National / Social Issues | Longform Jun 21, 2021
Pandemic magnifying household gender roles in Japan
Latest figures show that women earn on average 44% less than men while also spending five times more time on housework and child care.
Mara Budgen
For Mara Budgen's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
National Mar 12, 2021
A slow return to agriculture in Fukushima’s evacuated areas
Ten years on from the triple disaster of 2011, farming in the region is tentatively getting back on its feet. But can this growth be sustained?
Food & Drink | Food Sustainability in Japan Mar 7, 2021
Your dinner has an origin story and blockchain tech can help you find it
Tracing the journey of how your food gets to your table is becoming easier with the help of apps that allow shoppers to make more informed decisions.
Environment Feb 21, 2021
Can Japan embrace an alternative approach to plastic?
Japanese companies are rethinking how we make, use and dispose of products by creating substitutes to fossil fuel-based plastics.
DEEP DIVE Nov 11, 2020
Episode 72: Preserving the endangered Ainu language
The Ainu language has been declared critically endangered by UNESCO, with few people left alive today who speak it. The Ainu are Japan's indigenous population and Japan Times contributor Mara Budgen has been meeting with them to better understand their remaining culture, the difficulties they ...
National / Social Issues Oct 25, 2020
The Ainu language and the global movement for indigenous rights
With the Ainu language considered to be on the brink of extinction, global connections are breathing new life into revitalization efforts.
Reader Mail Sep 14, 2008
Half-baked conclusion confuses
How did authorities determine that the abandoned infant was "foreign"? Was it holding a passport? Giving a thumbs-up gesture? Was it unable to use chopsticks? A reporter from The Japan Times should have investigated. rodney baglole
Editorials May 23, 2008
The dams must go on
Tokuyama Dam in Ibikawa, Gifu Prefecture, provides the nation's biggest water reservoir. Beginning full operation May 5, it is a typical example of wasteful public works. This multipurpose dam for water utilization, flood control and power generation was first proposed in 1957. To build ...
Commentary / World Apr 28, 2008
Combating climate change
SINGAPORE — Two recent news reports have underscored China's voracious appetite for oil and the impact of unrestrained burning of coal and other fossil fuels on global climate change. Both point to the need for Japan, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Australia and ...