::::::::: 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