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Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 13, 2020

How one firm drove influence campaigns for big oil across the U.S.

In early 2017 the Texans for Natural Gas website went live, urging voters to "thank a roughneck” and support fracking. Around the same time, the Arctic Energy Center ramped up its advocacy for drilling in Alaskan waters and in a vast Arctic wildlife refuge. The next year, the Main Street Investors...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 12, 2020

Multidisciplinary collection in Tokyo depicts a paradox of restraint and restriction

The Fergus McCaffrey gallery has curated works that explore social and regional boundaries as well as the confinements of genre and convention.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 12, 2020

With the PlayStation 5, Sony sees a long-term cash cow amid gaming boom

The new PlayStation is Sony's most important gadget since the Walkman, and it goes head-to-head with Microsoft Corp.'s next-generation Xbox over the holidays.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Women of Taste
Nov 7, 2020

Dawn Club culinary group shines a light on Tsugaru’s traditional cuisine

Odds are you've never heard of Tsugaru, or its culinary history. But one group of farmers is trying to keep traditional dishes alive.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 6, 2020

Smaller firms without heirs see more support as Japan grays

The problem has recently become more visible in Okhotsk, Hokkaido, where the number of companies seeking support from one bank doubled in five years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2020

Pandemic keeps salarymen away from Fukuoka adult nightlife district

Though circumstances of infections and anti-prevention measures have differed from shop to shop, all have been treated as if they present the worst risks.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2020

Sean Connery and James Bond brought Japan to the world

“You Only Live Twice” highlights the cultural differences between Japan and the West without belittling them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Nov 2, 2020

TELL takes its fundraisers online ahead of holiday rush

Nonprofit counseling service TELL holds an auction to help fund its Lifeline as the holidays approach.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Oct 30, 2020

Akita Prefecture taps bear expert to stop damage to farms

Due to depopulation and changing lifestyles, residents no longer take proper care of mountains, which some believe is causing bears to roam further.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Oct 30, 2020

Medical students in Aichi struggle to get on-site training amid pandemic

Medical departments in universities are having difficulty conducting anatomy classes, clinical rotations and other training for students.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Oct 30, 2020

Fishers and farmers fear impact of Fukushima water release

Nearly 10 years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011, prices for food products from the prefecture haven't fully recovered.
Japan Times
LIFE / EVENTS AND INFORMATION
Oct 30, 2020

Porcelain shards serve as stark reminder of war

Pieces of Old Imari porcelain serve as reminders of the tragedy of war and reviving them symbolizes the hope for world peace.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: DESIGN
Oct 29, 2020

Designart Tokyo forges ahead with hybrid approach

Like many industries, design, art and fashion has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic — from major exhibitions and trade fair cancellations to drops in consumer sales.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2020

Japan's unorthodox household goods champion rides a pandemic boom

Iris Ohyama has made a name through reasonably priced electronics, and launches more than 1,000 new products a year.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Niseko Winter Special 2020
Oct 26, 2020

Powder hub offers outdoor activities, culinary treats

Fresh powder, lots of it, almost every day — that simple combination is enough to bring hundreds of thousands of skiers and snowboarders to the slopes of the western Hokkaido town of Niseko every winter.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Niseko Winter Special 2020
Oct 26, 2020

Snowy fun, education made easy

Niseko in winter can almost feel like a trip abroad with an international community, a variety of luxurious accommodation options and cuisine from around the world. The area is famous for its world-class powder snow that can be experienced from Niseko United’s 900 hectares of skiable terrain, over...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 24, 2020

Pandemic pushes Japan's wealthy to spend like there's no tomorrow

Since overseas travel has become virtually impossible, some people have been diverting more of their disposable income into luxury items such as new cars.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Oct 23, 2020

Japanese schools struggle with sports days in the age of COVID-19

The need to maintain social distancing and enforce sanitizing measures has seen numerous changes to the traditional event.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2020

Contemporary performing arts festival stays open to new possibilities despite COVID-19

Festival/Tokyo, known for its focus on young artists and edgy productions, has shifted the annual festival's emphasis from live performances to online ones.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 22, 2020

Five takeaways from the Australia-Japan defense ministers' joint statement

For Japan, it provides a standard for which other potential security partners like the U.K., Canada and the Philippines can follow.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 19, 2020

A transgender woman caught in the system finds help from the community

Dealing with immigration can be daunting at the best of times, but when you're a member of a minority community it can be harmful for your health.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2020

Original comic strips by manga legend Osamu Tezuka to be released in book form

The three-volume box set includes the complete stories, in the size they were originally drawn, of 'Tiger Land' — a comic about the coexistence of humans and animals.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Oct 16, 2020

Fukushima 'blank spaces' in limbo, left out of decontamination plan

Residents who were forced to leave their homes are encountering barriers stopping them from tearing them down.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Oct 16, 2020

Aichi city invites and trains youth to become independent fishers

Gamagori in Aichi Prefecture is putting young people through a training program of up to three years to get them on the seas in their own vessels.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Oct 16, 2020

SDF still building Miyakojima depot despite protests and land row

The Okinawa Defense Bureau has been unable to acquire 0.6 hectares of the site due to a dispute between a company and individuals who both claim ownership.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 14, 2020

Understanding Japan’s future security relationships

Could the world be seeing the underpinnings of a new NATO-like alliance in Asia with the Quad? What would Japan's role even be in such a security arrangement?
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 14, 2020

U.S. TV news networks aim for credibility, not speed, on election night

Some top U.S. television news executives see a cautionary tale in a notorious November evening two decades ago.

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.