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Glenn Newman
A rally in support of Israel is held in Tokyo on Oct. 11 during which participants, including Israelis living in Japan, demanded the immediate release of all hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 30, 2023
A primer on the Israel-Hamas war

Japan's image of Israel is shallow and distorted, as many people fail to understand the existential threat that Hamas' aggression poses.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 16, 2020
Bad English in Japan: A conspiracy theory
There is no rational reason why Japan's English-language education should be so woeful. Could something sinister be going on?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 19, 2018
Japanese and Israelis could make a killer yin-and-yang combo
Israel and Japan are the yin and yang of countries. And yet, despite — or maybe because of — their differences, they have much to offer each other.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 27, 2015
These tips for Japanese mastery go out to the muddlers
When it comes to learning Japanese, most of us muddle through. This article is for the muddlers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Aug 26, 2013
Kaizen and the art of human wa maintenance
Kaizen here is organic, ubiquitous and attuned to the physical and psychological needs of human beings. At its best, this 'human-scale kaizen' eliminates or eases many of the mundane uncertainties, annoyances and embarrassments of daily life.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 28, 2013
Want more out of Japan but face doesn't fit? Be TOFITR
I recently served as a "private sector representative" in a panel discussion before an audience of foreign graduate students at the University of Tokyo. Many of the students will soon be seeking employment in Japan; because I have spent 25 years living in or traveling to Japan, the last 10 or so running...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LIGHT GIST
Nov 27, 2012
I have a dream: a 'young first' Japan that works for all
It is a political season. Barack Obama was recently re-elected president of the United States, China has anointed Xi Jinping as its new leader, and Japanese politicians are jockeying for position in advance of a general election to be held on Dec. 16.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 26, 2012
Japanese business isn't working: What would Shima do?
A Ponzi scheme. Alleged yakuza ties. Accounting scandals. Executive misuse of company funds for gambling. A record-breaking bankruptcy. Callous disregard of public health and safety.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jan 3, 2012
Japanese must tap their 'inner Israeli'
Aimless, Japan has been struggling to find a suitable vision, or model, for its future. Should it strive to be like Finland, small but prosperous? Should it de-emphasize economic growth and focus on sustainability and lifestyle? Should it look to the go-go '80s for inspiration? Or should it withdraw...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 5, 2011
'English interface' could be key to Japan's revival
Japan is not No. 1. After 20 years of stagnation-punctuated decline, it should not be news to anyone that Ezra Vogel got it wrong in his 1979 best-seller, "Japan as Number One: Lessons for America." Yet, in their endless navel-gazing and wheel-spinning (which, sadly, continues even in the face of natural...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Feb 15, 2011
Japan, be confident!
On the day of his departure from Hokkaido on April 16, 1877, at the end of his tenure as the first president of what later became Hokkaido University, William Smith Clark left his charges, and Japan, with a parting message: "Boys, be ambitious." For the next century plus, Japan was ambitious, creating...

Longform

Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.
Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity