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LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Jul 1, 2019

Japan offers highest paid paternity leave in the world, but few take it

Read an article on parental leave and pick up some vocabulary related to raising kids in the modern world.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2019

Blame gender gap for Japan's low fertility rate

The only way to fundamentally turn around Japan's falling fertility rate is to build a society free of gender discrimination.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 29, 2019

As dementia cases rise, so a nation's character changes

"Your mother is senile, senile, senile!"
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 28, 2019

Carlos Ghosn's wife has a message for the G20

She wants the world leaders gathered in Osaka to notice how Japan's 'hostage justice' system has mistreated Nissan's ex-chairman.
Reader Mail
Jun 28, 2019

On to another foolish war

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton and his fellow hawks in the Trump administration are trying to further escalate the situation with Iran and to encourage Trump to launch an attack on them, which he actually almost did, only to pull back at the last minute because "150 would have died." I don't...
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 28, 2019

France sets 2050 carbon-neutral target with new law

French lawmakers on Thursday voted into law the first article in a climate and energy package that sets goals for France to cut its greenhouse gas emissions and go carbon-neutral by 2050 in line with the 2015 Paris climate agreement.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 27, 2019

New era, new Self-Defense Forces

The Reiwa Era is one of great promise for the SDF but not without significant challenges.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 27, 2019

Boris Johnson says chances of no-deal Brexit are 'a million to one'

Boris Johnson, the favorite to become British prime minister, said the chances of Britain leaving the European Union without a deal are "a million-to-one" even as he repeated his promise to leave the bloc without a deal by the end of October.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 26, 2019

Episode 18: Is the Japanese wolf really extinct?

The last confirmed sighting of the Japanese wolf was in 1905, but is it really extinct? The Japan Times' Alex Martin talks to Oscar Boyd about chasing down the story.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / G20 Osaka
Jun 26, 2019

World leaders' bilateral talks likely to carry more weight than G20 Osaka summit

Some of the planned one-on-one meetings, such as the Trump-Xi meeting, could have a heavy influence on the fate of a number of key global issues.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Jun 24, 2019

1 in 4 aged 80 and over still drives: government survey

Read an article on elderly drivers and answer questions on major challenges that are being tackled.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jun 23, 2019

Johnson and Hunt on the campaign trail: How the two Tory rivals reckon they can fix Brexit

Boris Johnson will face his successor as foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, in the final Conservative Party showdown to determine who takes over from Prime Minister Theresa May.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 23, 2019

Schools urged to modify lunches for religious needs as foreign population grows

With foreign residents on the rise in Japan, schools and day care facilities are being called on to give more consideration to the dietary restrictions faced by people with different religious backgrounds.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 22, 2019

2020 Tokyo Olympics puts spotlight on animal welfare

The International Olympic Committee sets procurement standards for materials used in conjunction with the games. One of these standards is sustainability, which was first established for the 2012 London Olympics. In terms of meals supplied to athletes and others, ingredients must be produced and harvested...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jun 22, 2019

Japan's print media ponder wealth, poverty and pensions

One of my recollections from the bubble economy of the 1980s was a passage in a 1987 book titled "Hokokuron" ("The Theory of National Wealth"). Its author, the late economist Taiichi Sakaiya, stood out as one of the bubble era's most fervent cheerleaders.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 22, 2019

NATO aims to make space a new frontier in defense

NATO aims to recognize space as a domain of warfare this year, four senior diplomats said, partly to show U.S. President Donald Trump that the alliance is relevant and adapting to new threats after he signed off on the creation of a U.S. Space Force.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 21, 2019

Pottery island: A three-day tour through Kyushu's ceramics villages

Kyushu is a dream destination for pottery lovers, with famous pottery villages including Arita, Onta and Koishiwara, and museums dedicated to the history of the artform.
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2019

Time to stop playing the fool

Regarding the June 19 article “Don’t blame Trump for Iran’s aggression”: I am a cranky old man and a slow reader, and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear agreement) was always a tough go for me. When it was being negotiated, I had the distinct impression that the P5+1 was...
Reader Mail
Jun 21, 2019

Researchers face a bleak future in Japan

Regarding the June 19 article “Flat level of research funding triggers alarm among Japan’s top scientists”: The various reasons behind the decline in Japan’s research performance, and in its university ranking have been discussed in several Japan Times articles. I want to stress a reason that...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 21, 2019

How Japan turned against 'bazooka'-wielding central bank chief Haruhiko Kuroda

In late January 2016, the lights were on well past midnight on the seventh floor of the Bank of Japan's headquarters. Inside, a handful of bureaucrats were working on a shock plan.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2019

Look at the SOFA pool of labor

An overlooked pool of potential workers is the dependent population of U.S. military personnel assigned to Japan.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 19, 2019

Episode 17: Hikikomori — Japan's missing million

Over 1 million people are thought to be hikikomori in Japan. Andrew McKirdy, who interviewed several recovering hikikomori, joins Oscar Boyd to discuss the issue.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 19, 2019

Mike Pompeo snubs his experts and blocks inclusion of Saudis on U.S. child soldiers list, say sources

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blocked the inclusion of Saudi Arabia on a U.S. list of countries that recruit child soldiers, dismissing his experts' findings that a Saudi-led coalition has been using under-age fighters in Yemen's civil war, according to four people familiar with the matter.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 17, 2019

A year after stabbing, Japan's shinkansen wrestle with balance between safety and convenience

A year after a knife attack on a bullet train left one passenger dead and two wounded, authorities and railways are trying to take steps — especially visible ones — to prevent similar crimes.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / Sac Bunts
Jun 16, 2019

Hitting for cycle no common occurrence for NPB players

Let's talk about the cycle for a minute.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jun 16, 2019

At Fukushima's ground zero, a town slowly comes back to life

Shigeru Niitsuma moved back into Okuma's Ogawara district on June 1 — the first day residents were allowed to move into disaster-relief housing since the triple core meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant forced them to leave town in 2011.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jun 15, 2019

Combating an unfounded fear of Japan's recluses

Although the term "hikikomori," which describes people who shun social contact and seek extreme degrees of isolation, has been in common use for several decades, it has taken on a more sinister cast recently as the media has come to view it as a social problem. In the wake of two incidents that have...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years