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Japan Times
PARALYMPICS
Sep 4, 2021

Disabled Japanese are often invisible. Will Paralympics bring lasting light?

Tokyo improved its infrastructure before the Games, but activists wonder how long the focus will continue in a country with a long history of excluding people with disabilities.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jul 12, 2021

Djokovic battles Berrettini and history to claim 20th Grand Slam title

The world No. 1 is unsure about going to the Tokyo Olympics following organizers' decision to ban fans from attending and the restrictions on the number of people he can take to the games.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 28, 2021

Sumo's living history traced through its banzuke

The ranking sheets, which have been produced since the 18th century, serve not only as keepsakes but as snapshots of the sport's changes over time.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2021

America’s undimmed global cultural reach continues

The influence of American culture remains as strong as ever. The growth of a QAnon movement in Japan is the clearest example that some of its more paranoid ideas are spreading overseas.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2021

How pandemics change the course of history

When COVID-19 first arrived last year, everyone’s go-to historical parallel was the 1918 influenza pandemic. Precisely because it was so fleeting, it’s hard to find evidence that it caused a sweeping reorientation of everyday life. In its wake, most people simply forgot what happened. Other global...
Japan Times
Special Supplements
Feb 8, 2021

Aichi Prefecture boasts long history of technological innovation, development

The puppeteer’s hands move quickly, deftly pulling ropes tethered to a mechanical karakuri doll used in yama floats in local festivals. The doll, clad in jewel-toned finery reminiscent of that worn by Japanese feudal nobility, moves its arms and head from side to side.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 7, 2020

Efforts to decentralize Japan have a long history

Moves to address the nation's obsession with Tokyo have long seemed futile, but recently the capital's population shrunk for the first time since 1956.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 9, 2020

’History on trial’: Why Japan's wartime labor dispute is more than another tit-for-tat with South Korea

Japan has once again found itself entangled in a recurring skirmish with South Korea over wartime labor — a seemingly intractable row with no end in sight.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jul 22, 2020

Episode 58: A brief history of mask wearing in Japan

The Japan Times' Alex Martin discusses the history of mask wearing and how it's changed from the Edo Period to the Spanish Flu to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / Longform
Jul 4, 2020

The history behind Japan’s love of face masks

In Japan, it's sometimes said that the eyes speak as much as the mouth.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 17, 2020

Chinese media blasts 'lawless' Hong Kong schools over Japan history question

Chinese state media said Hong Kong schools have become "lawless" as controversy builds over a history question in a school exam, rekindling tensions over academic freedoms in the semiautonomous city.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 2, 2020

What is Golden Week and why does it matter?

Due to COVID-19, this year's Golden Week has all but been called off. We take a look at the history behind this cluster of national holidays and why its effective cancelation is a big deal.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 4, 2020

‘What is Japanese Cinema?’ review: A deft and engaging history of Japanese film

This book is healthily nonjudgmental concerning which films are “good” and which are not. Instead it steps back — far back — to gaze carefully at and analyze the bigger picture: the role that cinema has played in reflecting and altering Japanese consciousness and Japanese reality over the span of a century.
JAPAN
Mar 25, 2020

Japan makes history by putting Tokyo 2020 on hold in favor of 'recovery Olympics' next year

The one-year deferral announcement for the quadrennial sporting event amid the COVID-19 pandemic marks the beginning of a fresh chapter in what had already seemed an uphill battle for Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Cultural Expo
Mar 13, 2020

Rich history seen in Nationwide Programs

Held across the country in the years before and after the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Junko Kawamura, president of Japan Arts Council, is confident that the Japan Cultural Expo will offer a great opportunity for people from Japan and abroad to appreciate and learn about the blessing of nature...
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2020

A history lesson from Hawaii

Kuni Miyake, in his Feb. 11 opinion piece, "Japan and the former Kingdom of Hawaii," did what he calls a "quick study" of the history of Hawaii. Finding out that King David Kalakaua had undertaken an unprecedented world tour in 1881 and had met with Emperor Meiji, he shoehorned the extraordinary event...
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 30, 2019

How socialism and the left wing failed in Japan

Three decades ago, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Malta Summit signified the end of the Cold War and the defeat of left-wing forces, including the socialists and communists.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 30, 2019

Oil spill may be worst environmental 'attack' in Brazil's history, says Petrobras CEO

Oil slicks washing up on beaches along more than 2,000 km (1,240 miles) of Brazil's northeast coastline could be the worst environmental "attack" in the country's history, the chief executive of state-run oil giant Petrobras said on Tuesday.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 10, 2019

Tokyo, Seoul and the weaponization of history

In July, Japan tightened its control of exports of certain materials for semiconductor production to South Korea. On Aug. 28, the government took further action and removed South Korea from its whitelist of nations granted preferential trade procedure.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 5, 2019

New Zealand marks Capt. Cook's 1769 arrival as prime minister urges 'more open' talk on history

As commemorations kicked off to mark the landing of the British explorer James Cook 250 years ago, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Saturday called for her country to have a more open conversation about its history.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Sep 24, 2019

Twenty held in child serial killer probe in Pakistan area with history of abuse and abductions

Pakistani police have detained 20 suspects as they investigate the possibility of a serial killer being behind the suspected murder and sexual assault of three boys in a district that has a history of child abuse and abduction.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Aug 24, 2019

Japan's homemakers are using art history classics to illustrate daily struggles on Twitter

Homemakers in Japan have been using classic artworks to describe their daily routines — much to the delight of those on social media.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 3, 2019

U.S. struggles to find footing as trade and history row threatens Japan-South Korea intel-sharing pact

Japan's defense intelligence-sharing agreement with South Korea could be in jeopardy as Seoul weighs its options amid a trade and history clash with Tokyo that threatens joint efforts to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear program.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2019

Anti-Moon YouTubers in South Korea win fans in Japan

Japanese citizens angry at South Korea's role in a diplomatic row over their wartime history that has spilled into trade have found some unlikely allies: South Korean commentators using YouTube to attack their own president, Moon Jae-in.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 23, 2019

The art of play: Japan's history of fun

'Styles of Play: The History of Merrymaking in Art' at the Suntory Museum of Art delves into various amusements,with over 100 exhibits, ranging from the Muromachi Period (1392-1573) to the Edo Period (1603-1868).
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 9, 2019

'Children and Adults: What Does This Look Like?'

July 13-Sept. 23
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 6, 2019

Ancient Iraqi city of Babylon designated UNESCO World Heritage site

The ancient city of Babylon, first referenced in a clay tablet from the 23rd century B.C., was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site on Friday, after a vote that followed decades of lobbying by Iraq.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / G20 Osaka Summit Special
Jun 25, 2019

A wellspring of history, innovation

Boasting flourishing industries and a plethora of sights steeped in rich history, the Kansai region has long been a political, cultural and commercial center of Japan.

Longform

After the asset-price bubble crash of the early 1990s, employment at a Japanese company was no longer necessarily for life. As a result, a new generation is less willing to endure a toxic work culture —life’s too short, after all.
How Japan's youth are slowly changing the country's work ethic