Search - author

 
 
CULTURE / Books / 2022 in Review
Dec 31, 2022

Japanese stories captivated overseas audiences in 2022

This year marked increased recognition for female Japanese authors, while Japan-based stories provided the inspiration for Hollywood adaptations such as 'Bullet Train' and 'Tokyo Vice.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / 2022 in Review
Dec 22, 2022

Anime continued its dominance in 2022

Anime proved to be bankable content in chaotic times, with 'One Piece' and 'Dragon Ball' scoring big at the box office, while major streaming services expanded their anime offerings.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Dec 16, 2022

Is it too late to save the Japanese giant salamander?

Environmental journalist Mara Budgen comes on the show to talk about the Japanese giant salamander, which is well-protected within Japan through various laws but is still at risk of becoming an endangered species.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 10, 2022

Take a journey through the mythic and mundane in 'The Thorn Puller'

Hiromi Ito's semi-autobiographical, transnational novel probes the complexities of life as it follows the struggles of a woman shouldering an impressive load of family troubles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 27, 2022

Global economy must green faster to prevent dire climate impacts

Progress across 40 key indicators must accelerate dramatically to stay in line with the Paris treaty goal of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 14, 2022

King Charles inherits untold riches and passes off his own empire

Charles, who formally acceded to the British throne Saturday, spent half a century turning his royal estate into a billion-dollar portfolio.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 30, 2022

Greenland already locked in to major sea level rise, study says

Regardless of any future fossil fuel pollution, warming to date will cause the Greenland ice sheet to shed 3.3% of its volume, committing 27.4 centimeters to sea level rise.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 4, 2022

How TikTok became a bestseller machine

#BookTok, where enthusiastic readers share reading recommendations, has gone from being a novelty to becoming an anchor in the publishing industry and a dominant driver of fiction sales.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 19, 2022

Li Kotomi's 'Solo Dance' flows across prose and borders

A beautiful translation by Arthur Reiji Morris of 'Solo Dance' will solidify Li Kotomi's place in the next generation of Japanese writers.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 29, 2022

Climate change will accelerate viral spillovers, study finds

The shuffling of viruses among animals may increase the risk that one will jump into humans and cause a new pandemic, the researchers said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 3, 2022

Chesil's coming-of-age tale gives voice to the silenced

'The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart' is a short but heartfelt novel that tells an explicitly Zainichi story.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2022

Deep-ocean creatures previously unknown to science may be fighting climate change

Plankton that fall to the ocean floor regulate the global climate by transferring carbon from the atmosphere to the seafloor, where it can remain entombed for millions of years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 8, 2022

Exciting translations and books about Japan to bookmark for 2022

From Yoko Tawada's “Scattered All Over the Earth” to Sayaka Murata's “Life Ceremony,” this year's new releases are sure to brighten up your 2022.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 2, 2021

Haruki Murakami and the challenge of adapting his tales for film

“Drive My Car,” from the rising director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, is the rare movie based on the author's work to excel. The writer and director explain the difficulties.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 20, 2021

Extreme heat a clear and growing health issue, two studies find

One of the studies found that over 356,000 people died as a result of extreme heat in 2019, and that the toll was likely to rise in future years.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 15, 2021

‘Soul Lanterns’ approaches Hiroshima's past with childlike curiosity and compassion

Shaw Kuzki's middle grade novel takes place 25 years after the atomic bombings, with middle schoolers seeking out memories of World War II from their community to reclaim their history.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 10, 2021

Geoengineering marks scientific gains in U.N. report on dire climate future

The technology involves large-scale interventions that shift the climate, generally with an aim of cooling the Earth.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 10, 2021

Once-in-50-year heat waves now happening every decade

Heat waves, droughts and torrential rains are set to become more frequent and extreme as the earth warms further, a U.N. climate science report says.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 8, 2021

Wuhan lab dispute obscures a more pressing problem

Senior Chinese officials acknowledge their country's “clear shortcomings” in its high-level biosafety labs in comparison with the U.S. and warned of insufficient operating funds.
Arunima Mazumdar, a New Delhi-based communications professional, began sharing her love of Japanese literature online in 2022. The platform has grown into a robust community known as Dokusha Book Club.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Apr 26, 2025

Arunima Mazumdar: ‘Japanese literature has a niche but deeply engaged readership in India’

The founder of Dokusha Book Club talks about why Indian readers love Japanese books and the community that she’s forged, online and offline.
On the surface, "Wildcat Dome" tells a personal story of damaged children — now adults — bound together by tragedy. Underneath, there’s a constant undercurrent of political consequence, invisible and pervasive like radioactive particles.
CULTURE / Books
Apr 26, 2025

‘Wildcat Dome’ challenges Japan's historical narratives

Prolific writer Yuko Tsushima explores themes of militarization, colonialism and occupation through the identities of mixed-race orphans in postwar Japan.
Polls show Generation Z men, influenced by economic and social crises like the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic, have shifted right, favoring Republicans while Generation Z women have remained more liberal, supporting Democrats.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2025

Gen Z is politically old before its time

For many years, both younger men and women have leaned decidedly left. No longer.
The consumption and investing habits of the world's richest 10% consume and invest has substantially increased the risk of deadly heat waves and drought around the world, according to new research.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
May 8, 2025

World's richest 10% caused two-thirds of global warming, study finds

How the rich consume and invest has substantially increased the risk of deadly heat waves and drought.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping joins Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders at a ceremony at the Kremlin’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2025

Beijing talks peace in Ukraine while aiding Putin’s war

China benefits strategically as long as the war stays within Ukraine, the nuclear risk remains low and its “unlimited partner,” Russia, does not lose.
Japan's Shohei Ohtani carries the Japanese flag onto the field before the start of the World Baseball Classic final against the United States in Miami on March 21, 2023.
BASEBALL
May 15, 2025

Historian Rob Fitts discovers earliest ever reference to baseball in Japan

The widely held belief is that American Horace Wilson introduced the sport to Japan in 1872. Fitts' discovery revises the timeline to 1869.
Author Kazuo Ishiguro (left) and director Kei Ishikawa pose during a photocall for the film “Toi Yamanamino Hikari” ("A Pale View of Hills") at the 78th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2025

Adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel premieres at Cannes

The author says that adapting the novel — which he wrote when he was 25 — was different from bringing his other books to the big screen.
More Chinese families are clustering in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, a district renowned for having the finest educational environment in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
May 29, 2025

Chinese parents are fueling Tokyo’s education race

International schools in Tokyo are already witnessing an influx of children from the newly arrived, highly involved Chinese households.
A man holding a baby wades through a flooded road following heavy rainfall in Zhengzhou, China, in July 2021.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jun 13, 2025

Natural disasters may be shaping babies’ brains

The findings signal how new generations of children may be marked by climate crises that occur before they were born.
Killer whales have been caught on video breaking off pieces of seaweed and using them to rub and groom each other, scientists announced on Monday, saying it is the first evidence of cetacean tool manufacturing.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 25, 2025

Killer whales use seaweed as tools to groom each other

The researchers hypothesize that the behavior promotes skin health while strengthening social bonds.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji