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JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 4, 2010

Only connect: Japan struggles to bond

When the novelist Chiyo Uno died in 1996 at age 98, she was as extravagantly eulogized for her love life as for her literary work. Four marriages, four divorces, several high-profile love affairs, one attempted love suicide — now that was living! Society disapproved? That should have been her biggest...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 27, 2010

What's in a name? Politics as usual

When the Democratic Party of Japan indicated in its political manifesto that it favored voting rights for foreign permanent residents, the reaction from some quarters of the media was visceral. In early April, publisher Takarajima-sha produced a 96-page "emergency publication" titled "Gaikokujin Sanseiken...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
May 26, 2009

'Manga': heart of pop culture

From "One Piece" and "Naruto" to "Doraemon" and "Sazae-san," comic books have been the heart of Japanese pop culture.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 24, 2022

Kishida denies ties as magazine links backer to Unification Church

In a politically awkward development for Kishida, a magazine has reported a chairman of a branch of a Kishida support group is under scrutiny for his ties with the church.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 24, 2021

The clear-cut actions that led to a disaster in Atami

News outlets are looking at the role companies played in exacerbating the mudslides that engulfed more than 130 homes in the city of Atami.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2021

Finding the right measure of Olympic success in Japan

Does academic success lead to happiness? Weekly magazine Shukan Gendai offers a cautionary tale u2026
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 21, 2020

Japanese media weigh in on the U.S. election

'Biden may have been elected, but it won't be easy to repair the rifts that have widened over the past four years.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 15, 2020

The popularity of jeans in Japan begins to fray

According to industry data, total sales of jeans of all types reached 78 million pairs in 2002. The current annual figure is believed to have fallen below 40 million.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 18, 2020

Overindulging at home and playing the online ratings game amid a pandemic

One man reportedly left as many as 18 empty wine bottles and four large empty sake bottles out to be recycled each week during the pandemic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 20, 2020

An aging sumo wrestler, food poisoning risks and safeguarding pets from COVID-19

Warning: A portion of this contribution deals with suicide, which some readers may find distressing.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 16, 2020

Disasters like COVID-19 bring us together — if we let them

Communities might have rallied behind each other in the face of the calamitous earthquakes in 1995 and 2011, but the new coronavirus pandemic has spurred a response that is more about self-preservation than helping others in need.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 11, 2020

Counting the cost of postponing the Tokyo Olympics

Nearly a month before the decision was announced to postpone the 2020 Olympics, the media was already speculating over their fate. On Feb. 24, the headline in Nikkan Gendai read, “Relinquishing of the Tokyo Olympics would mean ¥20 trillion in economic losses.”
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 16, 2019

News outlets are uncertain about the nation's future

The BBC in October published a glowing encomium to Japanese cleanliness. "How," it asks, "does Japan stay so clean?"
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 9, 2019

2020 races move north to Sapporo as cooler heads prevail

"It's like you're submerged underwater, but the water is boiling, and you're kind of halfway cooked" — that's how one distance runner described conditions at the women's marathon at the 2019 World Athletics Championship in Doha on Sept. 27-28.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 17, 2019

Dissecting the benefits of medical intervention in Japan

"Lies!" "Nonsense!"
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 20, 2019

New era aside, Showa nostalgia continues to keep rolling along

The new Reiwa Era is now into its third month and histories are starting to appear about the Heisei Era that preceded it. In late June, the publishing arm of the Mainichi Shimbun released a 384-page softcover book titled "Heisei-shi Zenkiroku" ("Chronicle 1989-2019"). The same week, the Nikkei Shimbun...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 11, 2019

Tabloids press pause as nation celebrates dawn of the Reiwa Era

Welcome one and all to Big in Japan, the Reiwa version. During the just-ended 10-day Golden Week holiday, only one general weekly magazine — Aera (May 13) — went to press, giving it the distinction of being the first publication out of the starting gates in the new era. Aera's coverage of imperial...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 15, 2018

Carlos Ghosn's arrest spurs debate on executive salaries in Japan

On Dec. 10, Masaaki Tanaka, former vice president of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, told a news conference he would step down as president and CEO of Japan Investment Corp., an entity set up by the government in September to develop new industries through capital investment.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 2, 2018

Dirty football tackle creates a perfect storm for news outlets to exploit

Former Nihon University football head coach Masato Uchida's alleged order on a player to "crush" an opposing team's quarterback in a May 6 game between Japan's traditional rivals for supremacy in American football has dominated sports and tabloid headlines for most of the second half of May.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 26, 2018

You can't plan for bad luck in the long winter of life

Wisdom is age and age is wisdom. Confucius, summing up his life, said, "At 70 I followed my heart's desire without overstepping the line." It's as good a definition of wisdom as any.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 5, 2017

Speed bump won't stop Kiyomiya, Japanese baseball's teen powerhouse

So far, 2017 has been a banner year for sports prodigies in Japan, from table tennis and shogi to baseball.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 22, 2017

Could Japan become a future cultural melting pot?

Why not welcome 10 million immigrants to Japan by 2050? That's Hidenori Sakanaka's pitch, but it's a hard sell.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 12, 2016

South Sudan and Japan: a tale of love and civil war

If you can call South Sudan "stable," you can call anything stable. You can call anything anything.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 22, 2016

Rape allegation casts harsh light on university club

Bright and vivacious young women are in great demand as TV announcers. For many in Japan, the stepping stone to a career in broadcast news has been the annual Miss Keio contest, held during the autumn festival at the nation's most prestigious private university: Keio, in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 1, 2016

Who advises Japan's business leaders?

Take a wild guess: Who's the second most influential management guru in Japan, after — it almost goes without saying — Peter Drucker?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jul 9, 2016

Cracks are appearing in Japan's 'healthy' image

Few people snack on baby carrots. Most prefer the sweet, fat, high-calorie fare colloquially known as junk food.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 18, 2016

How Trump fares in Japan's tabloids

If Japan's weekly magazines appear to be devoting an inordinate amount of space to coverage of U.S. politics this election year, it's thanks largely to the flamboyant antics of Donald Trump, who can be counted on for verbal outbursts and surprises.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2016

Does sumo commentary need to stress the foreignness of the wrestlers?

Let's scroll 10 years back to 2006, when a wrestler named Tochiazuma emerged victorious in the January Grand Sumo tournament. That win, by a native Japanese grappler, was already a rare occasion, as Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Asashoryu almost completely dominated the sport and another Mongolian,...

Longform

Visitors to Kyoto walk along a street near Kiyomizu Temple in April. A popular tourist spot, Kyoto has seen what locals feel to be an overwhelming amount of tourists in 2024.
Is Japan ready for 60 million tourists?