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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 13, 2022

Todd Silverstein: ‘Startups are challenging but Naro is like several startups put together’

An experienced producer, Todd Silverstein finds a way to bring the aspects of Japan that he finds most inspiring to your living room.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 26, 2022

Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show

Heavy tweeters have been in 'absolute decline' since the pandemic began, a Twitter researcher wrote in an internal document titled 'Where did the Tweeters Go?”
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2022

What to expect at the upcoming IISS Shangri-La Dialogue

Chinese assertiveness, North Korea's military provocations and the repercussions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are just some of the topics up for discussion in Singapore this week.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit 2021
Dec 7, 2021

Tokyo nutrition summit kicks off

The Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit 2021 is taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday under the auspices of the Japanese government. The summit builds on more than 10 years of international focus on nutrition that kicked off in 2010 with the launch of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 20, 2021

Make Japanese politics more concrete by training your ears

Training your ears to catch the sounds of certain Japanese words might make listening to people talk about politics a little more comprehensible.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2021

China’s shadow hangs over private preparations for Boris Johnson’s G7

When the diplomatic emissaries of the G7 nations met virtually late last month to prepare for the leaders summit in June, one problem cropped up over and over again: What to do about China?
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 11, 2021

Facebook said to be building a product to compete with Clubhouse

Facebook has a history of breaking into new technologies and chasing different mediums that have attracted users, especially if those audiences are young.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Feb 8, 2021

Blossom The Project starts a much-needed bilingual discussion on mental health in Japan

Meg Hoffmann Nakagawa's Instagram account Blossom The Project provides explanations in English and Japanese on a wide range of current affairs.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 8, 2021

Clubhouse app offers Chinese rare glimpse of censor-free debate

The U.S. app Clubhouse erupted among Chinese social-media users over the weekend, with thousands joining discussions on contentious subjects such as Taiwan and Xinjiang undisturbed by Beijing’s censors.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 20, 2020

No ‘negative’ news: How China censored the coronavirus

Officials scrambled to suppress inconvenient news and reclaim the narrative, according to confidential directives sent to local propaganda workers and news outlets.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Fincity.tokyo
Apr 6, 2020

Finance experts note importance of workforce diversity, global collaboration

Against a backdrop of startling international developments, such as Brexit and the Hong Kong protests, Japan’s financial sector is uniquely positioned to step out of the shadows of its competitors in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Professor Mutsuko Tendo (right) teaches a class in career development theory at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2023

Women’s universities in Tohoku seeking to survive with distinctive education

Women's colleges had long been regarded as schools with a focus on home economics and liberal arts, but some are now reorganizing their programs in a bid to attract students.
The Black unemployment rate fell to 5% in March, the lowest level ever recorded in the monthly data, but then rose to 6% in June, showing how erratic it can be.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2023

The mysterious fall and rise of Black unemployment

After a roller-coaster move this spring, it’s now essentially back to where it was in February. How much is statistical noise?
Education minister Keiko Nagaoka (second from left in the background) attends the Religious Juridical Persons Council held in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2023

Education ministry asks court to fine Unification Church

The ministry has requested the Unification Church to report on more than 500 items on seven occasions in total, with the group refusing on some issues.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa meets with the families of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas militants to the Gaza Strip, during a visit to Tel Aviv on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 6, 2023

Israel-Hamas conflict to dominate Tokyo summit of top G7 diplomats

Japan will be looking to further align the bloc’s responses to the war amid growing calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping during the final session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco on Friday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 18, 2023

A rare opportunity to see China’s leader up close and (sort of) personal

President Xi Jinping of China is one of the most self-contained Chinese leaders in decades, who reveals next to nothing about his personal life.
Naoya Maekawa, an associate professor at Fukushima University, speaks of the importance of passing on lessons from Japan's 2011 disasters.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 18, 2023

Knowledge of 2011 disaster declining among young, survey shows

An academic behind the survey says memories of the disaster are fading.
A young man (Ayumu Nakajima) argues over trivial matters with his love interest in “This Hamburger Has No Pickles.”
CULTURE / Film
Feb 17, 2024

‘This Hamburger Has No Pickles’: A hefty helping of awkward heart-to-hearts

Satoshi Kimura’s rambling rom-com offers a peek into the lives of entangled adults struggling to communicate with each other.
People read newspapers at a roadside tea stall in Patna, Bihar, India. Newsrooms are being reshaped, journalists say, by India’s richest press barons, many of whom are close to the ruling party and depend on millions of advertising dollars from the government.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 26, 2024

Billionaire press barons are squeezing media freedom in India

Many press barons are close to the ruling party and depend on millions of advertising dollars from the government.
“Extremely Inappropriate!” centers on Ichiro Ogawa (played by Sadao Abe), a crude high school teacher who is chain-smoking his way through 1986. He accidentally ends up on a bus that turns out to be a time machine, which drives him to 2024.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Wide Angle
Apr 5, 2024

‘Extremely Inappropriate!’ took a big swing. TV is better for it.

The drama — which features a fish-out-of-water protagonist and satirizes social issues — is the most divisive Japanese TV show of the year so far.
When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 29, 2024

Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree

Among official records in Japan, the "koseki" is key to discovering where you came from. However, it's not without controversy.
A prop depicting a water tap with cascading plastic bottles is displayed by activists near the Shaw Center venue of penultimate negotiations for the first-ever global plastics treaty, in Ottawa, Canada, on April 23.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
May 1, 2024

Plastic pollution talks make modest progress but sidestep production curbs

Some warned that too many political compromises would dilute the effectiveness of an eventual treaty while others welcomed a close focus on certain issues.
Protesters for and against affirmative action demonstrate on Capitol Hill in Washington. As the backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has intensified in the U.S., the number of so-called anti-DEI proposals have multiplied.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 12, 2024

For anti-DEI groups swarming annual meetings, even a loss is a win

This year, prominent conservative investors filed 42 anti-DEI proposals, up from just one in 2021.
A vendor attends to a customer at the secondhand books section of Panjiayuan antiques market in Beijing
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 13, 2024

China wants academic exchanges, but censorship could stand in the way

The Chinese Communist Party has exerted control over all publications since establishing the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Ishiba addresses the ASEAN-Japan Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 10, 2024

Ishiba keeps low profile as he makes diplomatic debut

The prime minister made pledges to strengthen maritime security and promote decarbonization during his first international trip since taking office.
Performers at Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo shows crack plenty of jokes, but the main purpose behind the group, organizers say, is to provide a space where Indonesian expats can express themselves about any struggles they may have about living abroad.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 14, 2024

Tokyo’s Indonesians get through life abroad with a couple of laughs

Stand Up Indonesia Tokyo is a community of comedians, comedy fans and others with connections to Indonesia seeking a reminder of home.
Disinformation researchers analyzed over 300 groups on Facebook that masquerade as pro-Harris pages while misleading the Democratic contender's supporters with abusive, hateful posts or capitalize on her popularity to promote merchandise.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 1, 2024

Deceptive 'bait-and-switch' Facebook groups snare U.S. voters

The tactic seems to target actors across the political spectrum, including Trump, but researchers have noticed an "explosion" of groups focused on Harris.
Sanwa Koutsu's Kuroko Taxi service has drivers dressed in traditional stagehand garb communicate with passengers only through gestures and written messages.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 9, 2024

The sound of silence: Japan's no-conversation services

“Constant social interaction can feel like torture for us introverts,” one customer says. "I think it’s a pretty smart business move."
The scene where a car crashed outside the Yong'an primary school in Changde, central China's Hunan province, on Tuesday in which "multiple students were injured" according to state-run media.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Nov 19, 2024

Car rams into students outside China primary school, hurting several people

Police said that a 39-year-old male was arrested but did not provide more details, saying only that investigations were continuing.

Longform

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