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Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
May 10, 2020

Sustainable lifestyle key to a stable society

As a society with an aging population and dropping birthrate, Japan is facing the question of what sustainable development is — and how to achieve it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional voices: Chubu
May 1, 2020

Drive-thru services in Aichi support butchers and restaurants

Firms have been hit hard by requests from municipal governments to shut down businesses and for people to avoid nonessential outings.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
May 1, 2020

Cities in Japan flush bad image with upgraded public toilets

Municipalities are teaming up with corporations when carrying out renovations aimed at improving experience for tourists and families.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
May 1, 2020

Hokkaido coal mine steam train to be reborn as Tochigi tourist attraction

The refreshed locomotive will run on the Tobu Kinugawa Line that connects Tokyo and the hot spring resort of Kinugawa.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 24, 2020

Okinawa islanders conflicted over tourism amid virus pandemic

As more people in Tokyo and elsewhere were beginning to hole up at home during the coronavirus pandemic, others were venturing out to visit islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 24, 2020

More foreign workers in Mie losing jobs and homes in virus pandemic

As the spread of COVID-19 infections hits the nation’s economy hard, foreign workers at manufacturers are being severely affected, with some losing their jobs and homes.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 24, 2020

Rebuild or relocate? Miyagi city residents face post-typhoon dilemma

Residents in the Shidayachi district in Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, who were affected by last October’s typhoon are facing a decision over whether to rebuild their ruined properties or to relocate.
Japan Times
SATOYAMA CONSORTIUM
Apr 21, 2020

Panel groups share marine protection efforts

Fishermen, divers, nonprofits and other organizations are working in communities across Japan to conserve marine and coastal environments that have been threatened by natural disasters, unbalanced marine ecology and other factors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Apr 18, 2020

Delay to games, while frustrating, may allow Kumamoto runner to showcase Aso Bridge rebuilt after earthquakes

As a torch relay runner for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, second year junior high school student Teppei Miyata had planned to run near the Aso Bridge in his village in Kumamoto Prefecture, which collapsed during the April 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. Then the games were postponed to next summer, due...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / A Weekend In
Apr 18, 2020

A weekend inside: Toy art, 'Tiger King' and a candle-lit bubble bath

Ideas to keep you entertained over a weekend indoors.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 17, 2020

Motorboat racing in Mie hit hard by outbreak, affecting public finances

Boat Race Tsu, a municipal-run kyōtei (boat race) course in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, is facing difficulties due to plunging sales after it began holding races without audiences to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 15, 2020

Asanoyama strong favorite to become sumo's next hot star

With the sport mostly at a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, the upcoming NFL Draft inspires Japan Times sumo columnist John Gunning to again consider his top rikishi selections.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Apr 14, 2020

B. League to realign teams into two conferences for 2020-21 season

The B. League will play its 2020-21 season with teams split into two conferences — the East and West — instead of three, which has been the format since its inception in 2016, the league announced following a meeting of its governors on Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Apr 10, 2020

Shortage spurs rush on materials for DIY virus masks in Hokkaido

A nationwide shortage of face masks amid the growing COVID-19 outbreak has sparked a rise in the number of people who make homemade masks using cloth as a substitution for medical gauze as protection against the novel coronavirus.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 10, 2020

As pandemic hits conferences, Aichi firm launches remote interpretation services

As the business environment continues to be affected by the spread of COVID-19, an industrial painting firm based in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, has begun offering Japanese-English simultaneous interpretation services remotely using teleconference systems.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Apr 10, 2020

Tepco 10-year plan for scrapping Fukushima No. 1 aims to get local firms involved

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is expected to disclose detailed 10-year plans for the decommissioning of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, including how much construction material they will have to order and the technology needed for the work, in hopes that it will make it...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA
Apr 9, 2020

Kevin Garnett yearns to see NBA return to Seattle, has big plans for future

Kevin Garnett always found Seattle to be a difficult place for opponents. He played in 27 games there during his NBA career, leaving the court as a winner only eight times.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2020

Pandemics and the G20: One last shot at relevance

The Group of 20 has the right mix of member states to handle a global crisis like the coronavirus pandemic. The only question is whether it will take up the task.
Japan Times
SOCCER
Apr 3, 2020

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino says soccer will be 'totally different' after coronavirus

Soccer will be totally different when it eventually resumes after the coronavirus outbreak, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Apr 3, 2020

Student group in Fukushima raises awareness of LGBT issues

On one day in February, about 10 people gathered for a discussion hosted by Fukushima University students in the city to raise awareness on LGBT issues.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 3, 2020

Aichi schools' field trip plans upended by spread of COVID-19

As the number of COVID-19 infections surge, especially in the Tokyo metropolitan area, many junior high schools in Aichi Prefecture have been forced to change their school trip schedules, which are typically held in the spring with third-year students traveling to the Kanto region, or other destinations....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Apr 3, 2020

Iwate 3/11 survivors face isolation as wait to leave makeshift houses drags on

About 40 households who survived the March 2011 earthquakes and tsunami in the coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture are still stuck in makeshift housing, waiting to move into new homes.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 1, 2020

Over half of Americans are postponing their weddings as industry reels

One of the last weddings performed in public in Las Vegas was on St. Patrick’s Day. The groom wore a dark suit. The bride wore a rockabilly-style black halter dress. The minister was Slash from Guns N’ Roses — or, rather, a licensed officiant performing as the shaggy-maned, top-hatted guitarist....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 1, 2020

Meet the expat comedians who keep Tokyo smiling

Probably the biggest paradox of stand-up comedy is that while there are no schools of humor — no Bachelor of Laughs degree, not even a “funny” skill on Linkedin to endorse your friend for — stand-up comedians are out there in good numbers. Even in Tokyo, where speaking English can be a struggle,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Mar 28, 2020

Okinawa sees fall in foreign visitors amid pandemic

Senagajima Umikaji Terrace, a Mediterranean-esque shopping mall located near the west coast of Senaga Island in Okinawa Prefecture, usually sees crowds of tourists and lines of buses and rentals cars. Starting in around mid-February this year, however, the number of tour group from overseas has sharply...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Mar 27, 2020

Kagura dance winning over young women

Kagura, a form of Shinto theatrical dance, is increasingly winning the hearts of young women in Shimane Prefecture, carving out a new fan base in the traditionally male-dominated music ritual that is grappling with a shortage of successors.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.