author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 06, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Richard Solomon

Meta

Richard Solomon
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 16, 2022
The cofounders of German restaurant Schmatz offer some startup takeaways
They came to Japan with the goal of starting a business. Now, Christopher Ax and Marc Luetten are helping to update perceptions of Germany.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2022
Making the case for NATO Indo-Pacific cooperation
Shifts in the balance of power from the U.S. to China, slowing world growth and increasing income inequality have changed the calculus of war and peace.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 10, 2020
Media collaborators threaten press freedom in Japan
Japan has too few good journalists because mainstream media reporters unconsciously begin their stories from the point of view of prized informants.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 12, 2020
A singular moment in a teahouse full of tales
Key to understanding the idea of the 'storytelling teahouse' is the Japanese concept of 'ichi-go, ichi-e' ('one time, one meeting').
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 12, 2020
A story of family told across multiple continents
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu has two families: one hailing from Ireland and the other from Japan. His paternal ancestors emigrated from southwestern Ireland to the northeastern United States near the end of the 19th century. His grandmother died when his father was still a child, leaving her eldest daughter...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 12, 2020
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu draws on his own past of otherness to foster inclusion today
A professor and counselor, Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu believes that telling your own story under the right circumstances can be part of a healing process.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 16, 2019
Public records: Here today, gone tomorrow
Preserving the past is not just an academic exercise.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Nov 17, 2019
Encouraging innovation among Japanese startups
“How lucky I am to be here, right now,” is something Tom Kelley often tells himself. The D4V chairman (Design for Ventures) and IDEO partner could be sitting in any one of IDEO's nine global offices, but the Tokyo studio is his favorite.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 8, 2019
Looking overseas to solve Japan's labor shortage
Japan is running out of time. Where will migrants come from when the international competition for Asian workers heats up?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 23, 2019
BOJ's next step down a narrow path
Other central banks will likely release fresh rounds of monetary easing, but Japan's central bank is out of ammunition.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 2, 2019
Pension reform must accompany consumption tax hike
To end people's fears that the public pension won't support them in retirement, the government must place comprehensive social security reform at the top of the political agenda.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 24, 2019
Robert Ryker carved a niche for Tokyo Sinfonia by rescoring more than 500 classics
Conductor Zubin Mehta once told Robert Ryker that Mehta's two orchestras, the Montreal Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, had the world's two finest tuba players. Ryker, then 22 years old, was one of them. It was a rare compliment for any musician, most of whom never gain professional recognition....
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 18, 2019
Corporate governance is improving, but not by enough
Poorly run companies are under international and domestic pressure to adopt global standards of capitalism.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 8, 2019
What the world can learn from Japan
Islandology is spreading globally as other nations recognize the world is a single closed ecosystem.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 3, 2018
Womenomics: Mend the gap
More Japanese women are working, but many still professionally underachieve.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 11, 2018
Japan must do more to support its alliance with the U.S.
Tokyo will have to invest more energy in its long-standing security partnership with Washington.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 24, 2018
Looking beyond work-style reform
Rising workforce mobility will have many unintended consequences.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 19, 2018
What's so good about Japan's demography?
The nation's labor force is shrinking, educated and dedicated — attributes that match the needs of a knowledge-based economy
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2018
How to unleash Japan's animal spirits
The postwar system that built Japan's formidable middle class is faltering. A two-tiered employment system is needed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 2, 2018
Speculating on the future of initial coin offerings
Governments are only now waking up to the need to regulate ICOs and their related tokens.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy
Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER