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August 15, 2024
 

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Kanako Takahara

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Kanako Takahara
Kanako Takahara is a staff writer who has covered national politics, diplomacy, business and the economy at The Japan Times. A graduate of Sophia University, she is currently a national news editor.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2021
Japan prioritized domestic trials of Pfizer before rollout, vaccine czar says
The nation's vaccine czar revealed that Pfizer trials included over 100 Japanese residents in the U.S., but said the health ministry needed domestic tests due to 'food and diet' differences.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 25, 2021
More schools in Tokyo cancel Paralympic plans even as Games go on for some students
Over 20,000 students from across the capital are still expected to watch events in person, but most schools in Tokyo have canceled visits to competition venues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / First Person
Mar 5, 2020
Day 4 of Japan's Great Teleworking Experiment: Distractions aplenty but 'co-workers' are cute
Today is my fourth-straight day working from home and, consequently, the fourth day of my living nightmare.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 3, 2019
Through Keidanren role, Hiroaki Nakanishi looks to ditch dated aspects of Japan's corporate culture
At the same time, the 72-year-old organization reflects the most traditional — and at times outdated — aspects of corporate Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2017
Fashion rentals make sense for moms on the go
As a mother of three who works full-time, buying my own clothes ranks among the lowest priorities on my to-do list.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 17, 2016
Survey sees surge in 'secret savings' of married Japanese, with wives on top
The average amount of savings secretly accumulated by married women in 2016 was ¥1.47 million, rising by more than ¥200,000 from the year before, according to a survey by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2016
Cheaper taxi rates to be trialed in Tokyo, Osaka in bid to lure more elderly, tourists
The transport ministry plans to trial lower base fares for short taxi rides.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 15, 2016
Japan adult TV channel's Boob Aid charity event rubs some the wrong way, sparking online petition
More than 8,600 people have signed an online petition to protest the annual Boob Aid fundraising event, which allows donors to the charity to touch the breasts of porn actresses.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2016
LDP lawmaker faces off against his party's old guard over child care leave plan
Liberal Democratic Party Lower House lawmaker Kensuke Miyazaki wanted to do something to change the nation's declining birthrate, so he announced last month he planned to take child care leave after his wife gives birth.
JAPAN
Dec 15, 2015
Child center stripped girls to find missing piece of paper
A child consultation center in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, said Tuesday it stripped eight girls naked to conduct a body search in August to look for a piece of paper that went missing earlier that day.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 9, 2015
Japan needs to seek out regional allies, view U.S. as 'second resort,' says head of think tank
Japan needs to stop relying on the U.S. for its defense and form a security alliance with other Asian nations if it is to become a respectable global leader in the decades to come, according to the founder and president of Washington-based think tank Economic Strategy Institute.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 9, 2015
Experts warn Myanmar's opposition victory could affect Japanese businesses
In the wake of Myanmar's ruling party conceding defeat to Aung San Suu Kyi, experts say it could have mixed repercussions for Japanese companies investing there.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 1, 2015
Japan, China timed announcement of espionage arrests, says expert
Beijing and Tokyo appear to have waited until two of China's key events were over before revealing the detention of two Japanese nationals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2015
'Flesh-eating disease' cases on rise in Japan
The number of patients nationwide who contracted streptococcol toxic-shock syndrome (STSS) — a deadly condition popularly known as "flesh-eating disease" — reached 291 by Aug. 23, a record high, the National Institute of Infectious Diseases said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jul 31, 2015
Changing the culture of long working hours key to increasing Japan's female workforce
The plight of Japan's working women has improved dramatically over the past two decades. Maternity leave has become the norm, slots at nurseries have increased by more than 340,000 and the percentage of female executives or women serving as department chiefs at companies has tripled.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 25, 2015
'Sextortion' warning after victim targeted by crime ring
Users of social networking sites such as Facebook and Line are accustomed to receiving a "friend" request or a message from an unfamiliar contact. Most people ignore them, but the few who respond may need to think twice before pushing the send button.
JAPAN / History
Jun 21, 2015
Signing of 1965 normalization treaty sparked sharp contrast in reactions
Fifty years ago, when Japan and South Korea signed a treaty to normalize diplomatic ties on June 22, 1965, their leaders toasted the signing in Tokyo as police in Seoul tear-gassed thousands of protesters and politicians who were opposing the move, according to archived reports by The Japan Times.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 29, 2015
Gulf spill veteran offers fishing advice to Tohoku
Traceability was key to easing consumer fears after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and that could offer Tohoku's struggling fishermen a way to deal with the Fukushima nuclear disaster, says the Texas fisherman who took the initiative in introducing the system.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2013
Nuclear advocacy lands Abe in hot water with wife
Prime Minister Abe may be pushing to sell Japan's atomic plants abroad, but his wife, Akie, says her 'heart aches' to see him being pronuclear.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 11, 2011
Hamaoka impact will be far-flung
The decision by Chubu Electric Power Co. to shut down the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture is testament to the long-lasting and far-reaching impact of the March 11 megaquake.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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