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CULTURE / Books
Jun 8, 1999

The 'nobody' who changed Japan

RYOMA: Life of a Renaissance Samurai, by Romulus Hillsborough. Ridgeback Press, San Francisco, 1999, 614 pages, $40 (cloth). Every country needs its heroes. Unfortunately, the great Japanese hero seems to have been a casualty of World War II. To this day, Japan tends to look all the way back to the Edo...
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 1999

Chronicling Japan's modern century

Japanese-style painter Kiyokata Kaburaki's 93 years (1878-1972) spanned Japan's great modern transformation. As a popular illustrator he chronicled the changing Japanese lifestyle; as an artist he played an important part in the great wave of creativity in nihonga (Japanese-style painting) during the...
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Apr 28, 1999

Tyranny of temptation

The future was supposed to be darker. Technology, in the service of some vast, all-encompassing power, was going to enslave us. Human beings would be reduced to ciphers, forced to live anonymous, interchangeable lives.
COMMUNITY
Mar 25, 1999

Nurturing the inner child within us

"Emotional intelligence" is what interests Gabriele Frohlich: the connection between the brain and the heart.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 24, 1999

One bullheaded Buddhist

LOYALTY DEMANDS DISSENT: Autobiography of an Engaged Buddhist, by Sulak Sivaraksa. Parallax Press, 1998, 450 baht. Sulak Sivaraksa, upon reaching the age of 65, decided to look backward and ponder decades of constant activity in Thai society. The book opens with a foreword by the Dalai Lama, who states...
JAPAN
Mar 15, 1999

Chiyoda, UNUM strengthen ties

Midsize insurer Chiyoda Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Maine-based disability insurance firm UNUM Corp. will strengthen business ties hoping to jointly develop and market products, the firms' officials announced Monday.
EDITORIALS
Feb 28, 1999

Shiny happy people

The elusive butterfly of happiness has been fluttering before humanity for a long time. America's Thomas Jefferson declared the pursuit of it an inalienable human right over 220 years ago. But a good 1,800 years or so before that, another great farmer-philosopher had seen the urge to chase happiness...
JAPAN
Mar 20, 1998

Insurers mull solvency margin disclosures

The life insurance industry is considering disclosing the solvency margin of each firm for this fiscal year's closing of accounts, Yuzuru Fujita, chairman of the Life Insurance Association of Japan, said March 20.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 1997

'Big Bang' will expose scrimpers' savings to big risks

Staff writer
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 18, 2023

Meet the YouTubers and streamers revamping Japan’s online culinary scene

A new crop of post-pandemic channels and streams are being helmed by innovative creators hoping to offer a fresh take on the country’s culinary content.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Women at Work
Jun 13, 2023

From Japan to the U.S. and back: Thriving as a woman in international finance

Chikako Matsumoto achieved her dream of joining the World Bank, and later returned to her home country and executive roles there.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jun 5, 2023

Fighters' Gosuke Katoh gets unique journey in Japanese baseball off to red-hot start

A single against the Giants extended his hitting streak since his debut to eight games — the longest by a rookie to start a career since the introduction of the NPB draft in 1966.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Hiroshima G7 Summit Special
May 19, 2023

Japan remains keen supporter of universal health care

When the Spanish flu flared up just over a century ago, it claimed at least 50 million lives worldwide at a time when influenza vaccines were undeveloped and other treatments were ineffective. Society fragmented as people lost trust in government institutions and national health care services, which...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 15, 2023

Takaaki Miyake: ‘The ideal of beauty depends on each individual, regardless of what gender they identify with’

After a decade working in the fashion industry, Takaaki Miyake left it to pursue a business in skin care, a field he associates with both physical and mental well-being.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 11, 2023

Yu Yamauchi gets very comfortable in isolation

The photographer, whose exhibition 'Jinen' is on display at this year's Kyotographie photo festival, gets in touch with himself and the world with long, lonely stints immersed in nature.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Apr 28, 2023

A genre of anime known as 'isekai' promises the ultimate do-over. And fans love it.

What if you were able to escape the doldrums of your current life and start fresh? That's the premise offered by a genre of anime that is increasing in popularity.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2023

Kishida on demographics, defense and disparity

In an exclusive interview, Prime Minister Kishida addresses the foreign and domestic issues that loom large, from the war in Ukraine to his promotion of “new capitalism” in Japan.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 31, 2023

Fighters debut 'best stadium in the world' as NPB kicks off new season

The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have touted the opening of their new home, Es Con Field Hokkaido, as the dawning of a new generation.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Mar 28, 2023

Recycling offers hope to safeguard net zero goals despite soaring metal demand

Concerns are currently growing about the environmental impacts of mining and producing metals required for clean technologies, from damage to biodiversity to rising emissions.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Mar 12, 2023

Reina Iizuka: ‘Rugby and football are basically cousins’

She was the first woman to play university-level men's tackle football in Canada and now Reina Iizuka has come to Japan and joined a rugby squad.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 4, 2023

High-level defection: Why a North Korean diplomatic family chose freedom

Born into an elite North Korean family with ties to the ruling dynasty, Oh Hye Son grew up believing she was 'special' — but then she tasted freedom overseas and decided to defect.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 25, 2023

'Dear, the war has started': My journey from Ukraine to Japan

It was around this time a year ago that Natalia Makohon hung out with her friends for the last time. From then on, her life would mostly be about survival.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Feb 22, 2023

Japan accepted over 2,300 Ukrainians last year. Is its refugee policy finally changing?

Many were surprised with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's decision to accept Ukrainians into the country given Tokyo has long held a strict definition of who is eligible for asylum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 5, 2023

'Idol, Burning' spotlights obsession and disillusion in a digital world

Rin Usami's novel about a teenage superfan of a J-pop idol plays with ideas of who we worship, what we find meaningful and what brings us love, connection and purpose.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 23, 2023

Trapped in trash: Japan’s hidden hoarders

Behind closed doors, Japan has more houses filled with garbage than you might think — a phenomenon being exacerbated by shifting demographics and pandemic-induced social isolation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 21, 2023

Horror of station massacre hangs heavy over Ukraine's Kramatorsk

Despite widespread silence over the brutal attack — one of the deadliest of the war — it has left an indelible mark on survivors and witnesses.
Employees of a fishing net manufacturer, including Ainu Indigenous people, work at a facility in Urahoro, Hokkaido, in June.
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET
Jul 23, 2023

In Hokkaido, an Ainu group's lawsuit and climate change converge on salmon fishing

The Raporo Ainu Nation in Hokkaido is fighting for its Indigenous rights to fish for salmon. But warming waters are raising questions about future fish stocks.
School children walking on a road submerged by sea water at Timbulsloko village in Demak, Indonesia.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jul 24, 2023

'Slow disaster': Indonesians in sinking village forced to adapt

More than 200 people remain in one of Indonesia's fastest sinking areas, an alarming symbol of how climate change could upend coastal communities everywhere.
A disturbing factor that may ultimately defeat the all-volunteer military force is the growing political division across the U.S., which is diminishing the young people's faith in America.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 24, 2023

U.S. military’s recruiting woes are a national-security crisis

The U.S. military's struggle to entice even the most surefire candidates — the children of veterans — puts the future of the all-volunteer force in doubt.

Longform

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