::::::::: THE JAPAN TIMES - JAPAN NEWS ::::::::: Takeda reaches tentative deal with Shire after boosting offer price Outrage in China over pressure on student to stop activism amid growing Me Too movement Taro Kono to visit U.S. in May to sound out Mike Pompeo before Trump-Kim Jong Un summit Memo alleges VA nominee doled out opioids, crashed car while drunk but White House defends his vetting Majority of Japanese oppose any constitutional revisions under Abe, but see need for future changes, poll finds Japan’s education minister apologizes after magazine reveals visit to a ‘sexy yoga’ studio using official car Dragon Quest VR arcade to open in Shinjuku Studio Ghibli plans to open new theme park near Nagoya by 2022 Japan’s press freedom ranking rises in 2018 — due in part to deteriorating conditions elsewhere Global carmakers show off SUVs and electric models at Beijing auto show as China promises reforms Investigators launch probe into Kobe Steel data falsification Japan said to seek role in French-German marine surveillance plane project for first major arms deal since WWII Japan protests inter-Korean summit plan to feature disputed islands on chair and dessert Powerhouse Nihon University keeps churning out sumo talent Kei Nishikori retires from first match at Barcelona Open Hirotoshi Takanashi tosses 91-pitch complete game to help Fighters top Buffaloes Funeral for “Iron Man” Sachio Kinugasa held in Tokyo Sunwolves make two changes ahead match against Hurricanes Same old squabbles preventing Japanese rugby from capitalizing on gains of 2015 Japan women’s basketball team steadily gathering speed on road to Tokyo Olympics Sixers put Heat on ice with victory in Game 5 Shohei Ohtani shaky as Angels beat Astros Liverpool thrashes Roma in first leg of Champions League semifinal Carp whip BayStars, spoil starter Shota Imanaga’s season debut Arsene Wenger certain to get many job offers after leaving Arsenal ‘Iron Man’ Sachio Kinugasa dies at 71 Victory over Trail Blazers shows why Pelicans must let DeMarcus Cousins go Yankees hurler Masahiro Tanaka triumphs in rout of Twins Yuichi Sugita exits Barcelona Open with first-round loss to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez Yuki Kawauchi finishes third in World Marathon Majors series Dwight Freeney spins into retirement after 16 seasons Alex Ovechkin nets pair as Capitals eliminate Blue Jackets Jazz post third straight victory over Thunder Hiroto Kyoguchi to defend IBF minimumweight title against the Philippines’ Vince Paras Jake Guentzel scores four goals to lift Pittsburgh Tigers pitcher Shintaro Fujinami at crossroads A primer on navigating your ID landscape Relocating to San Francisco with a Japanese spouse A lot of love: Blewit, a poodle-Shih Tzu mix, finds a forever home The hoops worth going through Visitors to Okinawa invited to be citizen scientists as tourism takes its toll on coral Advice on HIV tests, Japanese pensions, rugby and reuniting with kids Type 1 diabetic travelers to Japan, be prepared Pick up a secondhand book in Japan and unearth a mystery Star light, star bright: a tabby cat named Asari In Japan, who do you think you are? Fun and games with foreign names in katakana Readers’ views on intercultural insensitivity, Japanese schooling, English gaps and an inspirational Indian New minpaku law will alter Japan’s rental and hospitality landscape Japan’s Supreme Court orders a child be sent home in a Hague parental abduction case. Maybe. Tokyo Cowboys shoot for more diversity on Japanese screens Great haven: Great Pyrenees Coco finds a new home in Tokyo Why not try Canada, eh?: For Japanese students, a university up north is worth considering Nordic cooking, Japanese bounty: Strong Noma current runs through new Tokyo restaurant Asian elephants said to be at risk from Chinese demand for skin What would you pay to live in Minato Ward? You should get the hang of ‘そのうち’ and ‘今に’ soon enough Let’s discuss social media Importance of friendship transcends march of time Top stars and collaborations in Japanese fashion Classic ways to boost new games Naoyuki Kawahara: Helping Sudan heal with medicine and more Still eating, still writing: Robbie Swinnerton reflects on 20 years of Tokyo Food File Liaison: Flair and performance from kitchen to table Critters Burger: Serious people making serious burgers The long pour: Tokyo Coffee Festival rounds up specialty coffee from across Japan Baskin Robbins’ ‘Popping Shower’ ice cream promises more pop Dyeing to keep Japanese textile crafts alive Fly-fishing in the remote reaches of Hokkaido OK Google, auto-fill the gaps in my Japanese If it’s an explanation of how to use ‘nara’ you’re looking for, here it is NHK pushes to define culture ahead of 2020 with some help from Perfume Iconic Magnum photographer Abbas dies at 74 MSNBC host Joy Reid says homophobic posts were result of hack but skeptics have doubts Oh, Yeezus: Trump and Kanye West trade complimentary tweets ‘Love × Doc’: A rom-com on doctor’s orders ‘Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities’: Cirque du Soleil’s whimsical steampunk is thrilling MPAA head says theaters will survive rise of streaming sites, pegs fate to strength of movies Ready Player Win: Morisaki represents Japan in his first Hollywood gig Ike no Taiga: The ‘true view’ travel painter Singer Shania Twain apologizes for saying she would have voted for Trump Autopsies find nothing suspicious in DJ Avicii’s death in Oman Japan’s pop culture and literature drive soft power Ian Buruma’s ‘A Tokyo Romance’ captures the beating heart of avant-garde Japan ‘As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams’ brings to life the lucid prose of the Sarashina Nikki ‘Hiroshima Boy’: Mas Arai takes a well-deserved bow in the saga’s final mystery Dance music superstar Avicii dies at 28 Minnesota prosecutor says after two-year probe, no charges will be brought in connection with pop star Prince’s death Yuki Kimura may have struck out on ‘The Bachelor Japan,’ but she won the people’s rose Move the nation’s environmental policy forward Is the Indo-Japan rail project a boondoggle? Amid lingering tensions, signs of possible Japan-China collaboration Risk grows as Korean diplomacy intensifies How to negotiate with North Korea The decoupling of economic growth and convenience Drones aren’t progress; they’re a recipe for chaos As kids spend more time indoors, their vision suffers The risks of ‘One Belt, One Road’ for China’s neighbors Two contradictory proverbs ZTE tests China’s commitment to international law Trump isn’t Nixon, North Korea isn’t China