Menu
Search
 
April 29, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

CULTURE

Books

Film
Books
Art
Music
TV & Streaming
Stage
Entertainment news
In his book "It’s Okay Not to Look for the Meaning of Life," Buddhist priest Jikisai Minami sprinkles in surprising declarations such as “Stop taking care of yourself,” “It’s okay not to have friends,” “People can live without hopes and dreams.”
CULTURE / Books
Buddhist priest grounds new book with practical advice and cheeky declarations
"It’s Okay Not to Look for the Meaning of Life" by Jikisai Minami addresses the ills of modern life by revealing the true nature of suffering.
CULTURE / Books / Longform
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
Shops without staff, shelves for rent, cafes and meetups are some of the ways the country's dwindling bookstores are trying to survive.
CULTURE / Books
Asako Yuzuki's 'Butter' is a heady serving of food culture and feminism
The author's foodie femme fatale character was inspired by a real-life "black widow" case that caught the public's attention in 2009.
Historian Frederik Cryns’ “In the Service of the Shogun” is a biography of William Adams, the inspiration for the character John Blackthorne (played by Cosmo Jarvis) in “Shogun.” Cryns also served as a historical adviser on the FX TV series.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 4, 2024
'Shogun' adviser dives into main character's real-life counterpart for new book
By Iain Maloney
After working on the FX TV series, historian Frederik Cryns explores the life of William Adams in detail for his biography, "In the Service of the Shogun."
In Hideo Yokoyama’s “The North Light,” an architect sets out to solve a mystery when he finds out the family he built a prizewinning house for has vanished.
CULTURE / Books
Mar 23, 2024
'The North Light': One man's psychological journey subverts the crime genre
By Kris Kosaka
Hideo Yokoyama's novel centered on a man confronting the shattered pieces of his life offers a look into post-bubble Japan's architectural world.
“The Rise and Fall of the EAST” author Yasheng Huang blames the “keju,” the imperial national civil service exam, for the decline in China’s technological innovation. Its influence continues in the “gaokao,” the annual university entrance exam that high school students take in June.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 19, 2024
‘The Rise and Fall of the EAST’: China’s ancient successes paint worrying picture of its future
By Brad Glosserman
Economist Yasheng Huang delves into the impact of the "keju" imperial national civil service exam on the ebb and flow of China’s technological innovation.
English translations of Japanese novels, like the ones seen here in a London bookstore, are getting a bump from TikTok.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 25, 2024
TikTok and YouTube fuel a Japanese literature boom in Britain
By Rosi Byard-Jones and Honoka Ito
Translated novels sold a total of some 2 million copies in Britain in 2023, and Japanese works accounted for one-quarter of those sold.
A single mom in Kobe moonlights as a sleuth in Simon Rowe’s “Mami Suzuki: Private Eye.”
CULTURE / Books
Jan 21, 2024
'Mami Suzuki: Private Eye': Kobe sleuth's colorful mysteries take readers around Japan
By Louise George Kittaka
Simon Rowe’s straight-talking detective cuts a sophisticated figure as she solves matters the police won’t touch, all while looking after her young daughter and mother.
Rie Qudan speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday after being awarded the Akutagawa Prize.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 19, 2024
Akutagawa Prize draws controversy after win for work that used ChatGPT
By Thu-Huong Ha
Rie Qudan won Japan’s most important prize for early career writers for “Tokyo-to Dojo-to,” a novel that “exposes the prophecy of the AI generation.”
In his new memoir, “Rental Person Who Does Nothing,” Shoji Morimoto describes his journey to becoming a professional blank page, citing his own posts on X (formerly Twitter), where he reflects on his transactions to nearly half a million followers.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 18, 2024
‘Rental Person Who Does Nothing’ finds value in just being
By Thu-Huong Ha
In his new memoir, Shoji Morimoto describes his unique business model: Do nothing for his clients.

Number of homeless in Japan hits record low
Homeless people sleep on the street in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward in August 2021.
Raising kids in Japan as a single parent? It takes a village.
Making things work as a foreign, single mother in Japan isn't easy, but these tips and tricks can help you through the hardest parts.
JAL cancels international flight after captain gets drunk at Dallas hotel
A Japan Airlines' flight from Dallas to Tokyo was canceled last week after its captain got drunk at a local hotel.
In Japan, regional revitalization fails to halt population decline
Sakiyama elementary school in Tamba, Hyogo Prefecture, in March .Over the past decade, the government has directed efforts toward policies designed to give young people incentives to base themselves in rural areas.
Putin’s war will soon reach Russians’ tax bills
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting in St. Petersburg on Friday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
Japan wants you to spend more with ‘luxury tourism’
Performers play a traditional drum unique to Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the prefectural capital of Kanazawa on March 16 to mark the extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.
Theaster Gates’ ambitious ‘Afro-Mingei’ brings Black Chicago to Tokyo
Theaster Gates' “A Heavenly Chord” lines up church pews before seven speakers and a Hammond B3 organ, a type of electric organ prevalent in Black American churches.
Casa del Cibo: A thriving jewel born from Tohoku’s harsh past
When chef Ryohei Ikemi moved to Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, and opened Casa del Cibo in 2011, it was the first proper Italian restaurant in the city.
Town to block view of Mount Fuji in response to overtourism
The town government of Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, decided to set up a 2.5-meter-high screen to prevent tourists from taking pictures of Mount Fuji looming behind a convenience store.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

Latest News

Buddhist priest grounds new book with practical advice and cheeky declarations
3 hours ago
Election trouncing a blow to Kishida, but snap election unlikely
4 hours ago
Wajima market's youngest stallholder taps crowdfunding to preserve heritage
5 hours ago
Man, 28, arrested in Okinawa over burned bodies found in Tochigi
5 hours ago
Women's basketball great Candace Parker retires
6 hours ago