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Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 30, 2015

Aichi letter swaps deepen ties with Philippine kids

Students in Aichi Prefecture are exchanging letters and pictures with children in the Philippines as part of a mutual understanding project led by a Nagoya-based nonprofit organization working in the impoverished nation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 24, 2015

VW wins approval to fix diesel engines in Europe

Volkswagen AG said it has approval to repair most of its rigged European diesel engines and made a deal with U.S. regulators to resubmit questionable software for review in 85,000 other vehicles, signs of progress in its effort to overcome the two-month-old emissions crisis.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 23, 2015

Toyohashi embarks on 'rubbish' project to achieve biomass power goals

The Aichi Prefecture city of Toyohashi, with a population of 380,000, is set to embark on a unique and challenging project in fiscal 2017 of collecting biodegradable waste from households and companies for a combined biomass power generation facility.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 19, 2015

Move to improve Japanese corporate governance devolves into compliance game

One day, Japan's biggest overhaul of rules for companies in decades will make them more efficient. Right now it's making things worse.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 18, 2015

Tokyo condos for sale dropped 6.5% in October amid scandal over piling work

Fewer apartments have been put up for sale in Tokyo since flaws were found in hundreds of buildings with falsified construction data, threatening to cut short a rally in home prices.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 16, 2015

Tours provide renewed interest in Japan's oldest hydro power plant

The Miyashiro No. 1 power plant, which houses the country's oldest working hydraulic generator, is attracting public attention after it started offering guided tours last spring.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 16, 2015

Ban will visit North Korea this week, may met Kim, Yonhap reports

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will visit Pyongyang this week and may meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Yonhap News reported, citing a U.N. official it did not identify.
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Nov 15, 2015

Tainted cities irate over Tepco's slow compensation payments: survey

Tokyo Electric Power Co. has paid a mere 11.4 percent of the ¥55.3 billion in nuclear redress claims filed by municipalities damaged by the Fukushima disaster, a survey shows, and some are seeking action to speed the process up.
SPORTS
Nov 10, 2015

Whiting launches weekly podcast

Best-selling author Robert Whiting, who first came to Japan in 1962 and is regarded as one of the foremost experts on the social, political, economic and sporting landscapes of the country, has launched a weekly podcast.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 9, 2015

Aichi NPO goes extra mile with language support for non-Japanese kids

Aichi Prefecture, where manufacturing businesses are heavily concentrated, currently has the largest number of young non-Japanese students in the country. There are 6,300 such students in the prefecture and the number of students requiring Japanese language support is increasing every year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Nov 7, 2015

'The Book of Tea' is a transcendent view of life, art and Japan

To those unfamiliar with his name, Okakura Kakuzo was a pivotal figure in trying to make sense out of the clash between Western innovation in Japan and Oriental tradition. Self-exiled from the emerging modernism of the Meiji Era (1868-1912), Okakura traveled to India, China, Europe and, not without a...
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Nov 7, 2015

YouTubers in Japan with 100,000 fans and counting

YouTube threw a big celebration for more than 20 YouTubers living in Japan who have over 100,000 subscribers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 2, 2015

Justice Ministry panel begins first comprehensive review of sex crime laws in over a century

A Justice Ministry panel on Monday began reviewing what critics call Japan's lax criminal penalties against rapists and other sex offenders, in the nation's first comprehensive effort in more than a century to overhaul laws on sex crimes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 2, 2015

University-affiliated startup revolutionizes the electron beam

A Nagoya University-affiliated venture firm has created a next-generation electron beam device, signaling a landmark shift in the way electron microscopes and 3-D printers operate.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 31, 2015

Bacon fans brush off WHO cancer warning

Standing at the meat counter at a Mariano's grocery store in Chicago, a half-dozen customers bantered with the butchers about the recent World Health Organization (WHO) report linking processed meat to colorectal cancer.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 26, 2015

Suga denies Seoul pushing for Abe 'comfort women' apology at summit

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga says Seoul has not demanded the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe apologize over the 'comfort women' issue during his upcoming summit with President Park Geun-hye.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2015

Bookstore's Twitter account supporting 'pro-democracy book fair' ignites online controversy

An "unofficial" Twitter account operated by a Tokyo bookstore employee that promoted a "pro-democracy book fair" has sparked an online controversy, resulting in cancellation of the event by the chain's head office.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Oct 26, 2015

JR Tokai begins landowner negotiations for maglev train line

With construction of a magnetically levitated train line connecting Tokyo to Osaka via Nagoya in the works, Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) has started negotiating with landowners for property rights around Nagoya Station.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 24, 2015

Hotel Iris: Sexual obsession in a drab island resort

"The Housekeeper and the Professor" may be Yoko Ogawa's most critically acclaimed and well-known work, but her 1996 novel "Hotel Iris" is a more beguiling tale that evinces the mystery and violence of love.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 24, 2015

Preserving the Japanese Way: A guide to traditional fermentation and culture in Japan

Nancy Singleton Hachisu, a local slow food advocate and writer for The Japan Times, has released her newest cookbook, "Preserving the Japanese Way," which follows the winning formula of her first book, "Japanese Farm Food."
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 21, 2015

U.S. navy delegation visits Chinese carrier amid maritime tensions

Senior U.S. naval officers visited China's lone aircraft carrier this week, China's military said, as the two powers try to counter mounting tensions between them over Beijing's claims in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Oct 19, 2015

Barbecue sets made by Mie prison inmates proving a hit

Barbecue sets made by inmates at Mie Prison in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, are gaining popularity for their durability and ease of use.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2015

Kero Kero Bonito blend English and Japanese rap into bouncy pop tracks

Sarah Midori Perry remembers checking MixB, an online bulletin board for Japanese expats in London, almost every day ... and feeling underwhelmed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Oct 18, 2015

Fukushima skating rink to reopen in anticipation of residents' return

A well-known skating rink in Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture, that closed after the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in 2011 will reopen in January, giving a shot in the arm to the disaster-stricken area.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 17, 2015

Pondering managerial replacements for 2016 season

The tenure of most major league managers comes to an end when they are fired. More recently, for example, the transactions column included notice the Washington Nationals fired manager Matt Williams and the Seattle Mariners dismissed manager Lloyd McClendon.

Longform

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