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April 04, 2025
 

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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
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
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 / 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
May 5, 2011
Workers set to enter reactor 1 building
Eight workers are scheduled to be the first to enter the reactor 1 building of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant since it was ripped apart by a hydrogen blast the day after the March 11 tsunami, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 3, 2011
Tight-lipped Tepco lays bare exclusivity of press clubs
It was a shocking revelation for a majority of the people in Japan, but maybe not so for major media organizations.
JAPAN
May 3, 2011
Diet budgets ¥4 trillion for rebuilding
The Diet enacted a ¥4.15 trillion supplementary budget Monday aimed at funding immediate efforts to rebuild from the March 11 disasters after the House of Councilors unanimously passed it at a plenary session.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2011
Evacuation zone to be widened
Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government on Friday instructed parts of Fukushima Prefecture outside the 20-km no-go zone around the crippled No. 1 nuclear plant to evacuate by the end of May, saying that cumulative radiation levels may pose a health risk to residents.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
U.S. tourist arrested after bringing a handgun into Japan
Hyogo police believe the handgun a U.S. tourist inadvertently brought into Japan slipped through security procedures at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan promises 'bold and speedy' response to Trump’s surprise 24% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump unveils new U.S. tariffs at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
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