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Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2017

So what's next for Emmanuel Macron?

Four months after Emmanuel Macron became president of France, the French and the rest of Europe still don't know what they are getting.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Sep 25, 2017

Alex Kerr recalls 1970s Japan and David Kidd, the mentor whose influence never fades

Author and Japan hand Alex Kerr remembers the 'larger than life, outrageous, tall, skinny, blond' David Kidd and the 'golden age.'
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Sep 24, 2017

IOEA: The grass-roots gospel of otaku culture

The International Otaku Expo Association (IOEA) could be the title of one of those self-referential, po-mo anime shows that is as much about fandom as it is made for fans (think "Genshiken," an entire series about a college otaku fan club). But it's the real thing, headquartered in Tokyo's Yushima neighborhood...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 24, 2017

Could even a missile alert stop Japanese from going to the office?

Flexible working styles like telecommuting would benefit Japan on many levels.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 23, 2017

Prepare for the future, at your convenience

Japan's first convenience store was not, as many suppose, 7-Eleven in Tokyo in 1974 but Mitsui in Kyoto in 1673.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 23, 2017

Doomsday sale: U.S. survivalists stock up as disasters roil the planet

Two earthquakes, three monstrous hurricanes and the North Korean missile crisis have U.S. survivalists convinced that the end of the world is nigh. And they are clearing store shelves to stock bunkers in anticipation of Earth's final chapter.
Reader Mail
Sep 22, 2017

Kingston left out historic facts

The opinion piece by Jeff Kingston in the Sept. 10 edition presented his interpretation of "revisionism" and the "comfort women" issue, assertively describing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as "revisionist" and "extremist." But he did not present important historical facts contradicting the assertions in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 20, 2017

'The Miracles of the Namiya General Store': Nostalgia-fueled tears are on sale at this shop

Japanese critics are calling "The Miracles of the Namiya General Store" the "most tear-inducing" story ever adapted from a Keigo Higashino novel. The best-selling author has penned such sensations as the thrillers "The Devotion of Suspect X" and "Journey Under the Midnight Sun," but "Namiya" went a different...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 19, 2017

How the prime minister can win over Japan's neighbors

Pulling South Korea and Indonesia into the TPP tent would make the free trade pact all the more meaningful.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 19, 2017

Americans feared Trump, but normalized leftist violence

The cost of preventing thieves from stealing American's constitutionally guaranteed freedoms is growing increasingly high.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 18, 2017

Unwavering support for Suu Kyi needed

Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to maintain national unity, which is indispensable if Myanmar is to address the daunting tasks facing the young and fragile democracy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 17, 2017

Finally, non-Japanese residents can draw pensions after 10 years of paying in

Foreign residents can now receive a Japanese old-age pension if they have paid in for a total of at least 10 years, rather than 25 years, as was the case.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 16, 2017

'Bullseye! Twenty Short Stories': More of Tsutsui's metafiction mayhem

Touted as 'Japan's preeminent writer of metafiction,' Tsutsui is an expert at deftly employing this narrative device to underscore his dark social commentary.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Sep 16, 2017

The prosaic state of ancient Confucianism

"Confucianism," says historian Hiroshi Watanabe, "is perhaps the most powerful political ideology yet conceived by the human race."
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 16, 2017

Is curiosity a casualty of the post-truth era?

Ignorance feeds curiosity. Curiosity cures ignorance.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Sep 14, 2017

Written or rapped, Seiko Ito has a way with words

It's hard to describe Seiko Ito with one handy label. When I ask my friends to do it, they struggle.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 13, 2017

A disconnect in the Rohingya conundrum

Instead of directing its anger and frustration toward Suu Kyi and the NLD government, the international community, including the U.N. and the powerful Western democracies, should put pressure on Myanmar's military leadership.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2017

Being better prepared for the spike in floods and storms

Just as governments try to cushion financial shocks, so they must invest in reducing disaster risk.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 9, 2017

'The Abundance of Less': New edition revisits Japanese who live with the land

Way before Marie Kondo taught us how to clean out our closets, American Andy Couturier was learning how to live without extra stuff from folks in rural Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 9, 2017

State panel to brainstorm lifestyle solutions for Japan's demographic ills

Japan is waking up to the need to think outside the box to tackle a spate of economic and social challenges posed by its declining birthrate and aging society.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2017

Trump sours on Cohn for Fed chair, looks at several candidates: sources

President Donald Trump is considering many candidates to head up the Federal Reserve and has soured on nominating his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, to lead the central bank, according to sources close to the White House and an administration official.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 5, 2017

Abe's moment to call Xi Jinping

The North Korean crisis presents Shinzo Abe with an opportunity to build closer ties with China.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 5, 2017

Billy Harrigan Tighe brings life to the man behind 'Peter Pan' in the play 'Finding Neverland'

"All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust." In those few words the Scottish novelist and playwright James M. Barrie conjured from the mouth of Peter Pan, the mischievous young boy in his 1904 play of the same name, his own childlike outlook on life, whatever disappointments and betrayals...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2017

Japan's 'Super Mario Syndrome'

The early success of video games in Japan created market conditions that smothered e-sports.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2017

Somebody's making money off all our junk

In uncertain times, the simple self-storage space can look like the safest place to invest money.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Sep 3, 2017

How Japan got new contract law it neither wants nor needs

One possible explanation for the inexplicable change in contract law: It is a giant experiment driven by academic hubris and bureaucratic ambition.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2017

The key to winning in Afghanistan

Islamabad's proxy jihadis cannot be defeated with half measures. And yet, we have coddled Pakistan as an important ally.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 2, 2017

The naivete of youth can be a costly problem

From Aug. 15, the Yukan Fuji ran a three-part series by investigative reporter Fumiaki Tada about the "dangerous summer" that confronts Japan's young people, including the possibility of falling victim to fraud or robbery.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 2, 2017

'Soul Cage': Gritty crime tale is step forward for Tetsuya Honda

Lieutenant Reiko Himekawa heads a team of homicide investigators at Tokyo Metropolitan Police headquarters. They are dispatched to the city's gritty Ota Ward, where a human hand had been found without a body. From fingerprints, its owner is soon identified as Kenichi Takaoka, operator of a small construction...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 1, 2017

BOJ 'normalization' rides on consolidation

As central banks prepare to start unwinding balance sheets later this year, there is growing concern about the financial soundness of the Bank of Japan.

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