author

 
Menu
Search
 
June 08, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Internal Submission
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2014
Dodgy contracts cost ALTs
In the Jan. 3 article "Schools fret about assistant teachers ahead of proposed 2020 reforms," the principal of an elementary school praises an assistant language teacher for eating lunch with the children, and seems to imply that those who decline the "offer" to eat together are not the type of ALTs...
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2014
Recreational reading will score
Regarding the Dec. 31/Jan. 1 article "English to get 2020 push but teachers not on the same page": Experts have criticized Japan's reform plan for English for not including enough hours of English instruction to accomplish its goals. They've also noted the lack of resources and staffing.
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2014
Giving students a chance to soar
As deputy head teacher at the school referred to in the Jan. 6 article "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul" (about the challenges facing educators in meeting the expectations of the new national English syllabus): I would like to thank The Japan Times for discussing this very important...
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2014
Hints for winning over tourists
We've just finished hosting some Australian family members for two weeks in Tokyo and Minakami, Gunma Prefecture, including two elementary school-aged children.
Reader Mail
Jan 15, 2014
If only neighbors were customers
On a light note — without any reference to Yasukuni Shrine, the Senkaku islands, "Abenomics," school textbooks, history, etc. — I'd like to say that after living and working here for more than 17 years, I am always interested to discover a facet of the Japanese character that had been unknown to...
Reader Mail
Jan 11, 2014
Connect the dots on English study
The Jan. 5 article "English fluency hopes rest on an education overhaul" leaves a logic gap as to why Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should dream of a nation "that will actively re-engage with the global marketplace."
Reader Mail
Jan 11, 2014
How one treats Yasukuni is key
The politicians who persist in visiting Yasukuni Shrine say they visit it to pay their respects to the war dead who sacrificed their lives for the benefit of the nation.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 11, 2014
Lt. Fukuie returns; "Yoru no Sensei" drama features teacher challenge; CM of the week: Yomiuri Shimbun
"Columbo" remains one of the most beloved American TV series in Japan and has generated dozens of local copies. One is police Lt. Fukuie, the creation of mystery writer Takahiro Okura. Fukuie is a woman whose persistence tries the patience of not only her suspects, but her colleagues as well.
Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2014
Discovering the Okinawan dialect
For the past year I've been researching, as a school project, the decline of the Shimakutuba dialect spoken in Okinawa. We even went on a trip to Okinawa for three nights and four days; one night was spent in home stays with host families.
Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2014
A simple remedy for inequality
There recently has been debate on this page about whether economics is a science or not. It looked ridiculous to me, since every economist bases his or her economic theory on personal beliefs about humanity and society, and often on unrealistic hypotheses, none of which can be proved scientifically....
Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2014
Helping animals in Fukushima
Regarding the Dec. 31 article "In Fukushima, abandoned pets are multiplying": Thank you for picking up this topic. I wish all the people who simply left their pets behind in Fukushima after the 3/11 nuclear plant disaster would read this article.
Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2014
Scottish ties came with thistles
In his Dec. 18 article, "Is a U.K. breakup in sight?," Sir Hugh Cortazzi gives the impression that the Scottish connection has meant nothing but good for Britain, saying the Scots are "a canny lot" and "It would be hard to find a British company or organization without a good proportion of people of...
Reader Mail
Jan 8, 2014
Rub out anti-tattoo policy
Regarding the Dec. 31 Kyodo article "Tokyo bathhouses look to tap foreigners but ensure they behave": If Japanese onsen owners wish for more foreigners to visit and enjoy their facilities, they may need to revisit their "no tattoos" policy.
Reader Mail
Jan 4, 2014
Abe looks set to reinvent a personal Japan
Regarding the Jan. 1 article "Abe's quest to revive, reshape nation rides on the economy": The headline seems turned the wrong way. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's real revival target is not Japan's consumer economy, but rather Japan's economic prowess internationally.
Reader Mail
Jan 4, 2014
Mandela's dream not fully realized
Regarding Jennifer Kim's Dec. 15 letter, "Can't see Mandela as a 'peace icon," and Jim Makin's Dec. 22 letter, "Mandela halted vengeful politics": Nelson Mandela was a great admirer of Martin Luther King Jr. In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech (Dec. 10, 1993, Oslo), he recalled at the very end...
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2014
The most viewed culture stories of 2013
Pop culture ruled the roost in popular stories, but also showed its staying power: The most read online story from the JT culture section this year turned out to be a review of a manga drawn by Osamu Tezuka and first published in 1972. Meanwhile, Hayao Miyazaki's final feature at Studio Ghibli generated...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 1, 2014
The most viewed community stories of 2013
A majority of the most read community stories addressed timeless issues. These were stories about issues that naturally spark debate and will no doubt continue to do so as Japan's multicultural landscape continues to shift and shape.
Japan Times
SPORTS
Jan 1, 2014
The most viewed sports stories of 2013
The sports story most read online in the year in which Japan won the bid for the 2020 Olympics should come as no surprise. Baseball fans had plenty to celebrate, and figure-skating followers had no shortage of drama. Let's hope to see some Sochi gold medals in this round-up next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2014
Best wishes and prayers for the new year
Thousands make the annual 'hatsumode' trip to shrines and temples nationwide to give offerings and pray for good fortune in the new year.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2014
The most viewed news stories of 2013
On first impression, the news stories most read online in 2013 paint a fairly gloomy picture, a mix of loneliness, darkness and tragedy. However, you can also see readers' penchant for science and fantasy, even if Atlantis was not actually discovered. May there be plenty of good news in 2014!
Foreign tourists with unpaid medical bills in Japan to be denied entry
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks during ministerial meeting meeting on foreign residents in Japan on Friday at the Prime Minister's Office.
Japan eyes tougher rules for foreign residents and tax hike for tourists
A tax-free shop in Kyoto in April 2024. Last week, members of a Liberal Democratic Party study group drafted a proposal seeking to scrap the country's tax-free shopping system altogether.
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.
Japan won’t wait for G7 summit for possible U.S. trade deal
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's top negotiator in tariff talks with the U.S. speaks to reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Washington on Friday.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
What can Kenji Yanobe’s cosmic cats teach us about humanity?
Kenji Yanobe’s spacesuited cats are the main characters of “Ship’s Cat Island,” the inaugural exhibition at Hyper Museum Hanno in Saitama Prefecture.
From ridicule to redemption: Rice crisis returns Koizumi to the spotlight
Agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks to the media as he inspects a warehouse storing stockpiled rice in Kanagawa Prefecture on May 30.
New Naoshima museum bets on Asia, not the West
Detail of Takashi Murakami, “Rakuchu-Rakugai-zu Byobu: Iwasa Matabei RIP” (2023-25)
Japan’s prison reform focuses on rehabilitation
Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Friday. Suzuki said preparations for the changes that will focus more on rehabilitation are being actively made at each correctional facility.
Accidents raise concern over how Japan vets foreign drivers
Keita Ueno (right), the owner of Kiki Driving School and an instructor who supports both foreign nationals and Japanese citizens returning from abroad in getting their foreign driver’s licenses converted, is worried about the current lax system for the process.

Podcast

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

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027
Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER