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COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 23, 2015

Making babies makes a comeback in Japan

The slight rise in Japanese fertility since 2005 — despite the sharp recession and natural disasters that happened in the meantime — suggests there is hope that work-life balance will help to stabilize the populations of developed nations after all.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 22, 2015

On the Internet, opinion swings against hostages

As the lives of two Japanese appeared to hang in the balance Thursday, their plight touched off a range of responses on the Internet, with many sniping at them for choosing to go to a war zone and others urging understanding.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 21, 2015

French triumph frees SPAC pioneer to be bolder still

Following on Olivier Py's comment in the accompanying story that "everybody" at last year's Avignon Festival loved Satoshi Miyagi's "Mahabharata — Nalacharitam," which Py, as the festival's director, had awarded the honor of opening the event, I rolled up to Shizuoka Performing Arts Center to find...
JAPAN / Society
Jan 17, 2015

Home away from home: the plight of refugees in Japan

On a cold winter's day in December, an African man sits in a meeting room at the Japan Association for Refugees, a nonprofit organization in Tokyo. The man, whose name and country of origin have been withheld to protect his identity from those who wish him and his family harm, has been seeking refugee...
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Jan 17, 2015

Longevity, genetics and the whale

The oldest person in the world — and the oldest ever Japanese person — is Misao Okawa. She lives in Osaka and is 116. She'll be 117 in March.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 17, 2015

Cat Town

Modernist 20th-century writer Sakutaro Hagiwara redefined Japanese poetry with his free-style verse and daringly common subject matter; he reached sublime heights by examining the mundane.
EDITORIALS
Jan 16, 2015

The Kobe quake, 20 years on

A new generation has grown up since the Great Hanshin Earthquake of Jan. 17, 1995 — the first mega-quake to hit a large metro area in postwar Japan — and we still have much to learn from the experience.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2015

Japan's rising economy results in fewer suicides, but recession might reverse that

The slide into recession last year wasn't just a blow to "Abenomics," as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's fiscal policies are known.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 7, 2015

Passion and prejudice in 1930s Ireland

"Jimmy's Hall" is a glimpse into Ireland in 1932 when the country was in a relative lull between wars, turmoil and strife. Director Ken Loach has consistently worked to bring the lives of the United Kingdom's working class to cinema screens. "Jimmy's Hall" is his second foray into Ireland following "The...
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jan 7, 2015

Fukuoka police hand out anti-yakuza manga to school children

Police in Fukuoka Prefecture are distributing a manga booklet that aims to steer schoolchildren away from becoming a yakuza member.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Jan 2, 2015

Machida's decision to quit both selfish and untimely

Tatsuki Machida's sudden retirement at the Japan nationals in Nagano last week came as a shock to just about everybody.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 1, 2015

Samba: 'chemistry between an immigrant and his caseworker'

In "Samba" the French writer-director duo of Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano try to rekindle the magic and phenomenal box-office success of their 2011 film "The Intouchables," with the same leading man burdened by the same kind of problems against the same backdrop of a Paris unkind to African immigrants....
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 1, 2015

Readers' letters: Roppongi, Ferguson, 'Massan,' Julien Blanc and more

Some emails received in response to Community articles at the tail end of 2014.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 27, 2014

Learning to love robots

With half the decade complete, we examine an industry that has significantly changed the way we think about ourselves.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media
Dec 25, 2014

Japan Times Advisory Board serves up brickbats, praise for newspaper's coverage

Ichiro Fujisaki, who formerly served as Japan's ambassador to the United States, praised the paper for its "readability." He said he senses that the editors try to choose phrases and words that are easy for Japanese readers to understand.
EDITORIALS
Dec 23, 2014

Protecting sexual minorities' rights

A Japanese civic group survey has the ruling Liberal Democratic Party standing out from other parties in its failure to view issues involving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual people as human rights problems.
LIFE
Dec 20, 2014

Public protest in Japan: Power to the people?

"Freedom of assembly and association as well as speech, press and all other forms of expression are guaranteed." — Article 21, Constitution of Japan
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
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 17, 2014

Readers' letters: What to do about 'haro'? And where to study, Japan or China?

A selection of emails received in response to recent Community stories.
JAPAN / Politics / DECISION 2014
Dec 15, 2014

Ozawa keeps hope for regime change alive

Diet heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa, leader of Seikatsu no To (People's Life Party), admitted Monday that the opposition camp failed to give voters an alternative to the ruling bloc in the Lower House election but stressed that change is still possible if they join hands.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 9, 2014

Japan now at a crossroads

Japan has the opportunity in the Dec. 14 election to break away from its past obsession with measuring GDP growth. Voters can change the national scorecard to a system-wide view of infrastructural assets and quality of life.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 9, 2014

World Order says it wants us all to 'Have a Nice Day'

For someone who made a career out of pounding people as a kickboxer, Genki Sudo comes across as a courteous, peace-loving guy who doesn't take life too seriously.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 6, 2014

Code + culture: new media art from Japan

Domestic media artists have been using programming code in recent years to create some astonishing works of art. We look back at how this scene developed over the years and examine four contemporary artists who have defined the way the genre has evolved.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2014

Islamic State's siren call for Western Muslims

It is through increased confidence and conviction, rather than bland tolerance, that democratic societies can counter the appeal of fanatical causes like Islamic State and their charismatic leaders.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 3, 2014

The Love Punch: 'The first husband is always the best of the lot'

Emma Thompson has got to be one of the most likable people on the planet. Putting aside her acting prowess, she just comes off as incredibly nice and even manages to ooze a sense of the British upper class without turning into Mrs. Dalloway. In heaven, I get to have tea with her and nibble on her freshly...
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2014

Shameful waste of tax money

Hundreds of billions of yen in taxpayer money was again wasted by the government and publicly funded organizations in fiscal 2013.
JAPAN
Nov 26, 2014

Kepco wants to extend lifespan of 40-year-old Takahama reactors to 60 years

The utility said it hopes to apply for a 20-year extension for two aging reactors at the Takahama power plant, and it has begun conducting inspections toward that end.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Nov 24, 2014

For many young British Muslims, tug of peace is stronger than pull of war

For some British Muslims, the path to jihad and the path to peaceful aid work can traverse much of the same terrain.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?