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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
May 9, 2021

Conbini Boys: ‘The konbini plays such an important role in society’

Are nationalized convenience stores in Japan's future? Maybe! You'll have to ask the fried chicken-loving duo behind the “Conbini Boys” podcast.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 7, 2021

Japan's premier art collective teamLab celebrates 20 years with a spot of tea and a Miami bash

Marking 20 years, teamLab has a lot to be proud of when it comes to making an impact on the international art scene. The collective's success was not a foregone conclusion, however.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 5, 2021

France battles over whether to cancel or celebrate Napoleon

By choosing to lay a wreath Wednesday at Napoleon's tomb under the golden dome of Les Invalides, Macron is stepping into the heart of France's culture wars.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
May 5, 2021

From Elton John to national identity, Rina Sawayama chooses her family carefully

Japanese British singer Rina Sawayama recently partnered with Elton John on “Chosen Family,” a song from Sawayama's debut album that delves deeply into her family history and identity.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 4, 2021

Hard to believe, but we’re running out of sand

Sizzling demand in a post-pandemic recovery will encourage the usual bad behaviors that accompany exploding markets: environmental degradation, forced labor and criminal profiteering.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 4, 2021

Samsung windfall gives richest South Korean woman $7 billion fortune

Hong Ra-hee boosted her fortune after receiving billions of dollars in stocks in the much-awaited transfer of her husband's assets.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
May 3, 2021

Toji, Harris and Nezuko are thriving in their new homes

Toji the dog finally lets his guard down in a new place
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / Longform
May 3, 2021

New frontier: The future of tourism in Japan

Japan's travel industry has introduced new ways of attracting visitors amid COVID-19, but will any of these initiatives stick?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Apr 29, 2021

Right to disconnect gains ground as pandemic brings work home

Ireland introduced a legal right for employees to not respond to emails, telephone calls or other messages during nonwork hours from April 1.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 28, 2021

‘It’s like a war’: Inside an India hospital desperate for oxygen

The world's fastest-growing virus surge now threatens to spawn new variants that undermine efforts in more developed countries to vaccinate the public and get back to life as normal.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2021

The Cold War playbook won’t help Alexei Navalny

That Navalny ended his hunger strike and his life isn't in imminent danger — for now — doesn't remove the underlying issue.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Water Industry Special
Apr 24, 2021

Overseas water industry expansion helps Japan, world

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly recognized access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right, and called for international efforts to help countries provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation.
Japan Times
Special Supplements / Water Industry Special
Apr 24, 2021

Partnerships help address global water challenges

It is not easy to grasp the big picture of water issues, which range from public health and environmental problems to socioeconomic challenges and technological solutions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2021

'Chinatown Beat': The act of telling the story is in itself political

New York-based director Yuko Torihara hit the pavement with writer Henry Chang to highlight the stories of Asian Americans in her short documentary “Chinatown Beat.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 23, 2021

Becoming Isamu Noguchi: The making of a sculptor

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum's exhibition showcases the ways in which Japanese culture influenced Isamu Noguchi's career as an artist who created works to be “lived,” not merely “seen.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 22, 2021

NiziU: Made in South Korea, totally Japanese

The nine-member pop act NiziU moved from a reality TV show competition to the top of the Japanese music charts with ease — and that was the strategy all along.
MORE SPORTS / FOCUS
Apr 19, 2021

Women say it's time to focus on structural issues that perpetuate sexism in sports

Female athletes call for reforms of outdated structures that hurt women's career prospects and present a challenge for young athletes unwilling to follow the footsteps of their seniors.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Apr 18, 2021

Cuba's Raul Castro leaves the political stage, his legacy yet to be written

While Fidel was the charismatic leader who rallied Cubans to defend the revolution and defy the United States, Raul, 89, built the military into a formidable fighting force.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 18, 2021

Despite tensions, U.S. and China agree to work together on climate change

The agreement comes only days before Biden is scheduled to hold a virtual climate summit with world leaders, hoping to prod countries to do more to reduce emissions.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 15, 2021

Japan's ticket to zero carbon could be century-old technology

Some of the biggest industrial companies in Japan are working on a project that could trigger a wave of investment into one of the most controversial forms of carbon capture: methanation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 15, 2021

Smaller armies and better defenses in a new world

Concern has been raised that the United Kingdom is once again reducing the size of its armed forces. A chorus of complaints has come from retired generals, from defense experts and from politicians, all bemoaning the planned reduction in military manpower and in tanks and other equipment, as well as...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2021

‘Ride or Die’: A wild road trip worth taking

Kiko Mizuhara and Honami Sato deliver committed performances in Netflix's new emotional and sexually explicit drama about two women on the run after killing a man.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 14, 2021

‘Blue’: Not your typical underdog story

Kenichi Matsuyama plays a fighter on a losing streak in Keisuke Yoshida's “Blue,” a boxing drama that finds nobility in failure.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 14, 2021

How pandemics change the course of history

When COVID-19 first arrived last year, everyone’s go-to historical parallel was the 1918 influenza pandemic. Precisely because it was so fleeting, it’s hard to find evidence that it caused a sweeping reorientation of everyday life. In its wake, most people simply forgot what happened. Other global...
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 13, 2021

Second night of unrest after police shoot dead Black man near Minneapolis

The shooting of Daunte Wright, 20, appeared to result from an officer mistakenly opening fire with her gun instead of a Taser during a traffic stop, the city's police chief said.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 12, 2021

‘You can’t trust anyone’: Russia’s hidden COVID-19 toll is an open secret

At least 300,000 more people died last year during the coronavirus pandemic than were reported in Russia's most widely cited official statistics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 11, 2021

‘Terminal Boredom’ is a treasure trove of Izumi Suzuki’s subversive science fiction

Izumi Suzuki, a prolific writer of speculative science fiction and a counterculture figure in the 1970s and '80s, has gone largely overlooked by modern readers — until now.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 10, 2021

The changing face of medical care for Japan's older residents amid COVID-19

The prolonged state of social isolation amid the ongoing pandemic is deteriorating the mental and physical health of Japan's seniors.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Apr 7, 2021

Late Kototsurugi's illustrations captured sumo's essence

The former rikishi's caricaturish style, a longtime fixture of sumo merchandise and media, is widely considered a definitive representation of the sport.

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