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Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 27, 2019

VR builds bridge between staff and young detainees with developmental disorders in Japan

One day in mid-November, instructors at the Miyagawa medical reformatory, which treats delinquent teenage boys with developmental disorders, in Ise, Mie Prefecture, experienced how people with the disabilities perceive the world by wearing virtual reality goggles and watching a video.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Dec 27, 2019

Okinawa residents live in fear of stray munitions from U.S. practice range

The proximity of Okinawa Prefecture's Igei Ward in the town of Kin to a U.S. Marine Corps live shooting range puts residents at constant risk of stray bullets and other munitions landing on private property, ripping through roofs or even injuring civilians.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Dec 27, 2019

Tokyo Olympic torchbearers from Fukushima hope event showcases recovery

Applicants across Japan have begun receiving notification that they were selected to run in the Japan leg of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic torch relay that will kick off on March 26 at the J-Village soccer facility in Fukushima Prefecture, where efforts to recover from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / 2019 in Review
Dec 26, 2019

2019 served as a reminder of the importance of community in music

As music scenes fragmented, the year showed a renewal in community events for alternative music in Japan, with festivals and gigs taking to new venues and battling the weather
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / 2019 in Review
Dec 22, 2019

Japanese trends you couldn't have missed in 2019

Amid the hard news of the past year, there were some trends that lit up Japan's media offered the nation a sense of, if not a little hope, at least some relief.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 19, 2019

Change to Chinese university's charter dropping 'freedom of thought' stirs debate

Changes to the charter of one of China's top universities — dropping the phrase "freedom of thought" and adding a pledge to follow the Communist Party's leadership — have sparked heated debate and a rare act of student defiance.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Dec 14, 2019

'A Mature Woman': The truth squares off against corrupt Japanese establishments

Saiichi Maruya's 'A Mature Woman' takes on misogyny, power harassment and corruption with a witty, satirical touch.
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
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Dec 13, 2019

U.S. digital publisher boosts reach of Japanese 'light novels' in English-speaking world

"Isekai Rebuilding Project," a fantasy novel by a Hokkaido-based writer who publishes under the pseudonym Yukika Minamino, has become available to English-reading audiences through a website run by an American digital publisher of Japanese novels aimed at teenagers and young adults.
Japan Times
Rugby
Dec 13, 2019

Rising wheelchair rugby star Katsuya Hashimoto looks to show the world what he's made of

At 17 years old, Katsuya Hashimoto is the youngest wheelchair rugby player on the Japanese national team. With less than 300 days until the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, he often pictures himself on the court at the 2020 venue, ready for his first competition as a Paralympian.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Dec 13, 2019

Hiroshima's middle school students wear bike helmets, so why not high schoolers?

A 33-year-old housewife in the city of Kure phoned the Chugoku Shimbun one day to convey her concern about her sixth-grade son. He will be attending a junior high school starting next spring and will be traveling there by bicycle, but he does not want to wear a helmet because he does not like its design....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 12, 2019

At Madrid climate talks, Japan's Shinjiro Koizumi confronts critics over coal

Koizumi defended the government's policy by saying the country was not getting enough credit for its efforts to move to more environmentally friendly energy sources.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 10, 2019

The grammar point known as 'to iu'

When you're trying to describe what something is in Japanese, the structure 'to iu' can come in very handy.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 7, 2019

Japanese transport ministry to study shinkansen accessibility for wheelchair users

Transport minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said Friday a study group will be set up as early as this month to consider how to make bullet trains more accessible to wheelchair users.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 6, 2019

Girls revive previously male-dominated cheering squads

Typical cheerleading clubs in schools, known as ōendan, consist of men clad in black gakuran stand-up collar uniforms yelling vigorously and performing synchronized, dynamic choreographed moves to support sports teams.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2019

Brexit underlines perils of populist politics

The standoff between equally matched camps may solidify into a deep rupture in the national fabric.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 29, 2019

Toyota group member Aisin Seiki cuts low-priority meetings, reducing work hours as a result

Aisin Seiki Co., a Toyota group auto parts maker based in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, has set about conducting work-style reform, including abolishing dress codes and low-priority meetings to give its workers breathing room to come up with new ideas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Nov 29, 2019

Sendai launches new waterway project to prevent city flooding

Deadly Typhoon Hagibis caused riverbanks to burst across Japan in October, and also led to sewer flooding around Sendai Station, known as the gateway to the Tohoku region, leaving roads and underground passages in the heart of the city underwater.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Nov 28, 2019

U.S. judge delays sentencing of ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn

A U.S. judge on Wednesday delayed the planned Dec. 18 sentencing hearing of President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, but did not set a new date.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2019

Carlos Ghosn's wife wants him to go on trial in France, says he won't get a fair hearing in Japan

A year after the dramatic arrest of Carlos Ghosn, his wife, Carole, said the fallen auto titan should face trial in France because he won't be given a fair hearing in Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 25, 2019

China's growing threat to academic freedom

Professor Nobu Iwatani's detention in China marked a potential new, dangerous phase in the CCP government's undermining of academic freedoms for its expansive regime security interests.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Nov 22, 2019

Shuri Castle fire threatens Okinawa's tourism and traditional crafts industries

A predawn fire that destroyed much of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, has shocked the local tourism industry and associations of traditional Ryukyu Kingdom crafts, raising alarm about the loss of the historic attraction and potential harm to the prefecture's ability to promote its culture....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 22, 2019

Massive increase in concentration of microplastics seen on beach facing Japan's Ise Bay

Some 60,000 particles of microplastics per square meter — meaning one particle per 16 square millimeters — are estimated to exist at Nasanohama beach on Toshi Island in Toba, Mie Prefecture, a study by Yokkaichi University professor Satoshi Chiba has revealed.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 22, 2019

Hokkaido scholarships for foreign care workers draw nationwide attention amid labor crunch

Three municipalities, including Higashikawa in Hokkaido's Kamikawa subprefecture, and nursing care providers in the prefecture's north introduced in April a scholarship program for non-Japanese attending welfare services schools to encourage them to take up jobs at local nursing homes.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 22, 2019

Less than a quarter of Kyushu municipalities have up-to-date flood risk maps

Production of flood hazard maps along rivers in Kyushu is lagging far behind other regions in Japan, with less than a quarter of municipalities required by law to create such maps having finished the work as of the end of March.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2019

In a show of resilience, arson-hit Kyoto Animation to continue training programs for aspiring animators

In a show of resilience following a deadly arson attack on one of its studios earlier this year, Kyoto Animation Co. has announced that it will continue to offer training programs for aspiring animators next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Nov 15, 2019

German state leader to visit Fukushima to see recovery and renewable energy efforts

Minister President Armin Laschet of North Rhine-Westphalia, a state located in western Germany, is set to pay a visit to Fukushima Prefecture in January to evaluate the progress being made to implement renewable energy sources and the region's recovery following the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Nov 15, 2019

Foreign students in Japan hold back on applying for newly created visas due to past illegal overwork

Many foreign students in Nagoya have recently been found to be reluctant to apply for newly created visas intended to bring more workers from abroad, fearing their applications might not be accepted because they have been working more part-time hours than permitted for those with student visas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 15, 2019

Five years after earning Super Global status, Hiroshima University eyes elusive top 100 ranking

As this year marks the fifth anniversary of the education ministry designating Hiroshima University as a "Type A Super Global University," the university has taken major steps to achieve globalization.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 12, 2019

Food as a 'connector' between people

When technology is used to connect people who are in different locations and allow them to share the experience of eating together in virtual space, using a smartphone, for example, it will help reduce the problems linked to eating alone.

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