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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 29, 2021

Inside Myanmar’s army: ‘They see protesters as criminals’

Four officers spoke about life in the feared Tatmadaw, which has turned its guns on civilians again. “The Tatmadaw is the only world” for most soldiers, one said.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2020

High crimes against journalism and decency

Jeffrey Goldberg's insane 'Trump called troops suckers' piece is a new low.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 17, 2020

‘The Keeper of the Dragonflies’: The essence of cross-cultural relationships, warts and all

Thomas Noah Wood is the pseudonym for the American writer Thomas Dillon, whose name may be familiar to readers of The Japan Times. Dillon wrote about daily life in Japan through the lens of international marriage in “When East Marries West,” a column which ran from 1998 to 2015. Unlike the good-natured...
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Jun 13, 2018

Byzantine rules govern sumo's name shares

Tochinoshin's promotion to ozeki comes with many perks. Most are connected to his life as an active wrestler, such as a boost in salary and parking privileges.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 23, 2017

Short Kyoto hike packs in plenty to stimulate the mind and palate

The last trail in this series is short and sweet — just 4 kilometers. For years I'd been hearing good things about the two-hour hike between the mountain towns of Kibune and Kurama north of Kyoto. The restaurants in Kibune are known for their terraces built out over the river, a tradition that serves...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 16, 2017

Former Chongqing party chief and Chinese Politburo member under probe, report says

Sun Zhengcai, the former Communist Party chief of the Chinese city of Chongqing, is under investigation by authorities, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people it didn't identify.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 14, 2017

Recalling the ins and outs of our memory

In the Harry Potter films, Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore shows the young wizard memories that he keeps in glass vessels. The franchise portrays memories as things that possess a physical structure that can be moved around. Although they appear to look like wispy bits of fluff, they are given...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 8, 2017

Japan's human rights issues fared better in 2016

Welcome back to JBC's annual countdown of the top issues as they affected Non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan. We had some brighter spots this year than in previous years, because Japan's government has been so embarrassed by hate speech toward Japan's minorities that they did something about it. Read...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Dec 17, 2016

Scientific discoveries inspire amid a turbulent 2016

A number of the notable science stories of the past year are, quite literally, out of this world.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Feb 8, 2016

Disgraced Kiyohara's situation similar to that of former pitcher Enatsu

Last week, a bat used by Kazuhiro Kiyohara during his high school days was removed from an exhibition celebrating the long and rich history of high school baseball at Koshien Stadium.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 1, 2015

Tackle embedded racism before it chokes Japan

Japan has a dire problem it must address immediately: its embedded racism.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jun 20, 2015

Medaka: the fish that helps us understand gender

The diminutive medaka (Japanese rice fish) have been kept as pets since the Edo Period (1603-1868). They are hardy animals, an important quality for a pet, and they naturally occur in a variety of colors, including gold. They have distinctive, some say attractive, eyes (for a fish) — indeed, medaka...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Apr 18, 2015

On the pleasing violence of fairy tales

Traditional fairy tales are so steeped in blood it's astonishing that children didn't all grow up to become deranged in days gone by. Take, for example, the popular Japanese fable "Shita-kiri Suzume" (literally, "Tongue-Cut Sparrow"), which tells the tale of a kind old man, his avaricious wife and an...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Feb 4, 2015

At age 50, seeing the writing on the wall

At half a century old, I only look forward — to see how much time is left before my clock runs out.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Oct 18, 2014

Suicidal cells and the immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks

You may not have heard of Henrietta Lacks — an African-American woman from Baltimore who died of cervical cancer in 1951 — but you have benefited from her.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Oct 1, 2014

Readers' letters: Ian Thorpe, the Yushukan, racism, teaching English, tipping and sunlight

Some emails received in response to recent Community articles.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 18, 2014

In love with the spirit of the 'Ban Bossy' campaign

A British columnist can't help falling in love with the spirit of the American campaign to ban the word 'bossy' on the grounds that it discourages little girls from ambition and leadership.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Feb 15, 2014

Dazaifu dalliance reveals curious case of a plum-struck deity

It's all thanks to the Spanish ambassador, really. Angeles and I were at the Spanish Consulate in Fukuoka, Kyushu's biggest city, to pick up her new passport. By midday, we'd done the business, slurped our way through the obligatory bowl of Hakata ramen, and were looking for a way to fill a few hours...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Nov 16, 2013

Creationists all thumbs over digits research

It's back to basics this month, with a look at evolution, science and religion.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Oct 16, 2013

Adoption and fostering, animal homes and a tribute: readers' mail

In response to a recent story about adoption and foster parenting in Japan, one woman recounts her life of doing both.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2013

Mandatory organ donation

It is estimated that 18 people die in the U.S. every day due to a national shortage of organ donations. This crisis could be solved if organ donation were mandatory.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 14, 2013

Yuri Nonaka takes viewers on a trip through the imagination

All things weird and wonderful were loved by the Surrealists and there is plenty of the weird and wonderful in the world of their fellow traveler Yuri Nonaka. The Kamakura Annex of the Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura and Hayama, is currently holding an exhibition showcasing works that were donated to...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Jan 26, 2013

Mining gems in Okachimachi

On early maps of Edo, as Tokyo was known prior to 1868, Okachimachi is rendered as a town (machi) densely packed with the tiny dwellings of okachi — low-ranked, poorly paid samurai infantry.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jan 1, 2013

The year for non-Japanese in '12: a top 10

Back by popular demand, here is JBC's roundup of the top 10 human rights events that most affected non-Japanese (NJ) residents of Japan in 2012, in ascending order.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Aug 19, 2012

The new Emperor's character, China conflict escalates, eruptions on Miyakejima Is., JET program takes off

100 YEARS AGOSaturday, Aug. 3, 1912
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2012

Costas' criticism sparks discussion over tributes

Should the International Olympic Committee permit individuals or groups to make political statements during the Olympics?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jul 8, 2012

How astrology and superstition drove an increase in abortions in Japan

I like to think of myself as a rational human being most of the time, but I have to suppress a shudder if someone opens an umbrella indoors, and I'd probably comment if a black cat crossed my path.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Feb 7, 2012

Questions raised about account of Tokyo cop assault

Some readers' responses to the Jan. 24 Zeit Gist column by Simon Scott, headlined "American claims Tokyo cop assaulted son, 8":
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 13, 2011

In the wake of the Vikings

At both its western and eastern extremes some 10,700 km apart in France and the Russian Far East respectively, the great, fused supercontinent of Eurasia breaks into fragments, into not quite matching fringes of islands.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Oct 2, 2011

Satoshi Kamata: Rebel spirit writ large

Monday, Sept. 19, was Respect for the Aged Day in Japan. But on that sweltering national holiday, it wasn't the heat that that drew tens of thousands of people to Meiji Park in central Tokyo, but their concerns for all the nation's citizens, and others, who may face a threat from nuclear power.

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition