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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Apr 14, 2018

Ryoko Hori: The art of massage and crafts

Born and raised in Osaka, Ryoko Hori, 37, moved to Tokyo to study fashion design at the age of 18. As a student she was lucky enough to work for the famous clothing brand Issey Miyake, but she wanted even more experiences in life. She had never been abroad, so after her graduation in 2003, she decided...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 14, 2018

'Lion Cross Point': A child's abandonment, cushioned by hope and quiet resolve

Lion Cross Point' is a novel of intersections: of memory and dream, past and future, rural and urban, of innocence and tragedy. Masatsugu Ono's poignant tale spins out in a child-driven stream of consciousness, unwinding from a series of shrouded traumatic events.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Apr 1, 2018

Japan's Supreme Court orders a child be sent home in a Hague parental abduction case. Maybe.

Defanged habeas corpus grew some teeth in last month's Nagoya international custody ruling, but the problem of toothless enforcement remains.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 31, 2018

'Territory of Light' is a timely translation that sheds light on Japan's marginalized

Acclaimed novelist Yuko Tsushima spent her lifetime reflecting light on the shadowed voices in Japan, inspired by her own experiences as a single mother facing the censure of a traditionally patriarchal society. In her later years, Tsushima explored the marginalized in Japanese history, writing from...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2018

Marriage quest finds some Japanese men looking to share household duties with female partners

Tokyoite Kiyoshi is 38 years old and is still waiting for luck in love. But when he finds his future life partner, he says he will be willing to handle family duties in the belief that men's and women's roles at home are equal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Mar 24, 2018

Eiichi Sato: Fate written in the star rubies

Eiichi Sato peers through a gemologist's loupe and shines a lamp down onto the small pink-red stone that glistens against the black felt cloth below. "Take a look," he urges. "It's pretty cool."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Mar 17, 2018

Miki Bartley: A guiding spirit for Japanese tourists

After 27 years in the United Kingdom, Blue Badge tourist guide Miki Bartley still loves to show visitors around.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 14, 2018

The Japanese lessons of a 'plastic Paddy'

A Briton of Irish stock finds the 'Irishness' he seeks not on the Emerald Isle itself but in the expat pubs of his adopted land.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 24, 2018

Entertainer Mari Natsuki confronts her biggest challenge in a new film role

Mari Natsuki has faced a number of challenges throughout her diverse career but her latest role asked her to attempt something she's never confronted before — portray an ordinary person.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 24, 2018

What's to become of humanity when AI replaces us all?

Humanity is turning a corner. The signpost is marked "AI." Everyone knows what it stands for. Who knows what it means?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Feb 11, 2018

Various work styles must be embraced for success

For many industries, it has become increasingly apparent that the way up is through Asia. This is especially true for Amway Corp., the global direct sales giant based in Ada, Michigan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 10, 2018

'Insta-gran' Kimiko Nishimoto discovers that it's never too late to experiment with inventive photography

There's a lot more to the 89-year-old Instagrammer than her wacky selfies.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 10, 2018

Japan's impoverished are finding it hard to enjoy freedom

Freedom comes in many forms, as does "unfreedom." You can be a prisoner in prison, a prisoner in a prison-state, a prisoner in your job, a prisoner in your joblessness. Who is freer — a poor person in a free country, or a rich person in an "unfree" country?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 3, 2018

NHK tries to clear up LGBT misconceptions

Last month, publisher Iwanami Shoten was criticized for its definition of “LGBT” in the newest edition of Kojien, which is considered to be the most authoritative dictionary of the Japanese language. The complaint was specifically about the meaning of the acronym’s “T” portion, which stands...
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Feb 1, 2018

Return to roots helps Akane Hosoyamada realize an Olympic dream

"She is the one I trust the most."
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2018

Better plastics for healthier seas

The world does not need new bans or taxes on plastics. Rather, it needs people who work with plastic to take advantage of technological advances that make it safer for the environment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 13, 2018

Shōtengai: Examining the evolution of Tokyo's venerable shopping districts

Jesse McFaddin strolls around Togoshi Ginza shōtengai (shopping district) on a recent chilly December afternoon.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 11, 2018

Tyler Smith's journey full of fascinating, funny tales

Tyler Smith made a wise decision.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 10, 2018

Zen and the art of documentary film

It's the second day of the new year and unseasonably warm outside Pole-Pole Higashi-Nakano, one of Tokyo's few remaining art-house theaters. Husband-and-wife filmmakers Werner Penzel and Ayako Mogi take a seat in the morning sun, taking off their coats while marveling at the weather.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 9, 2018

Ted Barton foresees rise in Japan skating, defends International Judging System

At last month's Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Ice Time sat down with ISU announcer Ted Barton, whose voice is well known to Japanese skating fans, for a discussion on a wide range of skating issues, including the International Judging System.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 7, 2018

More readers' responses to Japan Times Community articles from 2017

A selection of unpublished letters about Community stories from the second half of last year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / DARK SIDE OF THE RISING SUN
Jan 6, 2018

Giving former gangsters in Japan a chance can reap rewards

Fuji Television screened a popular TV series in 2009 called "Ninkyo Herupa" ("Yakuza Helper") that focused on the life of a former gangster who landed a job at a nursing facility for the elderly.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 4, 2018

A cloven landscape, a cloven tree, a cloven self

On a recent trip to Tohoku, photographer Naoya Hatakeyama took a picture of a tree. It wasn't a particularly remarkable tree, but it caught his attention all the same.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Dec 30, 2017

Remembering a stalwart of the mayonnaise world

Masashi Matsuda, who died in September, became a folk hero and media darling for his fight to maintain the integrity of his product.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2017

2017: A year of ignorance

Economic growth has become a deeply flawed measure of the health, welfare, dynamic vigor, balance and contentment of a nation.

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat