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Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 26, 2017

Reconnecting with our nature: teamLab's digital revolution

An interactive art collective wants us all to connect and experience a world without boundaries.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 19, 2013

The weird and wonderful world of the naked mole rat

Doctor Chris Faulkes, who has been working with them almost every day for the last 25 years, has long since learned to love naked mole rats, but, as he concedes, since they are "pretty much blind and live underground in the dark, they are not necessarily naturally selecting on good looks."
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 9, 2023

Make sure your nouns and verbs match when talking about what to wear

Did you notice more kimono than usual being worn on Jan. 9 this year? That's because it was Coming of Age Day, an occasion for which Japanese youth sport their 'Sunday best.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 30, 2022

Arata Isozaki, prolific Japanese architect, dies at 91

In major structures in a dozen countries, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Isozaki absorbed and reinterpreted Eastern and Western traditions.
SOCCER / World cup
Nov 18, 2022

World Cup mired in controversy set to kick off in Qatar

This edition of the tournament has generated far more headlines about what's taken place off the pitch than what's expected to take place on it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2022

The U.K.’s masses descend on London to say goodbye

While it fits with a national stereotype, the orderly 30-hour, 7-km queue for the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II is about more than just lining up.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 16, 2022

Rise of far-right party in Sweden was both expected and shocking

The Sweden Democrats, with roots in neo-Nazism, came in second in national elections and will have a powerful influence on a new center-right government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 13, 2022

Jean-Luc Godard, daring director who shaped the French New Wave, dies at 91

Eventually becoming of the world's most revered directors, Godard helped kickstart a new way of filmmaking, complete with handheld camera work, jump cuts and existential dialogue.
BUSINESS / Economy / FOCUS
Jul 12, 2022

Despite new political capital, questions linger over Kishida’s economic agenda

There is uncertainty about exactly what it is that Kishida wants to do with his new mandate, as so far he has only set out his agenda using broad brushstrokes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / Longform
May 21, 2022

The enduring influence of mingei design

What began as a folk art around 100 years ago has gradually worked its way into the fabric of everyday life in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 13, 2022

Finding the right words for when you discover a lost item in Japan

Take a verb and turn it into a noun simply by adding 'mono' to the end of it and you're halfway to verbalizing that you've found something that was lost.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 25, 2022

This man married a fictional character. He’d like you to hear him out.

Akihiko Kondo and thousands of others are in devoted fictional relationships, served by a vast industry aimed at satisfying the desires of a fervent fan culture.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 6, 2022

Elon Musk may add to U.S. regulator's ire with late report about Twitter stake

U.S. securities law requires disclosure within 10 days of acquiring 5% of a company, and in Musk's case the 10-day deadline was March 24.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 23, 2022

One month into war, a Ukrainian family reunites in Japan

Kanako Takahara explains Japan's efforts to help these refugees, and why the government here isn't calling them by that name.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 4, 2022

How Germany’s historic shift on military spending could affect Japan’s defense plans

Berlin's about-face on its modest defense budget, which immediately followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has already begun to re-energize the issue of spending in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 19, 2022

Tsukioka Kogyo: The man who dedicated his art to saving noh

The ukiyo-e artist's extensive body of work devoted to Japan's oldest living form of theater has gone largely overlooked — until now.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2021

China Evergrande defaults on its debt. Now what?

A ratings agency's declaration confirmed what investors had already suspected, but they now must wait on a restructuring plan overseen by the firm hand of Beijing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 6, 2020

Changes afoot in the world of central banking

Further monetary easing may become inevitable for the U.S. Fed to make inflation targeting effective, and for the ECB to justify greater emphasis on the environment.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 14, 2020

Art or vandalism? Japan tries to find the right balance with street graffiti.

Tokyo looks to find the right balance between encouraging creative expression and protecting buildings from vandalism.
Japan Times
EDITORIALS
Oct 8, 2020

The 'Quad' offers hope for a free and open Indo-Pacific

Mounting concern about Chinese behavior prompted the four countries that make up the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue to resurrect the forum in 2017.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 8, 2020

John Baumlin: Getting out the U.S. vote in Japan

The national chair of Democrats Abroad Japan says it's not difficult for Americans overseas to continue to engage in their democracy.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 6, 2020

Iceland has very good news about coronavirus immunity

The emergence of a handful of people reinfected by SARS-Cov-2 — including individuals in Hong Kong, Italy and the U.S. — has sparked panic over the future course of the pandemic.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
May 26, 2020

Tell people your hopes and wishes using 'kana'

Stating your desires in Japanese can be done using a number of different structures.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 16, 2019

On Nagano's Lake Suwa, climate change unravels 600 years of history held dear

Kiyoshi Miyasaka climbs the stone steps of his shrine, autumn leaves crunching under his feet. The Shinto priest, dressed in white, aims an orange leaf blower at a row of cobblestones and clears the path of fallen leaves.
A mid-19th century ukiyo-e woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicts Xu Fu’s voyage in search of the elixir of life. He can be seen near the left side of the image, with what looks to be Penglai, or Mount Fuji, in the background.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Jan 20, 2024

Eternal pursuits: A history of Japanese quests for immortality

Whether it's a permanent state of meditation or feasting on mermaid, the quest for immortality in Japan isn't too far off from those in other cultures.
From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
PODCAST / deep dive
Apr 16, 2024

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

We discuss everything from accessibility in Tokyo to dealing with trains and the country’s shifting attitudes.
Asuka was one of Japan's earliest imperial capitals before the court eventually decamped for other locales.
LIFE / Travel
Jul 6, 2024

Cycling through Asuka, the forgotten capital of ancient Japan

During the Yamato Period (300-710), this village was one of the earliest capitals of the nascent Yamato state, even meriting its own aptly named Asuka Period (552-645).
U.S. President Donald Trump signs one of five executive orders related to the oil pipeline industry in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Jan. 24, 2017.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 7, 2024

From oil to EVs, here’s how Trump’s victory affects energy

The prospect of a Trump-era pullback from some policies promoting emission-free energy has already helped spark a slide in shares of renewable power firms.
While Donald Trump’s legacy and the future ideological direction of the country remains uncertain, the U.S. still retains a democratic future and a dynamic character.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

The post-cold war era is finished. Liberalism and democracy will go on.

For now, the weirder, stranger future the U.S. is entering still looks like a democratic future.
Members of the Wajima City Morning Market Association pose for a group photograph on the site where the market once stood.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Dec 30, 2024

In the wake of disaster, the revival of Wajima's market brings hope

Wajima's morning market on the Noto Peninsula was devastated a year ago. Now, led by women vendors and bold ideas, it is rising as a symbol of resilience.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan