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Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 8, 2019

Japan's convenience stores work hard to stay relevant

Ride the Seibu Shinjuku Line to Iriso Station in the city of Sayama, Saitama Prefecture, and you can enjoy shopping at Japan's oldest franchise convenience store, a Family Mart that opened in September 1973. The following May, the nation's first 7-Eleven outlet was opened in Toyosu, Koto Ward — not...
Japan Times
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 / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 13, 2019

Japan searches for remedies at the dawn of the Reiwa Era

Japan's weekly magazines do not consider their primary role to be reporting cheery news. It would be more correct to say their practice is to proceed from a pessimistic perspective and then, after readying readers to rude realities, encourage searches for sustenance and survival, if not salvation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 16, 2019

Will removing porn from convenience stores in Japan hurt ailing tabloids?

Don't go looking for titillation at your local convenience store.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 15, 2018

Namie Amuro tops Nikkei Marketing Journal's list of 2018's most popular products and services

Described in its choice for the year's yokozuna (grand champion) as dasa-kakoyosa — something that's behind the times, but cool nonetheless — entertainer Namie Amuro appeared at the top of the Nikkei Marketing Journal's 48th annual Hitto Shohin Banzuke (ranking of hit products) on Dec. 5.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 1, 2018

Tabloids in Japan unafraid to question Imperial scandals

The domestic press is more deferential to Japan's Imperial family than the British press is to its royal family. To secure access, Japan's mainstream media must play by the rules of the Imperial Household Agency, which controls said access and watches the resulting coverage closely.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 29, 2018

Ogasawara Islands: A distant archipelago, barely connected

Resplendent with pristine beaches, clear blue waters and outdoor activities aplenty, the Ogasawara Islands are a relaxing 'Japan away from Japan.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2018

Opposition parties abstain from Diet deliberations over alleged sexual harassment by Finance Ministry official

The parties stepped up political pressure on Finance Minister Taro Aso to resign immediately, after the official implicated in the allegations quit abruptly over the claims the day before.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 27, 2018

Shukan Bunshun shoots itself in the foot with Komuro scandal

Another month, another celebrity controversy in Japan. This time, however, the commotion over J-pop producer Tetsuya Komuro’s alleged affair and subsequent retirement might mark the moment that netizens rejected the country’s obsession with scandals. It also allowed those who might fall under the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 21, 2017

Magazines hold their own against TV's 'iron chefs'

Prior to Japan's switch-over to full digital TV broadcasting in 2011, a number of industry insiders were already voicing concerns about how the new technology would affect their bottom line. With expanded bandwidth and additional channels, what — aside from reruns of old programs — could the networks...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
May 15, 2017

No taboos at Elysee as Mrs. Macron signals change

As Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, settle in to the Elysee Palace, their unconventional partnership stands as a symbol of the changes the new president is aiming to bring about in France.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 5, 2016

The unbearable burden of 24/7 work

There was no nonsense about the 1990s in Japan. The economy had crashed, the bubble had burst. "The age of human relationships is over," declared a corporate executive to Aera magazine in 1996, defending the cost-cutting layoffs then gathering speed. "This is the era of the discount store. The only sales...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 24, 2016

Japan's future typhoons: disruptive, deadly and destructive

Six typhoons have made landfall this year on the Japanese archipelago, already giving 2016 the distinction of being the second-worst year in terms of direct typhoon hits in modern times. But it's only Sept. 25 — the season's not nearly over and we're getting closer to matching or surpassing the 2004...
BUSINESS / TRAVEL INSIDER
Sep 13, 2016

New president at United; Dragonair adds flights; Jetsar eases ticket buying

New president at United
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.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Mar 21, 2016

'Konmari' decluttering book finally tops U.S. best-seller list

The English version of a Japanese book on how to declutter rooms has topped U.S. newspaper USA Today's weekly best-seller list.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 12, 2016

Beneath the chaos, an old new order

We are all going to die. Most of us will die miserably — it's in the nature of things. Hopefully none of us, infirm in body and mind, will die falling from an upper story of a nursing care home, pushed to our deaths by a disgruntled care worker. That three people did die in that fashion at one particular...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2014

Is the Asahi a scapegoat of nationalist media or victim of own missteps?

One of the nation's leading newspapers has been in crisis mode of late — a situation that may bode ill for liberal journalism at a time when nationalism appears to be making public inroads.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 6, 2013

Female novelist says pregnant women should quit work

The plight of Japan's working women is a subject that often pops up in the media. Female politicians and company executives voice the opinion that it would be good to harness the power of women in Japan, and that the garasu no tenjō (ガラスの天井, glass ceiling) needs to be smashed. But meanwhile,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
May 1, 2013

Bargain sales aren't always what they appear to be

'Sale prices' are all in the mind of the consumer.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Feb 27, 2013

Annals of cheap: Don Don Down on Wednesday

Used clothing retailer plays games with customers — and they love it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 17, 2013

Judo scandal casts doubt on Olympic bid

News stories don't exist in a vacuum. What often makes them "news" is a confluence of factors that provide a context of interest. Though the public thinks the current story about 15 female judo athletes (jūdōka) demanding fundamental changes to the way the national team is structured and run is a self-contained...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 9, 2012

Joy among the clouds and shadows

Yoko Sakata was an ordinary "office lady," not earning much and not aspiring to much, when she began suspecting her boyfriend of having an affair. She hired a private detective, who confirmed her fears and then paid her a compliment: "You have good intuition." He offered her a job. She grabbed it. That...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 15, 2012

Wild Watch turns 30 this month

As April 2nd's 30th anniversary of my first Wild Watch column in The Japan Times neared, I was in India — teeming Delhi to be precise, with its cacophony of people, honking traffic and barking dogs, though a tailorbird would stop and call outside my window, where a palm squirrel never tired of chattering....
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 4, 2011

Akita's Gardener proving a formidable force once again

With identical 5-1 records, the upstart Akita Northern Happinets and expansion Chiba Jets square off four times over the next two weekends. It will be a strong early season test for both squads.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 9, 2011

Nonprofits in Japan help 'shut-ins' get out into the open

Not everyone fits into society. Dropping out, or falling by the wayside, has numerous causes and many manifestations.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Aug 14, 2011

A heady witches' brew of midsummer nightmares

Aside from the Summer High School Baseball Tournament at Koshien Stadium and NHK documentaries reminiscing about World War II, mid-August tends to be a quiet time and most of Japan's weekly magazines skip an issue.

Longform

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