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Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 7, 2023

Salman Rushdie says 'very difficult' to write after stabbing

An icon of free speech since he was subjected to a fatwa that forced him into hiding, the British author is still an outspoken defender of the power of words.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2023

Soaring death toll gives grim insight into Russian tactics

The slaughter from fighting in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and the town of Soledar has ballooned what was already a heavy toll.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 3, 2023

In a health system in crisis, Britain's heart care suffers

The British Heart Foundation charity says full treatment after a heart attack should begin within 18 weeks but a third of patients are currently not being seen within that time.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2023

A record number of Japanese nationals are now living as permanent residents abroad

In the survey released in December, 557,034 Japanese nationals were permanent residents overseas, with the figure steadily increasing in the past two decades.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 1, 2023

Two years on, Myanmar coup takes a 'catastrophic toll'

The Feb. 1, 2021, coup, which unseated Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, has left a trail of upended lives in its wake.
Japan Times
TENNIS
Jan 30, 2023

Emotional Novak Djokovic exhales after 'biggest victory' of career in Australian Open final

'I have to say that this has been one of the most challenging tournaments I have played in my life, considering the circumstances,' Djokovic said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jan 25, 2023

Japan tries to fix a child custody system under fire from all sides

In Japan, child welfare in divorce often turns on single-parent custody, where one parent can be largely excluded from a child’s life.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 14, 2023

Anthony Albanese’s ‘Voice’ speaks to Australian guilt, not to its better angels

Australians debate the pros and cons of a constitutional amendment that aims to give special rights and representation to the nation's Indigenous people.
Japan Times
People / 20 QUESTIONS
Jul 8, 2023

Azumi Yamanaka: 'You can have a colorful, fashion-conscious style while also being vegan'

A love for animals got Azumi Yamanaka to switch to a vegan lifestyle. She was delighted to discover the lifestyle had healthy side effects and was better for the planet.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 6, 2023

China took her husband. She was left to uncover his secret cause.

Whether her husband was Program Think is virtually impossible to confirm. He was, however, proudly nonconformist — refusing to use social media or buy new clothes — and intensely private.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / Longform
Jul 3, 2023

Sixteen hours in Marina Abramovic's nightmare hotel

In rural Niigata Prefecture, you can stay overnight in an artwork dreamed up by the world’s most infamous performance artist. If you don’t mind sleeping in a coffin.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jun 25, 2023

Trump hardens position on abortion while railing against indictment

His speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition follow speculation over a 15-week federal ban wanted by anti-abortion activists.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 20, 2023

Mao Fujita makes Mozart's sonatas his own

The 24-year-old concert pianist adds flourish to familiar melodies ahead of his debut recital at New York’s hallowed Carnegie Hall.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Jan 18, 2023

Grammar for grumps: When you just don’t feel all that genki

We can't feel 'super genki' all the time, even if that's the prevailing mood that Japanese textbooks try to encourage. Here are some ways to express your dissatisfaction.
Members of the Kokugakuin University ōendan cheer group perform during a competition between university cheerleading squads in Tokyo on June 3.
SPORTS
Jul 23, 2023

Japan's macho cheerleaders fight to save a tradition

Dressed in old-fashioned, school-style uniforms, cheering squads are a mass of black at college baseball games as they shout out chants and bang taiko drums.
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.
Professor Mutsuko Tendo (right) teaches a class in career development theory at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 24, 2023

Women’s universities in Tohoku seeking to survive with distinctive education

Women's colleges had long been regarded as schools with a focus on home economics and liberal arts, but some are now reorganizing their programs in a bid to attract students.
Japan might change because of you or your actions, but it will not change for you.
COMMUNITY / Voices / Black Eye
Jun 19, 2023

A note to people of color interested in living in Japan

When asked about what life is like here for people of color, columnist Baye McNeil summed it up with a story about sitting on a crowded train.
Yoshiko Hara (left) plays basketball with members of her Fukushima Club basketball team.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Jul 31, 2023

Pioneer in basketball for disabled people looks to inclusiveness

Through basketball, Yoshiko Hara aims to have players in her club acquire physical strength and stamina, as well as learn about group rules and manners.
A memorial for Brodee Champlain Kingman on the corner of El Camino Real and Santa Fe Drive in Encinitas, California, on Thursday. The e-bike industry is booming, but many vehicles are not legal for teenagers, and accidents are on the rise.
WORLD / Society
Jul 30, 2023

‘A dangerous combination’: Teens’ accidents expose e-bike risks

The e-bike industry is booming, but a spate of fatal accidents has raised questions about how safe e-bikes are, especially for teenagers.
Japan's industrial production in June climbed 2% from the previous month, led by brisk output of new automobiles amid strong demand at home and abroad.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2023

Japan’s production rebounds, signaling continued modest recovery

Factory output rose 2% from the previous month, rebounding from the previous month and led by increases in cars and electronic devices.
Chef and restaurant owner Rikuo Morimoto, who runs the restaurant Andante in Tokyo, on May 1. A 2019 government report estimated that about 1.27 million small business owners would be 70 or older by 2025 and have no successors.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 6, 2023

'Era of mass closures': The Japanese firms with no successors

A 2019 government report estimated that about 1.27 million small business owners would be 70 or older by 2025 and have no successors.
Kazuyuki Tanioka, the owner of Japanese cuisine Toya restaurant, prepares fish a sashimi dish during an interview in Beijing on July 25.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2023

Japanese eateries in China fear ruin over Fukushima water release

Shortly after the 2011 disaster hit the Fukushima No. 1 plant, China banned the import of food and agricultural products from five Japanese prefectures.
After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Alexey Sossinsky left with two suitcases in the middle of the night. But as it did decades ago, exile still makes him feel restless.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 2, 2023

A Russian mathematician finds himself in exile once again

Alexey Sossinsky's family story is a microcosm of Russia's history of upheaval, war and repression going back more than a century.
Migrants at a base near Tripoli hand out food to other migrants after they were detained by the Libyan navy in September 2015.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2023

An immigration wake-up call

Well-designed immigration policies in advanced economies could ease inflationary labor-market shortages and preventing humanitarian tragedies.
A new study suggests that the benefits from shifting to a four-day week may last and grow stronger over time, rather than dissipating.
BUSINESS
Aug 4, 2023

Employee health benefits of four-day weeks persist, study shows

Self-reported physical and mental health scores held steady over a full year of the pilot program, while work-life balance continued to improve.
Superconductors are materials that exhibit no electrical resistance and eliminate magnetic fields. South Korean researchers think they may have created a compound that achieves that at room-temperature.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 8, 2023

LK-99 and the desperation for scientific discovery

The new room-temperature superconductor LK-99 could change the world. Or not.
A participant operates the "Flappy Bird," a self-made flying machine, during an event in Hong Kong in May 2014. Vietnam first caught the attention of global gamers in 2013 after Hanoi developer Dong Nguyen created, Flappy Bird, a simple but addictive game app.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 7, 2023

A decade after Flappy Bird, Vietnam becomes gaming powerhouse

Moving beyond outsourced software and sneaker factories, Hanoi views mobile games as a crucial part of its emerging tech sector.
A landscape worker from Mexico takes a break during a heat wave in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 27. A thermal camera registered surface temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius, with an air temperature of 42 C.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 8, 2023

Thermal camera captures record heat wave scorching Phoenix

The southwestern U.S. city has shattered its 1974 heat-wave record with temperatures above 43 degrees Celsius for 31 straight days.

Longform

A sinkhole in Yashio, which emerged in January, was triggered by a ruptured, aging sewer pipe. Authorities worry that similar sections of infrastructure across the country are also at risk of corrosion.
That sinking feeling: Japan’s aging sewers are an infrastructure time bomb