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COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2010

Will the Tiger find a way out of the Woods?

LOS ANGELES — Buddhism is one of the historic religions of Asia, and today its influence remains strongly felt throughout the world. One has only to scratch the surface of this religion that originated in India in the fifth or sixth century B.C. to know that it has much to say about suffering.
EDITORIALS
Sep 24, 2009

Muzzling the top bureaucrats

The Hatoyama administration has told government ministries and agencies to stop, in principle, the holding of news conferences by administrative vice ministers, the top-ranking bureaucrats of government ministries. The thinking behind the decision is that Cabinet ministers are the top leaders of government...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 3, 2009

A freedom that fostered richness

Two exhibitions now showing at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography offer a fascinating contrast in photojournalism.
Japan Times
LIFE
Mar 8, 2009

When scandal strikes a firm

Japanese culture and its scapegoat-seeking media often make bad times far worse for companies compromised by events. But for foreign firms less familiar with the country's societal norms, such problems can easily spiral completely out of control.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 15, 2009

The recession will lead to a downturn in media quality

Every day there is more gloomy news about a major manufacturer or retailer or service company cutting jobs — and not just a few dozen here or there, but thousands, tens of thousands. No one gets out alive, except self-made billionaires and McDonald's, which is doing quite well, apparently. People will...
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2008

Profiting on a scrap of information

The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has launched an investigation of three NHK employees — two reporters and a director — on suspicion of insider stock trading. They are suspected of garnering ¥100,000 to ¥400,000 in profits after trading 1,000 to 3,000 shares on "insider" knowledge....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2008

Waseda grad school to groom true newshounds

There is no doubt that Japan has produced its share of top-notch journalists: noted political writer Takashi Tachibana, war photographer Ryuichi Hirokawa and videographer Kenji Nagai, who was shot dead in September while reporting close up on the unrest in Myanmar, to cite but a few.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 5, 2006

Radio rivals are a turn off by playing it safe

In the United States, media critics bemoan the homogenization of FM radio, which has become dominated by a handful of corporations dictating what music is played. Meanwhile, AM radio is considered the exclusive domain of the right wing, filled with talk shows that badger so-called Middle America into...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Dec 18, 2005

Robotic journalists do their 'job' covering tragic deaths of girls

In a period of less than three weeks, three elementary school-age girls were recently murdered in different areas of Japan. The nature of the crimes guaranteed extensive coverage, but their occurrence in quick succession stretched the resources of the news media beyond its normal capabilities.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Jun 29, 2005

World Press prizewinning photos get to the heart of the story

Every year the Dutch-based non-profit organization World Press Photo sifts through thousands of news photographs from around the world in search of images that "represent an event, situation or issue of great journalistic importance and demonstrate an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity."...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / CLOSE-UP
Jun 1, 2003

Looking back on a 'rudderless' land

In the four years since Howard French took the helm as The New York Times' Tokyo bureau chief, he has witnessed -- and covered -- the rise of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the fall of his former foreign minister, Makiko Tanaka, the scandalous accident at the uranium-processing facility in the village...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Feb 22, 2003

Connie Chung

CNNj, a team product of CNN and JCTV, is to launch in March a new service for Japanese viewers. It plans to combine content from three of CNN's award-winning networks, and to increase the use of the Japanese language in its news and feature programs. Amongst the U.S. shows that it will make accessible...
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2002

Deliberations kick off on media coverage bills

The House of Councilors Judicial Affairs Committee started deliberations Thursday on a set of contentious bills that advocates say will protect human rights and personal information, but whose foes say will hamstring the news media.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Sep 6, 2000

The horror, the horror

We're back. Did you miss us? That question isn't the product of an (especially) insecure soul. I mean it.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2000

Young journalists cover Republican National Convention

PHILADELPHIA -- Mika Maeda, a 16-year-old high school student from Kanagawa Prefecture, made her journalistic debut last week here at the Republican National Convention.
LIFE / Digital / CYBERIA
Nov 24, 1999

Web's blog, stardate 1999

The Internet could be blamed for empowering armies of blowhards, chatterboxes and gas bags. While you probably have no shortage of these around you in the real world, you are just as likely to bump into them online, boasting, preaching, whining, ranting, blathering on about whatever has crossed their...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 15, 1999

Free of corporate connections, Kinyobi targets toxic offenders

As a buzzword, "dioxin" has quickly come to represent all that's wrong with Japan's mish-mash of contradictory and ineffective environmental policies.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Dec 5, 2022

Iran protesters call for strike, as prosecutor says morality police shut down

There was no confirmation of the closure from the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the morality police.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Oct 11, 2022

Japan has much to learn from Taiwan's countering of China’s sharp power

A reserved manner and avoiding knee-jerk reactions has helped Taipei weather the latest storm regarding hostility from Beijing.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 8, 2022

Key Crimea bridge erupts into fireball after apparent car bomb

The Kerch Bridge, which was built on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been a key transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 30, 2022

How can you fight climate change in Japan? Learn how to talk about it.

A good approach to speaking about hot-button topics in Japanese is to use so-called softeners so that your don't come off as too direct with your opinions.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 9, 2022

Planning for the end of Elizabeth’s reign began at the beginning

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has set in motion a meticulously choreographed process — known as Operation London Bridge — that the palace, and the nation, has spent decades planning.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / ON: GAMES
Jul 2, 2022

With major expos in limbo, Tokyo Game Show reaches an inflection point

Are news-heavy gaming expos heading for a fan-forward sea change?
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Jun 27, 2022

What evil lurks in the shadow of anonymity?

Fueled by pandemic-induced stress, nameless netizens are directing myriad harmful and threatening messages on the internet with little fear of retribution.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 14, 2022

As North Korean missiles fly, Seoul signals need to revitalize intel pact with Tokyo

Pyongyang's record-breaking number of launches this year continues to push Seoul and Tokyo closer after years of soured ties, including on the contentious GSOMIA pact.
An activist in Seoul protests Japan’s plan to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 7, 2023

Anger at Fukushima’s wastewater; hope in its renewables

Good news and bad news out of Fukushima.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves as he departs by train from Pyongyang for a visit to Russia in this image released Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 12, 2023

North Korea's Kim arrives in Russia for talks with Putin

Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia aboard his luxury armored train Tuesday, with a possible arms deal likely at the top of the meeting's agenda.
A girl holds a sign in a show of support for Gazan children in the besieged enclave, during the Israeli-Hamas conflict, in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 24, 2023

Palestinians trapped in Gaza struggle to contact the outside world

With no 3G mobile service in the besieged and bombarded Gaza Strip, residents must either find a rare landline or hope for an Internet connection.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani arrives at Incheon International Airport in South Korea ahead of the MLB's Seoul Series, on Friday.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 19, 2024

All eyes on Ohtani on eve of MLB's Seoul Series

The Dodgers star touched down in South Korea to a welcome worthy of a K-pop act

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji