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August 30, 2025
 

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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 27, 2016

China says Australia sub deal strengthens U.S., warns Canberra to keep out of regional disputes

Chinese state-run media said Wednesday that Australia's choice of France to build its next-generation fleet of submarines avoided a "worst-case scenario" by not choosing Japan but issued a warning to U.S. ally Canberra not to upset the shifting security balance in the region.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 16, 2016

Donald Richie: The legacy of an entrenched view

The late Donald Richie lived at apartment number 804 in a block directly facing Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo's Ueno Park. The writer would lead visitors through his home's dimly lit entrance area — crammed with bookshelves — and his minuscule living room to the balcony, beneath which a vast lotus pond...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 13, 2016

Japan's Taiwanese residents thrive in a state of 'hidden inbetweenness'

Ethnic minority exists under the radar yet civic groups have top-level political pull in both Japan and Taiwan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 31, 2016

North Korea in 'top-speed dash' for May congress, Kim's nuclear policy

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is poised to declare his signature ruling policy during a rare party congress in May and, despite tough new U.N. sanctions, it is likely to be the twin pursuit of nuclear prowess and economic development.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Mar 27, 2016

Bearded train driver, out-of-pocket teacher and CV faker: How would they fare in court?

A look at three shiny new news items from the gossip columns that take on a different sheen when examined under the piercing light of labor law.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 26, 2016

Pundit didn't need an actual Harvard degree to get top marks in gaming the system

On Feb. 29 a group of veteran journalists held a press conference to protest communications minister Sanae Takaichi's comment that the government could shut down broadcasters if their news programming was deemed to be politically biased. Former Mainichi Shimbun reporter Shuntaro Torigoe said that Takaichi's...
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2016

Flaws found in scientific case for moderate drinking

It is an irresistible headline: People who drink alcohol in moderation actually live longer than those who abstain entirely. Counterintuitive studies that show the purported benefits of a drink or two a day prompt flurries of bright news reports. You can hear the glasses clinking.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 23, 2016

'Banksy Does New York' and throws shade on the art world in the process

Who is Banksy? The U.K.'s best-known-yet-unknown street artist/conceptual prankster was in the news again this month after researchers at Queen Mary University of London analyzed maps of Banksy's wall works in London and Bristol to pinpoint a possible suspect. Excited headlines shouted as though Batman's...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 15, 2016

Trump's Japan-bashing shows why he's unfit to lead America

The presidential candidate's fiery rhetoric risks relations with allies and Washington's two biggest bankers.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 6, 2016

A future of happiness, tolerance and youth

The UAE has learned that failure to respond effectively to the aspirations of young people, who represent more than half of the population in Arab countries, is like swimming against the tide.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Feb 29, 2016

Chris Rock pulls no punches as host of one of the most socially conscious Academy Awards shows

Comedian Chris Rock launched his return stint as Oscar host on Sunday by immediately and unabashedly confronting the racially charged elephant in the room — the furor over the all-white field of performers nominated for Hollywood's highest honors.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 23, 2016

Donald Trump relishes wrecking Republicans

It's time to change the topic to Donald Trump's tax records.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 23, 2016

Tokyo sightseeing boats offer unique views, but missing foreign tourist tide

A trip to Tokyo does not necessarily mean elbowing your way through crowds. You can get fine views of the capital from a boat on the bay.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 12, 2016

China pushes back on THAAD

China is critical of moves to deploy a missile defense system in South Korea in the wake of North Korea's rocket launch, but fails to offer much in the way of constructive suggestions on how the South can ensure its own security otherwise.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 6, 2016

Does sumo commentary need to stress the foreignness of the wrestlers?

Let's scroll 10 years back to 2006, when a wrestler named Tochiazuma emerged victorious in the January Grand Sumo tournament. That win, by a native Japanese grappler, was already a rare occasion, as Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Asashoryu almost completely dominated the sport and another Mongolian,...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2016

IOC praises Tokyo as 'most prepared city' during latest visit

International Olympic Committee Vice President John Coates on Friday praised Tokyo as "the most prepared city we've ever seen," more than four years ahead of the 2020 Games. But Coates also scotched suggestions that the new National Stadium could be completed in time to host games at the 2019 Rugby World...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 21, 2016

The bill for China's flawed ascent is coming due

The Chinese government's contract with its 1.4 billion subjects is that it will deliver prosperity and they will be obedient. But how much longer can this deal continue?
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 18, 2016

Israel pays close attention to Putin, with good reason

Israel's interests vis-a-vis Russia run wide and deep, and are impossible for Jerusalem to ignore.
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
Jan 18, 2016

South China Sea? For Beijing, Taiwan is the No. 1 security issue

For China, whose President Xi Jinping is already taking an increasingly muscular approach to claims in the East and South China seas, the question of Taiwan trumps any other of its territorial assertions in terms of sensitivity and importance.
CULTURE / Books
Jan 16, 2016

The ink-stained road: ‘age of adventure’

If foreign visitors to Japan in the Edo Period (1603-1868) ran certain risks by committing their impressions of the country to paper in a totalitarian state that worked hard to maintain its obscurity, the new Meiji Era (1868-1912) positively encouraged attention.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 14, 2016

Don't believe all the myths about North Korea

Before figuring out what can be done about North Korea and its seemingly crazy dictatorship, we mustn't fall prey to four common myths about the hermit kingdom.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 12, 2016

China sets up new military units, including graft-busting team

China's military has set up 15 new units — covering everything from logistics to equipment development, political work and fighting corruption — as part of an ongoing drive to modernize the world's largest armed forces, the Defense Ministry said.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2015

A common thread in 2015's list of ludicrousness

Some of America's most ludicrous events in 2015 were the result of a collapse of judgment in, and the infantilization of society by, government.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 26, 2015

Flipping back through the good reads of 2015

Before we turn the page on the year, here's a selection of our reviewers' favorite books.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 26, 2015

Modi makes sudden stopoff, meets Pakistan leader Sharif

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan on Friday to meet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, the first time an Indian premier has visited the rival nation in over a decade.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 25, 2015

Indonesia to step up hunt for IS militant Santoso

Indonesian forces are mobilizing for a manhunt in steamy jungles on the far-flung island of Sulawesi to flush the country's most-wanted man from his hideout and deal a pre-emptive blow to the Islamic State group. The real threat could be much closer to home.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 24, 2015

Re-print of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' unleashes row in Germany

For the first time since Adolf Hitler's death, Germany is publishing the Nazi leader's political treatise "Mein Kampf," unleashing a highly charged row over whether the text is an inflammatory racist diatribe or a useful educational tool.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 15, 2015

'Pre-Raphaelite and Romantic Painting from National Museums Liverpool'

Dec. 22-March 6
Most Japanese teens struggling with school find end of summer ‘painful’
Some 93.1% of Japanese teenagers who struggle with school life said they felt like they “wanted to disappear from the world" at the end of summer vacation ahead of the start of a new term, according to a recent survey released by Yokohama-based nonprofit Daisan Kazoku.
Philippine bid to acquire used Japanese warships gains steam
Tokyo is looking to transfer Abukuma-class vessels to the Philippines as part of broader efforts to boost the defense capabilities of like-minded neighbors amid growing Chinese military assertiveness in the region.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Akazawa's trip to Washington for tariff talks abruptly canceled
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief tariff negotiator, had been set to fly to Washington on Thursday.
Japan to launch broad review of immigration policies amid rise in foreign nationals
Foreign tourists at Narita Airport in June. A report released Friday stresses that Japan is at a turning point and that current ad-hoc measures on immigration are no longer sufficient.
Can anime carry the memories of World War II?
Many schools in Japan show "Grave of the Fireflies" as educational material to tell the emotionally grueling story of a boy who has no means to prevent his sister from starving to death.
Japan looks to build drone ‘shield’ in record defense budget request
A group of Ground Self-Defense Force service members discuss drone operations and capabilities at a joint static display during the Orient Shield 24 opening ceremony at the Yausubetsu Training Area in Hokkaido in July last year.
Jesse Kirkwood: ‘Languages are entire cultural universes with all sorts of baggage’
Jesse Kirkwood is part of a vibrant field of translators who have nurtured what might be called a “post-Murakami era of Japanese literature and translation,” one book at a time.
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
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