author

 
Menu
Search
 
April 19, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Motoko Rich
For Motoko Rich's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Cars and homes destroyed by a Russian missile that fell between a residential building and a public preschool in Kyiv on Dec. 13, 2023. In January, the White House said it had evidence that North Korea had provided ballistic missiles used by Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
A Russian bank account may offer clues to North Korean arms deal
Russia has allowed the release of $9 million in frozen North Korean assets from a Russian financial institution, according to intelligence officials.
Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda is the first Japanese driver in Formula One since 2014.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 30, 2023
Foul-mouthed Yuki Tsunoda becoming cult star in Formula One
Tsunoda's foul mouth and devil-may-care attitude have inspired a cult following and an international appeal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 22, 2023
As Rahm Emanuel pushes Japan on gay rights, conservatives bristle
The U.S. ambassador has enthusiastically embraced his host country. But critics say he has overstepped diplomatic bounds with his advocacy on equality.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 18, 2023
The religious right’s hidden sway as Japan trails allies on gay rights
As a G7 summit nears in Hiroshima, Japan is under pressure to show greater support for equality. A national Shinto group has spread a more hostile message.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 22, 2023
A Japanese island where the wild things are
From badgering nuisances to downright evil forces, yōkai fill some of the most colorful corners of Japanese folklore. These artists are dreaming up even more.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 8, 2023
As Asian societies age, ‘retirement’ just means more work
Across East Asia, populations are graying faster than anywhere else in the world, and while younger generations shrink, older workers are often toiling well into their 70s and beyond.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 28, 2022
Beauty over brains: Japan’s skin-deep university pageants
The contests perpetuate a culture that often places women in rigid gender roles, and have seen some contestants face abuse and harassment from organizers.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 3, 2022
Japan’s secret to taming the coronavirus: peer pressure
The country has never mandated masks or vaccinations, but it's evaded the worst of COVID-19, thanks to a fear of public shaming and the “self restraint police.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2022
Filmmaker Chie Hayakawa imagines a Japan where the elderly volunteer to die
The premise for Chie Hayakawa's film, “Plan 75,” is shocking: a government push to euthanize the elderly. In a rapidly aging society, some also wonder: Is the movie prescient?
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 19, 2022
Katsumoto Saotome, who preserved memories of Tokyo firebombing, dies at 90
He compiled six books of survivors' recollections of the 1945 attack. He also founded — without government support — a memorial museum.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2022
Japan says it needs nuclear power. Can host towns ever trust it again?
The decision to restart plants is fraught with emotions, not to mention the gargantuan technical task of fortifying the stations against future disasters in an earthquake-prone nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2021
A new source of fuel in an aging Japan: adult incontinence
Waste from adult diapers is growing by tens of thousands of tons a year in Japan. One town may have a solution: recycle it into fuel pellets.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2021
Japan faces big problems. Its next leader offers few bold solutions.
The country's governing party, with a stranglehold on power, bucked the wishes of the public to select a moderate mainstay.
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS / Summer Paralympics
Sep 6, 2021
Taekwondo's Paralympic debut showed the sport's democratizing effect
The sport does not require expensive equipment or large training facilities, and even saw the participation of one of Afghanistan's two Paralympians.
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS / Summer Paralympics
Sep 4, 2021
Disabled Japanese are often invisible. Will Paralympics bring lasting light?
Tokyo improved its infrastructure before the Games, but activists wonder how long the focus will continue in a country with a long history of excluding people with disabilities.
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS / Summer Paralympics
Aug 31, 2021
How two Afghan Paralympians defied the odds to get from Kabul to Tokyo
Their evacuation and eventual arrival in Japan involved multiple stops and many helping hands.
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS / Summer Paralympics
Aug 26, 2021
Freedom to swim: Afghan refugee competes in Tokyo Paralympics
Eight years after Abbas Karimi escaped Afghanistan, he led the parade of nations into the stadium at the Paralympics' opening ceremony on Tuesday night.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Aug 6, 2021
Second best in the world at the Tokyo Games, but still saying sorry
Many Japanese athletes who fell short of gold have wept through interviews and apologized profusely — sometimes, even after winning silver.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Jul 29, 2021
At some Olympic competitions, the rarest of sightings: spectators
While fans have been barred from the majority of venues to contain COVID-19 infections, three host prefectures are still allowing a limited number of spectators at Olympic venues.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 6, 2021
Olympics gave hope to Japan’s LGBTQ activists. But old prejudices die hard.
Even a modest goal of labeling discrimination 'unacceptable” has proved too much for conservative lawmakers, who have blocked consideration of a bill by the Diet.
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.
Thousands evacuated as Indonesia volcano erupts
Indonesia's Mount Ruang spews hot lava and smoke as seen from Sitaro, North Sulawesi, on Wednesday.
Why hasn't Japan moved to prop up the weak yen?
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Snake on a train: Discovery of serpent delays Tokyo-Nagoya shinkansen
A Tokaido shinkansen. It is unclear whether the snake was venomous or how it ended up on the train, and there was no injury or panic among passengers.
Sex differences could be key to the successful treatment of long COVID
A new study has found that women with long COVID had significantly lower levels of testosterone compared to those who had recovered from their infection.
'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

Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability
Vol. 34: Tokyo, a vanguard city for sustainability

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER