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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 9, 2020

Raving from the past into the future with WaqWaq Kingdom

Shigeru Ishihara and Kiki Hitomi release a second album, fusing an eclectic mix of genres with a deep and personal set of lyrics
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jan 3, 2020

Reviewing last year, previewing 2020 in sumo

Happy New Year to you all. Here's to a great 2020.
Japan Times
JAPAN / New Year's Special
Jan 1, 2020

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike looks ahead to 2020 Games and end of her term

With a little over half a year to go until the start of the Summer Games, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike says the host city is all set for the sporting extravaganza and is focusing on ensuring the games will have a long-lasting legacy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 29, 2019

How Instagram has changed the way we shop

It has also transformed the way we brag about what we bought.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 28, 2019

'Human Lost': Osamu Dazai's classic novel gets lost in sci-fi technobabble

A futuristic update of 'No Longer Human,' the latest computer-animated film from Polygon Pictures takes liberties with the source material.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 18, 2019

Japan's Showa flash flood of photography

The National Gallery of Canada showcases Showa Era (1926-89) photographers, whose documentation and interpretation of politics, culture, social issues and even the quotidian changed the face of modern photography in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 9, 2019

'The Truth': Kore-eda effortlessly crosses borders

The director's latest film sees him embrace the French culture and language as he tells the story of a dysfunctional mother and daughter played by Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 8, 2019

'Reading Images': Take the time to read into photography

The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum exhibition "The Time of Photography" starts with kitsch late 19th-century Yokohama shashin — hand-colored photos of Japanese scenes for sale to foreigners — and ends with the evanescence of Rinko Kawauchi's photography of everyday life made poetic through the artist's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 8, 2019

'Vincent Van Gogh'

Oct. 11-Jan. 13, 2020
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 11, 2019

'Hit Me Anyone One More Time': A return to form for comedy stalwart

Koki Mitani's latest comedy feature follows the life of a Japanese prime minister trying to make good as he deals with memory loss
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 2, 2019

Hong Kong leader says she would 'quit' if she could, fears ability to resolve crisis 'very limited'

Embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she has caused "unforgivable havoc" by igniting the political crisis engulfing the city and would quit if she had a choice, according to an audio recording of remarks she made last week to a group of businesspeople.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 24, 2019

Iwami-kagura: The changing face of a Shimane theatrical tradition

Kneeling on the floor of his atelier in the Nagahama district of Hamada, Shimane Prefecture, master craftsman Katsuro Ka-kita applies the finishing touches to one of his colorful, striking and sometimes terrifying creations.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Aug 24, 2019

Yuta Kato: Following his photo instincts

Photographer Yuta Kato on his 'Hazime-Mashite' project, his experience in Vancouver and his go-to karaoke song.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 22, 2019

'Dance With Me': A homegrown Japanese musical has landed

Genres never really die, but they often mutate into something different on foreign soil. John Ford's cowboys became Akira Kurosawa's samurai, and Kurosawa's samurai became Sergio Leone's serape-clad, cigarillo-chewing "The Man With No Name." And the list goes on.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2019

Boris Johnson and the triumph of gullibility?

New research suggests a startling explanation for the recent success of populist politicians.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 27, 2019

Makoto Shinkai isn't afraid of a bit of rain in the pursuit of his art

It has been raining for weeks, but director Makoto Shinkai doesn't seem to mind a bit.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 23, 2019

The last prime minister of the United Kingdom

Like U.S. President Donald Trump, Boris Johnson lacks a set of objectives that goes beyond merely winning and keeping power.
CULTURE
Jul 20, 2019

Kyoto Animation: A unique force in Japan's anime industry

It took Kyoto Animation Co. almost 40 years to establish itself as one of the leading animation production studios in the country.
Reader Mail
Jul 5, 2019

Learning from each other in peace and harmony

People from about 70 different countries live together in my city of Hadano, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 30, 2019

Why Hollywood doesn't yet get anime

When it comes to Hollywood's versions of Japanese content, most fans return to the originals and wonder: Why can't they get it right? Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner sheds some light on the West's cultural misreading of anime and manga.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 2019

Pioneering singer-songwriter Sachiko Kanenobu finally gets her due

If she had to sum up the past couple of years, Sachiko Kanenobu would probably opt for a simple "OMG!"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 13, 2019

CVN: The sound of the Japanese underground

A change in address altered the way Nobuyuki Sakuma approaches his songs. "I think of the music I used to make in Tokyo as a fantasy. It was completely inspired by my own image, what I thought up. It didn't have much to do with what was happening around me or in society," he says.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jun 4, 2019

Kei Nishikori faces daunting challenge against 'King of Clay'

Robin Soderling. Novak Djokovic. Kei Nishikori?
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 31, 2019

Proactive actions crucial to attain workplace diversity

Diversity is at the core of many of the labor and economic policies designed by the current government, including work-style reforms and promotion of women's participation in society. How much has actually changed in Japanese workplaces? Are they becoming more diverse in all aspects?
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 18, 2019

TBS drama misses an opportunity to shine a light on genuine workplace issues

The most common gripe I hear from white-collar employees at Japanese companies is about the fluid meaning of "quitting time." The feeling is that even if a worker has finished their tasks for the day, it is considered bad form to leave the office before their colleagues or supervisors do. There are,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 7, 2019

The Moomins find a second home in Japan

With almost 50 percent of the global 'Moomin market' in Japan, MoominValley Park has the ideal audience — nostalgic adults, kawaii fans and, of course, woodland-creature-loving kids.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2019

Tokyo restaurateur develops spore sheet to speed up aging of meat — and fish

Mikio Atobe carefully peels a layer of rayon netting from a chunk of farmed bluefin tuna, revealing a secondary sheet of cloth clinging to its exposed flesh, partially yellowed by the mold coating it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Feb 25, 2019

Japanese that's so beautiful it belongs in a museum

What if there was a Museum of Exceptional Japanese? Daniel Morales discusses the kinds of words he would like to see in such an institution, but what words would you donate?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 19, 2019

Hikaru Uzawa blends old and new to add vitality to the world of noh

Hikaru Uzawa is a noh performer who marries her work within the traditional confines of the art form with performing in contemporary pieces internationally, bringing freshness to the traditional world of noh.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
Feb 10, 2019

Japanese makeup guru on crusade to revamp men's grooming habits

As a university student, Hiroki Takahashi could barely step outside his home without a surgical mask on. Even when he did venture out, he was terrified of the fluorescent lighting ubiquitous in convenience stores and trains that ruthlessly illuminated what he was desperately trying to hide — a mass...

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake