THE JAPAN NEWS
 
The Tokyo metropolitan government has announced three options for a new Tokyo logo design that reflects the alure of the city to a worldwide audience.
The metropolitan government will conduct a screening and selection process — which includes garnering opinions from Tokyo residen...

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JAPAN TIMES
 
DORTMUND, GERMANY – Midfielder Shinji Kagawa scored one goal and created another but Borussia Dortmund lost the first leg of their rescheduled Champions League quarterfinal against Monaco 3-2 on Wednesday, a day after three explosions targeted the German Bundesliga team’s bus.
Kagaw...

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JAPAN TODAY
 
TOKYO — A controversy has been brewing after “a bakery” that appears in an elementary school ethics textbook was changed to “a Japanese wagashi confectioner” by a textbook publisher, in response to suggestions made by the education ministry in consideration of the “respect for tradi...

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ROCKET NEWS
 
Idol Expo allows fans to worship their favorite idols in one convenient location.
This is really the golden age of Japanese idol singers. Yes, Japan’s appreciation for perky vocalists in frilly skirts stretches back to at least the 1970s. The current otaku culture boom, though, mixe...

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JAPAN TRENDS
 
The latest virtual reality gaming venue to open in Tokyo is VR Zone Shinjuku. It is set to open at the former Shinjuku Tokyo Milano site in summer 2017.
Kabukicho’s Tokyo Milano closed in December 2014 after 60 years and its operator, Tokyu, is keen to make use of the prime locatio...

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THE JAPAN NEWS
 
OSAKA (Jiji Press) — Sota Fujii, the youngest professional shogi player in Japan, extended the winning streak since his debut to a record 11th match on Tuesday.
Fourth-dan Fujii, only 14 years old, set the record when he defeated 40-year-old seventh-dan Hiroshi Kobayashi in 104 m...

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JAPAN TODAY
 
LOS ANGELES — A thousand-year-old Japanese poem inspired filmmaker Makoto Shinkai to create “your name.,” an animated story that weaves love and time travel into what he called a message of hope for Japanese millennials.
“your name.” (Kimi No Na Wa) follows Mitsuha, a young girl fed...

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JAPAN TIMES
 
The work of manga artist Leiji Matsumoto mixes historical periods, themes and technologies, often in a science-fiction setting: His signature comics involve steam locomotives and reborn World War II battleships sailing among the stars. These grand flights of fancy, which have found ...

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JAPAN TODAY
 
TOKYO — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday dismissed opposition parties’ concerns that a contentious bill that would punish the planning of certain crimes, ostensibly as a counterterrorism measure, could threaten civil rights.
“It is completely unnecessary to be concerned that (t...

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JAPAN TODAY
 
TOKYO — Haruki Murakami, the Japanese author perennially pegged as a contender for the Nobel literature prize, has called for a fight against historical revisionism in a rare interview with Japanese media published on Sunday.
His comments came after a successful Japanese hotel chain...

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