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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 22, 2019

Abe's push to amend Japan's Constitution faces uncertain future after Upper House vote

Undaunted by the failure to capture a two-thirds supermajority in the upper chamber, Abe pushes on with his goal to rewrite the charter, with an eye on Article 9.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 1, 2018

2018 seen as make-or-break year for Abe's constitutional revision quest

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces what is perhaps the biggest dilemma of his political career: whether to call the nation's first-ever referendum on revising the postwar Constitution.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Nov 27, 2017

Convenience store chain to stop selling pornographic magazines

Ministop has announced that it will suspend sales of pornographic magazines.
BASEBALL
Nov 19, 2017

Japan trounces South Korea in inaugural Asia Professional Baseball Championship final

Samurai Japan's young players grabbed their manager, Astunori Inaba, and threw him in the air once and then twice, before seemingly needing a few seconds to regroup before sending him up once more.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Feb 10, 2017

Japan makes big push for hydrogen fuel cells scorned by Elon Musk as impractical

Elon Musk may think hydrogen-powered vehicles are rubbish, but Toyota Motor Corp. and a cadre of Japan's leading manufacturers are betting otherwise — and not just on cars.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 5, 2017

Koshiro Hino pushes the limits of control as YPY

A couple of years ago, I started to get a sense of deja-vu while loitering on the weirdo fringes of Japan's club scene. Whenever I asked DJs or producers what homegrown music they were most excited about at the moment, the same name kept coming up: Goat.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 5, 2015

IOC clears way for return of baseball

The International Olympic Committee approved a new reform for the framework of the Olympic program on Dec. 8, opening the way for a possible return of baseball and softball in a joint bid for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 28, 2014

The year in education: After all the talk, can Japan walk the walk in 2015?

With ideas coming in thick and fast in 2014 and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe having effective carte blanche after his landslide election victory, it's now or never for key education reforms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 18, 2014

Gadget maker wants everyday items to have online access

A sleek, ¥10,246 leather-clad padlock being marketed by Tokyo-based startup DentsuBlue might look like another extravagant toy for the wealthy — but this one can be used in many different ways and even link itself to the Internet.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 30, 2013

English part of equation for science students

Even as Japan was praised for its English presentations during the bidding process to host the 2020 Olympic Games in September, it is no secret that Japanese are still said to be poor at communicating in English.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2023

Growing pains: Niseko-area town of Kutchan faces questions over sustainable development

With tourism to Japan having fully resumed, developers are once again looking at the Niseko area as a place to invest and build. But can it be done sustainably?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jun 6, 2022

Bento-maker sets example with language lessons for Vietnamese trainees

Asahikawa Ekitachiuri Shokai in Hokkaido says the classes make communication and work easier, and that trainees will have more job options after they return to Vietnam.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 9, 2022

The rise and fall of Japan's ski industry

Japan Times contributor Francesco Basetti joins Deep Dive to discuss the rise and fall of the Japanese ski industry, and how resorts are faring with so few people able to enjoy them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Jan 31, 2022

Hokkaido towns seek coexistence with foreign workers

Municipalities are coming up with ideas to welcome newcomers as members of communities while also trying to stop young people from leaving their hometowns.
Director Hirobumi Watanabe (second from left) stars alongside his brother Yuji (far right), who has served as composer on all of his films, in his new feature “Techno Brothers,” which follows a sibling trio on the road to Tokyo to find success in the music business.
CULTURE / Film
Jul 21, 2023

Foolish Piggies Films keeps humor at its heart

Indie director Hirobumi Watanabe looks back on 10 years of making distinctive, micro-budget films with his brother and seeking out new challenges on and off screen.
If you have a specific birth plan in mind, like giving birth at home, it's important to make sure the clinic you use offers that option.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 14, 2023

Giving birth in Japan? Here’s what you need to know.

Giving birth can be overwhelming — even more so if you don’t understand the local language or know the steps you need to take.
Kanji Matoba offers a prayer in front of a touch screen displaying a portrait of his late wife, at a columbarium in Sendai.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 4, 2023

New types of graves and services reflect changes in tradition

The COVID-19 pandemic made such services as grave visiting in place of families or ones using virtual reality technology take root.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Oct 5, 2023

Giants prepare to start new era as manager Tatsunori Hara walks away

Manager Tatsunori Hara's departure closes the book on an eventful chapter in the storied history of the Giants.
The classic Japanese ghost story often features a vengeful female ghost.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 12, 2023

[Rebroadcast] Japan’s got ghosts

This week we discuss a few horror movies before “Uncanny Japan” podcast host Thersa Matsuura tells a classic Japanese ghost story.
The 2028 Los Angeles Games are set to feature cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash and baseball-softball, following approval from the International Olympic Committee.
OLYMPICS
Oct 16, 2023

Cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash make 2028 Games cut

Each host city, under IOC rules, can request the inclusion of several sports for their edition of the Games.
Eiko Takeuchi talks about a traffic jam during last winter’s heavy snow along National Route 8 in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, on Sept. 18.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Dec 11, 2023

Evacuation plans for nuclear incidents called into question

Effectiveness of preparations as a “last line of defense” to save residents in the event of a nuclear disaster are in doubt.
The yen's exchange rate against the dollar on Wednesday. The yen declined from ¥103 against the dollar in 2020 to as little as ¥151 in late 2023.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 11, 2024

Is a weak yen good for Japan’s economy?

The yen's fast depreciation is boosting overseas investment and sectors like tourism, but could also trigger inflation. In response, the BOJ should raise interest rates.
Chef Natsuki Suzuki opened Naz in the fall of 2020 on the rural fringe of the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Feb 11, 2024

Naz: Bounty from landlocked Nagano's rivers and pastures

Dining at Naz is like sitting down at a bespoke dinner club for a meal catered exclusively for you. And what a meal it is.
PFAS does not break down easily and remains in the body and the environment for a number of years, and is thus called “forever chemicals.”
JAPAN / Explainer
Mar 4, 2024

Japan’s food safety panel drafts intake limit for 'forever chemicals'

The report spells out the “tolerable daily intake” of PFAS through food for the first time. Here's what you need to know.
A acting torch bearer participates in a torch relay test in Troyes, France, on March 22.
OLYMPICS
Apr 15, 2024

Paris' Olympic flame to be lit in Greece

Spectators will be able to attend the torch relay events for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.
A 2-megawatt solar farm in the city of Fukushima. “Megasolar” refers to farms with a minimum output of 1 MW of electricity — enough to power around 300 homes for a year.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
May 26, 2024

‘Megasolar’ is a dirty word in Japan. Where do solar projects go from here?

Vocal campaigns are pushing back against projects as dangerous eyesores, but "dual-use" approaches and community engagement may offer a solution.
Pedestrians holding umbrellas during a downpour in Tokyo in June 2023
JAPAN / Science & Health / OUR PLANET
Jun 2, 2024

The growing link between extreme rain and respiratory health in Japan

Researchers have found a strong association between respiratory mortality and severe downpours of the kind being made worse by climate change.
Japan midfielder Yu Hirakawa controls the ball during a match against the United States in Kansas City, Kansas, on June 11.
OLYMPICS
Jul 23, 2024

Japan eyes gold — and the future — as Olympic men's soccer campaign begins

With the squad being the only one in Paris not to feature any overage players, it is clear that this competition is partly about building for the future.
Attendees play the For All Time mobile game on smartphones at the NetEase Games booth at the Tokyo Game Show in the city of Chiba in September last year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2024

Tencent and NetEase rethink Japan approach as game strategy stalls

The companies are reconsidering or scaling back many of their investments in Japanese studios, after years of spending yielded few hit games.

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan