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Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jan 3, 2019

Japanese kamikiri performer's elaborate pieces draw interest from readers of Nagoya newspaper

Hayashiya Niraku is a 51-year-old practitioner of kamikiri, a Japanese performance art that involves cutting silhouette images out of a plain piece of paper based on requests from the audience. Adding to the challenge, artists create their pieces without drawing an outline beforehand.
Japan Times
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 2, 2019

Scandals allowing sumo to ID, rid sport of bad elements

It's that time once again to make predictions, and state hopes and wishes for the year ahead in sumo.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Dec 30, 2018

Outdated ideas a heavy burden on society

A two-day event on topics related to satoyama (mountains and woods shared and maintained by residents of the adjacent rural communities) was held at the Jinseki Kogen Hotel in the town of Jinsekikogen, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Oct. 20 and 21. The event was hosted by the Japan Times Satoyama Consortium,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 24, 2018

Nagoya community effort to recycle food waste wins U.N.-related award

A decade-old community effort in Nagoya to recycle food waste from supermarkets and school lunches to make compost for vegetable farming has been awarded the Biodiversity Action Award by the Japan Committee for United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNDB).
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 24, 2018

What happens when Alexa gets too smart or too human?

Millions of users of Amazon's Echo speakers have grown accustomed to the soothing strains of Alexa, the human-sounding virtual assistant that can tell them the weather, order takeout and handle other basic tasks in response to a voice command.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 19, 2018

Tokyo's 'values-free' diplomacy and the Rohingya crisis

When Human Rights Watch in November criticized the Japanese government's ineffective "quiet diplomacy" surrounding the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, netizens on one of Japan's most popular mainstream websites were swift to criticize. "Aren't you criticizing the wrong country?" one user wrote. "I don't...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 17, 2018

Aichi temple priest leads double life as craftsman restoring clocks and record players

Saihoji Temple in Kota, Aichi Prefecture, is littered with handmade mechanical dolls, antique clocks and record players — presenting a unique sight for visitors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 16, 2018

Fukushima launches multilingual emergency call service as number of foreign residents rebounds

The prefectural police and fire departments in Fukushima have started multilingual services aimed at non-Japanese speakers making emergency calls amid a rising number of foreign visitors in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Dec 13, 2018

Glass fragments embedded in Hiroshima hibakusha are grim reminders of the day the atom bomb dropped

Fragments of glass that pierced her skin as a result of the U.S.'s atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945 are still lodged in the right arm of Mineko Yonezawa, now age 86. She said the glass penetrated deep into her arm and muscles developed around them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 10, 2018

Japan sees rise in use of riverside areas to attract tourists following deregulation

The use of riverside areas to attract tourists is on the rise nationwide, following deregulation in recent years allowing the private sector to use the public land to open restaurants or hold events.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Dec 7, 2018

Visitors wowed as Okinawa aquarium becomes world's first to exhibit giant oceanic manta ray

At the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, a giant oceanic manta ray can be seen gliding effortlessly through the Kuroshio Sea attraction's large ocean aquarium, drawing exclamations of delight from onlookers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 5, 2018

2020 Tokyo Games: Costs related to Japan's scorching summers being factored into the budget

Organizers and the head of the International Olympic Committee's inspection team for the Tokyo 2020 Games on Wednesday said the rising costs associated with preventing heat-related illnesses and injuries to athletes and spectators due to the country's increasingly hotter summers are being factored into...
Dec 4, 2018

Children’s Hands-on Learning Programs Held in Yufu City and Beppu City, Oita Prefecture

TOKYO, Japan – November 30, 2018 – ORIX Miyauchi Foundation hosted the Children’s Hands-on Learning Program on November 10, 2018 to teach children in Oita Prefecture about work at a confection factory and a hotel.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 3, 2018

Iga, known for its ninja, looks to draw foreign tourists by turning castle town into a hotel site

The Mie Prefecture city of Iga, the origin of one of Japan's most famous ninja clans, plans to open the growing number of vacant homes in its castle town to tourists.
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Dec 1, 2018

Seiichi Yamamoto's 'Ginga': Musings from an underground music legend

Seiichi Yamamoto's 'Ginga,' originally released in Japanese in 2009 and translated into English by Kato David Hopkins this year, compiles highlights from Yamamoto's column for Guitar Magazine.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 1, 2018

Iran's global disinformation

Website Nile Net Online promises Egyptians "true news" from its offices in the heart of Cairo's Tahrir Square, "to expand the scope of freedom of expression in the Arab world."
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 30, 2018

Michael Cohen's plea suggests Russians held 'kompromat' on Trump

Michael Cohen's latest guilty plea revealed a closely guarded Trump business secret. But in a deeply uncomfortable turn for President Donald Trump, one of the people in the know was an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 30, 2018

Macron says he will talk with Saudi prince in Buenos Aires, hinting he will raise issue of Jamal Khashoggi slaying

French President Emmanuel Macron said he will have a talk with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina and reiterated his call for a full probe of the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2018

In the Azov Sea, Putin plays a deadly game with Ukraine

Clash was another demonstration of Moscow's growing appetite to use unorthodox techniques to redraw the geopolitical map
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 28, 2018

Top Democratic lawmaker to probe hate crimes and surveillance of minorities after GOP ranks balked

The presumed incoming Democratic Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee said on Tuesday he plans to investigate the drastic spike in hate crimes and whether federal investigators have wrongfully targeted racial and ethnic minorities instead of focusing on white supremacist groups.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 26, 2018

Japan's ancient castle walls drawing tourists but not enough masons to keep them up

Castle walls have recently become popular with tourists, especially rekijo (female history buffs) who like to view them even when the castle itself is no longer there.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 24, 2018

Kaparu's victory in 2018 mascot awards gives Saitama a reason to shine

The Yuru-kyara (Promotional Mascot) Grand Prix in Japan has become one of the internet’s most anticipated events of the year. The 2018 edition lived up to expectations, and even featured a little voting drama. In the end, the city of Shiki’s Kaparu captured the crown.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 23, 2018

As attacks and rising rhetoric stoke concern in Malaysia's LGBT community, punk band Shh...Diam! uses music to fight bias

With songs like "I woke up gay" and "Lonely lesbian," LGBT punk band Shh...Diam! is making a rare splash in Malaysia, using music to fight long-running discrimination.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 19, 2018

Don't eat Jiro persimmons, drink them, town in Mie urges

Members of the Nippon Bartenders Association's branch in Mie Prefecture have created original cocktails that make use of typhoon-damaged Jiro persimmons — a local specialty of the town of Taki that is now in harvest — that cannot be shipped for sale.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 18, 2018

NGOs worry about their waning influence over the G20

Nongovernmental organizations are concerned whether Group of 20 leaders will heed their views over global issues.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.