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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 23, 2019

After gay marriage law passes, Taiwan emerges as new market for LGBT+ surrogacy

On Geoffrey Li's 40th birthday last year, he put aside his dream of an early retirement on an idyllic island and instead decided to raise a child in Taiwan using a surrogate in Southeast Asia.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Dec 23, 2019

Hakone geisha events among tech venture’s global tourism efforts

Watching kimono-clad geisha gracefully dance to traditional music and joining in games all the while enjoying Japanese cuisine and sake — for non-Japanese interested in traditional Japanese culture, such entertainment might very well be the pinnacle of traditional experiences.
EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2019

Rebuild system of governance at Japan Post group

The Japan Post group needs to overhaul the organizational culture that was to blame for the illicit practices.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Dec 21, 2019

Purifying decorations welcome the new year

The end of the year is a time for thorough cleaning to ready the home for the arrival of Toshigami-sama, the god of the new year. Modern lifestyles notwithstanding, the custom remains deeply ingrained in Japan. Two leading floral designers and an in-demand stylist have created chic new year decorations with a contemporary touch that harmonizes with households today
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Dec 21, 2019

Shihoko Ura: A chronicle of caring, teaching and food blogging

A chance encounter with a schoolboy in Australia led a trained nurse to start teaching Japanese and then blog about Japanese food.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 21, 2019

'Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu': Japan's Shakespeare sheds light on the common man

Unrequited love, social obligation and human nature collide — with varying results — in 'The Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 20, 2019

Working mom fights the odds to become sole female LDP lawmaker in Kyushu

On a recent chilly November morning, aspiring politician Maiko Takahashi was undergoing a trial by fire as she stumped for just the second time in her life, addressing an ebb and flow of commuters near Oita Station.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 20, 2019

Behind the rise of Japan's recluses

A lack of economic ambition is increasing the trend of 'hikikomori.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 20, 2019

Holiday event welcomes athletes, actors

Philanthropist Haruhisa Handa served up a colorful Christmas fair this month featuring special guests from the worlds of sports and cinema: an Olympic medalist, a champion golfer, a two-time Oscar-winning legend and a screen action star with strong ties to Japan.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 16, 2019

Shareholder activism rises in Japan as firms go hostile and investors speak out

Record shareholder activism is combining with rare hostile takeover bids in Japan, in a trend that's seen as good news for investors in the country's ¥675 trillion stock market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Dec 15, 2019

Lifestyle and nature as a basis for global relations

The guest parlor at the Finland Embassy of Tokyo speaks of Scandinavian restraint and simplicity. Artworks by Finnish artists adorn the walls.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Dec 14, 2019

Qanta Shimizu: Beating the Bassdrum of tech direction in the U.S.

The diversity of New York could help overlooked Japanese technical directors get the work and recognition they deserve.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 14, 2019

Chaos Kitchen: Yokochō culture reimagined with 2020 vision

Occupying the entire basement level of the sparkling, reborn Parco luxury mall in Shibuya, Chaos Kitchen is not a food court. Nor is it anything like a typical department store dining floor, all straight lines and bland, standardized decor. In fact, it's like nowhere else in the city.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2019

Achieving human liberation through AI

AI is none other than a mechanized slave in that it liberates humans from labor for production.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 13, 2019

How much would you pay to work less?

Women are more willing to forgo salary for better life balance, but flexible policies could widen the income gap with men.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 13, 2019

Aichi city hires non-Japanese assistants to support foreign children at elementary schools

During a recent math class at an elementary school in Aichi Prefecture, Kamila Tamy Tida Miyamoto, 31, a Brazilian school assistant, pointed to the textbooks of Aika and Ayumi, second-grade Brazilian students who enrolled this year, as she explained concepts to them in Portuguese.
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Ecuador report 2019
Dec 13, 2019

Provefrut: 30 bountiful years

Provefrut’s founders Alfredo Zeller and Francisco Correa started the company with a clear vision in mind: To create an innovative company that promotes a culture of good values with an emphasis on social responsibility. In practice, the two entrepreneurs have nurtured the development of its partners,...
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Ecuador report 2019
Dec 13, 2019

Ecuador’s first mover in frozen broccoli

Ecofroz is one of the finest examples of a joint-venture between a South American and Japanese company. Just one year after it was founded in 1995, the company exported its first batch of high-quality frozen broccoli to Japan. Ecofroz formed the partnership when visiting officers from Saveur, part of...
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Ecuador report 2019
Dec 13, 2019

TropicalFruit Export: Connections through quality

Quality and Service: These are two things that TropicalFruit Export S.A. never fails to emphasize. Set up in 2006, it is a young company, but it has already made a huge mark as an organization committed to do things right, in order to be the best in its field.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 11, 2019

'Taro Okamoto'

Dec 26-Jan 24, 2020
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 10, 2019

'Fangirls' defend China from Hong Kong protesters and the world

For Li Mo, the footage of black-clad people clashing with police and vandalizing storefronts proved the final straw. The images of Hong Kong protesters fighting for greater autonomy from Beijing incensed the mainland-born postgraduate student and she could no longer remain on the sidelines. So, she joined...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Dec 7, 2019

Daisetsuzan: Life in the icy white forest

Winter lasts most of the year in Daisetsuzan, the high mountain range that stretches across the center of Hokkaido. Yet some animals live successfully and apparently quite happily in this frozen world.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 5, 2019

Economic priorities beyond Abenomics

Japan must move beyond Abenomics to start a new era of confidence and sustained growth.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 5, 2019

A TikTok craze is minting celebrities and ruining lives in India

Arpita Chaudhary, a newly recruited police constable in India's western Gujarat state, became an overnight celebrity after posting a clip of a 15-second gambol — clad in her civvies — on the hit social video app TikTok.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 4, 2019

Macron, the Atlantic alliance and opposite day

The French government is using psy-ops and parental logic to turn U.S. President Donald Trump into a fan of NATO.

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