Transport authorities launched a full-fledged investigation Sunday into the derailment of a bullet train on the Akita Shinkansen Line in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday afternoon.
It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chinese warships in the East China Sea challenged Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces patrols in a manner deemed threatening. And on Feb. 12 came North Korea's nuclear test.
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...
Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...
Japan has a new hara. No, the nice couple down the hall didn't just have a baby; according to recent news, yet another form of harassment is supposedly becoming a social problem.
Loved by his supporters for his fiery rhetoric — which often involves bashing the Tokyo-centric status quo, overpaid local bureaucrats, utility executives, teachers’ unions or, indeed, anybody who disagrees with him — Hashimoto’s critics charge that he’s a dangerous rightwing demagogue seeking a fascist ...
No doubt you’ve seen the news about the Takeshima and Senkaku disputes: Japan is sparring with China, South Korea and Taiwan over some specks in the ocean. Why is this happening? Theories include pre-election political posturing and securing borders to exploit resources. But it’s ...
As per this column’s title, this month’s topic was chosen, well, “just because” it’s been on my mind. Some weeks ago I was asked to give a speech at my current research institute. When I offered workshops on activism and racial discrimination in Japan ...
Readers’ responses to Debito Arudou’s last Just Be Cause column, “For nikkei immigrants in Japan, it doesn’t have to be a bug’s life” (Aug. 7): Arudou of the Occident As a former nikkei resident of Japan, I, as well as my community colleagues, must ...
Readers’ responses to Debito Arudou’s May 1 Just Be Cause column, “Yes, I can use chopsticks: the everyday ‘microaggressions’ that grind us down,” his followup June 5 JBC column, “Guestists, Haters, the Vested: Apologists take many forms,” and Colin P.A. Jones’ counterarticle, “Much ado, ...
Last month the Japanese government took baby steps toward an official immigration policy. Ten ministries and several specialist “people of awareness” (yūshikisha) held meetings aimed at creating a “coexistence society” (kyōsei shakai) within which non-Japanese (NJ) would be “accepted” (uke ire). This is a ...
Some readers’ views on John Spiri’s May 1 Zeit Gist column, “It’s just because . . . foreigners know best”: Why does Japan fire us all up? I applaud John Spiri for his long but well-balanced Zeit Gist article, and I note The Japan ...
A few weeks ago, as a panelist at a symposium on Japan’s accession to the Hague Convention on international child abduction, I found it hard to disguise my ire. One of the speakers was a lawyer opposed to Japan joining the convention, and who ...
Some positive and negative readers’ reactions to Debito Arudou’s provocative and widely read May 1 Just Be Cause column, “Yes, I can use chopsticks: the everyday ‘microaggressions’ that grind us down“: POSITIVE A weight off my shoulders I just wanted to thank you for ...
For the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, gay pride parades are not only a great means to raise awareness of LGBT issues and spread the message of diversity and acceptance, but also a much-needed excuse to gather supporters together and party down. At ...
Last December, the Japanese government announced that a new visa regime with a “points system” would be introduced this spring. It is designed to attract 2,000 non-Japanese (NJ) with a “high degree of capability” (kōdo jinzai), meaning people with high salaries, impeccable educational and ...
