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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 29, 2022

Yu Shibuya: ‘Creating something from nothing requires a huge effort’

Yu Shibuya made the decision early on in his life to “rescue” modern Japanese culture from crass commercialism. He chose the theater as his weapon.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jan 27, 2022

The designer bringing a new kind of cool to Kenzo

Nigo, the Japanese street wear king, is joining the luxury world and taking on “the greatest challenge” of his career.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 14, 2021

Indonesian singer Rainych Ran goes viral amid an online city pop renaissance

Rainych Ran's take in Japanese on American singer Doja Cat's chart-topping “Say So” became a hit partially because music from the 1980s is currently enjoying a YouTube-powered revival.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Cultural Expo
Mar 13, 2020

A Celebration of Heritage and Opportunity

A distinctive feel for artistic and cultural expression has been passed down continuously in Japan for over more than 10,000 years. Today this proud tradition of arts and culture is among Japan's greatest strengths.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 20, 2020

'Kurly in Kansai' host Ayana Wyse: 'I'm involved in the community, not the society'

As one half of the duo hosting the podcast 'Kurly in Kansai,' Ayana Wyse is doing her part in building a community for the international community in Japan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 23, 2019

Japan's unviable whaling nationalism

The cultural nationalist project to re-imagine whaling as a national culinary culture will likely fail since it appears unlikely that whaling can become a viable commercial enterprise.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 27, 2019

Tracing the fluctuations in moral standards

"More than 16,500 women and men were sterilized against their will," reads a newsletter published in 1997 by the Network on Ethics and Intellectual Disability.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 9, 2019

Scavenging for samples from the '70s and '80s with Night Tempo

Jung Kyung-ho came to an artistic crossroads last year. The South Korean producer creating music under the name Night Tempo was trying to figure out where to take the project, recording new songs while experimenting with a live band for his shows — a drastic departure from previous gigs that found...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 3, 2019

From cosplay fan to idol, Yuriko Tiger's journey has been a colorful one

It was 1964 when 19-year-old ye-ye singer Sylvie Vartan captured the hearts of Japanese cinemagoers in the French film "Cherchez l'idole," released here as "Aidoru o Sagase" and in English as "The Chase." Her track from that film, "La plus belle pour aller danser," was a hit here, selling more than a...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Sep 26, 2018

Views From Tokyo: What is it that makes someone — like Naomi Osaka — Japanese or not?

In the wake of Naomi Osaka's historic triumph in the U.S. Open, The Japan Times asked people what they think makes a person Japanese. Is it parentage, language, culture or a combination of factors?
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Sep 3, 2018

Canada's national water polo squad forges new bonds during trip to Japan

Half a world away from home, quality competition is a top priority for the Canada men's national water polo team.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2018

Japan's indigenous Ainu sue to bring their ancestors' bones back home

Activist group's hardball tactics expose rifts in the Ainu community over the fate of bones held at universities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
May 26, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: Japan indulges in excess

The Japan Times presents the first installment of a monthly 12-part series that looks back at the leading issues of the past three decades.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Apr 7, 2018

Tak Tokumine: It's all about love and noodles

Founder of Japan Centre and Shoryu Ramen says the U.K. is now his home.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 4, 2018

South Korean 'job nomads' follow their dreams to Japan

Millennials drawn to not only more jobs but also a perceived less competitive working environment.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Feb 25, 2018

Japan Inc. seen embracing change slowly but surely

Sitting in a Shibuya meeting room at the Tokyo headquarters of human resources and specialist recruitment consultancy Robert Walters Japan, David Swan cuts a swarthy, muscular figure.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 27, 2018

'The Girl at the Baggage Claim' is Gish Jen's venture into the identity of self

In our age of cultural sensitivity — and vocal aversion to stereotypes — it takes nerve to compare East and West. Kudos then to Gish Jen, an award winning novelist and former lecturer at Harvard University, for venturing into the fray and adding insight.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 23, 2018

Bad rap: China takes aim at hip-hop, saying 'low-taste content' must stop

China's censors have a new target in a widespread clamp-down on popular culture: the country's nascent hip-hop scene, which resonated with Chinese youth last year on hugely popular television show "Rap of China."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 7, 2018

More readers' responses to Japan Times Community articles from 2017

A selection of unpublished letters about Community stories from the second half of last year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 13, 2017

Whether you're Japanese or not, results are what count in music

There are many factors to keep in mind when trying to break into the Japanese music industry as a non-Japanese person. One that might be easy to overlook but ultimately rings true: You're going to have to work hard.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Sep 13, 2017

Hong Kong's lesson in accountability for Japan's ailing universities

One word is key to understanding why the Chinese territory's universities tend to outshine Japan's in world university rankings.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 27, 2017

How a love of Japan led me to stop dating its women

A British academic concludes that the only way he can truly enjoy and develop his love for Japan is by excluding his love life from the equation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 25, 2017

'Radicalism in the Wilderness: International Contemporaneity and 1960s Art in Japan': Reiko Tomii brings Japanese art in from the cold

Reiko Tomii's profound and accessible study of 1960s avant-garde art from Japan offers an answer to a perennial problem in the appreciation of Japanese culture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 13, 2016

When Rene Redzepi brought Noma to Japan

In April 2014, chef Rene Redzepi was riding the crest of a wave. Noma, his iconic Copenhagen restaurant, had just been voted back to No. 1 on the World 50 Best list, cementing its place as one of the top global dining destinations. And then, at the awards ceremony, he dropped a bombshell announcement....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Nov 9, 2016

So-called egalitarian Japan is still honor-bound

Abolished and later resurrected system of awards may shape as well as reflect trends in society.
Japan Times
JAPAN / WORLD FORUM ON SPORT AND CULTURE
Oct 19, 2016

Baseball connects Japan, U.S.

Former Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Hiroshi Hase, sat down for a chat with the Japanese baseball legend Hideki Matsui, who was appointed March 21 as an ambassador for the World Forum on Sport and Culture. The discussion was moderated by Kumi Fujisawa, an advisor to...
Japan Times
JAPAN / AEC SPECIAL
Jan 29, 2016

Universities working to foster closer relationship

The ASEAN region is increasing in importance as a market for Japanese companies because its member states are getting wealthier and accelerating their development. Hence, increasing the number of students from the region studying in Japan is essential to nurture future businesspeople or politicians to...

Longform

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