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LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Mar 15, 2010

1000 Things About Japan/Japanese Snack Reviews

When Shari Custer arrived in Japan with her American husband, the original plan was to stay for "five years." That was 20 years ago. During her extended time in Japan, Custer wanted to chronicle some of the little things that many overlook, and her ongoing list comprises one of her blogs: 1000 Things...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
May 28, 2017

When too many things 'spark joy,' it's a Wonderwall life

Masamichi Katayama, founder of interior design firm Wonderwall, describes the importance of accumulating and keeping objects and artworks in life — even if you have more than 500 of them.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 16, 2022

Where the wild things grow — foraging in Japan

Winifred Bird is the author of 'Eating Wild Japan,' a book that goes deep into the foraging culture of Japan and contains essays on foraging, a selection of recipes and a guide to forageable plants.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Dec 19, 2022

Things to do before saying 'sayonara' to your life in Japan

Planning on leaving Japan? Think long-term with your plans. It will take a while to ship everything to a different country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 24, 2019

Can Japan revive its electronics industry glory?

The revival of CEATEC as an exhibition will serve as an important barometer for the resurgence of Japan's consumer electronics industry.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Mar 6, 2012

A few of readers' favorite things; heated discussion on the burning issue of warmth

A selection of readers' responses to Debito Arudou's Feb. 7 Just Be Cause column, "These are a few of my favorite things about Japan":
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Dec 8, 2010

A relationship with the city

I magine you live in a house that communicates with you through an interface resembling the futuristic info-graphics in the science-fiction movie "Minority Report" — where actor Tom Cruise interacted with icons on an holographic touch screen. For example, a kitchen appliance, such as your fridge, displays...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 24, 2019

The Japanese words 'mono' and 'koto' can make things tricky

Both 'mono' and 'koto' mean 'thing' in Japanese, but they're used in different ways. And the thing is, nuance matters.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Jul 9, 2017

Thank you, Jean Pearce, for helping us get things done in Japan

If the U.S. had Ann Landers and Dear Abby, and Britain had Marge Proops, then Japan had Jean Pearce — someone who transcended the title of 'columnist' and became a media icon for generations of readers.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 3, 2001

Afghanistan and the gods of little things

God's preferences on dietary matters are well-known: no pork for Jews or Muslims, no beef for Hindus, and no saturated fats or refined sugar for the Western upper-middle class. But this is the first time he has taken such a strong line on haircuts.
EDITORIALS
Jan 15, 2014

The 'Internet of everything'

The advent of the 'Internet of things,' the ever-expanding array of connectedness between computer sensors and consumer devices, promises convenience as well as privacy and security concerns.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 3, 2012

These are a few of my favorite things — about the Japanese

Debito Arudou's Feb. 7 Just Be Cause column describing the 10 things he likes about Japan both inspired and depressed me. As a frequent critic of the country's legal system (among other things), his piece made me stop and think of some of the things I like about Japan that are all too easy to take for...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 28, 2021

Jayne Nakata: 'In life the hard things are the things that give you the most chance to grow'

Finding herself in a part of Japan where there weren't so many foreign women, Jayne Nakata decided to reach out through podcasting.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 16, 2021

‘Things Remembered and Things Forgotten’: History, memory and cultural identity

Kyoko Nakajima's latest collection of translated short stories explores the ties connecting Japan's past to its present. Ghosts are involved in more ways than one.
A young supporter of presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 2
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Apr 22, 2024

In chance for Trump, youth at rally see him as answer to economic woes

If Trump, 77, stays close to Biden, 81, in this demographic all the way to Election Day on Nov. 5 it would be a major gain compared with 2020.
The city of Kyoto boasts historic artifacts and cityscapes that millions are willing to travel thousands of kilometers to see, but such treasures are not cheap to maintain, prompting the city to ask foreign tourists for a helping hand.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 13, 2024

Kyoto partners with e-gift service company to let tourists Donate & Go

The new donation service allows foreign tourists to contribute toward the preservation of cities they visit while receiving a gift in return.
Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Huntington Place in Detroit on Friday.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 19, 2024

U.S. cities seek to 'Trump-proof' inequality action ahead of election

After the pandemic and protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020, racial and economic inequality moved to the center of federal policymaking.
Familiarizing yourself with different types of honorifics and formal verb structures will be crucial to successfully completing a job interview in Japanese.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 2, 2024

Get to know basic honorifics before you head into that Japanese job interview

Honorific language, or “keigo,” is something you’ll want to get a handle on before you head out to hunt for a job in Japan.
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah at Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 27, 2024

Biden hopes to parlay Lebanon cease-fire into a broader regional peace

With a deal to end more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the U.S. leader turns his attention back to halting the war in Gaza before leaving office.
Steam rises from a geothermal plan in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture. Despite its long history and potential, geothermal provided just 0.3% of Japan's overall energy mix in the fiscal year from April 2023
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Dec 22, 2024

Is Japan finally ready to tap its abundant geothermal energy potential?

Japan boasts the world’s third-largest potential supply of geothermal energy, but this renewable energy resource has mostly been untapped.
Photos taken from the same place but at different times in the Noto Peninsula towns of Wajima (left) and Suzu illustrate the progress made following the devastating earthquake that hit these areas of Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1, 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 1, 2025

A year after a deadly earthquake, Noto Peninsula still faces long road to recovery

Reconstruction remains a prolonged and complex ordeal for cities in the worst-hit areas, with recovery further hampered by torrential rains in September.
The third patient to receive a genetically engineered pig kidney is thriving post-transplant, providing valuable insights into animal-to-human organ replacement and bringing the field closer to clinical trials. 
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2025

Why a recent pig kidney transplant is a major advance

The 53-year-old woman who received the genetically modified animal organ is the ideal recipient to push science forward.
Just like in times of old, with unresolved territorial disputes, regional disunity and economic self-interest prevailing over solidarity, Southeast Asia faces growing instability as tensions escalate.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2025

Southeast Asia must learn to defend itself

Would any of the region’s governments lift a finger to maintain peace on behalf of a neighbor?
Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Mar 17, 2025

The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo

Thirty years after Aum Shinrikyo attacked Tokyo’s subways, the nation continues to prepare for the unthinkable.
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 10, 2025

From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home

Hundreds of foreign nationals previously protected because they grew up in France now face expulsion under legislation introduced last year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives for a trilateral meeting between Japan, the U.S. and Australia at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Saturday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 1, 2025

Hegseth to prioritize China and more allied spending in Asia — but questions remain

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a clear statement of the United States' commitment to the region, but getting allies to spend more on their defense will be an uphill battle.
After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 2, 2025

How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic

Labor shortages and shifting mindsets are driving younger Japanese workers to challenge the country’s traditional office culture.
A Tokyo Gas Co. storage tank at the company's Setagaya facility in Tokyo
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 12, 2024

World trying to quit fossil fuels gets flood of gas instead

Formerly a sluggish sector, global events spurred LNG's expansion
Attendees at the Leap technology conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 6, 202. The oil-rich country is plowing money into glitzy events, computing power and artificial intelligence research, putting it in the middle of an escalating U.S.-China struggle for technological influence.
WORLD / Politics
May 2, 2024

‘To the future’: Saudi Arabia spends big to become an AI superpower

Saudi Arabia was long a financial spigot for tech, but is now building its own industry.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth looks on as President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the White House in Washington on March 21.
WORLD / Politics
May 7, 2025

Hegseth's order to cancel Ukraine weapons caught White House off guard

The story of how the flights were canceled points to an at-times haphazard policymaking process within the Trump administration.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight