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Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 10, 2016

Pricing system offers scant protection as Amazon Japan hacks away at bookstores' benefits

Japan's saihan seido system may not be enough to save the country's remaining bookstores, whose advantages Amazon.jp has systematically worked to nullify over the years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 6, 2016

It's the end of the world as we know it, and we still feel fine

Hiroshi Sugimoto's "Lost Human Genetic Archive," the inaugural exhibition for the reopening of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (now the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum), is an erudite and elaborate exercise in gallows humor. The theme is the end of civilization and human life, but possibly...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 5, 2016

Line makes splash by launching cut-rate smartphone service

Internet giant Line Corp. on Monday made its foray into mobile phone services, launching low-cost smartphone and SIM card packages that offer subscribers free use of its messaging app.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 27, 2016

Who says printed books have a shelf life?

The printed page is not dead. Sure, many of its mainstream forms need a lie-down, and probably should be thinking about taking early retirement, but as text and images are being increasingly viewed in the same way — pristinely flat with glassy surfaces and shrunk to fit the size of the smartphone —...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 23, 2016

Flamenco fusion set to fire up Tokyo

Surrender to the heat of September as the Antonio Gades Company brings its sultry blend of ballet and flamenco to Tokyo, showcasing three of its classic works in two separate programs at Bunkamura's magnificent Orchard Hall.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 23, 2016

Risking political suicide, LDP veteran Funada challenges Abe over Constitution

Like other Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers, Hajime Funada is a strong proponent of amending the postwar Constitution, but not the way Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 20, 2016

An awakening gives birth to modern medicine

Illness we share with our ancestors. Diagnosis and remedies set us and them apart.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2016

Dentsu to push simplified Japanese to ease communication with tourists

As part of its project to encourage the creation of tourism services, advertising giant Dentsu Inc. will urge the public to use simple Japanese when communicating with tourists.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 16, 2016

Populism trumping the TPP

Washington's ambitious plan to take on the might of China is dying.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 14, 2016

It's true: SMAP to split up at year's end

After a quarter-century run, the Japanese boy band SMAP has decided to call it quits on Dec. 31, its management agency said in a press release Sunday, shocking die-hard fans in Asia and around the world.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 14, 2016

Record heat in 2016 nudges Earth toward Paris ceiling

The Earth is so hot this year that a limit for global warming agreed upon by world leaders at a climate summit in Paris just a few months ago is in danger of being breached.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 13, 2016

The lure of Japan's mysterious ruins

Abandoned sites offer explorers a numinous mix of history, mortality and a sense of the passage of time
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 13, 2016

Latour: rethinking ecological crisis from the ground down

The earth underneath Tokyo is trembling. This time, however, the activity is not seismic; it is not one of the many tremors that intermittently punctuate daily life in this city. It is, rather, a constant trembling: a condition of the global ecological crisis in which we now find ourselves.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 2, 2016

The earliest memes also had humor

The curators at Tokyo's National Museum of Western Art (NMWA) have decided that Japan, a country well-known for its own print art, should know more about the print art of Europe. In this endeavor, they have chosen the work of Israhel van Meckenem (c. 1445-1503), a Germanic print artist from the Lower...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2016

Of course U.S. candidates have ties to Russia

Russian oligarchs have yet to give Donald Trump a dime, but they have donated thousands of dollars to Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 1, 2016

A Japanese guide to dealing with gentlemen callers and unruly dogs

Bookworms often have a rare jewel in their collection that they are unable to throw out — despite efforts to こんまり (Konmari, tidy in the method of Marie Kondo by getting rid of clutter) around the house. For me, this book is the 1965 エチケット事典 (Echiketto Jiten, Etiquette Dictionary)....
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 30, 2016

Is Japan ready for the LGBTQ revolution?

This past spring, at a restaurant in Tokyo's upscale Omotesando neighborhood, I encountered something new in Tokyo: a prominent sign written in English on the door of the communal WC declaring it "gender-free."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Jul 24, 2016

A week’s worth of questions about paid leave

This month, a week of questions about paid leave. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the issue, and their answers.
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2016

Clinton's pick of Kaine for running mate signals pivot to center for election

Hillary Clinton named Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine as her running mate for the Democratic presidential ticket, a widely anticipated choice that may say more about how she wants to govern than how she plans to win in November.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 20, 2016

Turkey's Erdogan used the social media he despised to maintain his grip on power

For any coup to succeed, the overthrowing party needs to control the media messaging. For last week's coup in Turkey, the military failed to tamp down one critical news source: the internet.
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2016

IMF scraps growth forecast amid Brexit uncertainty, top economist warns against 'popular' rants against markets

The International Monetary Fund scrapped its forecast for a pickup in global growth this year, citing Britain's vote to leave the European Union, and warned the damage could worsen if confidence falters among investors and companies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 19, 2016

Spooky beasts keep haunting Japan's art

Seething masses of people crushed together in searing heat; empty-eyed wraiths, heads drooping in despair, shuffling to and fro — waiting for the time when they will be released their suffering. Tokyo can be hell in July and August. It isn't all bad though; there's an excellent exhibition on yōkai,...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 18, 2016

Brother in Tunisia says Nice attacker sent him 'laughing' picture before massacre

The man who mowed through a crowd with a truck, killing 84 Bastille Day revellers in Nice on Thursday, had phoned home hours earlier and sent a "laughing" picture from the French city, his brother told Reuters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 15, 2016

Line Corp. raises ¥100 billion on day one of dual listing in New York, Tokyo

CEO Takeshi Idezawa says the company plans to build trust in its messaging and other services and expand.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 12, 2016

The fall and rise of the Empire line

The Pola Art Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and as part of this, the Pola Museum of Art has organized an ambitious exhibition that aims to present a cross-disciplinary view of art, product design and women's fashion of 19th- and early 20th-century France.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Jul 12, 2016

How can I help? Chatbots offer full customer support with no call waiting

Just as text messaging has become a mainstream form of communication, attention is shifting to the chatbot as the next big thing for information management and customer service.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?