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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 4, 2017

'Pachinko' author Min Jin Lee on how Japan's ethnic Koreans keep beating the odds

"I got lost all the time," says writer Min Jin Lee with a charming laugh, sitting in a hotel lobby in San Francisco's Japantown.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 1, 2017

Building a family with a difference: American couple in Japan explain decision to adopt child with disabilities

Confronted with hard questions about why they felt the need to adopt, the O'Briens chose to raise Sam, a child with Down syndrome.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 27, 2017

Folding and unfolding Japan's ubiquitous 'tatami words'

Japanese has this amazingly amazing capacity to form words through the simple process of repetition, or what linguists call reduplication.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 26, 2017

What's in a name? Just ask Cairophenomenons

When a band changes its name, it sometimes signifies a switch in artistic direction. For indie band Cairophenomenons — previously known as Cairo — the decision was far more practical, even if the new moniker is a bit of a mouthful.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Feb 25, 2017

Sake brewer Philip Harper: 'You need to learn humility in the face of nature'

British native on the need for patience during the brewing process.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NEIGHBORHOOD HOP SPORTS
Feb 24, 2017

Koenji's alehouses and brewpubs put the craft back in beer

Often touted as Tokyo's apex of cool, Koenji is a maze of narrow mixed-use streets, where the city's trendsetters, en route to hip cafes, cross paths with pensioners browsing cheap vegetables and various knickknacks.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2017

Japan cautiously watching how Trump agitates the trade waters

As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration struggles to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, local government leaders around the country, many of whom are members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, are expressing caution and concern about what Trump has said and plans to do. They are also reminding...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 28, 2017

Big in Japan? Artists from abroad may find it more difficult to draw a crowd

There are now just three major record labels left on the planet: Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / HOOP SCOOP
Jan 28, 2017

Barnett enjoys TV work for Warriors

First in a two-part series
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 24, 2017

Kimura's crazed 'Macbeth' for today

"When I was studying English literature at the University of Tokyo, even though I had no theater experience at all, I got the chance to direct 'Macbeth,' " 33-year-old Ryunosuke Kimura explained when we met recently at a rehearsal studio in downtown Tokyo.
Japan Times
SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Jan 24, 2017

Wideouts Beckham, Bryant showing new maturity

Despite Odell Beckham Jr.'s recent misadventures, MAS believes the New York Giants receiver is in the process of ditching his diva persona.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jan 22, 2017

Tomooka says young athletes should play different sports

The term "strength and conditioning" in sports is relatively unknown in Japan, and specialty coaches are often confused with athletic trainers, who are skilled in prevention, evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of athletic injuries.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / DAVOS SPECIAL 2017
Jan 17, 2017

A future of promise and pitfalls as AI technology advances

On a Sunday afternoon in 2035, a man in Tokyo is consulting a robot as to what he should eat for dinner.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 14, 2017

The little black screen we just can't take our eyes off

A great weight sits perched on us. It's called a head. It houses our brain and presents our face to the world. It comprises roughly 10 percent of our body weight. Heavy enough at the best of times, it grows heavier as it inclines forward. Held high, it's a 5.5-kilogram burden on the neck of a person...
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
CULTURE / Art
Jan 3, 2017

The special effect of Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Apichatpong Weerasethakul pokes a little fun at Thailand's superstitions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 31, 2016

Misuzu Kaneko: A deeper empathy for the natural world

In her brief life, Japanese poet Misuzu Kaneko (1903-1930) produced a body of work with themes that are every bit as relevant today as when she first put pen to paper nearly 100 years ago. Ostensibly a writer of poems for children, Kaneko's work reveals a deep respect for the environment and an awareness...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2016

Yes, 2016 was bad — and 2017 could be worse

This has been a complicated year. Don't count on 2017 being any easier.
Japan Times
JAPAN / JAPANESE IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Dec 19, 2016

Comments from workers of international organizations

According to statistics of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 800 Japanese are working for international organizations. Such professionals include those doing clerical work at the organizations’ Japanese units, appointed to lead an organization by using expertise gained through their careers...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 17, 2016

Charity in Japan begins at home

Domestic nonprofit organizations face a number of obstacles in their attempts to make a difference in people's lives.
Japan Times
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 9, 2016

Bradley set to be made scapegoat for Swansea's woes

Even by the madcap standards of a sport in which too many lunatics have taken over their respective asylums, the news that Swansea City manager Bob Bradley could be facing the sack after just seven matches beggars belief.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Dec 4, 2016

Japan's Board of Audit: unlikely guardians of the Constitution?

On Nov. 7, an annual ritual of government occurred: The Board of Audit delivered its report on the results of its audit of government accounts for the previous fiscal year (April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016) to the Cabinet. The 1,123-page paper brick handed over to His Abe-ness identified billions of...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Nov 30, 2016

American residents of Japan: dealing with Trump from a distance

Americans on both sides of the political divide interpret the presidential election through the prism of their lives in Japan.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 21, 2016

Why Trump might be good president

Expectations of Trump are so low in the minds of many Americans that small acts of civility and moderation will seem like remarkable achievements.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 20, 2016

Easy punditry, hard problems

The experience of the Bush years suggests that the institutions of U.S. democracy are not necessarily strong enough to prevent dangerous and reckless decisions being made. This does not bode well for a Trump presidency.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 16, 2016

'The Girl on the Train' charts a rough ride

Why does modern society assume that all women want the same three things: love, sex and babies? The short answer is, because pop culture has decreed it so.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Nov 14, 2016

With 'bun,' get your share in Japanese — or as much as you put in

Introducing some expressions using u5206 (u3076u3093), which means 'share,' 'part' or 'portion.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 12, 2016

Family debate: same-sex parents?

With LGBT relationships starting to be recognized by authorities, questions are now being asked about whether such couples should have children.

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