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Chang-Ran Kim
Americans Simone Biles (left) and Jordan Chiles (right) bow toward Brazil's Rebeca Andrade after Andrade won gold in the floor exercise event at the Paris Olympics.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Aug 6, 2024
Brazil's Rebeca Andrade gets her moment of glory after long wait
After playing second fiddle to American superstar Simone Biles for the past week, Brazil's Rebeca Andrade finally rose to the top of the podium.
Haruka Nakamura (left) celebrates with teammate Kohane Ushioku during the women's gymnastics qualification round for the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
OLYMPICS
Jul 29, 2024
Japan's gymnastics team puts in solid performance despite missing captain
The teenage athletes' Olympics journey had got off to an inauspicious start after 19-year-old captain Shoko Miyata was sent home just days before the Games.
Shinnosuke Oka competes in the men's gymnastics qualification round on Saturday in Paris.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jul 28, 2024
Bathwater mishap forces Japan gymnast Oka to swap cardboard bed
Oka said a "water leak" from the bath had caused damage to the cardboard frame.
Daiki Hashimoto takes part in a training session in Tokyo on June 21.
OLYMPICS
Jul 25, 2024
Gymnastics star Hashimoto seeks 'no-regrets' performance in Paris
While Japan has set a goal of winning the title this time, Hashimoto said he was focused on putting in a performance that he would not look back on with regret.
Kiyoshie Saruwaka, 74, a member of Ara Style Senior — Japan's only breakdancing club made up of older citizens — practices a move known as "chair freeze" in Tokyo on April 26.
OLYMPICS / Breakdancing
Jun 30, 2024
Inspired by Olympics debut, Japan's seniors blaze breakdancing trail
Ara Style Senior is Japan's only breaking club made up of older citizens.
Daiki Hashimoto takes part in a training session in Tokyo on June 21.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
Jun 27, 2024
Japan men's gymnastics team sets sights on China for team gold
Three years ago, the Russians beat Japan by 0.103 points — a sliver of a number that etched itself into the minds of Japan's gymnasts.
Kazuma Kaya reacts after his routine on the parallel bars during the men's apparatus finals at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp on Oct. 8.
OLYMPICS / Gymnastics
May 21, 2024
Team Japan in Paris will be strongest, says gymnastics medalist Kaya
To date, Japan has a haul of seven Olympic gold medals in the team discipline, the most of any country.
Japanese gymnast Daiki Hashimoto attends a ceremony to unveil the official uniforms of Team Japan for the Paris Games, in Tokyo on Wednesday.
OLYMPICS
Apr 18, 2024
How green are your trainers? Team Japan uniforms to have carbon footprint labels
Japanese Olympians stepping up to the podium in Paris will have more than just a medal to be proud of this summer.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2021
Japan's new digital chief called out for image copyright gaffe
A blog post by Yoko Ishikura published last displayed a low-resolution image with a 'Pixta' watermark, a breach of the stock photo platform's terms of service.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 14, 2021
Lessons in Olympic spirit from 'Japan's' Korean gold medalist live on
At the 1936 Olympics, Korean Sohn Kee-chung stood with his head hung, hiding the Rising Sun flag on his chest with a laurel plant as Japan's national anthem filled the stadium.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 28, 2021
Japan to consider sharing COVID-19 vaccines amid calls to help Taiwan
Japan approved AstraZeneca's vaccine last week, but there are no immediate plans to use the shots in the country amid lingering concerns over rare blood clots.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2021
Pandemic puts pressure on Japan to open up rice stockpile to charities
As job losses have surged due to the impact of the spread of the novel coronavirus, demand for food handouts has skyrocketed in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2020
Tokyo enlists nightclub workers for Q&A-style videos to fight coronavirus
Alarmed by a spike in infections in Tokyo's nightlife districts, the metropolitan government has released educational videos in the form of a Q&A between nightclub hosts, a hostess and a doctor, hoping to stem the spread of the outbreak.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 17, 2020
In Japan, foreign parents lead charge against loss of child custody
A growing number of foreign nationals in Japan are speaking out against what they say is a little-known but entrenched system that allows one parent in a broken relationship to take away children and block the other from visiting them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 28, 2019
The kids aren't all right: Japan struggles to protect its most vulnerable children at group homes
Miwa Moriya was 6 when social workers told her she was going to a Christmas party but instead moved her into a group home for about 60 children in a small city in western Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2018
Japan beefs up child welfare measures after 'soul-crushing' abuse death
The central government is taking emergency steps to boost the number of child welfare workers by 60 percent within five years, spurred by the death of a child whose handwritten notes seeking forgiveness from her abusive parents have shaken Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jun 20, 2018
Silicon Valley-style coding boot camp seeks to reset Japan Inc.
Barely six months after inaugurating a tiny software-coding boot camp in a basement in Tokyo, Silicon Valley transplant Kani Munidasa stood before some of Japan's top business leaders in February with a warning: Software was threatening their future.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 24, 2017
Japan's shelters provide little comfort to abused children
Japan's shelters for neglected children are known for their suffocating discipline, but no one has come up with a good way to reform them in the past 70 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 29, 2016
Child welfare law revised but tens of thousands remain institutionalized in Japan
A baby lies in a metal-bar cot drinking from a bottle perched on his pillow in a Tokyo orphanage. There's no one to hold and feed him or offer words of comfort.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2015
Japan's top carmakers to expand Takata air bag recalls by millions
Japan's three biggest carmakers are expanding a huge global recall triggered by potentially fatal air bags made by Takata Corp, saying on Wednesday they will take back millions of vehicles worldwide for investigation.

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’