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Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 11, 2019

Naomi Osaka's poise key for success at Australian Open

It's often said that getting to the upper echelon of tennis is the easy part.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 7, 2019

In a Tokyo neighborhood's last sushi restaurant, a sense of loss

"I'll have a draft," says Yasuo Fujinuma, heaving himself down at the sushi counter. He pulls a pack of cigarettes from a frayed pocket of his sweater. From the corner of the restaurant, a small TV hums the noon weather forecast. He never drinks at noon.
JAPAN / Help Wanted?
Dec 31, 2018

Japan said unready for drastic social changes despite impending arrival of foreign workers

Experts bemoan the lack of support measures so far for incoming laborers.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Dec 15, 2018

Namie Amuro tops Nikkei Marketing Journal's list of 2018's most popular products and services

Described in its choice for the year's yokozuna (grand champion) as dasa-kakoyosa — something that's behind the times, but cool nonetheless — entertainer Namie Amuro appeared at the top of the Nikkei Marketing Journal's 48th annual Hitto Shohin Banzuke (ranking of hit products) on Dec. 5.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Dec 12, 2018

A new law regarding foreign workers brings up old problems

Activists in the field bring up concerns with Japan's new approach to manual laborers from overseas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 11, 2018

2018 was the year in Japan that saw the stage sing, while contemporary drama barely made a squeak

Musicals have flourished in 2018, with many young stars also helping to sell out straight plays in which they appeared. However, the contemporary drama scene in Japan has been unusually quiet this year in terms of new works and writers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 2, 2018

Only American sedans are dead

The supremacy of Japanese cars has been 40-plus years in the making.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 22, 2018

Kim Jong Who? South Korea revamps how students study their northern neighbor

A year of warming relations between North and South Korea has raised the prospects of closer ties, if not some form of unification for the still-warring neighbors far in the future. But it might not be obvious in a typical South Korean classroom.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 18, 2018

Putin faces hurdles of his own in territorial spat

Vladimir Putin would like to go down in history as the Russia leader who resolved all his nation's territorial disputes, but the road to reaching a settlement with Japan is littered with obstacles.
CULTURE / Music
Nov 17, 2018

Mariya Takeuchi: The pop genius behind 2018's surprise online smash hit from Japan

On the 40th anniversary of singer-songwriter Mariya Takeuchi's debut, The Japan Times sits down with the musician responsible for such classics as 'Sutekina Holiday,' 'September' and the track that has taken the internet by storm, 'Plastic Love.'
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 7, 2018

U.S. taxpayers count the cost of Foxconn's artful deal in Wisconsin

Whatever Americans were hoping for when they elected Donald Trump president in 2016, it's a fair bet that it didn't include shoveling billions of dollars of American taxpayer money to foreign companies to build white-elephant factories.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 29, 2018

Ignore the news and America seems pretty nice

Drive from coast to coast with the radio off and everybody seems to be getting along fine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Oct 20, 2018

Autumn is the season for shinmai, newly harvested rice

Shinmai — rice harvested and processed during the current calendar year — is celebrated for its fresh, clean taste and subtle sweetness. But komai (old rice) also has its place in Japanese history and the kitchen.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 20, 2018

Is 'Hothouse Earth' avoidable?

The only way to balance growth and sustainability is through structural and societal transformation on a global scale.
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Ireland report 2018
Oct 19, 2018

EU’s fastest growing economy on four-year streak seeks stronger business links with Japan

Rising anew from a devastating recession 10 years ago, Ireland has rehabilitated its image as the Celtic Phoenix as its economy grows year-on-year, wages rise and new jobs are created. Although small in terms of size and population, Ireland is among the world’s most productive and profitable markets...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Oct 13, 2018

Kizuna AI's NHK appearance sparks debate on social media

Do virtual YouTubers dream of online controversy? Maybe not but they sure are good at courting it.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2018

Choosing the best students isn't easy

In sharply unequal societies, elite universities receiving government funds can properly be expected to play a role in fostering social mobility.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 12, 2018

The dis-United Nations

The U.N. faces daunting challenges in the age of Trumpism.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Sep 29, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: When Japanese games went global

The Japan Times presents the fifth installment of a monthly 12-part series that looks back at the leading issues of the past three decades.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2018

The Kavanaugh sex scandals teach us that extremism is OK

The Democrats' decision to ignore Kavanaugh's extreme positions on critical U.S. policies such as torture suggests they tacitly endorse them.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2018

Bullying the Palestinians is no way to make a deal

Successful negotiations will require a nuanced approach that respects the sensibilities and aspirations of the Palestinian people.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Sep 15, 2018

Does Kansai need three international airports?

Twenty-four years after Kansai airport's opening, Typhoon Jebi roared through, flooding the main runway, parts of the main terminal building and dislodging a tanker in the adjacent bay that drifted into the facility's connecting bridge.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 13, 2018

South African cave stone boasts oldest-known human drawing, dating back 73,000 years

A small stone flake marked with intersecting lines of red ochre pigment some 73,000 years ago that was found in a cave on South Africa's southern coast represents what archaeologists on Wednesday called the oldest-known example of human drawing.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 10, 2018

Trump's assault on Palestinian refugees

Halting UNRWA funding will threaten the region's already tenuous stability.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 3, 2018

A strategic framework that works for Japan and India

India, as the geographic anchor, and Japan, as the development anchor, are key actors and their partnership will be central to the success of the FOIP.
JAPAN / Politics
Aug 31, 2018

Seiko Noda rules herself out of LDP leadership vote but mulls creating her own party faction

Noda again postponed her long-shot bid to replace Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as the nation's first female leader.
WORLD
Aug 31, 2018

As world changes, Europe rethinks strategic dependence on Trump's U.S.

In 1776, the New World declared independence from the old. Today, it is the Old World that is declaring independence from the new.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami