Maestro Seiji Ozawa (center) lays flowers at the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in October 2005.
Maestro Seiji Ozawa’s prayer for peace lives on in Hiroshima
His musical roots — and passion — can be traced back to the city where the first atomic bomb was detonated.
The front page of The Japan Times on Sept. 15, 1974, reports news of a terrorism incident in Europe.
Japan Times 1974: 'Red Army' trio seizes embassy
Fifty years ago, a terrorism incident plays out in Europe. Meanwhile, editions of The Japan Times look back on significant anniversaries.
Only two other class of persons were treated with anything like the merciless ferocity meted out to lovers: subversives and Christians.
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Aug 17, 2024
Love was a most subversive affair in Edo Japan
As the shogunate required order in society, love was seen as a threat to rational thinking — something that you might die for.
After 80 years, Toshimizu Ishii is speaking out on his experience making balloon bombs during World War II.
JAPAN / History
Aug 14, 2024
96-year-old recounts WWII experience in Fukushima balloon bomb exhibit
"Back then, I didn’t think much about it," Toshimizu Ishii admitted. "But now, I see how senseless it all was."
Though some in the country rejected their wartime associations, the Japanese government made the Hinomaru flag and "Kimigayo" anthem official 25 years ago.
Japan Times 1999: Flag, anthem now official
After some controversy, the Hinomaru flag was made official alongside the country's national anthem, "Kimigayo."
A tunnel inside the Sado Island Gold Mines in Sado, Niigata Prefecture
JAPAN / History
Jul 27, 2024
Japan's Sado gold mines added to World Heritage list
The site is associated with Korean wartime labor and was once the world's largest gold mine complex.
As childish as Ryokan may have been, human suffering wrung his heart. A portrait of the monk and calligraphy by him are shown here. (Ink on paper; early 19th century; replica before 1970)
JAPAN / History / The Living Past
Jul 21, 2024
Ryokan and us: 'How wide! How boundless!'
The Edo Period monk could see the world through a child's eyes, maybe even those of a child from our modern era.

Longform

Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep