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August 15, 2024
 

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EXPLAINER

Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 11, 2011
Smart grid pursuit slow off mark
The term "smart grid" is coming up a lot as the United States prepares to replace its aging electricity infrastructure. While President Barack Obama pledged $3.4 billion in 2009 to spur an early transition to the new distribution grid, Japan isn't expected to follow anytime soon.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 4, 2011
The basics of being a lawmaker at the Diet
Diet members are often addressed as "sensei" (teacher) and seem to enjoy privileges ranging from high salaries and chauffeur-driven cars to free first-class flights and luxury "green car" seats in bullet trains.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 28, 2010
Kabuki going strong, 400 years on
The media frenzy over kabuki star Ichikawa Ebizo's drunken midnight brawl in Tokyo last month may be a testament to how, 400 years after its birth, the genre remains a highly popular form of entertainment integral to Japanese culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 21, 2010
Low-cost carriers elbowing their way into Japan's skies
2010 was a landmark year for Japan's aviation industry: The government inked an open skies accord with the U.S. in October to further liberalize their civil aviation markets, and during the same month Tokyo's Haneda airport opened a new international terminal.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 14, 2010
Is prefectural alliance a step toward superstates?
OSAKA — After years of planning, a regional alliance of seven prefectures was created earlier this year and held its first meeting this month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 7, 2010
Hakone Ekiden gave relay races new fascination
As the new year approaches, many people are looking forward to gathering with their families to eat special New Year's dishes. Some also will be tuning in to watch the Hakone Ekiden, the two-day long-distance collegiate relay race held from Jan. 2.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 30, 2010
Flu prevention advice nothing to sneeze at
As winter sets in, hospitals are calling for people to get flu shots.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 23, 2010
Move over 3G, LTE new kid on the block
Mobile communications have become part of daily life and the trend is accelerating. This has fueled the development of Long Term Evolution, a next-generation communications network.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 17, 2010
Kindergartens, day care centers may merge
When it comes to finding a place to park the kiddies for the day, working parents generally have two options: kindergartens and day care facilities.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 9, 2010
Japan's long love affair with 'matsutake'
When it comes to status — and exorbitant prices — "matsutake" mushrooms may be in the same league as caviar and truffles.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 2, 2010
Toilets: Japan power behind throne
Japan, the state-of-the-art high-tech powerhouse that gave the world manga and sushi, has also achieved prowess in a more fundamental feature of daily life: the toilet.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 26, 2010
Taxation about striking the right balance
With the country mired in fiscal debt, the government is depending more than ever on finding stable sources of tax revenue.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 19, 2010
No escaping annual sports days
Whether they like sports or not, it is compulsory for schoolchildren in Japan to participate in "undokai" (athletic gatherings or "sports days"), with the main one usually coinciding with the Sports Day national holiday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 13, 2010
No easy way out of 'twisted' Diet
The Democratic Party of Japan has faced a divided Diet since its ruling coalition lost its Upper House majority in July's election. While the DPJ-led coalition retains a majority of seats in the more powerful Lower House, the opposition now controls the other chamber, giving it the power to veto the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Oct 5, 2010
Homeopathy: cure or placebo?
Homeopathy recently came under the spotlight after Science Council of Japan President Ichiro Kanazawa urged medical workers to refrain from using the more than 200-year-old form of alternative medicine, calling it "ignorance of science" and "absurd."
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 28, 2010
COP10 to take on genetic, indigenous issues
From Oct. 18 to 29, the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP10, takes place in Nagoya.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 21, 2010
Inquest bodies give public a voice
Political observers say one of the reasons Ichiro Ozawa lost the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election Sept. 14 was the negative image of his alleged involvement in false financial reporting by his political fund-management body, Rikuzankai.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 14, 2010
Pandas coming to Ueno part of bigger pattern
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government signed a deal with China in July to lease two giant pandas for 10 years for Ueno Zoo, which has been without a panda since the famous Ling Ling died in 2008.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 7, 2010
Anime makes Japan a cultural superpower
Japan may be on a slow decline as far as being a global economic force, but the "soft power" of its modern entertainment genres, from manga to "anime," has global appeal, especially among young people.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 31, 2010
Does Japan's affair with tuna mean loving it to extinction?
Japan is known as the biggest consumer of tuna. Be it raw for sushi or sashimi or fried, broiled or canned, tuna is an important element of the food culture.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom
Flaring at the Cameron LNG export terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana. Flaring, a common sight at LNG plants, is a controlled burning of gas for reasons ranging from depressurizing equipment to disposing of gas that can’t be used. The practice is a "waste of money" and negatively impacts climate change and human health, says the International Energy Agency.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

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