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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 1, 2012

Res Artis plots a path for future art residencies

The 1990s saw a tremendous emphasis, continuing through to today, on artist residency programs, run by museums and galleries, educational establishments or independent foundations and organizations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 30, 2012

Tokyo Designers Week: Say hello to the best again

Something old, something new Halloween is here, which means Tokyo Designers Week is, too. The latter is, of course, what we're particularly interested in, and since you are reading this on the day it kicks off, we forego our regular product-recommendation format and instead offer some guidance on what...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 30, 2012

Behind the no-nuclear option

The triple-meltdown crisis that began last year at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant jarred the public out of its complacent attitude toward nuclear power and every other assurance made by the government and Japan Inc.
EDITORIALS
Oct 30, 2012

Prenatal test raises ethical concerns

As part of their research, about a dozen medical institutions in Japan plan to start carrying out prenatal detection tests that can predict whether a fetus has Down syndrome or not with an accuracy of more than 99 percent. The method, developed in the United States, consists of testing a blood sample...
BUSINESS
Oct 30, 2012

Trading jump brings Nomura profit

Nomura Holdings Inc. said Monday it turned a second-quarter profit as a jump in trading income outweighed declining brokerage commissions.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 28, 2012

Kimutaku as a loser; Kabuki posture; CM of the week: Coca-Cola

Kimutaku is back in the coveted Monday 9 p.m. Fuji TV drama slot, which he used to own. SMAP's enduring heartthrob Takuya Kimura used to play topical professionals — airline pilots, race-car drivers, concert pianists — in his Monday night dramas, but in "Priceless" he does something unexpected. He...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 28, 2012

Is poetry lost or found in translation?

BRIGHT MOON, WHITE CLOUDS: Selected Poems of Li Po, edited and translated by J.P. Seaton. Shambhala, 2012, 224 pp., $14.95 (paperback) KANEKO TOHTA: Selected Haiku 1937-1960, translated by The Kon Nichi Translation Group. Red Moon Press, 2012, 256 pp., $12.00 (paperback) Two books of poetry, both pocket-size,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 27, 2012

Jewish Japanese-American keeps multicultural connections in tune

Even in casual conversation, Danny Katz entertains. His voice doesn't just speak, it croons with comedic pacing, imitations and abrupt shifts in tone. He peppers his speech with accents, New York City slang, Japanese formalities or onomatopoeia.
EDITORIALS
Oct 27, 2012

A chance to pay pension arrears

At the beginning of October, a system started to allow people who are up to 10 years in arrears on premium payments for the kokumin nenkin pension to pay the unpaid premiums. Kokumin nenkin mainly covers self-employed or jobless people, but also serves as the basic pension for corporate workers. The...
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 26, 2012

RV exhibition to cater to outdoors lifestyles

Attitudes toward RVs are changing as the once luxury items become more affordable according to the Japan Recreational Vehicle Association.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 26, 2012

Director Kazuko Watanabe to stage localized version of 'Orpheus'

Tokyo's Bunkyo Civic Hall will mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of literary giant Ougai Mori with a one-off staging of Christoph W. Gluck's 1762 opera "Orfeo ed Euridice" as translated and reworked by Mori, and simply retitled "Orpheus."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2012

Festival/Tokyo theater event to give Asia a starring role

Japan has been on a bit of a losing streak for a while now. In 2010, it was overtaken as the world's second-largest economy by China, and in 2011 the nation was rocked by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear crisis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 25, 2012

Netlabels Ano(t)raks and Canata Records give the old DIY spirit a go with some new tools

Dai Ogasawara's fledgling online label Ano(t)raks has released music from six Japanese artists from the Kansai region since the summer. However, Ogasawara, who lives in Aomori Prefecture, has yet to meet any of them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 25, 2012

What is art in the face of disaster?

Broadly speaking, two types of art have emerged in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear crisis. On the one hand there is art that has been made for the crisis — that is to say, for the benefit of those who were or are suffering from its manifold effects. On...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 23, 2012

Doctors discuss a face-lift for Japan's plastic surgery societies

Though it's hardly talked about in public, cosmetic surgery appears to be an increasingly popular option in Japan for people trying to enhance their looks and defy the signs of aging.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 21, 2012

Hagi: restful cradle of a revolution

I had just been re-reading Paul Theroux's African travelogue, "Dark Star Safari," and was up to a part where he explains that he never books rooms on his journeys, just turns up and leaves the rest to chance.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 21, 2012

In search of the fearsome Onibaba

"Here's as close as I can take you," said my taxi driver, a charming fellow named Ishii whose pronounced zuzu-ben (Tohoku accent), was strong enough to cut with the proverbial knife.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Oct 19, 2012

Today's J-blip: 'Yurei Attack!'

This little book has all you need to tell killer stories of Japanese ghosts — and to get away from them.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Oct 19, 2012

Ex-Apache forward Baker poised for return with Broncos

Veteran forward Dameion Baker, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon on May 17, 2009, in the championship game at Ariake Colosseum, while playing for the Tokyo Apache and hasn't played a pro game since then, will join the Saitama Broncos in the coming days, a source familiar with the deal told The...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 19, 2012

Print show profits to fund scholarships

One of Japan's most respected exhibitions of prints takes place this weekend, as the Tokyo American Club plays host to the College Women's Association of Japan's annual print show.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2012

Tokyo International Film Festival hits 25

This year, Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) celebrates its 25th edition and will hold commemorative programs, including a three-day screening of six Japanese films from the Showa Era (1926-89) in the very Showa-esque district of Nihonbashi.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / IN THE RECORD
Oct 18, 2012

XLII

A mainstay of the Tokyo underground electronic scene and cofounder of the Raid System label/collective,
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 18, 2012

Mamadrive "Mousou Tengoku"

On their first full-length album, Kobe's Mamadrive prove pretty good at capturing the energy and power of their live shows. Masako Shibuya's strong voice leads the songs and her distorted bass lines work with Maika Sasakawa's guitar riffs to weave counter-melodies around the vocal ones. The noisy and...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 16, 2012

Colored contact lenses get a new 'macho' vision

Hiromu Uetake's muscular physique and distinct side-shaved haircut, not to mention the tattoos peeking from below his T-shirt, make him quite a striking sight. But when talking to him, it is his left eye I can't keep my own eyes off. Every now and then there's a flicker of something that makes me stare...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 16, 2012

Niseko puts faith in powder to revive tourism boom

Throughout most of the 2010s, the meteoric rise in popularity of Hokkaido's ski resorts among foreign visitors was widely documented in both the domestic and overseas media.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2012

Toyota knew of switch defect four years before mass recall

Toyota Motor Corp. first learned in 2008 about a defect in power-window switches that Wednesday prompted it to recall 7.43 million vehicles worldwide for fire hazards, according to documents filed with U.S. regulators.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go