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April 04, 2025
 

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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
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.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Apr 18, 2021
Driven to murder by poverty and racial prejudice?
A gifted child's talents go to waste as a result of his ethnicity. Falling into a life of despair, he lashes out in revenge. How would his situation be treated nearly 100 years later?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 17, 2021
Paralysis and calm: Two sides of Japan's inertia
COVID-19 hasn't (so far) affected Japan as badly as other Western countries, but sometimes extreme situations can push people to get up and try to improve their lots in life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 3, 2021
Humanity can't seem to escape its own web of lies
When did you last tell a fib? Go on u2026 be honest.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Mar 22, 2021
Archetypes of the 'modern girl' from Japan's 'jazz age'
People thronged European-style cafes and breathed new air with new lungs. At the center of it all were the 'mobo' and 'moga': modern boys and girls, respectively.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 20, 2021
Reality check: ‘We’re in a tunnel with no exit in sight’
Buddhist priest Myoyu Tamaoki describes the world in terms hard to argue with. “Calm,” she says, “is elusive.” Disaster, ruin and upheaval, if not hitting you personally at any given moment, may strike the next, as a glance at news of them hyperactive elsewhere cannot fail to remind you. “Everyone,”...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 6, 2021
Repressing the urge to do something might be better for us all
The ultimate relaxation, says one magazine, is not idleness but suitable activity — doing what you want, which does take courage.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Feb 20, 2021
Matsuo Taseko: It’s myth vs. reality for Japanese nationalism
Inspired by the u2018Manyoshu,' a peasant-poet took the Japanese capital by eloquent storm.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 20, 2021
Line between solitude and withdrawal becomes blurred in Japan amid pandemic
More than half of the nationwide hikikomori population of 1.15 million are between 40 and 64 years old.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2021
Finding the right measure of Olympic success in Japan
Does academic success lead to happiness? Weekly magazine Shukan Gendai offers a cautionary tale u2026
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 23, 2021
Wisdom often fails the test of time
One generation's knowledge is the next generation's folly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jan 16, 2021
Matsuo Taseko: A poet caught up in nationalist fervor
When nine swordsmen stormed a temple in 1863 they cut the heads of three statues, making a political statement that reverberates to this day.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 9, 2021
Can a few simple words ease Japan's anxiety?
What we say to ourselves carries a lot of weight u2026
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 26, 2020
In 2020, kids still say the drollest things
2020 was a year to forget, if only we can u2026
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Dec 19, 2020
Thoughts on healing from the Heian Period
The psychology of health in 'The Tale of Genji' suggests that enlightenment may be the cure for what ails you.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 12, 2020
Rising suicide figures reflect many women’s despair in a pandemic
Almost as anguishing as having no future is having an unknown one.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 28, 2020
When sensitivity becomes that one thing too many
Sensitivity is agony. In moderation it’s good, but moderation rarely knows when to stop, and soon becomes excess. Excessive sensitivity is a theme taken up by Spa magazine this month.
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’s leader didn’t read the job description
Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba is facing a political funding scandal that has damaged his reputation and sparked speculation that internal efforts to remove him are underway.
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).
Nintendo to launch the Switch 2 on June 5
The controllers for the Switch 2 will attach to the console magnetically rather than sliding on rails as with the original device.
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.

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
By Johan Brooks

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