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Jordan Allen
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida accepts a gift of 'dekopon' citruses, a specialty product and symbol of Kumamoto Prefecture, from Kumamon, itself a mascot and instantly recognizeable symbol of the region.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Oct 28, 2024
Japan’s ‘meibutsu’-industrial complex is a wonder to behold
If you name a Japanese prefecture, many locals will instantly be able to tell you something that the region is famous for or a product synonymous with that area.
Time is nearly up for the hordes of insects that are thriving more than ever in Japan's increasingly boiling summer.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Sep 23, 2024
Saying good riddance to what bugs me about a Japanese summer
For an arachnophobe in Japan, the fall, winter and spring just can’t come quick — and stay long — enough.
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 15, 2024
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
I do have a unit, and I dutifully clean the filters now and then, but over the past two or three years, I’ve learned to live entirely without it.
Perhaps being seen in the company of your own children in the right places — playgrounds, schools, etc. — can make you seem more approachable and allow children to say exactly what’s on their mind.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 24, 2024
‘You’re a spy, then?’ The odd interactions of a non-Japanese father in Japan
Remember to keep your ears open whenever you’re near children and you’re guaranteed to hear something that’ll make you think.
For someone who grew up in a country with a system of street names, finding an address in Japan — or worse: trying to guide someone else to one — is no easy task at first.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 7, 2024
Lost in translation? No, lost in Japan’s maze of streets.
Anyone who experienced wayfinding in Japan before the age of map apps will remember how much sleuthing was required to get to your destination.
Runners fill the street in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building at the start of the 2023 Tokyo Marathon.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Mar 25, 2024
Medals, jewelry and veggies: Japan’s race prizes run the gamut
Japan's marathons try everything to offer runners experiences they can’t get elsewhere.
A general election must take place in the U.K. by late January 2025, which means plenty of time for expats abroad to register and vote.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Feb 26, 2024
As more U.K. expats get the vote, Japan’s ballot box stays closed
As of Jan. 16, Brits abroad — including the more than 17,000 in Japan — are able to register to vote regardless of how long they have lived overseas.
It doesn't snow everywhere in Japan, but when it does, it falls in blankets that must be cleared away, sometimes through unexpected means.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 4, 2024
Rural Japan’s snow removal solutions range from cute to curious
Outside of Tokyo, cities that get a significant volume of snow tend to have better ways of dealing with it than the capital.
Cars drive past a damaged road, in the aftermath of an earthquake, in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture.
PODCAST / deep dive
Jan 18, 2024
Japan rings in 2024 with an unwelcome disaster
Join us for the first episode of 2024 as we recap the massive New Year’s Day earthquake and its impact on the people of Ishikawa Prefecture.
Who should foot the bill when it comes to making sure Japan's new ¥500 coin can actually be used as widely as the old one?
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 15, 2024
All ¥500 coins that glitter are not gold
Twenty years on and the ¥2,000 note can almost certainly still be described as a “novelty" — what if the new ¥500 coin is destined for the same fate?
A damaged sake store in the town of Himi, Toyama Prefecture, following a major earthquake on Monday
JAPAN / First person
Jan 4, 2024
How Japan's violent New Year's quake felt in Toyama
What it feels like to be near a quake that shifts a house left and right, forward and backward.
A look into what used to be the Koyamacho neighborhood in Tokyo's Minato Ward may reveal what Japan stands to lose from not protecting its recent past.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Dec 25, 2023
Mita facelift paves over another slice of Tokyo history
The death of Koyamacho shows that Japan needs to begin preserving some parts of its modern history for future generations.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Remembering 3/11
Mar 9, 2021
'I still have dreams about it': Volunteers reflect on 3/11 aftermath
Ten years on from the disaster, expats who gave their time to help the victims have found the experience has stuck with them.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 23, 2020
Fifty years of Doraemon, and still there are lessons to be learned
The original “Doraemon” comics, published in 1970, are not only a great read, but a fun resource for learning Japanese.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
May 21, 2020
‘Conan, The Boy in Future’: Finding joy in a post-apocalyptic anime classic
For the past three weeks, my partner and I have stayed up Sunday past midnight to watch NHK’s remastered rerun of “Conan, The Boy in Future” (“Mirai Shonen Konan”). For me, it has been a chance to watch something new and delve deeper into the work of the legendary animator, Hayao Miyazaki....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 17, 2020
Tame Impala and The Strokes set to headline Fuji Rock 2020
With the festival set to the be held in late August, all eyes will be on whether the COVID-19 situation improves before then.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2020
‘33⅓ Japan’ has nerdy but accessible tales of albums and artists
With the '33u2153 Japan' series, music aficionados bring classic Japanese albums and artists to life in nerdy, but accessible, prose.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 10, 2020
Makeup artist Kazu Hiro wins second Oscar for work on 'Bombshell'
Makeup artist Kazu Hiro on Monday picked up an Oscar for best makeup and hairstyling at the 92nd Academy Awards in Los Angeles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2020
Pixies: 'We're weird enough and we're catchy enough'
As the Pixies prepare for three live shows in Japan, guitarist Joey Santiago speaks of his love for the band's latest album, and his love of Denny's chopsticks.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 30, 2020
Stiff Little Fingers' 'Inflammable Material' is still the definitive political punk album 40 years later
Stiff Little Fingers bring 'Inflammable Material' to Tokyo for two shows, letting fans hear the album, which deals with Northern Ireland's 'troubles,' in its entirety.

Longform

People in cities across Japan will pop into their local convenience store for any number of products they believe will help them with a night of drinking.
Hangover cures are everywhere in Japan — but do they work?