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Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2018

From a harrowing experience in Iraq to youth mentorship: Noriaki Imai dedicates his life to helping at-risk teens

When freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda returned to Japan in October after being held captive by a militant group in Syria for over three years, 33-year-old Noriaki Imai was confounded and disappointed by the muted reception he received from the public, with many blaming the journalist for his own abduction....
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 26, 2018

For Nigel Farage and a Brexit pollster, a world of gamblers and gambling

Behind the luxury hotels lining London's Park Lane, just across from a service entrance, Nigel Farage stood outside a squat office building streaked with soot. Britain's famous anti-European Union campaigner was flanked by a couple of minor sports celebrities and two young women in matching dresses who...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 22, 2018

Rationale for extending Japan's copyright protections unclear

Several weeks ago, I was surprised to read that a revision to the copyright law would go into effect on Dec. 30, extending the current protection period from 50 years after an author's death to 70 years. When the extension was first discussed as part of the original 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 19, 2018

As two rule breakers gave the Japanese film world hope in 2018, elsewhere eyes turned to China

The Japanese movie business is something like a restaurant where new cooks and waiters arrive as old ones retire or die, but the menu remains much the same, decade after decade.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 19, 2018

TV in 2018: Progressive voices and the enduring charm of ‘Terrace House’

In the English-speaking world, Japanese TV in 2018 was celebrated for how boring it could get. But it was anything but domestically, where viewers questioned norms and helped nudge forward programs with progressive politics.
SPORTS
Dec 15, 2018

Wrestle mania: The changing landscape of professional wrestling in Japan

In June 1976, professional wrestler Kanji "Antonio" Inoki took on iconic American boxer Muhammad Ali at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo in a fight that would be broadcast to an estimated global audience of 1.4 billion.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2018

India's central bank coup a sign of Modi's authoritarian ways as 'Indira Gandhi 2.0'

When Reserve Bank of India Gov. Urjit Patel abruptly resigned this week, it stunned many people in government and business circles.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Dec 12, 2018

A new law regarding foreign workers brings up old problems

Activists in the field bring up concerns with Japan's new approach to manual laborers from overseas.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 4, 2018

U.S. radio station freezes out holiday song 'Baby It's Cold Outside' over lyrics deemed inappropriate to women

A U.S. radio station is giving the cold shoulder to the classic "Baby It's Cold Outside," removing the song from its lineup of holiday music because its lyrics are inappropriate toward women, staff members say.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics / FOCUS
Dec 2, 2018

Lost idol: New wave of Myanmar youth activists look beyond Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar youth activist and television host Thinzar Shun Lei Yi would once have called herself one of Aung San Suu Kyi's greatest fans. Now she is one of her most vocal critics.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 1, 2018

'We felt the need to mix it up: Japanese and hip-hop culture'

It has been a hot year for viral dance challenges and Japan has had its fair share. The most notable was the craze surrounding Da Pump's "U.S.A.," attempted by everyone from teenagers on TikTok to U.S. Marines on YouTube.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 27, 2018

The easiest way to fix Facebook? Break it up

U.S. shouldn't be afraid of busting up a social-media giant that's grown too powerful.
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
COMMENTARY / Japan / japan since the Meiji Restoration
Nov 19, 2018

Reconjuring the vision of the Meiji Centennial

Japan has thus far succeeded in preserving its national character while fulfilling its growing responsibility toward the international community.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Nov 17, 2018

Flamboyant 'host club king' Takeshi Aida given an extravagant sendoff

An extravagant wake and funeral was held earlier this month in memory of host club Ai Honten's flamboyant founder, Takeshi Aida, who passed away on Oct. 25 at the age of 78 after a prolonged illness.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 16, 2018

North Korea's Kim inspects testing of newly developed 'tactical' weapon

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the test of a new "ultramodern tactical weapon," the North's state-run media reported Friday in the first mention of such a test in months.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2018

The queen of kawaii: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu reflects on her reign

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's trip to the Museum of Death in Hollywood proved to be a 2018 highlight for the 25-year-old J-pop star.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 12, 2018

How Tokyo saw the U.S. midterm elections

Japan remains concerned about what U.S. President Donald Trump will do or not do next.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 10, 2018

Japan's news outlets weigh in on Jumpei Yasuda's culpability in Syria kidnapping

Freelance reporter Jumpei Yasuda gave a three-hour news conference at the Japan National Press Club on Nov. 2 about his hostage ordeal, describing in detail how he was kidnapped after entering Syria in 2015 and then held for more than three years. He also discussed the situation in the Middle East and...
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 7, 2018

China gaming giant Tencent to verify all players' identities by 2019

Tencent Holdings Ltd. will expand its age-verification system to encompass its entire games lineup, the firm has announced, in an unprecedented response to growing criticism that it encourages addiction among youths.
Japan Times
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Nov 1, 2018

A blond Swedish landscape artist flexes for NHK — remember his name ... Tatsumasa Murasame

Who's that hunk of blond beefcake crunching his abs on NHK's workout program "Minna de Kinniku Taiso"?
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 31, 2018

Russia investigates teenage suicide attack on national security agency office in Arkhangelsk

Russia opened an investigation into suspected terrorism Wednesday after a 17-year-old youth blew himself in the lobby of an office belonging to the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the north of the country.
JAPAN
Oct 29, 2018

Awareness of Aichi Biodiversity Targets found to be lacking compared to climate change

The global community has less than two years to reach the Aichi Biodiversity Targets set for 2020, yet public awareness of biodiversity issues is still relatively low.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 20, 2018

Spotlight falls on Japan's female TV presenters

On Sept. 4, the new presenters for Nippon TV's nightly news show, "News Zero," were introduced at a press conference in Tokyo. It's not unusual for TV stations to revamp current affairs shows, but the new version of "News Zero," which premiered Oct. 1, has attracted more than the usual measure of attention...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 13, 2018

Politics and cinema intermingle at Busan International Film Festival

The 23rd edition of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opened Oct. 4 as Typhoon Kong-rey approached the South Korean port city. When the storm peaked on Saturday morning, some public events were cancelled, but the screenings continued and were still packed with press, industry people and, most...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 11, 2018

When China rules the world

Chinese journalists and diplomats increasingly act as enforcers of rampant displays of Chinese nationalism abroad.

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?