Tag: japan
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Crazy Killers, Bernie On Board, Tall Dutch
SPOTLIGHT: MASS KILLINGS AND MENTAL INSTABILITY A knife-wielding man killed 19 people in their sleep and injured at least 25 others overnight at a care center for people with mental disabilities in the Japanese city of Sagamihara. The man has been identified as 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu, a former employee of the center, and has turned […]
Hiroshima-born designer Issey Miyake has spent his career creating garments that challenge sizing conventions and are both practical and beautiful. A French reporter ponders his influence.
SPOTLIGHT: BREXIT LANDS IN JAPAN Why would Shinzo Abe care what British voters think about Europe? The Japanese Prime Minister, currently hosting the G7 summit, joined leaders of the world’s other top economic powers in a surprise declaration today to urge the UK to vote to remain in the European Union in next month’s so-called […]
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Reading Obama, Rising Oil, Doubting David
SPOTLIGHT: SHOULD OBAMA APOLOGIZE IN HIROSHIMA? When Barack Obama becomes the first sitting U.S. President to visit Hiroshima tomorrow, the ceremony will include hibakusha, survivors of history’s only nuclear attacks. No doubt, each victim of the 1945 bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will have their own expectations of the American […]
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Japan Quake, UK Terror Arrests, 360 Videos
CLINTON-SANDERS DEBATE GETS FEISTY The gloves came off Thursday night in Brooklyn as Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders faced off in the last debate before New York’s crucial primary on Tuesday. Dan Balz of The Washington Post notes that the nature of the Democratic campaign now poses risks to whomever wins the […]
-Analysis- TOKYO — High-tech toilet seats, diapers, cold medicine, rice cookers: These are some of the hottest items for a Chinese tourist on a shopping spree in Japan. The Japanese call this Bakugai or “explosive buying,” and associate it with the Chinese travelers’ impressive purchasing power. Bakugai even became 2015’s Japanese Word of the Year. […]
In Japan, the yakuza traditionally controlled vice businesses and demanded shakedowns. But as their dwindling numbers are hunted down by the authorities, the mobsters are trying to reinvent themselves to survive.
With a low birth rate and grappling with how to maintain a work force and economic development, Japanese officials believe they have a solution in AI.
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Dumpling or Flower? — Video Quote Of The Day
TOKYO — Cats are all the rage in Japan these days. Bookstores are lined with dozens of photo books featuring cute little felines, and they’re popular online too. They also seem on track to surpass dogs as the pet of choice. So why are they stealing so many hearts? There are about 100 titles on […]
Five years since the devastating Japan earthquake prompted a tsunami that washed tons of refuse into the Pacific Ocean, ocean creatures in and around that underwater wreckage is burgeoning.
Thirty years after the Chernobyl catastrophe and five years after Fukushima, scientists have had a chance to quantify their impact.
The earthquake and subequent nuclear diaster in Fukushima were no doubt devastating, but Japan still struggles to quantify the number of deaths linked to them.
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When Japan Embraces Pure Swedish Living
More than a handful of Japanese have taken the idea of cultural fusion to the next level. Tucked in the hills about 30 kilometers from Sapporo City, Japan, and some 8,000 kilometers away from Stockholm, a small village called Sweden Hills is home to some 2,000 Japanese residents who live in Swedish-style houses, Svenska Dagbladet […]
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February 23
TOKYO — A growing number of Japanese are climbing the emergency staircases of high-rise buildings and towers recreationally, both for the views they can enjoy from the lofty structures and for the heart-pumping exercise. Climbing events held at such structures offer access to stairways that are normally closed to the public. On Nov. 14, at […]
SYRIA TALKS COLLAPSE Opposing sides in the Syrian conflict have accused each other of being responsible for the collapse of peace talks in Geneva yesterday. French French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the Syrian government’s offensive near Aleppo, backed by Russia, had “torpedoed the peace efforts.” The head of the Syrian delegation, Bashar al-Jaafari, […]
Japan has become a leader in developing technology to aid not just elderly or otherwise limited people conduct everyday chores but also for the medical, defense and aviation industries in a country with a shrinking work force.
TOKYO — Japan isn’t accustomed to underachievement, in government or anywhere else. So it’s significant that the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is worried about the abilities of its diplomats to negotiate in English at a level comparable to counterparts from other parts of the world. To remedy the problem, the ministry has decided to […]
Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi has been arrested for her provocative work. With a new exhibition in Hong Kong, Asia’s battle for free speech and open sexuality comes together.
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On This Day – December 22
TOKYO — Earlier this year, a delegation from the Egyptian government was visiting Nibukata Primary School in Tokyo. “The children are well-disciplined and work in teams,” a member of the delegation noted. But the delegate then went on to express particular surprise that children sweep and mop the classroom floors, for it’s common in Egypt […]
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On This Day – December 16
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On This Day – December 11
China’s GDP has overtaken that of Japan. If there’s one key area where Japan can still teach the Chinese, it is Japan’s demographic crisis.
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On This Day – December 3
TOKYO — The large speakers at Quattro Labo, a music bar near Kichijoji Station in western Tokyo, mostly play U.S. rock music from the 1960s and 1970s: Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, the Allman Brothers Band. Not only that, but the sound has a depth to it — along with the distinct scratch-and-pop effect — that […]
TOKYO — At September’s annual RunGirl Night, one 35-year-old exercise enthusiast prepared for the evening group run by applying lipstick, foundation and eye shadow. “I would feel extremely self-conscious if I was around so many other people without makeup on,” she said. “After crossing the finish line, I want to look good in group photos, […]
One of Tokyo’s cultural treasures celebrates 100 years of hosting renowned writers and other celebrity guests.
SENDAI — Alcoholism and related problems are becoming serious in the three Tohoku prefectures severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. The deaths of loved ones or the stress of a prolonged life as evacuees have led to increased alcohol consumption, and some are newly diagnosed as alcoholics even 4 1/2 […]
TOKYO — It’s a bit further away from the bigger stores in Tokyo’s Ginza district. Between the sake bars, along the tall towers that watch day and night over the Sumida River, a quiet art gallery hosts large, abstract paintings. And across the street from a shop for urban bikes with monochromatic frames is a […]
While Japan’s overall alcohol consumption is in decline due to an aging population and low birthrate, Sake is showing a revival at home and abroad. There’s even a new variety with Champagne-like bubbles.
Tomomi Inada may be a more fervent Japanese nationalist than current Prime Minister Abe. She was in Washington this week to meet top officials.
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Japanese Women v. Shinzo Abe
Japanese women are challenging the three-year-old Shinzo Abe government with “constitution cafes” and street protests.
Fears are rising in Japan that a large-scale gang war could erupt, following a major schism in the yakuza organized crime syndicate. Cyber-crime might be making headlines today, but this is a reminder that “traditional” organized crime is still strong. And scary. Here’s a look at what’s happening in five criminal networks around the world. […]
HUNGARY TRIES TO STEM REFUGEE TIDE Hungary may be considering deploying its army to help police stem the daily arrival of thousands of refugees at its southern border with Serbia. A new razor wire is being built along the border, and the Hungarian military was also staging border protection exercises yesterday, the BBC reports. Human […]
CHINA MARKETS CONTINUE DIVE The Chinese stock market continued to crumble today, with the Shanghai Composite index closing down 7.6% at 2,964.97 points. Japan also saw more sharp falls with Tokyo’s Nikkei index falling 4%, Reuters reports. TYPHOON GONI HITS JAPAN Photo: Yuan Jing/Xinhua/ZUMA Typhoon Goni has made landfall on Japan’s main island of Kyushu, […]