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Ben Dooley
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2021
Japan’s Communists are hardly radical, but make a handy election target
The party, which long ago abandoned Marx and Lenin and never really had time for Stalin or Mao, is about as radical as a beige cardigan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Oct 24, 2021
Yes, this tiny water cooler capsule toy is 'ridiculous.' Perfect.
Yoshiaki Yamanishi set out to create the most boring toy imaginable.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 30, 2021
How Asia, once a vaccination laggard, is revving up inoculations
Overall, most Asians trusted their governments to do the right thing and put the needs of the community over individual freedoms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 26, 2021
Few women ascend Japan’s corporate ladder. Is change finally coming?
Only 6% of board seats at Japanese companies are held by women. After years of unfulfilled promises, these businesses are now facing pressure both at home and abroad to diversify.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 11, 2021
Her death shook Japan. But it may not shift its refugee policy.
A report on the death of a Sri Lankan detainee fails to assign blame to any individuals, nor address some of the more systemic issues with Japan's immigration system.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2021
Tokyo was promised glory and riches. It got an Olympics in a bubble.
The Games failed to live up to their economic promise and cast a harsh light on Japan's political culture. Some feel “a hunger for a new system.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 19, 2021
Japan left shaken after a detainee, wasting away, dies alone in her cell
Critics of Japan's immigration system say that Wishma Ratnayake was the victim of an opaque, capricious bureaucracy that has nearly unchecked power over those who run afoul of it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 1, 2021
A grudge match in Japan: One corner, two 7-Elevens
A fight playing out in Osaka will have ramifications for 7-Eleven and the rest of Japan's major franchises.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 13, 2021
Ready or not, Hideki Matsuyama is now a national hero in Japan
With his dramatic win at the Masters, the glare of fame will be inescapable for the 29-year-old, who has preferred to focus on improving his game.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2021
Japan is finding it harder to stay quiet on China’s abuse of Uyghurs
Public awareness of the issue is growing in the country, spurred in part by the work of Uyghur activists, and that is increasing pressure on the government to take action.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 2, 2021
Anime is booming. So why are animators living in poverty?
The workers who make the Japanese shows the world is binge-watching can earn as little as $200 a month. Many wonder how much longer they can endure it.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 25, 2021
Deaths in Japan fall for the first time in more than a decade
The health ministry reported that the number of deaths across the nation dropped by more than 9,300 in 2020 to around 1.4 million.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Dec 4, 2020
He escaped death as a kamikaze pilot. 70 years later, he told his story.
Kazuo Odachi hid his wartime past from almost everyone, but finally published his memoirs, which were recently released in English.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 28, 2020
A job for life, or not? A class divide deepens in Japan.
Recent court rulings threaten to further entrench the long-standing divide between so-called regular workers and the growing ranks of nonregular workers, many of whom are women.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2020
Japan is paying firms to make things at home. But China’s pull is still strong.
The pandemic — and Beijing's increasingly combative behavior during it — has driven home the risks of overreliance on China for the production of a broad range of goods.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2020
Japan's convenience stores are told to stop pushing 24-hour schedules
The firms' business models have been criticized for putting profit ahead of the needs of franchise owners.

Longform

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