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Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 10, 2014

And the Mud Ship Sails Away: Knee-deep in it without a care in the world

After premiering at the 2013 Tokyo International Film Festival, Hirobumi Watanabe's slacker comedy "Soshite Dorobune wa Yuku (And the Mud Ship Sails Away)" became an international festival favorite, and it's easy to see why.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 10, 2014

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: 'initial exhilaration gives way to fatigue'

On the one hand, we have the fanboys, for whom "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" will be the "Best. Film. Ever.," as director Peter Jackson delivers a ginormously action-packed finale to his second Middle Earth trilogy. Kicking things off with a fire-breathing dragon razing the town of Lakewood,...
Reader Mail
Dec 10, 2014

Students take on nuclear debate

The Dec. 4 editorial, "Debating nuclear energy," raises many issues on which high school students have been focusing — in English — for much of this year. The proposition for the Ninth Annual All Japan High School English Debate Tournament is that "The government should abolish nuclear power plants."...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 10, 2014

Real-life Japan caricature cuts to the quick

Tomohiro Maekawa, the 40-year-old playwright, director and founder of Tokyo's Ikiume (Buried Alive) theater company, is acclaimed in Japan's theater world for his groundbreaking sci-fi works sometimes bordering on the surreal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DECISION 2014
Dec 10, 2014

Japan's persisting gender gap leaves many single moms in poverty

Yuka Suzuki, 47, has virtually no savings, earns about half the average national wage and cannot see where the money will come from to retire one day.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 9, 2014

Gold's motive for GP Final pullout in question

When you grow up in a country or culture, you can usually tell when somebody from the same place or background is being insincere. The tone of voice and body language often give them away.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2014

High-level disorganization still hobbles Japan

Although many Westerners think of Japan as a highly unified, hierarchical nation, it often more closely resembles a squabbling confederation of loosely affiliated gangs.
WORLD
Dec 9, 2014

Rockefeller's memory endures at Aleppo hotel as fighting intensifies

The Baron Hotel in the battered Syrian city of Aleppo is packed with memories for owner Armen Mazloumian that bullets and bombs can never destroy.
Japan Times
Places
Dec 8, 2014

Oysters in Tokyo

Every food lover knows . . . when the temperature starts to drop, it’s oyster time.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 7, 2014

Original Batmobile built in 1963 sells for $137,000

Holy Bargain, Batman! The original Batmobile fetched $137,000 at auction on Saturday, a small fraction of the $4.2 million that a buyer paid last year for another version built for the television show that aired during the 1960s.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 6, 2014

Cultural differences shade reactions to robots

It was only right that Disney's new animated feature, "Big Hero 6," opened this year's Tokyo International Film Festival, and that Disney animation head John Lasseter was on hand to introduce it. Lasseter has often said that his career has been greatly influenced by Japanese anime — in particular the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 6, 2014

What's beneath all that latex, fabric and plastic?

In 1910, a man named Otto James was arrested for parading down a busy street in Tacoma, Washington, wearing fancy dress. The charge of "public masquerading" — so quaint to modern ears — was itself nothing new, but the choice of costume was notable: James had gone for a stroll dressed as the main...
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2014

Islamic State's siren call for Western Muslims

It is through increased confidence and conviction, rather than bland tolerance, that democratic societies can counter the appeal of fanatical causes like Islamic State and their charismatic leaders.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2014

U.S. drones kill 28 innocents for every 'bad guy'

Every single day, U.S. drone aircraft are stalking and killing innocent people in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere — all in the name of every American.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 5, 2014

Japan's 'zombienomics'

The hard reality is that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's vaunted economic reforms will not work unless he shows more guts, much more imagination and a lot more humility in dealing with a modern economy that cannot be commanded by fiat.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 5, 2014

Nagoya YWCA offers language classes with day care

The Nagoya YWCA School of Japanese Language in Aichi Prefecture has added a "Bambina" course to its curriculum.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2014

'Blackmail' economic model

Remember the 'Cry for Argentina' catch-call among rationalists decrying government intervention in the economy. Now it is 'Cry for Australia' and the dozens of other nations crucified on the cross of unrestricted free trade.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 4, 2014

'The Imaginary World of Fumio Nambata'

Fifteen years is a short time for an artistic career, but for prolific painter Fumio Nambata (1941-1974), it was long enough to complete more than 2,000 works before his untimely death at age 32.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Dec 3, 2014

JBA chief Maruo says its 25 board members will ‘eventually’ step down

The chaotic situation surrounding Japan basketball seems to only continue to get worse.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 3, 2014

Heaven is for Real: 'But why is it crazy-talk to say you've been there?'

The main point of "Heaven is for Real" is contained in its title, so you know where you're going with this one before you even buy the ticket. The film is based on the best-selling nonfiction book by Todd Burpo, a Nebraska pastor whose 4-year-old son, Colton, had a near-death experience during emergency...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 2, 2014

Flipping through rock's baby pictures

In the mid-1960s, a young Mike Nogami picked up a camera and started taking pictures of things around him — dogs, his neighborhood, friends playing guitar. Some of those friends were in a band called Happy End, the group that Haruomi Hosono played bass in before starting Yellow Magic Orchestra.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
Dec 1, 2014

Iwate's Randall stays focused on winning

The Japan Times features periodic interviews with players in the bj-league. Scootie Randall of the Eastern Conference-leading Iwate Big Bulls is the subject of this week's profile.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2014

Prince Akishino airs anti-war convictions ahead of 49th birthday

Prince Akishino, second in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne, told a recent news conference that he is convinced wars should never be fought again and wants to keep the collective memories of World War II alive, according to the transcript released Sunday by the Imperial Household Agency.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Nov 30, 2014

Video shop worker jolted into career as diversity advocate

When the Great Hanshin Earthquake hit in January 1995, Taro Tamura, then 23, was quick to sense the need in foreign communities for disaster-related information.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 29, 2014

Newspapers take sides on 'Abenomics'

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's dissolution of the Diet has become another point of contention between right- and left-leaning entities in Japan. One of the more revealing responses involved a website set up by a member of a nonprofit organization called Bokura no Ippo ga Nihon wo Kaeru (Our One Step Will...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 29, 2014

The Power of the Weave

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 28, 2014

North Korean 'princess' moves closer to center of power

In her slim-fitting pantsuits and black-heeled shoes, Kim Yo Jong cuts a contrasting figure to her pudgy older brother, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 28, 2014

South China Sea competition takes a toll on reefs

Competing territorial claims and rogue fishermen are taking a toll on the South China Sea's coral reefs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2014

Opposing Japan's whaling program is "eco-imperialism," official says

Opposition to Japan's whaling program is a kind of "eco-imperialism" that imposes one value system on another and is based on emotion, not science — much the way killing elephants is now opposed, Japan's top whaling official said on Wednesday.

Longform

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