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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Dec 17, 2017

What the world needs right now is more Kwanzaa

Although the celebration was designed as a Pan-African affair, its seven principles could benefit every one of us.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League
Nov 18, 2017

Dikembe Mutombo spreads positive message as Special Olympics ambassador

As a player, Dikembe Mutombo made a big difference for his teams with his signature shot-blocking skills.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jan 15, 2017

Malaysian communities in denial after major pedophile case, police say

More than six months after Richard Huckle was sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing scores of children, most of the families in the Malaysian communities where he lived are declining counseling and other help, police say.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2016

Kim is challenging the U.S., not the entire world

If Washington and its allies hope to halt the North Korean nuclear program, they will have to address the actual purpose of the North's activities, and not blame them on some mythical attack on the world.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 27, 2016

Seto Inland Sea island finds salvation through art, but on its residents' own terms

Until recently facing a shrinking, aging population, Ogijima is growing thanks to its thriving community-based art scene.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Dec 20, 2015

Celebrating success with catfish and cupcakes

A look at two power couples of African descent who have focused their skills, talents and wherewithal on introducing tastes of the West to Eastern palates.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 6, 2014

Crime and gangs: the path to battle for Australia's Islamist radicals

The children of refugees who fled Lebanon's civil war for peaceful Australia in the 1970s form a majority of Australian militants fighting in the Middle East, according to about a dozen counterterrorism officials, security experts and Muslim community members.
JAPAN
Jul 30, 2014

Haiku with pacifist message sparks war of words in Saitama

An unpublished haiku about a group of women protesting against efforts to reinterpret war-renouncing Article 9 of the Constitution has triggered an outpouring of words in its defense.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 21, 2012

Architect builds Heart House for 3/11 survivors

When Richard Bliah visited Ishinomaki last August after the coastal city in Miyagi Prefecture was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the veteran French architect was quite sure many residents lost not only family and friends but also the "network of people living in the same area" —...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 2, 2011

Disaster brings out best in people, communities

"The Towering Inferno." "Deep Impact." "The Road." Hollywood's notion of how communities react to a disaster is unequivocal: People panic, societies collapse and enemies take advantage of the chaos to settle old scores.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jul 5, 2011

Disunited 'English-speaking diaspora' bites back

The Community Page received a large number of emails in response to Debito Arudou's June 7 Just Be Cause column, headlined " 'English-speaking diaspora' should unite, not backbite."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jun 7, 2011

'English-speaking diaspora' should unite, not backbite

There has been an ill wind blowing around Japan, and I don't just mean the fallout after Fukushima. I'm talking about the nasty attitude non-Japanese (NJ) residents have towards each other, even in this time of crisis.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Sep 21, 2010

Towns, cities need vision to halt decline

Dear Prime Minister Naoto Kan,
COMMENTARY
Apr 22, 2009

A violent warning for Thailand's urban elites

Until recently (before all the rioting, violence and assassination plotting) Thailand would not have appeared to be a deeply troubled society. Generally speaking, Thais were, as endlessly advertised, scintillatingly smiley, and the country as a whole — vast rolling expanses of poverty notwithstanding...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 15, 2008

Clinic on the bluff reaches out

Someone who knows Hans Pauli well describes him as the archetypal Dutchman who is forever running around sticking his finger in dikes to prevent catastrophe.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 3, 2006

Divisions, rivalries threaten new Cold War in East Asia

What we have feared is threatening to become a reality. The open rivalry and discord between Japan and China is becoming the most destabilizing factor to the peace and prosperity of East Asia. The United States is so concerned by the mounting tensions between the two leading nations in the region that...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 28, 2004

Troubles cast a shadow on EU future

LONDON -- Europe's currency has never been stronger. The European Union has been portrayed as a "post modern" association of states that have moved beyond the use of force to a more rational organization of their relations. Though still hobbled by inflexibilities, its economies are forecast to show stronger...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Oct 26, 2003

Fostering the will for a better way

MYSORE -- On the outskirts of historic Mysore -- city seat of maharajas until Indian independence in 1947 -- is a settlement called Kuduremala. A community of just 800 people, its name is testament to the former rulers of Mysore -- which occupies about a third of present-day Karnataka State -- who took...
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2003

Shiga 'eco-village' lures many disciplines

HIKONE, Shiga Pref. -- Rooftop solar panels provide energy and heat water. Rainwater is collected and used for washing and toilets. Kitchen waste and leaves are composted into fertilizers for crops. People work on farms and community businesses.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 25, 2002

When the 'Big One' hits, help will be close at hand

Recently, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Howard Baker wrote to Mr. Minoru Mori, President of Mori Building Company to thank him, "on behalf of those in Japan for (his) kindness in providing a storage location for disaster relief supplies. . .and essential items such as bottled water,blankets, clothing...
LIFE / Lifestyle / MATTER OF COURSE
Jul 5, 2002

Bringing our schools out into the open

I'm pretty happy with the Japanese elementary school my children attend. But I have to say one thing: I hate the building itself. It's the standard four-story concrete block. Drab, institutional and uninviting. What I dislike most is that it's closed off from the surrounding neighborhood, hidden away...
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 23, 2000

Housing for human beings: Let natural harmony prevail

Akinori Sagane is a man with a mission, an architect with an idealistic vision of how humans can live in greater harmony with the natural environment.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Jun 7, 2023

Is Japan going to legalize same-sex marriage?

A series of court cases is helping to shape the debate over whether or not Japan will act on legalizing same-sex marriage.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
May 21, 2023

Trump or DeSantis? Neither, say Ukrainian-American voters angry at war stance

Americans claiming Ukrainian descent may only total close to 1 million, but they are densely distributed in competitive areas.
SOCCER / J. League / From the Spot
Apr 12, 2023

Frontale fans' protest shows league's 'superclub' push carries risks

Supporters of the four-time J1 champion raised alarms over what they see as weakening ties between the club and the community that has supported it for more than 25 years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a NATO leaders summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12. The leader's efforts to conduct diplomacy in the face of conflict have drawn comparisons with British wartime leader Winston Churchill.
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jul 20, 2023

Why Zelenskyy's diplomacy is a key factor in Ukraine's efforts to win war

The leader's counteroffensive came at a critical time, sandwiched between two summits — the Group of Seven summit in May and a NATO summit earlier this month.
On July 17, Jiyugaoka in western Tokyo held its summer Bon Odori Festival for the first time in four years. While the pandemic spelled the end of the road for some longstanding local events, others weathered the storm.
CULTURE / Longform
Jul 24, 2023

Fate of the fete: Japan’s matsuri fight to survive

While COVID-19 was the final nail in the coffin for many of the country's smaller festivals, others have clung on and are making a determined comeback this year.
Shinjiro Atae, a J-pop idol who came out publicly as gay during a recent fan event, with his stylist and makeup artist in the afternoon prior to his announcement, in Tokyo on July 25.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 3, 2023

In Japan, LGBTQ celebrities fuel impetus for change

Celebrities coming out as LGBTQ can have a big impact in Japan and fuel change. But such announcements are rarely made easily.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement at Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea, on July 27.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 16, 2023

South Korea leader seeks breakthrough in deterring Kim Jong Un

Yoon expects the summit with Kishida and Biden will lead to agreement on ways to enhance their response to nuclear threats from North Korea.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past