Search - culture

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / WORLD FORUM ON SPORT AND CULTURE
Oct 19, 2016

Growth through stronger presentation, promotion

The World Forum on Sport and Culture will be held in Kyoto and Tokyo from Wednesday to Saturday to discuss and exchange information about the international contributions of sport, culture and the economy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 2, 2015

Tracing the emotional roller-coaster ride of life abroad

"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." — writer Terry Pratchett
Japan Times
CULTURE / Longform
Sep 26, 2022

Big in China, but can the party last for Japan’s artists?

Overseas artists can make a splash in China — provided they abide by the rules.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Ainu language special
Feb 21, 2022

Respected comic book spurs hope for indigenous tongue

In 2009, UNESCO in its “Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger” designated the Ainu language as being critically endangered. As the most dire of the five categories — only extinct is worse — used in the report, it highlighted the precarious state that had befallen the language.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 16, 2022

Where the wild things grow — foraging in Japan

Winifred Bird is the author of 'Eating Wild Japan,' a book that goes deep into the foraging culture of Japan and contains essays on foraging, a selection of recipes and a guide to forageable plants.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Nov 25, 2017

Japan's geisha battle to protect their future

A handful of traditional female entertainers across the country are experimenting with innovative ways of preserving their culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WORLD FORUM ON SPORT AND CULTURE
Oct 19, 2016

Business leaders discuss economic impact of sport

Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2017

Foreign IT workers seen as solution to industry shortage

There is a rising demand for IT engineers in Japan as many point out there is a shortage of such professionals domestically. An estimate shows that Japan will face a shortage of close to 600,000 IT-related professionals by 2030.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2017
Jan 17, 2017

Sport provides path to economic prosperity, world peace

Recently, "Team Japan" scored quite a few points in leading the world in the promotion of sports and culture to achieve economic prosperity and world peace.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 25, 2014

'Kawaii' gets a landmark

While Japanese cool hunters might lament the lack of pop cultural exports in recent years — all the more conspicuous when compared to K-Pop's successful forays westward — kawaii (cute) culture has quietly permeated into global consciousness with all the effortless grace of singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 7, 2014

International schools in East Asia are as local as they want to be

International schools are not hermetically sealed off from their surroundings. The local culture can have a huge impact on everything from the schools' academic approach and parental involvement to community outreach.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jul 2, 2013

Let's talk 100 percent kawaii!

Long before the mayor of Shibuya announced pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu as an official ambassador of kawaii culture, Sebastian Masuda, her art director, had been on a mission to spread "kawaii culture" across the world, advocating it as not only a potent source of Japan's emerging soft power, but also...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 3, 2008

Jiang Rong: Writing in a world of wolves

Jiang Rong (pen name of Lu Jiamin), who is now 62, was born in Jiangsu Province, China, and educated in Beijing. In 1967, at age 21, he volunteered to go and work in Inner Mongolia, where he'd heard about the practice of people there paying homage to "wolf totems" erected in the rolling grasslands that...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 8, 2018

The incoherent, divisive dogma of cultural appropriation outrage

Clueless online crusaders risk doing real harm to the very cultures they claim to represent
The "style architect" for Jay-Z since 1994, June Ambrose sees influences of her work across the Japanese fashion landscape.
LIFE / Style & Design
May 1, 2024

June Ambrose: ‘Cultural appropriation is the best form of flattery’

Ambrose has been Jay-Z’s designated “style architect” since the billionaire started Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1994.
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
JAPAN / Society
May 3, 2024

Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions

A Sapporo court ruled last month that an Ainu group only has the right to engage in salmon fishing for cultural — but not commercial — reasons.
Pages from a new Otaku Dictionary catalog the lexicons of Japan’s various subcultures.
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 30, 2023

A problematic otaku dictionary and the Japanese approach to sitting

An “Otaku Dictionary” has Japan’s subcultures upset at an attempt to define them.
Sanrio is marking Hello Kitty's 50th anniversary this year. The character's rise mirrors that of kawaii culture globally, and her longevity offers important clues as to the future of cute culture.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 22, 2024

Hello Kitty turns 50. What will the next cat's meow be?

The global rise of Hello Kitty, who turns 50 this year, tracks that of Japanese culture. What, then, does the next half-century of kawaii have in store?
Over four days in September, Japan Soca Weekend brought together the Tokyo area's Caribbean community for dance parties, outdoor blowouts and a crowning Carnival festival on a racetrack in Chiba.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 10, 2023

‘Peak happiness’ at the first Japan Caribbean Carnival

For Japan’s Caribbean community, Carnival provides a deep sense of community and offers a cure for homesickness.
In September, the Sapporo Convention Center played host to the first Adventure Travel World Summit ever to take place in Asia.
LIFE / Travel
Oct 28, 2023

Travel pros warn against diluting ‘Japaneseness’

“Don’t dilute the Japaneseness, because that’s what makes it special,” said one travel expert. “We want to come to Japan.”
Jessica Gerrity says kyūdō is for everyone. It's just a matter of finding a dojo that fits you best.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Sep 30, 2023

‘Archery gives me a chance to decompress from a busy life’

Gerrity is trained in several forms of traditional Japanese martial arts and works to promote Japanese culture as a tourism ambassador.
Tourists enjoy the sunset at Bali's Canggu beach in 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Oct 19, 2023

In Bali, 'sea-sun-sand' tourists threaten ancient rainforest

The island seeks to limit visitors without scaring off too many job-creating visitors with exorbitant taxes.
High-end tourism is becoming more about the kinds of experiences that Japan's lesser-known places can provide.
LIFE / Travel / Longform
Mar 25, 2024

Can Japan lure the jet-set class off the beaten path?

High-end travelers are looking for sustainability, wellness and adventure when they head abroad. Japan hopes to deliver in places other than Tokyo.
Italian chef and restaurateur Massimo Bottura is increasingly focusing on passing on his knowledge to chefs such as Antonio Iacoviello.
LIFE / Food & Drink
May 18, 2024

Massimo Bottura: 'The Japanese let ingredients express themselves'

The renowned chef and restaurateur talks about passing on his legacy and the "transfer of emotions" involved in cooking a successful dish.
A major bonus of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme is the time it offers you to be able to plan for long-term goals. Writer Erik M. Jacobs was able to map out what he needed to pursue a career in U.S.-Japan relations, for example.
COMMUNITY / Issues / Learning Curve
Aug 8, 2023

Every situation is different on JET, but they're all similarly rewarding

As a new wave of JET Program participants arrives in the country, a program alumni shares tips on getting the most out of the experience.
Characters from the Super Mario Bros. franchise adorn the front of Super Potato, a well-known retro game shop in Akihabara.
LIFE / Digital
Sep 20, 2023

Let the gaming begin: A guide to Tokyo's video game landmarks

Whether it's arcades, retro finds or chip-tune nightclubs, Japan's capital won't disappoint gamers wanting to geek out.
Toranosuke Katayama is a photographer who's photo assignments lead him to become a soba researcher with 70 publications on the cuisine.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 22, 2023

Toranosuke Katayama: ‘Soba is about saving history and identity’

A photographer who chose to document soba for a book soon found himself drawn into the deeper world of the buckwheat noodle.
A still from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 14, 2023

Big in Japan 2023: Anime, Murakami and The Legend of Zelda

Our guests tell us why anime dominated in 2023, which books stood out among a lackluster crowd and why the Zelda franchise is experiencing a renaissance.
One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 22, 2024

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Homeless influencers, fantasy boyfriends and bubble-era bars — Kabukicho seems to have it all.
People demonstrate in Sydney in March 2021 in response to the treatment of women in politics as part of the Women's March 4 Justice, a series of protest events.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2024

Entrenched sexism is very Australian. Let’s uproot it

Australia, despite its progressive history on women’s rights and high levels of female education, is slipping in global gender gap rankings.

Longform

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