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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 22, 2018

Learning Japanese from TV samurai tales of the wild East

Portraying legendary heroes in colorful costumes of yore, jidaigeki (period dramas) date back to the earliest years of silent films, and the genre has been frequently compared with America's TV Westerns.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 20, 2018

Debate grows over paying compensation to Olympic 'volunteers'

A  constant concern about the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics is its cost. Projected operating expenses for the games as of the end of last year was ¥1.35 trillion based on calculations made last May. Although the figure is smaller than it once was, the International Olympic Committee says it is still...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jan 20, 2018

On the adulteration of Japan's oldest religion

Primitive Shinto is one of the loveliest religions in the world. It's beautiful in its simplicity — defenseless too, as it proved, against the nativists and nationalists who warped it into 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century xenophobia.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 19, 2018

How energy neglect holds Japan back

Tokyo's game plan underplays the biggest industry of tomorrow: inventing clean ways to grow rapidly without choking.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2018

Time ticks closer to nuclear midnight

Last week's false ballistic missile warning gave the world its first glimpse of what the start of a nuclear war might feel like as political tensions turned to real-life panic. As time ticks away, can catastrophe be averted?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2018

Huge oil spill isn't China's real offshore debacle

Thanks to massive overfishing in China's territorial waters, there isn't much marine life left to kill in the disaster zone.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 17, 2018

Jerome Bel and his amateurs test the limits of contemporary dance in Saitama show

Controversial French choreographer lets the locals loose in 'Gala.'
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 17, 2018

Special counsel subpoenas Trump ex-aide Steve Bannon to testify in Russia probe: NYT

President Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has been subpoenaed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to testify before a grand jury in a probe into alleged ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 16, 2018

For euro reforms, growth is the enemy

The harsh truth is that institution-building in Europe tends to occur when the continent is in crisis.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2018

Warning: Trump's baby sitters are about to head home

If this is what he's like surrounded by A-list advisers, expect chaos after they quit.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 13, 2018

In a nation that favors so much, why are Japanese teens so glum?

The world's happiest teens live — no, not in Japan — in the Dominican Republic. It's a beautiful Caribbean country, much and justly beloved by tourists yet plagued by poverty, crime, child marriage, teen pregnancy and inadequate education. Tourists needn't worry about that, but local kids, you'd...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 13, 2018

Michael Booth returns with 'The Meaning of Rice'

Michael Booth is back. And once again with his family in tow. The British food writer first came to Japan with his Danish wife and two sons in 2008 in a bid to learn more about Japan and its food culture in a trip that took them from Hokkaido to Okinawa in three months. Booth turned their foodie adventure...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 13, 2018

Trump in 'excellent health, doctor says after U.S. president's first physical

U.S. President Donald Trump is in "excellent health," according to presidential physician Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, who examined the president on Friday after a week of fresh questions about whether the 71-year-old commander in chief is mentally fit for office.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 12, 2018

Has #MeToo had its intended effect?

For the first time, we must grapple with crime not just as a social problem, but also as a social matter.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 12, 2018

Japan's quiet #MeToo movement says everything

As the #MeToo movement spans the globe, Japan is conspicuous for a relative silence, particularly where it matters most.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2018

Experts raise doubts over health studies conducted in Japan for Iqos smoking device, made by Philip Morris

As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers whether to approve the innovative Iqos smoking device, made by Philip Morris International Inc., researchers have raised concerns about studies submitted to the authority, half of which were conducted in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 8, 2018

No, Iceland hasn't solved the gender pay gap

Gender stereotypes are the real problem, and there's only one way to start fixing it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 7, 2018

Corporate Japan slow to grasp #MeToo

From news coverage to corporate behavior, Japan is still mired in a Showa Era mindset.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 7, 2018

Abenomics should follow Masayoshi Son's lead

Could SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son re-energize the Abe administration's structural reform effort?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2018

Giving democracy the finger in Washington

Trump has used his first year in office to reverse America's traditional role as a guarantor of security and democratic values.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jan 5, 2018

Trump threatens ex-ally Steve Bannon with legal action amid fallout over tell-all book

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened former chief strategist Steve Bannon with legal action over "defamatory" statements about Trump's son and son-in-law over a meeting with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2018

Brace for a Trump New Year

U..S President Donald Trump and his allies in Congress appear determined to torpedo Special Counsel Robert Mueller's independent legal inquiry.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 2, 2018

Looking at Hanyu's chances of retaining gold in Pyeongchang

It is the $64 million question.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 31, 2017

20 Questions: The best answers of 2017

What brought you to Japan? I came here for the magic. Osaka is home to some of the best close-up magicians in the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Dec 31, 2017

Japan's Supreme Court hands down a road map for parental child abductions

The top court's latest ruling suggests judges will find ways to avoid messy Hague Convention returns that Japan lacks the means to enforce anyway.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 30, 2017

Who can we trust during these new wars of the world?

Swords into ploughshares. Spears into pruning hooks. Three thousand-odd years ago, when civilization was rough and passions raw, an extraordinary visionary saw peace dawning. His words, recorded in the Biblical book of Isaiah, transcend religious denomination and national affiliation. They belong to...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 28, 2017

'Kurodanomics' is 2018's biggest question mark

The success of Abe's sixth year in power is firmly in the hands of BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 28, 2017

Rising humidity will worsen health impact of global warming

High humidity will magnify the effects of rising heat from South America to India, affecting people's ability to work and even survive, unless greenhouse gas emissions are substantially cut in coming decades, according to U.S. researchers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2017

Floods, fires and climate crisis in the Pacific

Runaway global warming is proving to be a tipping point for catastrophes.

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake