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Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 12, 2018

Let's discuss passports and visas

Japanese and Singaporean passport holders have the greatest travel freedom worldwide, according to a survey.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 7, 2018

White supremacists and Japan: A love story

Far-right fanboys see in Japan an ethnostate that gets a free pass on the world stage, but it's a reputation that Japan needs to shake for its own good.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 5, 2018

Let's discuss the Pyeongchang Olympics

The Pyeongchang Olympics had a bit of everything: political theater, incredible athletic achievements, the wrath of Mother Nature, and more Russians caught doping.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 4, 2018

Doling out some truths about Japan's 'share houses'

Many Japanese people are wary of investment as a means of growing their savings. There are a variety of reasons for this caution, so most keep their money in a bank, gaining almost no interest in the process, in the hope that they won't lose any in the long run. However, some salaried workers who understand...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 3, 2018

The color of climate change in Japan's Yaeyama archipelago

Depleting reefs may profoundly reshape Ishigaki Island's tourism industry.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 3, 2018

Japan's media out of step with mental health issues

In January, a couple in Neyagawa, Osaka Prefecture, were arrested for allegedly confining their daughter for at least 15 years before she froze to death in December at the age of 33. The couple told police they had kept her in the tiny room where her body was found because she was mentally ill. They...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 3, 2018

Anniversaries loom for gum producer Lotte and the Yoshiwara red-light district

In 1941, a 19-year-old Korean chemistry student named Shin Kyuk-ho traveled to Tokyo to study at a technical college. He remained in Japan following the war and, under the name Takeo Shigemitsu, founded Lotte Co. in 1948. The brand's name was inspired by Charlotte, the heroine of Johann Wolfgang von...
Reader Mail
Mar 2, 2018

LDP electoral plan reasonable

The editorial "LDP's proposed electoral system amendment" in the Feb. 22 edition was critical of a proposed constitutional amendment guaranteeing each prefecture at least one representative in the Upper House. The proposal isn't perfect, but neither are objections in the editorial.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Feb 26, 2018

Let's discuss that Armani school uniform

A public elementary school in Tokyo's posh Ginza district has decided to adopt new uniforms designed by Armani, triggering protests.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Feb 19, 2018

Let's discuss 'obligatory chocolates'

A recent Godiva ad challenged the culture of 'obligatory' Valentine's chocolates.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2018

Japan lags in fact-checking initiatives, media watchers say

Japan lags behind other countries in fact-checking initiatives and still has low awareness of their importance, according to FactCheck Initiative Japan (FIJ), a Tokyo-based nonprofit organization that encourages fact-verifying activities.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 10, 2018

Did press reports of a lawsuit spur an amendment to the welfare ministry's policy on benefits?

On Jan. 16, the Fukushima District Court ruled in favor of a woman and her daughter who had sued the city of Fukushima for cutting their welfare benefits. When the woman’s daughter was in high school, the woman received a grant scholarship to help her child prepare for university by covering expenses...
Reader Mail
Feb 9, 2018

The evils of eugenics

The article "Records of forced sterilizations found" in the Jan. 27 edition reminds us of the dark side of Japanese history.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Feb 5, 2018

Let's discuss cryptocurrencies

Echoing the Mt. Gox fiasco nearly four years ago, Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck disclosed Friday it had been hacked and lost about u00a558 billion ($532 million) worth of its holdings, sending clients into a panic about the fate of their virtual assets.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 3, 2018

Has Christel Takigawa cursed Japan with her 2020 Olympics omotenashi pitch?

"One thing made clear from (our) survey is that the wholehearted looking after guests is not necessarily appreciated."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 3, 2018

NHK tries to clear up LGBT misconceptions

Last month, publisher Iwanami Shoten was criticized for its definition of “LGBT” in the newest edition of Kojien, which is considered to be the most authoritative dictionary of the Japanese language. The complaint was specifically about the meaning of the acronym’s “T” portion, which stands...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 30, 2018

China denies report it hacked African Union headquarters

China and the African Union dismissed on Monday a report in French newspaper Le Monde that Beijing had bugged the regional bloc's headquarters in the Ethiopian capital.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 26, 2018

Proposed Kibo no To policy criticizes Abe-backed security laws, but conservative members may balk

The leadership of Kibo no To (Party of Hope) on Friday proposed to rank-and-file members that the opposition party strongly criticize the controversial 2015 security laws pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a senior member and media reports said.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jan 22, 2018

Let's discuss the Harenohi Coming-of-Age Day kimono disaster

Police received at least 160 complaints after a kimono rental firm halted operations just before Coming-of-Age Day ceremonies, leaving young women without formal attire for the once-in-a-lifetime event.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 22, 2018

Abe pledges more robust defense strategy for Japan in annual policy speech to lawmakers

Abe talked tough on defense while easing off from his usual praise for South Korea following the recent flap over the 2015 “comfort women” agreement.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 20, 2018

Debate grows over paying compensation to Olympic 'volunteers'

A  constant concern about the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics is its cost. Projected operating expenses for the games as of the end of last year was ¥1.35 trillion based on calculations made last May. Although the figure is smaller than it once was, the International Olympic Committee says it is still...
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 19, 2018

Famed producer Tetsuya Komuro quits music industry over alleged affair

Music producer Tetsuya Komuro said Friday he will retire from the industry following a recent magazine report about his alleged extramarital affair with a nurse.
EDITORIALS
Jan 18, 2018

Different surnames as a choice for spouses

The government and the Diet should remember that it is their task to make necessary adjustments to laws as society and people's values change.
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 15, 2018

AI-based story-summarizing system to debut at Japanese newspaper

Fujitsu Ltd. will provide the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun with a system that automatically summarizes articles using artificial intelligence.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 15, 2018

Mystery Twitter user 'Okasanman' has vast, and growing, following of Japan traders

On a day when billions in profits and losses would be determined by split-second trades, the salaried professionals of Japan's financial markets were glued to their news terminals. Another group was staring at the feed of an anonymous Twitter account.
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
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jan 8, 2018

Let's discuss facial recognition technology

Facial technology will be used at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 1, 2018

2018 seen as make-or-break year for Abe's constitutional revision quest

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces what is perhaps the biggest dilemma of his political career: whether to call the nation's first-ever referendum on revising the postwar Constitution.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Dec 31, 2017

Lessons about Japan's school catchment areas

A neighbor recently asked us to sign a petition requesting that the local education committee keep a certain elementary school open. Due to falling enrollment, students who attended the school would be transferred to a different one in the near future.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 18, 2017

Now, a different and darker clash of civilizations

Far right, anti-immigrant parties have a new ideology that poses grave dangers to liberal democracy.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan