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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 17, 2016

With Abe-Putin detente, former residents of Russian-held islands off Hokkaido hope to get easier access

Former residents of four islands off Hokkaido that were seized from Japan by Russia in the last days of World War II greeted with cautious optimism Friday's announcement that efforts would be made to simplify visits to their ancestor's gravesites. They also offered specific suggestions on what such efforts...
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....
EDITORIALS
Dec 13, 2016

Google's commitment to go green

Google's announcement that it will meet 100 percent of its corporate energy demand from carbon-free sources by next year is a critical step in responsible environmental stewardship.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 12, 2016

Finn finds niche as Kyoto's first foreign jinrikisha driver

As the season for viewing autumn leaves comes to an end in Kyoto's Arashiyama district, a tall young blond rickshaw driver is drawing attention.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 10, 2016

Last splash: How long will the immodest Japanese tradition of mixed bathing continue?

The main reason that mixed baths have endured for so long is that communities have still supported them. When an onsen stops being a gathering place for locals, there's less to stop it slipping into disrepute.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 9, 2016

How Michelin's stardust has changed Tokyo

It has become one of Tokyo's gastronomic rites of autumn. Just as sure as the leaves on the city's many ginkgo trees turn gold and scatter across pavements, the latest Michelin Guide Tokyo hits the stores each year.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2016

Trip to Tokyo? Ex-Goldman trader sells secret, top dining access

Are you a business traveler who wants to jump to the front of the waiting list for Tokyo's most exclusive restaurants? Check out this former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader's new venture.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Nov 27, 2016

'Five-year rule' triggers 'Tohoku college massacre' of jobs

I have discussed the "five-year rule" several times before in this column — the revision of the Labor Contract Law (Rodo Keiyaku Ho) enacted in 2013. Under the amendment, any worker employed on serial fixed-term contracts (yūki koyō) for more than five years can give themselves permanent status....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2016

President Trump: Japanese-Americans, Japanese in U.S. weigh in

People of Japanese ancestry speak up about their impressions of President-elect Donald Trump.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 10, 2016

Trump crushed naysayers with a coalition of the forgotten

Donald Trump was right. Countless others were wrong.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 4, 2016

First Calais, now France set to clear migrant camp near Paris metro station

French authorities prepared on Thursday to dismantle a makeshift migrant camp in central Paris, its numbers swelled by refugees from a larger settlement in Calais that was meanwhile shut down for good.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2016

UNESCO adds 40 km of Kumano Kodo pilgramage routes to World Heritage register

Japan's strained relationship with UNESCO took a positive turn earlier this week after the organization approved the registration of an additional 40 km of the Kumano Kodo routes to its World Heritage register.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 23, 2016

How the world's slums are shaping their futures

Residents of the world's slums are battling to carve out a place in the cities of the future.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Oct 22, 2016

Welcome home, Okinawa

Under the slogan "Let the whole world move to the Uchina beat," Okinawa will host the prefecture's largest international event, the sixth Worldwide Uchinanchu Festival from Thursday, Oct. 27, to Sunday, Oct. 30. (Uchina means Okinawa in the island's language, while Uchinanchu means an Okinawan person)....
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2016

U.N. human rights panel is no place for abusers

A political Who's Who of authoritarian regimes are seeking seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council.
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
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 13, 2016

Health ministry unveils draft proposal to crack down on secondhand smoke ahead of 2020 Olympics

The government tables new rules to cut down on secondhand smoke amid a global trend toward cleaner air.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 8, 2016

Krys Lee: becoming North Korean and entering 'elsewhere'

Born in South Korea, raised in America, educated in England and equally comfortable speaking Korean or English, novelist Krys Lee has trouble pinpointing her "home." She is now based in Seoul, where her world is "intimate yet alienated," but when she returns to her old lives in the U.K. and U.S. —...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2016

'Pokemon Go' players deter suicides in Fukui

Another unintentional side effect of "Pokemon Go" fever has emerged — and it's not in the form of traffic violations or accidents.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 28, 2016

Medecins Sans Frontieres Japan calls for end to deadly attacks on hospitals

MSF Japan has launched a campaign, 'Don't Attack Hospitals,' as well a petition asking for the people of Japan to support MSF in their advocacy efforts.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Sep 26, 2016

The deeper meaning of the Emperor's video message

The main theme of Emperor Akihito's August message to the nation was not about abdication but succession of the postwar regime — which is synonymous with the continued existence of the Imperial family.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 24, 2016

Shizuoka: Where writers go to hide from the world

Ask a Japanese person which part of Japan they most associate with writer Lafcadio Hearn and they are likely to instantly respond: Matsue, a seaside town in Shimane Prefecture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 20, 2016

Out of the ordinary comes a new art festival

I've never been comfortable with the idea that Japan has three "most beautiful" places. It's a tradition, or a received wisdom, if you like, to rank the triad of the land bridge Ama-no Hashidate, the rocky islands of Matsushima and the sacred torii in the water at Miyajima as the indisputable height...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Aug 17, 2016

Sex trade a shaky safety net for Japan's working-poor women

For the past six years, 47-year-old single mother Kasumi Endo has lived a double life.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2016

Text of Emperor Akihito's unprecedented video message

This is the official translation of Emperor Akihito's video message broadcast Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jul 30, 2016

Inky points of interest in Tabata

Under glowering clouds, I decide to explore the area around Tabata Station in Tokyo. Though recently renovated, the station is one of Tokyo's oldest depots, dating from 1896. The station offers nifty spots for watching shinkansen trains bullet by, but I take the north exit to find the Tabata Bunshi Mura...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2016

Tokyo race front-runners seen as short on plans for day care, Olympics

As Tokyo residents gear up to vote in Sunday's gubernatorial election, candidates are making last-ditch bids for ballots.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 25, 2016

Better to holiday at home than endure a resort during the Japanese summer

In the late-capitalist scheme of things, the Japanese resort probably makes sense. But speaking as a reformed resort junkie, I believe we can do better.
LIFE / Language
Jul 25, 2016

Looking at vocabulary in the runup to 'Pokemon Go'

'Pokemon Go' fans in Japan are vexed by the wait for the popular game.

Longform

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