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September 14, 2025
 

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Philip Brasor
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 3, 2016
How Japanese media have failed endangered species
In October, a new documentary produced by Leonardo DiCaprio premiered on Netflix. "The Ivory Game" is a dramatic study of the illegal trade in elephant tusks that includes conservationists battling poachers, investigative journalists following the money trail and black market merchants in China.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 3, 2016
Abandoned buildings still house problems
Japan's vacant house problem will become worse before it becomes better. According to government estimates there are 8 million residences in Japan with no one living in them, a number that Bloomberg reports will increase to 20 million by 2033, representing a third of all the homes in Japan. A good portion...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 26, 2016
Hopes of stopping Tokyo 2020 are fading
NHK has announced that its yearlong historical drama series for 2019 will be about Japan's involvement in the Olympic movement, focusing on the nation's first foray to the games in 1912 and its first time hosting them in 1964. The story will also, according to Kyodo News, cover "events that took place...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 26, 2016
Where to burn aging Japan's growing numbers of dead?
A sideshow of Japan's demographic crisis is that there aren't enough facilities available to 'process' these bodies.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 19, 2016
Is Japanese pop music losing its relevance?
Shukan Bunshun recently ran some articles describing how last year the talent management company LDH allegedly paid entertainment behemoth Burning Productions to ensure that one of LDH's acts would win the top prize at the 2015 Japan Record Awards (JRA). Accompanying one of the articles was a photo of...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 12, 2016
Poverty coverage reinforces prejudice
In the middle of August, NHK ran a feature on its evening news show about a high school girl as part of its coverage of child poverty. The girl's name and face were revealed in the report, which described how her educational future was at risk because of her financial situation. In one scene, she was...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Nov 12, 2016
Japan's laundromat bubble shows no sign of bursting
Almost every Japanese household has a washing machine, so why are so many of them using laundromats that cost them extra money?
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Nov 5, 2016
Earthquake standards are on shaky ground
No one died in the recent earthquake that struck Tottori Prefecture, but the temblor was strong enough to cause extensive damage. Several thousand people are still in evacuation centers, which means it is not safe for them to live in their homes. Most of these houses were probably built before the latest...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 5, 2016
Japan's war against medical marijuana
Former actress Saya Takagi was arrested in Okinawa on Oct. 25 for possession of marijuana, three months after she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Upper House election on a platform to legalize pot for medical purposes. She insists the contraband was not hers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 3, 2016
Holocaust comedy snares grand prize at 29th Tokyo International Film Festival
Philippine trans people, Scandinavian reindeer herders and a romantic comedy about the Holocaust dominated the closing ceremony of the 29th Tokyo International Film Festival on Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 29, 2016
SDF activity in South Sudan is sidestepping security debate
Governments are adept at using indirection and euphemism, and right now Japan's is struggling with an issue whose terminology is exacerbating that struggle.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 25, 2016
Stars come out for Tokyo film festival opening
The 29th Tokyo International Film Festival marked its opening Tuesday afternoon with a traditional red carpet ceremony that was heavy on Asian stars and filmmakers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 22, 2016
Taiji's dolphin hunters have a new voice
It's not often a documentary is made in response to another documentary, but this year two movies have addressed the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary "The Cove," which was about the capture and killing of wild dolphins in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture. First-time filmmaker Keiko Yagi's "Behind the Cove" came...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 22, 2016
Shocking blog post forces debate on the financial drain of dialysis in Japan
About 0.25 percent of the population requires dialysis, but this group is responsible for one-30th of the country's medical costs.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 15, 2016
Is the end near for Earth's biggest fish market?
Naotaro Endo's documentary "Tsukiji Wonderland" opened in Tokyo — in Tsukiji, in fact — two weeks ago. Under normal circumstances, such an accomplished and beautiful film would be evaluated on its aesthetic and edifying merits, but the timing of the release makes such judgments problematic.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 13, 2016
Despite controversy, the Busan International Film Festival is as strong as ever
The 21st edition of Asia's biggest movie event, the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), which took place from Oct. 6 to 15, almost didn't happen; or, at least, that's the story being told. Actually, considering how important the festival is for South Korea's movie industry, one of the most vital...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 8, 2016
Nagoya: The most boring city in Japan
At a meeting of city leaders last Monday, the mayor of Nagoya, Takashi Kawamura, expressed annoyance with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. That same day, Abe had opened a new session of the Diet by touching on the issue of regional revitalization in his usual general policy speech; he said that the central...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 8, 2016
New pension ceiling meant to help low-paid workers may hit housewives
A lowering of the eligibility cap for the ku014dsei nenkin pension plan leaves housewives working part-time with a choice: cut their hours to stay below the new ceiling or work more to offset the pension payments they will now have to make.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 1, 2016
There's nothing weird about 'sexless' Japan
Japan has somehow earned a reputation as a "sexless" country — a place where men and women have lost their libidos. The reasons given are various but mainly have to do with increased introversion and general loss of sociability among young people.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / HOME TRUTHS
Oct 1, 2016
Tokyo faces declining condominium prices
In Japan's housing market, there has always been one verity: Certain parts of Tokyo will always be popular and, therefore, profitable for developers. However, according to various media reports, that verity may have collapsed, at least when it comes to new condominiums.
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Is America ready for Japanese-style 7-Elevens?
Convenience stores are a fixture of Japanese life and 7-Eleven, a chain that began in the U.S. in 1927, opened its first store in Japan in 1974 — and then became wholly Japanese-owned in 2005 through parent company Seven & I Holdings.
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
People rush to make furusato nozei donations ahead of tighter rules
A booth from the town of Betsukai in Hokkaido at an Amazon Japan furusato nо̄zei promotion event, on Sept. 5 in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
‘Fairytale’ Shirakawago ranked one of the world’s most beautiful villages
Forbes and Unforgettable Travel Company have ranked Shirakawago in Gifu Prefecture as Asia's most beautiful village.
Aging Japan’s centenarian population nears 100,000
Shigeko Kagawa, Japan's oldest person at 114, in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, on July 30
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.

Podcast

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

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight
By Mai Yoshikawa

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