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JAPAN
Jun 18, 2016

Japan's first lady, Akie Abe, speaks her own mind

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has outlasted those that scoffed at his return to power as leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party in 2012. And yet while the prime minister appears to have established himself as an increasingly dominant force in domestic politics over the past decade, the most...
JAPAN / OBAMA VISITS HIROSHIMA
May 26, 2016

Hibakusha recalls horror of bombing, pain of stigmatization and road to healing

It took Tamiko Shiraishi nearly seven decades before she could come to terms with her experience surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in August 1945.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
May 15, 2016

Laid-back baker finds luck and love in Tokyo

Once shunned by his in-laws because of his race, father of four hopes to change minds in Japan, little by little.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 16, 2016

The transformative power of Japan's 'magical girls'

There is one surprising thing about Japan's male-dominated — some may say rabidly misogynistic — society: manga and anime support women. True, there are plenty of examples to the contrary (take a short stroll through any Akihabara anime shop if you need proof). But at the same time, the modern Japanese...
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Feb 29, 2016

'Landmark' ruling sent Japan's foreign residents back to welfare limbo

Widely misunderstood 2014 case reaffirmed the decades-old stopgap that means noncitizens can receive support but can't appeal if their application is rejected.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Feb 3, 2016

Japanese Odissi dancer masters Indian classical art form

Masako Ono's skills in this ancient style of dance have won her kudos and success in her adopted land of India.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 23, 2016

Can farmed tuna save the bluefin from extinction?

Conservationists have long warned that bluefin tuna stocks are declining. While the development of aquaculture may offer an alternative, it doesn't come without a few headaches of its own.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 14, 2016

Takehiro Hira steps into a 19th-century affair in the award-winning 'Kaku Onna'

Tokyo was bathed in warm sunshine in the run-up to 2016, and when Takehiro Hira meets me at a rehearsal studio his smile is beaming just as brightly — while in his arms he's carrying a box of mikan (mandarin oranges) to share with the rest of the team as they prepare for this month's rerun of Ai Nagai's...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 9, 2016

Nagisa Oshima: 'You have to tell the truth about your country, whatever it is'

Jan. 15 marks the third anniversary of the renowned film director's death. Roger Pulvers, who knew him for more than 30 years and was his assistant on “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” discusses the man and his work
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES
Jan 3, 2016

Options available to mitigate dangers of living alone with dementia

At first glance, it's hard to tell what's wrong with Keiko Sawada. As casual exchanges continue, however, it becomes increasingly clear the former bar hostess has serious memory problems.
EDITORIALS
Dec 5, 2015

Remembering Setsuko Hara

Fans and critics regretted that acting great Setsuko Hara never made more films after 1961, but with her passing perhaps a new generation will discover the pleasure, complexity and intensity of her work.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 21, 2015

There's no time like the Christmas present

It may not be a traditional custom in Japan, but Christmas gift-giving is always played up by shopping malls here. If you're finding it all a bit overwhelming but still looking for something special, our writers are here to help with a few ideas that they think will make perfect gifts for your friends,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 18, 2015

Kohei Oguri's 'Foujita' struggles to win over foreign audiences

Veteran auteur Kohei Oguri's first film in 10 years, "Foujita" is a biopic of artist Tsuguharu "Leonard" Foujita. The toast of prewar Paris for his elegantly drawn women and cats, Foujita radically switched styles on his return to a militarized Japan and his propaganda art for the war effort was heavily...
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 12, 2015

Putin's daughter and Russia's second-generation elite

Since Vladimir Putin began cementing his grip on Russia in the 1990s, many of his friends have grown famously rich.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 11, 2015

Hoodie Monks mix beats with their Buddhism

The Hoodie Monks bring together two cultures that might at first seem like unlikely partners: Buddhism and hip-hop.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Oct 1, 2015

Neither here nor there: Stretched between Nigeria and Japan, family ties fray

This is the last of a two-part series on Japanese-Nigerian families torn between Asia and Africa. The first part can be found here.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 1, 2015

Former child soldier and refugee Ger Duany finds a future in Hollywood

Ger Duany was only 13 years old when he became a child soldier in his home country of what is now South Sudan. Spending his childhood living in constant fear of being killed, he did what he had to — he picked up a gun and shot back, the only way to survive in a war.
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 26, 2015

Nation's youth are attempting to establish a new political norm

"Tell me what democracy looks like!"
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Sep 12, 2015

Broncos, family pay tribute to Uhle

Since the bj-league's inception in 2005, the Saitama Broncos have never been a model franchise.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Sep 5, 2015

Transcending issues on the summit of Mount Shichimen

There are times in life when you need a monk. That's when you head out to Yamanashi Prefecture and climb up the sacred Mount Shichimen — to find Keishin-in Temple and get a Buddhist perspective on all things human, including love.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Aug 10, 2015

Rubio defends stance against abortion under all circumstances, called 'out of step'

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday defended his stance against abortion without exceptions for rape or when a mother's life was in danger that he was asked about during a debate among Republican presidential candidates on Thursday.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 8, 2015

Mass murder and Sion Sono

A disturbed individual kills, and the media searches for reasons why. Sometimes, the killer obligingly cites a pop culture phenomenon as inspiration. Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon, saw himself as the living embodiment of Holden Caulfield, the hero of J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 29, 2015

For many black Americans, Confederate flag debate merely a distraction

As calls grow to remove the Confederate flag from public spaces across America's South, Vanessa White says she questions whether that would mark real progress for black Americans like her.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 24, 2015

'Selma' director Ava DuVernay unveils women activists of civil rights era

A filmmaker needs more than directing skills to make it in the big league, and an activist needs more than a political agenda to change the world. Ava DuVernay brings this point home in "Selma," the first major motion picture portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jun 17, 2015

A mother's ordeal, passed down as an anti-war lesson

A daughter stays true to the anti-war message left in her mother's harrowing account of the Battle of Okinawa.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 10, 2015

Surviving flamboyantly in a super-aged society

The older you get, the more you need to live in the city. Simone de Beauvoir once said that to her biographer, and it's probably true. As an iconic presence on the streets of Paris until her death in 1986, de Beauvoir showed that city living was one of the secrets to aging well and living life to the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 27, 2015

Capturing the grief and confusion of an immigrant Asian mother

Asian mothers always seem to overdo it — both in real life and in cinema.
JAPAN / Society
May 23, 2015

Shifting the scales of juvenile justice

In light of 13-year-old Ryota Uemura's recent murder in Kawasaki, the country is once again split over whether or not to revise the law governing crimes committed by minors.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers