Life and style
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Short on space? Take inspiration from Japan’s courtyard gardens | Alys Fowler
Overlooked side returns, tiny front yards and basement entrances can be transformed into peaceful, thoughtful …
- Japan, Uniqlo, Fashion, Ukraine, Fashion industry, Europe, Life and style, Business, World news, Television industry, Russia, Disney Channel
Disney suspends Russian operations in response to Ukraine invasion
Disney is latest firm to pause business, including content and product licensing and live TV channelsUkraine-R…
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‘It is bullying, pure and simple’: being a woman in Japanese politics
Harassment is common for women who run for office and female MPs comprise just 9.9% of lower houseMari Yasuda …
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Maki Kaji, ‘godfather of sudoku’, dies aged 69 in Japan
The puzzle enthusiast and publisher is credited with turning the grid-based maths problem into a worldwide phe…
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Japan’s largest pets fair – in pictures
At the Interpets fair in Tokyo about 300 exhibitors will present their products to business visitors and pet l…
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Haruki Murakami’s new T-shirt line proves it: he’s no recluse
The notoriously private author’s latest project, a stylish clothing collaboration with Uniqlo, marks the lates…
- Japan, Travel & leisure, Sex, Relationships, Life and style, Business, World news, Asia Pacific, Art and design
An uncertain future for Japan’s love hotels – in pictures
With Japan’s rules on movement less restrictive than many other countries, its love hotels have fared relative…
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Japanese lose taste for Valentine’s ‘obligation chocs’ under Covid
Growing numbers of women ditch giri choco custom of ‘forced giving’ of gifts to senior male colleaguesShifting…
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Why reusable cloth could consign Christmas gift wrap to the bin
A Japanese tradition could replace sparkly paper this festive season as lockdown prompts a green rethinkChrist…
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Japan’s ‘love hotels’ accused of anti-gay discrimination
Same-sex couples say hotels make excuses to turn them away despite 2018 law changeIn May this year, at the hei…
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Fashion designer Kenzo Takada’s catwalk – in pictures
The late fashion designer was the first from Japan to break into Paris’s exclusive fashion milieu in the 1970s…
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Kenzo Takada remembered for style that meant ‘freedom for the woman’s body’
Critics and models voice heartbreak over death of Japanese designer who was ahead of his time when it came to …
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Fashion designer Kenzo Takada dies after catching Covid-19 aged 81
Takada was the first Japanese designer to make a mark on the Paris fashion sceneWidely copied rule-breaker who…
- Japan, Life and style, Craft, US news, World news, Documentary films, Design, Art and design, Culture, Film
Wood life: the soulful craft of George Nakashima
A new family-led documentary reveals the story of the US woodworker who, influenced by the philosophy of Japan…
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Mieko Kawakami: ‘Women are no longer content to shut up’
Traditionalists in Japan hated her feminist novel, but Breasts and Eggs was a huge bestseller. The author talk…
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Fluid and fashionable: V&A shakes up image of ‘traditional’ kimono
Exhibition shows off rich history of Japanese garment in all its three-dimensional gloryMore than 100 kimonos,…
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The kimono – from costume to catwalk
From the 17th to the 20th century the kimono was the principal piece of clothing in Japan for both men and wom…
- Japan, Gender, Maternity & paternity rights, Family, Life and style, World news, Asia Pacific, Parents and parenting
Culture shock: can trailblazing Japanese minister change minds on paternity leave?
Shinjiro Koizumi’s move raises hopes that more new fathers will be emboldened to stay home with their babiesSh…
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Marie Kondo sparks consternation with online homeware store
Decluttering guru looks to clean up but says ‘if the bowl you’re using currently sparks joy for you, I don’t e…
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$200 melons? How Japan’s high-end fruit reveals our attitudes to agriculture | Adam Liaw
Australians are happy to pay for an expensive restaurant meal but when it comes to farmers’ labour the price i…