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JAPAN / G20 Osaka Summit Special
Jun 27, 2019

Women's empowerment equals economic growth

For Haruno Yoshida, co-chair of the Women 20 (W20) committee, a G20 engagement group, female empowerment is something like the construction behind Nara Prefecture's famed ancient wooden Horyuji Temple.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 23, 2019

Cleaning toilets with a smile: The lessons you can learn from a convenience store side job

Learning Japanese and want a bit of extra cash? Getting a part-time job in the service industry can teach you a lot more than the language.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2019

Japanese-American director of 'comfort women' documentary sued by interviewees

A group of seven Japanese intellectuals and activists has sued the director and the distributor of a documentary film that covers the political debates over "comfort women," demanding the screenings be terminated and seeking compensation totaling ¥13 million.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 8, 2019

Documentary juxtaposes both sides of contentious debate on 'comfort women'

On May 30, three people held a news conference in Tokyo to speak out against a documentary titled "Shusenjo: The Main Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue," which focuses on the rhetorical battle over the women who sexually serviced Japanese soldiers before and during World War II. The participants...
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 27, 2019

Trump stays on script in Tokyo summit with Abe covering trade and North Korea

Instead, it appears Tokyo was able to avoid the embarrassments that Trump is famous for.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 27, 2019

Carlos Ghosn's release on bail is part of a wider trend in Japan's criminal justice system

The rate of bail approval increased from roughly 15 percent in 2007 to about 32 percent in 2017, according to the Japan Bail Support Association.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Dec 30, 2018

Hard work, nonstop play in the world of Japanese TV

It is hard to imagine Dave Spector doing anything else. Although tempting to call the fun- and pun-loving force of energy that is Spector a workaholic, he enjoys what he does so much that his palpable passion makes 'playholic' more accurate.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 27, 2018

Constitutional referendum would unleash TV blitz never before seen in Japan

If Japan ever calls a referendum on whether to revise the postwar Constitution, it could spark a heated TV advertising war, akin to what the U.S. goes through for its presidential election campaigns.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Nov 23, 2018

Tuna, tradition and opportunities for sustainable tourism

Sustainable tourism is a hot topic, and in light of Japan's goals to grow the number of inbound tourists to 40 million by 2020 and all the way up to 60 million a decade later, it's one that deserves attention. Fortunately, there are concrete ways to ease the environmental impact of the tourism boom in Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 20, 2018

As foreign labor system evolves, education has to play catch-up

Japanese-language education is becoming more important for children of foreign residents in Japan at a time when the government is planning to introduce a new visa system to increase the number of foreign workers.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / japan since the Meiji Restoration
Nov 5, 2018

A contextual look at the Heisei Era

To lament the 'fall of Japan' during the Heisei Era, as some pessimists do, misses the big picture.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 11, 2018

Japan's top government spokesman denies Trump asked Abe to 'strongly consider' giving casino license to one of his benefactors

Yoshihide Suga responded tersely to an investigative report during a regular press briefing, referring to Abe's past denial in the Diet of the allegation.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Jul 14, 2018

From 'big in Japan' to far better in America

Megumi Ijiri Haskin felt so different to other children when growing up in Japan, that she aspired to live in the U.S. at the age of 17.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 4, 2018

John Williams presents a made-in-Japan take on one of Kafka's classics

Written at the start of World War I and published in 1925 after its author's untimely death, Franz Kafka's "The Trial" is one of those novels everyone knows by reputation (or, in my case, from a fevered reading in high school).
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Apr 15, 2018

As HMI expands, sights set on drawing Indian visitors

When 24 million people visited Japan in 2016, it marked the first time the number surpassed 20 million, a figure that the government had hoped to meet by 2020.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 30, 2018

Strong on diplomacy? Abe seemingly caught off guard by North Korea and trade setbacks

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe likes to boast about his diplomatic skills, but two weeks of humiliating surprises from the U.S. and North Korea are testing his mettle.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 20, 2018

With resignations at NH Foods, has #MeToo finally reached corporate Japan?

The #MeToo movement may have finally made its way to corporate Japan: The president of a blue chip company has resigned after a subordinate he was traveling with made sexually explicit remarks to an airline employee.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 7, 2018

Abe and Pence say no divide on North Korea during Tokyo meeting, warn against Pyongyang’s ‘smile diplomacy’

Amid signs of a gradual thaw in inter-Korean relations, Prime Minister Abe and visiting U.S. Vice President Pence reaffirm the policy of maintaining “maximum pressure” on North Korea.
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 2, 2018

Free incense sticks cloud future of Japan's economy minister and TPP chief Toshimitsu Motegi

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's point man for a massive Pacific trade pact is defending his job after giving incense sticks to voters, the latest example of how even the whiff of scandal can threaten policymaking in Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 27, 2017

Japanese lawmaker sparks nationwide debate by taking her baby to work

A female politician's decision to bring her baby to an assembly session to highlight the difficulties faced by working mothers is drawing support on Twitter, with users saying they don't mind if people take their children to the workplace.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 21, 2017

Identifying the 'liberal' in Japanese politics

The current group of conservative public figures in the United States wants to return to an age when certain middle-class values were ascendant, without acknowledging that many of those values were realized because President Franklin Roosevelt implemented progressive social policies and trade unions...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Oct 8, 2017

A mission to capture the full range of half-Japanese experience — in 192 photos

Tetsuro Miyazaki has the ambitious plan of photographing half-Japanese individuals with one parent from every nation in the world.
Japan Times
PRESS / Events
Sep 13, 2017

The Japan Times to hold 120th anniversary exhibition, “Japan Through the Lens of an English-language Newspaper”

Tokyo, September 13, 2017 – The Japan Times which celebrated its 120th year as a newspaper in March 2017, will hold a celebratory exhibition titled “Japan Through the Lens of an English-language Newspaper - 120 Years of The Japan Times.” The exhibition will be held from Oct. 7 to Dec. 24 at the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jul 18, 2017

Nagoya assembly creates day care room for nursing mom among ranks

The Nagoya Municipal Assembly has created a private day care room for one of its members with a 1-year-old son, the first such facility among governments in the Tokai region and a rarity in other parts of Japan as well.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2017

Britain's general election results in political mayhem

A weak prime minister with an uncertain future puts Britain in a perilous position as it enters its most important negotiations for generations.

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell