Search - article

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 9, 2016

Different-names ruling leaves door open to possibility of same-sex marriages

While the Supreme Court ruling said there is nothing unconstitutional about compelling married couples to register under one name, they didn't expressly limit marriage to a man and a woman.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 9, 2016

Low wages at the heart of foreign labor shortage woes

There has been a lot of discussion recently about allowing more foreign workers into Japan to make up for severe labor shortages in some fields. As of the end of 2014, the labor ministry estimated there were 790,000 foreign nationals working in Japan legally, which is more than the number of national...
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 9, 2016

Indonesia works with China as ethnic Uighurs travel to join jihadis

Indonesia is working with China to stem a flow of ethnic Uighur militants seeking to join Islamist jihadis in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, according to Indonesia's counterterrorism chief.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 6, 2016

'It Follows' goes after misogynist slasher film cliches

In the heyday of slasher films, the fastest way for characters to get themselves killed was by having sex. For a few bloodthirsty years following the release of John Carpenter's "Halloween" in 1978, audiences delighted in watching homicidal maniacs dispatch casts of copulating teens, before finally being...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 4, 2016

'Onigirazu' chosen as 2015's top dish

'Onigirazu,' an innovative take on the traditional onigiri rice ball, was chosen as 2015's dish of the year after the sandwich-like rice dish became a sensation.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jan 3, 2016

Skyscraper blaze in Persian Gulf raises questions about safety

A blaze that engulfed a Dubai skyscraper on New Year's Eve — the emirate's third high-rise fire in three years — has raised fresh questions about the safety of materials used on the exteriors of tall buildings across the wealthy region.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 2, 2016

Still dreaming of an end to household drudgery

As amazing as technology's ability to solve our problems is its inability to solve our problems. (Its tendency to create new problems is a subject best left for another day.)
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 2, 2016

In Abe's Japan, a woman's place is on the margins

On Dec. 16, Japan's Supreme Court struck a blow for patriarchy by refusing to strike down the law requiring married couples to adopt one surname, a regulation that weighs disproportionately on women since in almost all cases they adopt their husband's family name. For career women, this requirement burdens...
Reader Mail
Jan 2, 2016

Remembering St. Luis Ibaraki

The Living Past column titled "Japan's 'Christian century' failed to blossom" in the Dec. 20 edition made me ponder one aspect of our history in Japan. The writer of the article says that for the Japanese "... there is no 'beyond' (transcending man and nature)."
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 31, 2015

Obama and the limits of executive power

The failure of U.S. President Barack Obama to achieve three major goals in 2015 highlights the limits of presidential power.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 31, 2015

Even if Abe camp prevails in next summer's poll, bid to revise Constitution no given

After taking Japan's helm for the second time in December 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has had three good years, leading his Liberal Democratic Party to victory in two consecutive national elections, getting highly unpopular laws enacted without dooming his Cabinet, and winning three more years as...
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 31, 2015

U.S. downplayed evidence of abuses in Chinese detention camps

After China abolished a notorious penal system based on forced labor in December 2013, the United States rewarded Beijing by removing the world's most populous country from a global blacklist of countries that are failing to combat modern-day slavery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 29, 2015

Laurent Grasso alludes to a future in our past

A funny thing happened on the way to "Le Forum." Outside Ochanomizu Station, a small group of neo-Nazis had set up shop and were playing the Japanese national anthem. One of them was wearing a modified SS uniform and proudly let me take his picture. I noticed that his jack boots and Sam Browne belt were...
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 28, 2015

Rugby fans flock to Buddha statue in Gifu

A temple in Gifu Prefecture has seen a surge in visitors since a rugby boom led to the discovery that the Buddha statue there resembles full-back Ayumu Goromaru preparing for a kick.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 28, 2015

Cancer drugs: fact and fiction

Collusion between pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions to grab large chunks of medical spending is driving drug prices to stratospheric heights.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 28, 2015

Aichi printing company publishes calendar produced by man with no arms

A printing company has produced a calendar bearing kanji characters written by a staffer who has no arms.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 27, 2015

U.N. improves its leadership selection process

The selection of the new secretary-general is arguably one of the most important decisions that the international community will make for the next 10 years.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 26, 2015

Civilian casualties of WWII left out in the cold

'Unbroken," Angelina Jolie's 2014 film about the late American Olympic athlete Louie Zamperini, will finally receive a theatrical release in Japan next year after inciting the ire of local groups who claim its depiction of Japanese prisoner of war camps is sensationally harsh and thus an expression of...
Reader Mail
Dec 26, 2015

Learning from past best way to move forward

Criticism is always fair game. When it borders on make-believe it is worth correcting. In his Dec. 20 letter to the editor regarding the article "50 Japanese scholars fire back in McGraw-Hill sex slave row" in the Dec. 12 issue, Jason Morgan's intentionally misreads my words to create scurrilous fantasy....
Reader Mail
Dec 26, 2015

In the end, refugee photo doesn't lie

The caption below the photo accompanying the Dec. 4 article "In unexpected twist, Assad ally may become Lebanon's next president," reads, "A Syrian refugee stands behind a door at a makeshift settlement. . . ."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 24, 2015

New Year's: perfect for snapshots

Meiji Shrine is one of the most famous places of worship in Japan, partly because it is also one of the most photogenic. As the number of tourists is expected to rise before the Olympics, you may want to get your Shinto selfies off your things-to-do list first.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 24, 2015

Six crazy things Trump says that are spot on

Some of Donald Trump's utterances are offensive. His nativist demagoguery is outright fascist. But Trump also says stuff that other politicians and the media are afraid to say and need to be said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 23, 2015

Tattooist's legal challenge could lift industry in Japan or send it underground

Tattooist Taiki Masuda is challenging a law that makes him a criminal for practicing what he considers a form of art.
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Dec 22, 2015

Mao’s outlook at midseason: What the experts think

Three-time world champion Mao Asada has been inconsistent through the first half of the 2015-16 season. Two victories, a third-place finish, and a sixth-place showing.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 21, 2015

Japan's married-name law isn't just about names

The Supreme Court's ruling on surnames raises a fascinating question: How much should a constitution reflect the distinctive values of a society and how much should it express universal rights?
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Dec 21, 2015

Germans to spend less on Christmas presents and more on charity amid refugee crisis

Germans are expected to spend less on Christmas presents this year and instead open their wallets to charities as the country faces a record influx of refugees.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Dec 21, 2015

Mie pearl farmer looks to Vietnam for new opportunities, fresh workforce

Ago Bay in Shima, Mie Prefecture, is one of the leading places in Japan where pearls can be cultured. The number of pearl farmers has declined in recent years, however, and they are an aging workforce.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Dec 20, 2015

China's consumption blues

China's economy appears headed on a gradual downward trajectory amid sluggish consumption, stagnant income levels and a graying population.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 20, 2015

Young music fans found their voices in 2015

The music industry in Japan has long been seen as lagging behind the times. Once every six months there is an article that marvels at the supremacy of CDs, and new albums from acts that were big in the 1990s tend to dominate charts alongside idol-pop groups that few would label "musically progressive."...

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