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Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Feb 4, 2023

Hogwarts versus transgender rights, Blizzard versus Beijing

Can you truly separate the art from the artist? For many gamers, Hogwarts Legacy is their first such test.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2023

Three cheers for hybrid work

The remote revolution in work is one consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic that the world should welcome.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 30, 2023

From lessons of 3/11, Japan scientists share knowledge of disaster resilience across Pacific

As Japan’s top researchers continue to glean new information from 3/11, some scientists are aiming to pass on that knowledge to the rest of the disaster-prone Pacific Rim.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jan 25, 2023

Japan on a plate: Our food critic reveals his favorite spots

Food writer Robbie Swinnerton has been covering Tokyo’s culinary scene for decades, so for this week’s episode we asked him to pick out a few standout meals from last year.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Jul 23, 2023

Japan's macho cheerleaders fight to save a tradition

Dressed in old-fashioned, school-style uniforms, cheering squads are a mass of black at college baseball games as they shout out chants and bang taiko drums.
Japan Times
SOCCER / Women's World Cup
Jul 21, 2023

Australia and New Zealand get Women's World Cup off to rousing start with wins in front of record crowds

Australia and New Zealand earned slim victories at home to kick off the Women's World Cup.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Longform
Jul 17, 2023

After last train in Tokyo, a second city comes to life

Partying tourists, a busy fish market and and global businesses all play a part in a world most of us sleep through.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jul 16, 2023

Japan’s Nero? The shogun who dabbled in art while Kyoto burned

As Kyoto tore itself apart, Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa busied himself with art in his sanctuary. His indifference may have birthed today's Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 13, 2023

Taiwan’s #MeToo scandals push Tsai to revamp law before election

With over 200 people already implicated, the DPP is expected to greenlight tougher measures against sexual harassment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / THE RECIPE BOX
Jul 9, 2023

Recipe: Cream-fried eggs

Amid the recent egg shortage, I’ve been searching for interesting ways to honor those previous few I can get my hands on.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 30, 2023

With ‘Idol,’ Yoasobi pens a new chapter in J-pop's story

In creating the theme song to the popular anime 'Oshi no Ko,' one of Japan’s most interesting groups wins new fans overseas.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 28, 2023

South Koreans get younger as traditional age system dropped

South Korea will use the international system that calculates age according to a person's actual date of birth, meaning everyone will officially become a year or two younger.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jun 25, 2023

Tokyo hosts Asia’s first ‘Nobel Prize in gastronomy’ award

For the first time, the Basque Culinary Center brought its annual summit to Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Jun 24, 2023

Why Emperor Naruhito's visit to Indonesia matters symbolically and practically

The emperor's trip to Southeast Asia's most populous nation carried a deeper meaning amid a tense security situation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 24, 2023

A Japanese song on the South Korean charts is more than just a viral moment

As Japan’s imase celebrates the success of his track “Night Dancer” in South Korea, it could be a further sign that relations between the two countries are getting better.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 22, 2023

Canada settles $2 billion suit over ‘cultural genocide’ at residential schools

From the 19th century through the 1990s, thousands of Indigenous students were forbidden from speaking their ancestral languages and practicing their traditions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2023

At long last, Japan’s startup scene may finally be ready to take big leap forward

The president of Cambridge Innovation Center Japan is among those feeling bullish that Japan’s startup scene is on the right track, thanks in part to new government initiatives.
Members of the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild take part in a picket line outside Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California, on Thursday.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2023

AI shines a spotlight on Hollywood hypocrisy

Studios haven’t informed or paid background actors properly for being digitally scanned, yet they want the same courtesy from AI companies.
The financial district of San Francisco in May 2022
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2023

Not all firms are ready for a four-day week — yet, says expert

The largest-ever trial of the four-day work week found that most U.K. businesses participating don’t want to return to the five-day standard.
Tony Bennett at the Apollo Theater in the Harlem neighborhood of New York in 1997
CULTURE / Music
Jul 21, 2023

Tony Bennett, masterful stylist of American musical standards, dies at 96

Bennett vaulted to fame in the early 1950s with a string of emotional hits, including "The Boulevard of Broken Dreams," "Because of You" and "Blue Velvet."
Director Hirobumi Watanabe (second from left) stars alongside his brother Yuji (far right), who has served as composer on all of his films, in his new feature “Techno Brothers,” which follows a sibling trio on the road to Tokyo to find success in the music business.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023

Foolish Piggies Films keeps humor at its heart

Indie director Hirobumi Watanabe looks back on 10 years of making distinctive, micro-budget films with his brother and seeking out new challenges on and off screen.
The 1975 perform at the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London in 2019
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jul 22, 2023

Malaysia halts music festival after same-sex kiss by U.K. band The 1975

Homosexuality is a crime in Muslim-majority Malaysia. Rights groups have warned of growing intolerance against the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
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.
An overwhelming majority of Japanese firms are negative about achieving a goal of having women in 30% of executive positions by 2030, a survey shows.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 20, 2023

Firms pessimistic about hitting 30% goal for female execs by 2030, poll shows

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida set the target in June for leading companies, aiming to boost womens' management participation from 2.2% as of July 2022.
A cinema employee checks on a display showing a digital poster for Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, "The Boy and the Heron," on the first day of its premiere in Tokyo on July 14.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023

For his last movie, Hayao Miyazaki recycles himself

While visually and technically stunning, "The Boy and the Heron" might give some viewers an unsatisfying sense of deja vu.
A lonely woman (Ayaka Nakagochi, left) develops romantic feelings for her personal care humanoid (Kosei Kudo) in “12 Months of Kai.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 20, 2023

‘12 Months of Kai’: When Prince Charming is too perfect to be real

Mutsuki Kameyama’s sci-fi romance about a woman who falls in love with a handsome humanoid delves into the difficulties of “unconventional” relationships.
Mexican chef Marco Garcia has developed an innovative cuisine by fusing his love of Japanese classics, especially sushi, with the staple foods and flavors of his homeland.
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jul 17, 2023

At Ebisu’s Tacos Bar, seafood tortillas with sushi inspiration

Chef Marco Garcia’s focus at Tacos Bar is entirely on seafood — and what excellent fish it is.
A photograph by Joel Pulliam provides a hint at what is on offer at VoidTokyo's "Sharaku" exhibition at HikoHiko Gallery.
CULTURE
Jul 19, 2023

Street photography by VoidTokyo on full display in Ginza

With the goal of capturing the city of Tokyo in physical form and not just on social media, VoidTokyo celebrates its members at “Sharaku.”
A theater-goer takes a photo of the promotional poster for Hayao Miyazaki’s new film, “The Boy and the Heron.”
CULTURE / Film
Jul 18, 2023

‘The Boy and the Heron’: It’s so good to be back in Hayao Miyazaki’s world

Studio Ghibli’s latest film takes viewers on one last journey to the familiar world of a master animator who has captivated audiences worldwide for decades.

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