Issues

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Oct 21, 2018

Non-Japanese YouTubers tackle the art of vlogging in the vernacular

by Patrick ST. Michel

Meet the foreign creators using the local language to build a Japanese fan base.

Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Oct 10, 2018

Japan demonstrates how too many rules can ruin governance

by Colin P.A. Jones

Culture of over-regulation helps explain the country's persistent problem with data falsification.

Issues | LEARNING CURVE Sep 29, 2018

At the Kyoto dorm that time forgot, Japanese students dig in

by J.J. O'Donoghue

Kyoto University wants students out of "filthy" Yoshida Ryo but won't say if the 105-year-old antiestablishment hub has any future.

Issues | LABOR PAINS Sep 23, 2018

Abe's work-style reforms give Japan's employers the green light to demand unpaid and unsafe overtime

by Hifumi Okunuki

New law caps overtime at unhealthy levels and sets up a system that will legitimize the principle of working for nothing.

Issues | JUST BE CAUSE Sep 19, 2018

Warning to Naomi Osaka: Playing for Japan can seriously shorten your career

by Debito Arudou

Naomi Osaka's decision to represent the country she left at the age of 3 may be good for her bottom line but not necessarily her longevity.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 12, 2018

This Tokyo Scout's been there, done that, got all the merit badges — and more

by Margaret Goff

Thanks to a rule change, Japan resident Austin Koslow is possibly the most decorated Scout ever in the U.S. branch of the movement.

Issues | LAW OF THE LAND Sep 5, 2018

Dog tale bites judge: His tweets muzzled, Japan's 'Judge White Briefs' faces his own trial

by Colin P.A. Jones

Disciplinary hearings for outspoken jurist over a dog-dumping story can only damage Japan's judiciary.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 2, 2018

Japan according to Don Maloney: Still amusing and relevant, mostly, 40 years on

by Andreas Neuenkirchen

Irreverent accounts of an American businessman in the 1970s in Tokyo hold up surprisingly well today.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 2, 2018

Don Maloney's 'Never the Twain...?' Japan Times column: some choice cuts from the 1970s

Some excerpts from Don Maloney's "Japan: It's not all Raw Fish" (1975) and "Son of Raw Fish" (1977) collections of Japan Times columns.

Issues Aug 28, 2018

TELL climb of Tokyo Tower aims to start dialogue on suicide prevention

by Misha Cade

While the Tokyo English Life Line was established in 1973 to help the city's international community, TELL's services have come to benefit people across the entire country. Perhaps surprisingly, Japanese speakers have also turned to the hotline as they feel it's easier to open up ...

Issues | LABOR PAINS Aug 26, 2018

Tokyo Medical University scandal is a throwback to when discrimination against women was the norm

by Hifumi Okunuki

Listening to the excuses being given for discrimination today, it's almost as if 1985's Equal Opportunity Act never happened.

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Aug 16, 2018

An Antipodean friendship fortified in Japanese floodwaters the color of 'Australian beer'

by Simon Scott

After his own rescue, one Kiwi resident of flooded Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, returned to the rising waters to look for his Aussie friend's stranded family.