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April 20, 2024
 

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Anthony Fensom
For Anthony Fensom's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 29, 2016
Japan won't go quietly into the night as population falls
For a nation that rebuilt itself from the ashes of war, the modern challenge of repopulation should surely not prove impossible.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 18, 2014
History beckons as Japan and Australia bolster ties
History was made this month when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shook hands with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Japan's first free trade deal with a major agricultural exporter.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2014
Japanese social issues await 'new dawn'
Japan is on the way up. That much is obvious from improved business confidence, its successful bid for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the early economic successes of "Abenomics," with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe proclaiming to the world the arrival of "a new dawn."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 27, 2013
Incredible stories that should not be forgotten
Foreign journalists charged with covering Japan's devastating March 2011 disasters faced an enormous challenge: sensitively expressing the human tragedy while accurately assessing the vast amount of real-time data on the crisis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 10, 2013
Two wide-ranging, informed compilations scrutinize the March 11 disasters
NATURAL DISASTER AND NUCLEAR CRISIS IN JAPAN, edited by Jeff Kingston. Routledge, 2012, 304 pp., ￡28.99 (paperback)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 3, 2013
Woodford details scandal, but vengeance is not his
Why then did the Englishman who had it all decide to throw away his successful 30-year career at the Japanese corporate icon to blow the whistle on his fellow directors?
CULTURE / Books
Sep 9, 2012
Insights by a veteran diplomat
IN THE VALLEY BETWEEN WAR AND PEACE: Personalities I Met, by Yasushi Akashi. European Center for Peace and Development, 2012, 119 pp., (hardcover)
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 6, 2012
Mistakes that line a successful road
An Unprogrammed Life: Adventures of an Incurable Entrepreneur, by William H. Saito. John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 241 pp., $24.95 (paperback) William H. Saito has enjoyed many successes in his short career as an information technology entrepreneur, but he is keen to stress the importance of failure.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 19, 2012
Codebreaker who saved the U.S. Pacific fleet
JOE ROCHEFORT'S WAR: The Odyssey Of The Codebreaker Who Outwitted Yamamoto At Midway, By Elliot Carlson. Naval Institute, 2011, 616 Pp., $36.95 (hardcover) Spying on other nations has long been part of the global power game, but it has not always been considered proper diplomatic practice.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 12, 2012
Commuter love affair, Tokyo tales
TOKYO COMMUTE: Japanese Customs and Way of Life Viewed from the Odakyu Line, by A. Robert Lee. Renaissance Books, 2011, 214 pp., $22 (paper) Arrive in Tokyo via airport train, as most travelers do, and it quickly becomes apparent that the city's lifeblood is its world-class railway network, each line an artery of the pulsating megalopolis.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 25, 2011
Hope, and inspired work, from despair of March 11
Ayear of natural disasters in Japan — and elsewhere — has sparked some of the best writing on the nation seen in decades, as everyone from policy experts to ordinary citizens offered their views on the best route to recovery.
CULTURE / Books
Dec 4, 2011
Global challenge of the big sell
THE DENTSU WAY, by Kotaro Sugiyama and Tim Andree. McGraw Hill, 2011, 310 pp., $28 (hardcover) Founded in 1901, Dentsu Inc.'s success in becoming Japan's top advertising agency, and the world's fifth-largest, reflects the nation's development from a sheltered, rural-based economy to an international high-tech powerhouse. Now, more than a century on, can Dentsu — and the rest of Japanese business — make the next step forward and become a truly global brand of the information age?
CULTURE / Books
Oct 23, 2011
Documenting disaster
THE TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE and Tsunami, the Fukushima Nuclear Reactor, and How the World's Media Reported Them, by Eric Johnston. The Japan Times, 2011, 96 pp., ¥1,260 (paperback) Seven months after Japan's devastating March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, the jury remains out on media reporting of the crisis. Did the domestic media downplay public health risk while their foreign counterparts titillated audiences with exploitative "disaster porn"?
CULTURE / Books
Jul 24, 2011
March 11: nation transformation?
REIMAGINING JAPAN: The Quest for a Future that Works. Edited by McKinsey & Company; executive editors Clay Chandler, Heang Chhor and Brian Salsberg. VIZ Media, 2011, 464 pp., $38.99 (hardcover) Read any business report on Japan of recent times and there is a familiar theme: economically eclipsed by China, and with a shrinking population, the country's outlook appears as weak as the ratings agencies portray its debt position. Then came the tragic events of March 11, 2011, with the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 5, 2011
Can we all just get along?
THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC REGIONALISM, by Kevin G. Cai. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 196 pp., $80 (hardcover) CHINA, JAPAN AND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP IN EAST ASIA, by Christopher M. Dent. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010, 311 pp., $50 (paper)
CULTURE / Books
May 15, 2011
Nintendo's Wiining ways
PLAYING TO WIIN: Nintendo and the Video Game Industry, by Daniel Sloan. Wiley, 2011, 256 pp., $24.95 (hardcover) Ten years ago, tough times had hit Nintendo with shrinking sales and profits, increasing demand for new products and growing pressure from competitors. What hope was there for a comeback from a tradition-bound company that had seemingly lost its way?
CULTURE / Books
Dec 19, 2010
Final word on the year's best reading
Does Japan have a bright future? The pessimists, including apparently most Japanese, would likely answer in the negative amid widespread gloom over the nation's Heisei Era problems of debt, deflation and demographics. An astute analyst of modern Japan, Tokyo-based academic Jeff Kingston's latest work does not attempt to hide the varied socio-political ills facing the country, including increasing divorce, suicide and social disparities.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 12, 2010
Japan's future: prolonged malaise or muddling through?
"Japan's best days are behind it," or so the common wisdom goes, and by reading Tokyo-based academic Jeff Kingston's latest work, it is easy to see why.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 18, 2010
Troubled times call for such a hero
Japanese history is replete with heroes admired for successfully challenging the status quo. Nostalgia for such figures increases during tough times, as seen in the "Ryoma boom" borne from the TV series on Sakamoto Ryoma, the Meiji Restoration hero. However, the nation might benefit more from studying a different rebel, one who as an economic reformer enjoyed his own victory over the prevailing orthodoxy.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 7, 2010
Different folks, different strokes
Can Japan's corporate system withstand globalization? Once considered the source of the nation's competitive strength, traditional practices such as lifetime employment and seniority-based pay have in recent years been increasingly attacked as contributors to poor performance. The postbubble slump eroded an elaborate system of cross-shareholdings, artificially high market valuations and anti-competitive government policies that previously sheltered Japanese companies, leaving them now vulnerable to corporate predators of both domestic and foreign origin. But it has been the incursion of overseas investors that has caused the most consternation in business and government circles, with fears of the pernicious effects of foreign takeover.
No link to Nankai Trough quake seen after temblor in Shikoku
Satoshi Harada from the Meteorological Agency explains about the magnitude 6.6 earthquake during a news conference early Thursday.
Tehran signals no retaliation against Israel after drones attack Iran
A reported strike against Iran by Israel on Friday came against the backdrop of Iran's support for the Palestinian Hamas militant group, whose assault into Israel on Oct. 7 triggered Israel's invasion of Gaza.
In a first, Japan doctors sue Google over negative reviews on firm's map app
One of the lawyers representing a group of doctors suing Google told a news conference that the main purpose of the lawsuit is not to seek compensation but instead to raise awareness over various problems with the Google Maps system.
Former No. 1 Kento Momota retires from international badminton at 29
Badminton star Kento Momota leaves a news conference after announcing his retirement from Japan's national team, in Tokyo on Thursday.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
'House of the Owl' brings Hollywood values to Japanese TV
In the new Disney+ series “House of the Owl,” Min Tanaka (left) plays a powerful political fixer, or “kuromaku,” who has a troubled relationship with his adult children, particularly his idealistic son, played by Mackenyu.
Benefits and risks: AUKUS looks to take gamble on Japan
U.S. President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British leader Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership, after a trilateral meeting, at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego in March last year.
Kyoto’s demon night parade lives to haunt another day
In a Kyoto long past, the "hyakki yagyō" (100 demon night parade) haunted a sleepy corner of Kyoto. Now, one enterprising monster enthusiast has won a small batttle to keep the march alive.
U.S. deploys midrange missile system in Indo-Pacific for first time
A U.S. Army Mid-Range Capability (MRC) Launcher arrives as part of the capability’s first deployment into theater on Northern Luzon, Philippines, April 8.
Unpacking the chaotic by-election in a scandal-hit Tokyo district
People listen to a campaign speech in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Tuesday.

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on
By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo
Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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