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November 21, 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
Nov 20, 2021
Yukar: The timeless oral tales that are our window on Ainu life
Civilization overwhelmed Japan's indigenous population about 100 years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 6, 2021
Does Japan breed leaders? Does it even need to?
A panel of four men at the tops of their fields discusses what it means to be a leader and comes to the conclusion that Japan doesn't necessarily breed them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Oct 17, 2021
Saikaku pens five tales to inspire lovers in the Edo Period
Born in the mid-17th century, during the earlier days of the Edo Period, novelist Ihara Saikaku explored love in 'Five Women Who Loved Love.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 16, 2021
When the boss starts behaving like a dictator
Like a political dictator, the corporate tyrant sets things up to stay in power, according to experts. They suppress the talented and reward those who are loyal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 2, 2021
Seeing the past two years through a child’s eyes
The decade is off to a rocky start, what kind of an effect is this having on younger children and the way they process current affairs?
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Sep 22, 2021
The first chapter in a long tale of Japanese romance
From the coupling of gods to form Japan to a female samurai dying on the battlefield, stories of love have always been intertwined with history.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 18, 2021
A look at the state of our intestinal health delivers a real gut punch
The perfect body — you can't escape it in the media. Some articles on the body's imperfections, particularly of the digestive sort, point out what we should be talking about more.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 4, 2021
What makes a funny joke? Only time can really tell.
Humor has been used throughout history to alleviate the pain we feel in dealing with real-life calamities. However, at what point to the jokes themselves become the agents of harm?
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Aug 22, 2021
A tradition built on faith is put out to sea
In 1565, a temple abbot sets out on a journey at the age of 61 as is expected of him. Alone, he goes berserk and alters a tradition.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 21, 2021
Staying optimistic about the state of the world can be positively challenging
Some see the glass as half empty, but do those who see it as half full really have an advantage over them? Or are they simply caught off guard when bad things happen?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 7, 2021
The Japanese don’t sleep on trains because it’s safe — they’re exhausted!
Surveying 500 businesspeople aged 20 to 69, President found that 74.2% claimed to have trouble sleeping. This puts them at risk of exhaustion, depression, cancer and dementia.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jul 18, 2021
Teach a nation to write and the classics will follow
An era of “great reform” sees Japan introduced to the wonders of Chinese literature and, not so long after, produce its own masterpiece in the “Manyoshu.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 17, 2021
Time to ourselves is both a curse and a blessing
The wave of loneliness that afflicts modern Japan continues, but an athlete from Myanmar sends a warning not to take what we have for granted.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 3, 2021
Japan’s teachers are fed up with staying after school
The Japanese education system, once the envy of the West, is no longer getting the support it used to according to teachers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jun 20, 2021
One era’s eccentrics are another’s model citizens
Would an outcast from the Heian Period feel more at home in the Edo Period? Or are there general characteristics that unites any society's eccentrics?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 19, 2021
Read the ones about the priest, the comedian and the ostrich?
Three individuals feel they need to make a change, and laughter helps them through it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 5, 2021
Financial stress causes fission in Japan's families
The weeklies are warning older people in Japan that their families may not be around when they need them because of increasing financial problems.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
May 17, 2021
When Japan's pioneers migrated north to Ezo
As Japanese discovered the vast northern part of their lands, a pioneer spirit took hold. How long would the Ainu tolerate them?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 15, 2021
Can Japan say 'no' to China and 'yes' to political activism?
Japanese media reports a tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, with domestic brands dependent on Chinese money and a local populace that may not take action.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 1, 2021
Solitude or isolation? Whatever it is, it's spreading.
While humanity is a social species, there's something to be said about solitude. The good kind, that is.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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.
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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
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