Patrick Parr - The Japan Times

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Patrick Parr

Patrick Parr is the author of "One Week in America: The 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival and a Changing Nation," and "The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age." He teaches at Lakeland University Japan's campus in Ryogoku.

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

Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink

Nov 13, 2022

Chef Kiyoki Umeda dreams of 'Pretty Good’ doughnuts

Don't let the humble name fool you — these doughnuts are serious business.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books

Mar 13, 2021

Bridging divides in the workplace with ‘The Business of We’

Business consultant Laura Kriska provides a roadmap for improving workplace communication in her book, which draws insight from her experiences navigating Japanese corporate culture.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books

Jan 23, 2021

‘Indian Migrants in Tokyo’ sheds light on an overlooked community

There are currently around 40,000 Indians living in Japan and their stories, similar to minority groups in other countries, are often ignored or pushed aside. This lack of public awareness and representation can lead to cultural misunderstanding, or worse, discrimination.

Japan Times

CULTURE / 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.

Japan Times

CULTURE / 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.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books / 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.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books / 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.'

Japan Times

COMMUNITY

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.

Japan Times

JAPAN

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.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / 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?

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / 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.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / 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.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Mar 2, 2016

Upon re-entry back home after expat life, brace yourself for turbulence

Survey of Japanese returnees suggests two divergent emotional journeys for those heading back home after a stretch abroad.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE

Dec 9, 2015

Young Abe: focused student, proud Mustang owner

Long before Abenomics or his first stint as prime minister, long before he'd risen through the ranks of the Japanese government, there was once a reserved 24-year-old young man who drove through the streets of Los Angeles in search of cultural illumination. It was 1978, and Shinzo Abe was a student at the University of Southern California, following in the footsteps of former Prime Minister Takeo Miki, who took classes at USC in the 1930s.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT

Sep 9, 2015

'MacDonald's,' the first English school in Japan, was its teacher's prison

The first unofficial English school in Japan was 'founded' in the late fall of 1848 in a prison cell in Nagasaki.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Issues

Sep 2, 2015

Tracing the emotional roller-coaster ride of life abroad

"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." — writer Terry Pratchett

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Aug 5, 2015

MLK's fears of nuclear devastation should continue to resonate

In a letter to Japan, Martin Luther King expressed a desire to visit the country and spread his message about the need for nuclear disarmament.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA

Jan 14, 2015

A note of concern to wounded MLK from a friend in Japan

Throughout Martin Luther King Jr.'s pursuit of justice and equal rights for African-Americans, he knew he had the support and consideration of Japan through an old classmate who had decided to study abroad and broaden his cultural understanding.

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

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

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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