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April 29, 2024
 

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Elaine Lies
For Elaine Lies's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2021
Decades apart, father and son design Olympic aquatics venues in Tokyo
Paul Noritaka Tange has paid tribute to Kenzo Tange's 1964 venue with his design for the 2020 Tokyo Aquatics Center.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 27, 2021
Japan doctors union warns games could lead to 'Tokyo Olympic' virus strain
IOC member John Coates has said the Olympics could be held even under a COVID-19 state of emergency, an opinion the union's leader said was infuriating.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 9, 2021
'As our leader says, try anything': Japan's silver-haired cheer squad
With members age 60 to 89, Japan Pom Pom is proving that life doesn't stop as time advances.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 29, 2021
Vaccine minister says inoculation pace to accelerate in May
Taro Kono said he expected to be able to get 10 million doses of vaccines each week in May but that the Olympics are not a factor in his scheduling.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2021
Waiting for Tokyo: How 110,000 Olympic volunteers put their lives on hold
Mixed signals from the games' organizers and a recent sexism scandal have left some would-be helpers lacking motivation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2021
Twitter star to vaccine czar: Taro Kono's moment in the spotlight
Kono has seen his popularity surge even as the government of his boss, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, has been battered by criticism over the pandemic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 14, 2020
'Demon Slayer' close to surpassing 'Spirited Away' as Japan's top-grossing film
The tale of a boy fighting human-eating demons which murdered his family, 'Demon Slayer' is poised to become Japan's top-grossing film ever, thanks to a boost in fan numbers due to the coronavirus pandemic and its message of resilience.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Oct 30, 2020
Olympic men's champion Kohei Uchimura tests positive for coronavirus
Negative tests next week could allow the reigning Olympic champion to participate in a planned four-nation meet at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Nov. 8.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Oct 27, 2020
Japan ink: Growing tribe proudly defies tattoo taboo — and hopes for Olympic boost
Banned from spas, hot spring resorts, some beaches and many gyms and pools, enthusiasts hope the presence of tattooed foreign athletes at next year's Tokyo Games will help sweep away suspicion surrounding their ink.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 14, 2020
Aging and empty: Suga's hometown highlights Japan's challenges
Yuzawa in Akita Prefecture has seen a decline in its fortunes in recent years, with a low birth rate and high death rate.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2020
Hip hop hooray for likely future PM Suga with hometown T-shirt shout-out
Yoshihide Suga, used to suits, a lectern and the trappings of the Japanese government, now finds himself on hip hop T-shirts and bags in his hometown, where the locals are celebrating the man expected to become prime minister in a few days.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 25, 2020
Pandemic threatens to unravel artist's kimono ambitions
Hiroko Takahashi took to making masks after business dropped off when COVID-19 arrived in Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2019
'More like us': Japan's imperial couple put relaxed face on the monarchy
Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have brought a more relaxed touch to one of the world's oldest monarchies, chatting in English with foreign visitors, laughing with children and even playing with dogs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 11, 2019
In Japan, the business of watching whales is far larger than the business of hunting them
People packed the decks of the whale-watching boat, screaming in joy as a pod of orcas put on a show: splashing tails at each other, rolling over and leaping out of the water.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 23, 2019
Desperate families of Japanese abducted by North Korea pin hopes on help from Trump
Takuya Yokota chokes up as he talks about a photograph of his older sister, Megumi, whom he has not seen since she was abducted from a beach by North Korean agents one winter evening 41 years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Apr 30, 2019
Braving heat and wind — but not rain or snow — superfan finds Japan's royals wherever they go
Wherever Japan's imperials go, there too goes Fumiko Shirataki: in summer heat and winter cold, to the ocean and to the mountains.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 29, 2019
Incoming Imperial monarchs offer Japan something new
Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife, Crown Princess Masako, represent a lot of firsts for the nation's next Imperial monarchs: university-educated, multilingual and with years of experience living overseas, during which the monarch-to-be even did his own laundry.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 9, 2019
Gatekeepers, listeners, tax money: How Akita, once the prefecture with highest rate, halved suicides
Taeko Watanabe awoke one cold March night and found a trail of blood in the hallway, a bloody cleaver on her son Yuki's bed and no trace of him in the house. Then police discovered a suicide note in his bedroom.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2019
Namahage demon festival of northern Japan grapples with blessing and curse of UNESCO listing
As a child, Tatsuo Sato was terrified when the Namahage demons roared into his house every year, but in adulthood he mourned as the centuries-old tradition faded away.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 11, 2018
Aging Japan: Neighboring suburbs face divergent futures as one grays, another grows
Katsuya Kodama's wife died two years ago, and the 77-year-old keeps her ashes on a Buddhist altar in their suburban home outside Tokyo.
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.
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.
Kyotographie's strong 12th edition shines light into the margins
Yassine Alaoui Ismaili, who goes by Yoriyas, turned to photography, shooting motion while in motion himself, after an injury forced him to give up his career as a professional breakdancer.

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

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