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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 30, 2014
Inside author David Mitchell's metaphysical mind
Outside the vista windows of the Hotel New Otani's Garden Lounge cafe in Tokyo, it's snowing, in March, and it suddenly feels like the spring flowers in the Japanese garden below may have popped too soon. David Mitchell wonders aloud what kind of flowers they are, before returning to our discussion....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 30, 2014
The Makioka Sisters
Junichiro Tanizaki may be best known for novels featuring protagonists with odd obsessions, but his masterpiece, family epic "The Makioka Sisters," has been hailed by many as Japan's greatest modern novel.
WORLD
Aug 26, 2014
Happiness study draws frowns from critics
A high-profile 2013 study that concluded that different kinds of happiness are associated with dramatically different patterns of gene activity is fatally flawed, according to an analysis published on Monday that tore into its target with language rarely seen in science journals.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2014
Topping the pops not as hard as it used to be
Disney's almighty Marvel Entertainment Group musters its superpowers to transform a motley collection of AM radio hits from the 1970s into the No. 1 pop music album in the U.S.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2014
A Great Valley Under the Stars
A vibrant collection of subdued observation, the poems in this small volume, "A Great Valley Under the Stars," contemplate meaning everywhere — from a truck-stop toilet, over stones in the New Mexican desert and under the great expanse of sky referenced in the title.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 21, 2014
Sukiyaki Meets the World ... and the world gets to meet Toyama
In June of 1963, Kyu Sakamoto's "Ue wo Muite Aruko" — better known as "Sukiyaki" overseas — became Japan's first, and only, No. 1 hit single in the United States.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 21, 2014
Ballet's dance with the avant-garde
On May 29, 1913, the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris witnessed what has become a tale of artistic scandal re-told and exaggerated to almost mythic proportions. It is said that just seconds after the stage curtain was raised, the Ballet Russes' performance of Igor Stravinksy's "The Rite of Spring"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 19, 2014
Coldrain deliver a stellar EP, but have we heard it before?
The buzz surrounding metal idols Babymetal and the success of metalcore act Crossfaith has brought more attention to Japan's heavy-music scene. Nagoya-based post-hardcore band Coldrain has been quick to take advantage of this with an EP titled "Until the End" — a six-song release that comes on the...
JAPAN / ASHIDA'S WAR DIARY
Aug 17, 2014
The realist behind the idealist Constitution
A mystery surrounding late Prime Minister Hitoshi Ashida was his postwar call for Japan to re-militarize despite constitutional limits imposed by war-renouncing Article 9.
JAPAN / ASHIDA'S WAR DIARY
Aug 15, 2014
Former PM Ashida had many faces, grandson says
Hitoshi Ashida was born to a wealthy Kyoto farming family, spoke three languages and had a doctorate in international law, but also had many faces, his grandson recalls.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ASHIDA'S WAR DIARY
Aug 14, 2014
Diary spurs rethink of prewar anti-militarist, postwar prime minister
The anti-military stance of the editor of The Japan Times got him blacklisted during the war but helped him become prime minister three years after it ended.
WORLD / Society
Aug 14, 2014
U.S. appeals court declines to block Virginia gay marriage ruling
A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday declined to delay its ruling striking down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage, meaning gay people in the state will be able to get married unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 12, 2014
Russia sending aid convoy to Ukraine despite Western warnings of invasion pretext
President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia is sending an aid convoy to eastern Ukraine despite urgent Western warnings against using humanitarian help as a pretext for an invasion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 7, 2014
'Into the Future: Visual Deception II'
Trompe l'oeil (optical-illusion art) painting has a long history, dating back to the 17th century, but trick art is not always about paintings that create illusions using realistic three-dimensional imagery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 29, 2014
Two weddings and a 'Funeral' at Fuji
It's hard to know what the organizers at Fuji Rock Festival were thinking when they decided to have Jack Johnson headline the main stage on the event's last day. Not the infectious cheer and endearingly kitsch theatricality of The Flaming Lips, who performed directly before, or even the guaranteed singalong...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jul 28, 2014
'Hercules' no match for 'Lucy' in U.S. weekend box office race
"Lucy," starring Scarlett Johansson as a woman with a super-powered brain, collected $44 million to win at domestic box offices, outmuscling "Hercules," but both releases helped pump life into a lackluster summer at U.S. and Canadian theaters.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jul 23, 2014
Ochiai hoping to lift Japan's 1-on-1 profile
Japan isn't exactly a place where one expects to find world-renowned streetball players.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014
The Scottish song heard around the world
"Sunshine on Leith" was a much-loved stage musical, featuring the songs of Scottish band The Proclaimers, that ran from 2007 to 2013. But when Dexter Fletcher signed on to direct the film adaptation of the musical, he had never seen it.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 23, 2014
Sunshine on Leith
Who wouldn't want a man that walks 500 miles (and 500 more) just to be with you? In 1988 the Scottish band The Proclaimers released their album "Sunshine on Leith" featuring the song "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," which had all the buoyant freshness of a young June bride clutching a rose bouquet. The Proclaimers...

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?