermida excited about new challenge

Jeremy Hermida hit a grand slam the very first time he stepped in the batter's box in the major leagues, becoming the first player since Bill Duggleby in 1898 to achieve that particular feat. That day, Aug. 31, 2005, has been followed by a series of ups and downs, a winding career path that has led the...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Mar 20, 2015

Portable and wearable gadgets, plus apps for anime and J-pop lovers

An appetizing battery charger
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Mar 18, 2015

Former Japan women's coach Brown still going strong

In a basketball coaching career spanning almost half a century, Herb Brown has built a strong reputation and accumulated a wealth of experience in the NBA and NCAA.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2015

Sapporo Breweries looks to new brand in growing craft beer tide

Riding a recent craft beer trend, Sapporo Breweries Ltd. said Wednesday it is launching a new brand to attract more beer drinkers who consume in moderation.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Mar 18, 2015

Just can't say goodbye to Japan: some readers' letters

Comments in response to Thomas Dillon's recent 'When East Marries West' column, 'Time, gentlemen: When it's time to bid sayonara to Japan, what next?'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2015

The real lesson from the Clinton email imbroglio

The flap over Hillary Clinton's use of private email reflects the tension between the drive for transparency and the instinct for privacy.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Japan Pulse
Mar 17, 2015

Gokon matchmakers fan the passion with sporting dates

Is the couple that watches sports together the couple that going to stay together? Matchmakers place their bets.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 17, 2015

Balance of power tips toward Iran

With Iraq essentially neutralized, Iran is set to become the dominant power in the gulf region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2015

LLLL stays 'Faithful' to honest approach

Despite his elusive online persona, Kazuto Okawa, aka LLLL (pronounced "four-el"), is strikingly open and honest about his views in person. Speaking in a small Koenji cafe, he discusses his sophomore album, "Faithful," released this week via Tokyo label Progressive Form, with a critical approach that...
WORLD
Mar 17, 2015

Thai women warned against taking 'underboob selfies'

Thailand's military government warned women on Monday against posting "selfie" photos of the lower half of their breasts — a social media trend that has gone viral — saying their actions could violate the country's computer crime laws.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Mar 16, 2015

Yokohama: What are you most proud or fond of about Japan?

People on the streets of Japan's second most-populous city wax positive about the archipelago's attractions.

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