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Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 25, 2021

Fairy tale fantasies meet reality on ‘The Future Diary’ and ‘The Bachelor Japan’

Whether you're in the mood for a love story with a melodramatic touch or some messier romantic competition, streaming services have you covered.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 24, 2021

Intel apologizes over its statement on forced labor in Xinjiang

Intel is the latest example of a multinational firm that has struggled to balance compliance with U.S. sanctions against Xinjiang and Chinese nationalist sentiment.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Dec 18, 2021

Amazon partnered with China propaganda arm to win Beijing's favor

Amazon's compliance with a Chinese government edict is part of a deeper, decadelong effort by the company to protect and grow its business in one of the world's largest marketplaces.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Dec 18, 2021

Inside his new studio, YouTuber Chris Broad finally has space to create

The Abroad in Japan host's new neon-infused u2018dream' studio pays homage to Ridley Scott's “Blade Runner” and a 1960s Japanese shopping arcade.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2021

Build Back Better would make Biden's terrible year even worse

If in 2022 the Democrats' congressional majorities enact Build Back Better, they might earn, and certainly will merit, the restfulness of the political graveyard in 2023.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2021

Putin needs a real casus belli to invade Ukraine

It would be reasonable to assume that Putin is weighing some kind of sudden onslaught scenario in case his 'red line” in relation to Ukraine is crossed.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2021

The inflation conundrum

Unlike prior inflation episodes, what is remarkable this time is how different the cross-country experiences have been as governments' diverse responses have led to varied economic outcomes.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 25, 2021

The superheroes from House of Slay are here to stay

How five fashion friends got a starring role fighting discrimination and hate in a new comic book series.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 19, 2021

Rupert Murdoch has the power if he wants Trump to move on

To get Trump and his cultists to change their stripes, Murdoch could stop allowing some of Fox's most influential anchors and broadcasters to spew poisonous talking points.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 17, 2021

On podcasts and radio, misleading COVID-19 talk goes unchecked

According to a survey, many young people primarily get their news through audio, trusting it more than print or video.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 17, 2021

Christian Dior draws ire in China with photo that ‘smears Asian women’

Global brands are facing a dilemma as they try to to satisfy the demands of Western shoppers without triggering a conflict with China.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2021

A dangerous global divide on vaccine access

The inequitable vaccine divide leaves humanity far more vulnerable to the next stage of the pandemic, as well as to any other systemic crisis that may emerge.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 20, 2021

Market moving language under machine learning microscope

Advocates say NLP can unlock the untapped potential for insight from the world of verbal 'unstructured data.'
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 15, 2021

An important issue for Japan’s coming Lower House election: Defending Taiwan

Japan's security, and hence its future, is directly related to Taiwan's security and future existence. A vote for Taiwan is a vote for Japan.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 9, 2021

Recognizing the growing repression of the news media by governments

In an era of increasing authoritarianism and swirling misinformation, Maria Ressa and Dmitri Muratov were honored for their work to hold leaders to account.
JAPAN / Media
Sep 30, 2021

Kei Komuro’s ponytail caused a media frenzy in Japan — leaving some to ask why

To some extent, the ratings-driven coverage speaks to the Japanese public's disapproval of Princess Mako's boyfriend.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Sep 20, 2021

The global housing market is broken, and it’s dividing entire countries

The perennial issue of housing costs has become one of acute housing inequality, and an entire generation is at risk of being left behind.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 20, 2021

Xi’s celebrity crackdown no match for Universal Studios in China

A commentary published widely in state-run media last month warned against 'fan culture” and 'worshiping Western culture.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 19, 2021

'The Book of Form and Emptiness': Ruth Ozeki’s inquisitive side is still on point

An award-winning author with four titles and two film credits under her belt, Ruth Ozeki’s greatest talent may be her ability to ask the right questions. Her fifth novel, "The Book of Form and Emptiness," demonstrates that her inquisitive side is still on point.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 19, 2021

‘Last of the Wolves’: A sequel with just as much bite as the first

The follow-up to Kazuya Shiraishi's “The Blood of Wolves” features emotionally raw and poignant moments in the middle of violent gang power struggles.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 19, 2021

‘Drive My Car’: Slow-burn drama does best when taking new routes

Ryusuke Hamaguchi's adaptation of a Haruki Murakami story, which won the award for best screenplay at this year's Cannes film festival, is a meta-drama on loss and breaking down barriers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 11, 2021

Alibaba worker’s desperate plea for help sparks #MeToo reckoning

The episode has triggered what many say is a long overdue examination of the ways Chinese women are too often treated at work.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 10, 2021

Restarting cruises has been a game of ‘operational whack-a-mole’

As well as managing cases of COVID-19 on their own sailings, operators have had to keep on top of vaccination and testing requirements at their stops on the way.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 9, 2021

China’s COVID-19 strategy risks leaving it isolated for years

China is tethering itself to eliminating the virus over the long term — an approach that risks leaving the world's second-biggest economy isolated for years to come.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Aug 6, 2021

Kansai looks to lessons from Olympics for own international events

Political and business leaders are likely to focus on the good and bad points of Tokyo's experience as they look ahead to the World Masters Games Kansai and the 2025 World Expo.
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2021

World’s biggest pension fund makes record cut to U.S. bond weighting

The Government Pension Investment Fund made a record cut to its weighting of U.S. government bonds last fiscal year as it increased investments into European sovereign debt.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Aug 2, 2021

Xi Jinping’s capitalist smackdown sparks a $1 trillion reckoning

The tutoring sector crackdown has triggered a growing realization that the old rules of Chinese business no longer apply.
LIFE / Language
Jul 31, 2021

Skateboarding slang comes to the hallowed halls of NHK

'Hella risky' and 'totally hot' are not the usual terms that NHK commentators use on air, but Ryo Sejiri isn't your usual commentator.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past