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April 29, 2025
 

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Kris Kosaka

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Kris Kosaka
Kris Kosaka, a resident of Japan since 1996, contributes regularly to The Japan Times. She is a lecturer at Meiji Gakuin University in the Faculty of International Studies.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jan 3, 2014
Drawing out the demons and dreams of Fukushima
Artist Geoff Read is currently focused on helping Fukushima's children articulate their hopes and fears. As he explains, 'In my Strong Children Japan Project, the most important thing the pictures can do is to help these children have a safer childhood.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 25, 2013
Kumakawa blends ballet and business — with panache
Being good at business may be "the most fascinating art," as Andy Warhol said — and few likely know that better than Tetsuya Kumakawa, dancer extraordinaire turned extraordinary businessman.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 4, 2013
'Second Steps' marks a great leap forward for dancers
From The Royal Ballet's innovative 2011 "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" at Covent Garden to Paris Opera Ballet's devotion to contemporary choreographers such as Mats Ek, Wayne McGregor and Pina Bausch, national dance companies across the globe are taking steps to ensure ballet transforms into a modern...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 23, 2013
Ozeki's work reflects her complex identity
Ruth Ozeki's recent novel, the 2013 Man Booker-shortlisted "A Tale For the Time Being," is best described as a hybrid: a fictional masterpiece with footnotes and appendices like a research paper; a colorful scrawl of inventive creativity marked by scientific asides ranging from ocean gyres to quantum...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Nov 17, 2013
Identity issues can complicate a child's path to becoming bilingual
The pursuit of bilingualism can be something akin to the quest for the Holy Grail for parents living in Japan. It's also near-universal, affecting expatriates here for an extended period, multilingual families where the parents come from different cultural backgrounds, or Japanese nationals eager to...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Nov 1, 2013
Writer, translator, yoga instructor finds inspiration in 'the voices that history silences'
Leza Lowitz has shared the worlds of kamikaze pilots and their last letters to their families, published lesbian writings by contemporary Japanese poets, specifically sought out Ainu writers, and journeyed into the mind of Japan's foremost modernist poet, Nobuo Ayukawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 30, 2013
'Total abandon' for two landmark duos
Ballet audiences in Japan are widely acknowledged to be among the best in the world, but there's still a lot to be learned here about contemporary dance. However, those seeing a show in a short tour of works by French choreographers Mathilde Monnier and Jean-Francois Duroure can be sure of enjoying a...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 19, 2013
On the beat with a cultural detective
The recent success of Barry Lancet, first time author and resident of Japan for over 25 years, reads like a bar-stool fantasy for any wanna-be writer, and Lancet's definitely enjoying the dream-like reality. With the TV rights optioned by Hollywood, positive reviews surging in across the globe, six countries...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Oct 11, 2013
Strays become woman's calling
It's a typical evening in the Mercer-Tojo household. Susan Mercer, 37, has just settled down their 2-year-old for the night, tucking him in as he cuddles with five or six cats. Several dogs prowl restlessly, eager for a pat or a kind word. Scooping a kitten off the floor, Mercer settles down to wait...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 26, 2013
Poetry event to tap into global discussion
Think global; act local. Kyoto residents have a chance this weekend to act on this aphorism, joining a global cultural event without even leaving Japan.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 13, 2013
Briton relies on samurai spirit as he sets out on 126-km walk for charity
Like many before him, Trevor Skingle became fascinated with samurai ethics while learning a martial art. But for this Briton, the samurai respect for the arts in traditional Japan resonated with his own life choices.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 12, 2013
Short films to get screen time in Sapporo
The eighth annual Sapporo Short Fest received 3,746 submissions from 94 countries. Organizers have whittled that number down to 99 films that will screen during the competition.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 30, 2013
Organizer of annual writers' workshop helps others find artistic way
John Gribble gives a part of every day to creating. Whether it's pinpointing the perfect word for a poem or plucking out a ditty on a guitar, his life and livelihood in some way proves creative. As a poet and teacher, Gribble has spent the last 20 years in Japan organizing others to find their artistic...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 24, 2013
Collection of American Zen koans for quiet contemplation
American Zen Koan No. 96: A student once asked Zen teacher Steve Allen, "If you were given a wish-fulfilling jewel, what would you wish for?"
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 9, 2013
Film helps heal A-bombing, and family, wounds
In a poignant scene in the award-winning 2010 documentary "Atomic Mom," filmmaker M.T. Silvia tells the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Hiroshima atomic bombing victim, as she presents 1,000 paper cranes to Silvia's mother, Pauline, a former U.S. Navy biologist involved in radiation testing on animals in the...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 2, 2013
Housewife takes time to make a difference volunteering in Tohoku
Sometimes making a difference just means making the time. Kerry Shioya, 49, travels two or three times a month to the Tohoku areas hit by the March 11, 2011, disasters. Sometimes setting out alone, sometimes bringing one of her five children, interested English students or other volunteers, Shioya continues...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 19, 2013
Pioneering Australian's outdoor adventures invigorate Hokkaido
Australian Ross Findlay is a doer. Name any outdoor sport and chances are he's done it, from kayaking to rock climbing to snowcat skiing and snowshoeing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 13, 2013
A diary washed ashore opens up a world of multiple realities
A good read transcends into the eternal, melding the real now with a timeless present. Ruth Ozeki's "A Tale for the Time Being" is all that and more: a quietly amazing achievement, a careful construct bridging quantum physics and the role of the reader/observer, a Zen eternity of multiple realities...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 5, 2013
Mom who blogged about tsunami wants people to remember
Stranded for three days after March 11, 2011, with her mother-in-law and young children on the second floor of their home near the industrial port of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, Naoko Nakayama fought panic by communicating the only way she could: scribbling on torn scraps of paper.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 4, 2013
'New' Royal Ballet spans the frontiers of dance
For the first time in three years, one of the world's most esteemed ballet companies is bringing its talent to one of the world's most appreciative audiences, as part of a tour that explores the parameters of dance.
China seizes disputed reef near key Philippine military outpost
China Coast Guard officers unfurl a national flag on Sandy Cay reef, near the Philippine-held Thitu Island, in disputed waters of the South China Sea this month in this screen shot taken from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
California says it overtakes Japan to become world’s No. 4 economy
Vehicles travel along the 110 freeway in downtown Los Angeles. California's GDP has overtaken Japan's to become the world's fourth largest economy, according to the U.S. state.
Arunima Mazumdar: ‘Japanese literature has a niche but deeply engaged readership in India’
Arunima Mazumdar, a New Delhi-based communications professional, began sharing her love of Japanese literature online in 2022. The platform has grown into a robust community known as Dokusha Book Club.
Counting the reasons why there are so few American cars in Japan
Tesla's store in Tokyo's Shibuya district. While sales of American cars in Japan appear to be shrinking, Tesla's presence in the country is growing.
Expo '25 gives the world a masterclass in mascots
2025 Osaka Expo mascot Myaku-Myaku dances on the stage during the event's official opening ceremony on April 12.
Japan struggles with gray zone of AI deepfakes exploiting children
AI-generated content — including those made using pictures of real people, which are known as “deepfakes” — is not explicitly covered under Japan's current legal framework, nor are human-drawn illustrations that depict child abuse.
‘Wildcat Dome’ challenges Japan's historical narratives
On the surface, "Wildcat Dome" tells a personal story of damaged children — now adults — bound together by tragedy. Underneath, there’s a constant undercurrent of political consequence, invisible and pervasive like radioactive particles.
Reclaiming Sanya, one meal at a time
Magokoro Yoshihira (center) is the managing director of Yui Associates, which operates the neighborhood fixtures of Sanya Cafe and Juyoh Hotel. Yusuke Takahashi (left) met Yoshihira during a difficult period in his life and now works as the cafe’s chef. Nancy Anne (right) has worked for over 10 years at Juyoh Hotel and enjoys the multicultural environment.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.

Podcast

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

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A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami
By Alex K.T. Martin

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Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones
Tsukuba massif granite, one of the world’s few heritage stones

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