Patrick Parr

Patrick Parr is the author of "The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age."

For Patrick Parr's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Books Jun 27, 2020

Bradford Smith's years in Japan influenced his writing career

For author and educator Bradford Smith, years in Japan inspired a lifelong fascination with the country that influenced his writing career.

Books Apr 18, 2020

‘Healing Resistance’ review: Murder, reconciliation and a commitment to nonviolence

For the past 20 years, Japanese-American author Kazu Haga has taught the philosophy of nonviolence in schools, nonprofit organizations and prisons.

Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN Aug 10, 2019

'The Bells of Old Tokyo': Present-day Tokyo explored through its historical soundscape

Anna Sherman's book, "The Bells of Old Tokyo," unveils a new way to look at Japan's capital: A people-centric examination of its lyrical, historical soundscape and the people that populate its many unique residential neighborhoods.

Books / Reviews | RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN Apr 27, 2019

'Mr. Straight Arrow' review: An overdue look at the life of journalist John Hersey

"Mr. Straight Arrow" is a refreshingly thoughtful biography about the reclusive journalist John Hersey, best-known for his novel "Hiroshima."

General Jan 17, 2019

How Coretta Scott King brought her husband's message to Japan

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which this year falls on Jan. 21, is a federal holiday that marks the birthday (Jan. 15, 1929) of one of the United States' most-revered civil rights leaders. After King was killed in 1968 while standing on the second-floor balcony ...

National Aug 6, 2018

ICAN champions grass-roots efforts to persuade Japan and others to support a nuclear-free world

ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, has made significant progress in the last year, but according to core member Akira Kawasaki the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize winning coalition is just getting started. ICAN, based in Geneva and launched in 2007, now has around ...

Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Jan 14, 2018

Japan still has much to learn from Martin Luther King's nonviolent struggle

Could Dr. King's nonviolent methods work in Japan, a country with a completely different relationship between government and citizen than in America?

Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA Feb 8, 2017

Japanese who've studied in U.S. see nation changing for the worse under Trump

The election of President Donald Trump has changed the way many Japanese people who studied in the U.S. feel about their former host country.

Voices | FOREIGN AGENDA May 15, 2016

Rather than apologize, Obama should vow to halve the U.S. nuclear stockpile

What remains is that egregious, gaudy number: America's 7,000 nuclear weapons, a number that countries without nuclear arms see as a slap in the face.