author

 
Menu
Search
 
May 03, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Twitter

@fayeflam

Faye Flam
For Faye Flam's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2018
Biodiversity wins, even when all seems lost
Tiny frogs and lizards surviving in Haiti's last splinters of forest show that even the most devastated areas can be redeemed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2018
Gene editing: Repeating nature's experiment
A mutation sometime in the last 3,000 years already gave some Europeans the immunity that a scientist claims to have recreated in an embryo.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 24, 2018
In art, success depends on who you know
Researchers found they could predict success decades in advance from the names of the first five galleries where an artist exhibits.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 13, 2018
You probably had plastic for breakfast
Welcome to a global experiment about the effects of eating and drinking microplastic.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 2, 2018
Climate change is scary, but 'rat explosion' is scarier
Scientists warn of global warming of 2 degrees. If you think that won't affect you, think how it may affect pests.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2018
No, sitting is not worse than smoking
Raising awareness is good, but overplaying a scare will foster distrust in science.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2018
Algorithms and charting the great unknown
Researchers tend to cluster and mine the same familiar territory. AI can overcome that tendency and point to new questions.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2018
Biased research has fueled countless harmful diet fads
Too many scientists set out to prove their popular preconceptions blaming the food industry and consumers. But obesity is about more than calories consumed and burned.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 1, 2018
Why voters keep supporting politicians who keep lying
Experiments indicate that people will overlook dishonesty if it benefits their group.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2018
Climate, hurricanes and the hazards of connecting dots
Warming certainly effects tropical storms, but how?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 11, 2018
What wild sheep can teach humans about leadership
Do certain bighorns pioneer migrations? Or do herds tap into crowd wisdom?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 27, 2018
IBM's Watson failed against cancer, but AI may win
The company made bold claims that haven't yet panned out. But someday artificial intelligence could crack the code of individualized diagnosis and treatment.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2018
Workplace programs correlate with wellness
But correlation is not causation. New data show that healthy people take part, and unhealthy people don't.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 21, 2018
'Hot streaks' are real, but they're not about luck
The greatest works of successful artists and scientists tend to be clustered together. That's no coincidence.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2018
New weapons in war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria
What if we've been breeding superbugs by taking the full course of each prescription?
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2018
Recycling game rigged against U.S. consumers
Even if you put everything into the right bins, a lot of plastics will end up in landfills and the ocean. Consumers can't solve this problem.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 14, 2018
Ice caps live-blogging human history
At the dawn of the 20th century, when the first humans set foot on Antarctica's seemingly pristine ice cap, pollution had beaten them there.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 29, 2018
How scientists succumb to corruption and cook results
It starts with a dash of temptation. Stir in some rationalization and deception. The final and key ingredient is: stupid systems with perverse incentives.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2018
Catching a killer in the family tree
Through DNA samples in online genealogy databases, police have a powerful tool to find the guilty — and exonerate the innocent.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 15, 2018
Inspiring terms are simple but 'climate change' isn't
The doubters and believers aren't even talking about the same thing.
Weak yen fattens tourist wallets in Japan
People visit the Ameya Yokocho market in Tokyo's Ueno district during the Golden Week holiday on Tuesday.
Biden calls ally Japan ‘xenophobic’ along with rivals China and Russia
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks in Syracuse, New York, on April 25.
Number of vacant homes in Japan hits record high of 9 million
A vacant house in Tokyo is seen demolished in January 2020.
Saudi Arabia steps up Gaza-related arrests as Israel ties edge closer
The arrests for Gaza-related posts indicate Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s regime will take a hard line against citizens not toeing the line when it comes to normalizing ties with Israel.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Kishida sets sights on energy and climate in South America trip
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will use a policy speech in Sao Paulo to set out his vision for ties between Japan and South America, almost 10 years after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe advocated for stronger ties between the two in the same city.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.
Climate change, chalky grains and the risks for Japan’s rice farmers
A farmer plants seedlings in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture. Japan’s self sufficiency rate for rice is nearly 100%, compared with 38% for food overall, on a calorie basis.
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.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi
Spotlighting a Niigata castle town through sushi

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER