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November 22, 2024
 

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Michael Hoffman

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Michael Hoffman
Michael Hoffman is a fiction and nonfiction writer who has lived in Hokkaido by the sea almost as long as he can remember. He has been contributing regularly to The Japan Times for 10 years. His latest novel is "The Naked Ear" (VBW/Blackcover Books, 2012).
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 17, 2020
A brave new world after COVID-19 subsides?
The future alone can unveil its secrets — in its own time.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 3, 2020
COVID-19 accelerates the irritation in society we all feel
“If a married couple can't get along in a pandemic, who can?”
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Sep 19, 2020
Japan and Russia: Sharing a view of the West
There are striking affinities between Japan and Russia, noticeable even before either country was fully aware of the other.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 19, 2020
Despite pandemic, some individuals are living ordinary lives
While enormous things are currently happening in the world, we shouldn't altogether lose sight of the small things either.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 5, 2020
Trust and truth go hand in hand in a troubled year
COVID-19's most visible symbol is the mask, but 85 of 100 doctors surveyed by Shukan Gendai say masks are unnecessary in open outdoor spaces.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 22, 2020
Japan’s office worker struggles to adjust to a 'new normal'
It's tough to sing the company song at daily morning meetings wearing a mask.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 15, 2020
War ends and humanity remains resilient
Chaos, destruction u2026 humanity endures and yet, we seem stuck in repeating the same mistakes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 8, 2020
COVID-19 pandemic tests our resolve to be self-disciplined
Exercising self-control in an environment that allows more freedom is more difficult than you think.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 25, 2020
Go To Travel campaign stirs anxieties outside Tokyo
in some areas, out-of-prefecture motorists have been pelted with rocks and intimidated by reckless driving.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jul 18, 2020
A thousand years of walking through Japan
The act of walking was one that Saigyo, Basho and Matsuo turned into poetry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 11, 2020
COVID-19 pulls the rug out from under workers' feet
And that may not be the worse thing that could happen to them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 27, 2020
COVID-19 pandemic has left us all feeling a little overwhelmed
When the internet sits in judgment on perceived violators of unwritten laws, its standards tend to be those of a technologized lynch mob.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jun 20, 2020
Leaving the Heian: A sexual revolution in reverse
Japan's Heian Period courtiers displayed an attitude to sex unmatched in other societies of the day.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 13, 2020
What constitutes nothingness? The answer could drive you insane
If we assume that everything is something, then nothing is in fact nothing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 30, 2020
COVID-19 reminds us what everyday words such as 'viral' really mean
Will the global pandemic prompt us into changing the way we speak?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 16, 2020
Disasters like COVID-19 bring us together — if we let them
Communities might have rallied behind each other in the face of the calamitous earthquakes in 1995 and 2011, but the new coronavirus pandemic has spurred a response that is more about self-preservation than helping others in need.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
May 16, 2020
The revolt against Japan's cultured courtiers
The Meiji Restoration changed Japanese society on a grand scale, but let's not forget another 'revolution' that turned things upside down.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / BIG IN JAPAN
May 2, 2020
Redefining normality in a world turned upside down by COVID-19
In normal times, we seek happiness. In times of crisis, we seek normality.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 18, 2020
It’s a little tough to truly feel free in a time of pestilence
Humanity is eternally vulnerable to the 'unknown' and there's not much that we know about the new coronavirus.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Apr 18, 2020
The dogs have their day in old Edo
The Laws of Compassion that Tokugawa Tsunayoshi issued trickled down to the lowest rungs of Edo Period (1603-1868) Japan, which included the capital's many feral dogs.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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