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Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 14, 2017

Japan Times advisory board weighs in on the paper's past and future

The Japan Times Media Advisory Board met at the newspaper's office Oct. 24 to review the redesign implemented on April 1 and news coverage over the past year.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 29, 2017

Gender equality and the mass media

Mass media in this country remains a male-dominated community and its understanding of gender equality is far too insufficient.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 29, 2017

War with North Korea is not a viable option

North Korea is the land of second-best solutions, it has been said. But war is far worst than second best.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 19, 2017

You're living in Japan — so now for something completely different

In a way, foreign residents who gravitate toward a third culture are simply following in a fine Japanese tradition.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Nov 5, 2017

At the polls, a sweep for Abe and a rubber stamp for Japan's Supreme Court judges

Perhaps unwittingly, Japanese voters just gave their silent nod to the seven most recent appointees to the nation's top court.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 16, 2017

Japanese women graduating from motherhood

The Japanese u6bcd (haha, mother) of lore gave her children unconditional love while protecting them from the wrath and u7406u4e0du5c3d (rifujin, unreasonableness).
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 14, 2017

Success is elusive on the wrong side of the wealth gap

When the political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59) visited the infant United States in 1831, he was struck above all by the "equality of condition" that prevailed there.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 26, 2017

'Gaydar' shows just how creepy computer algorithms can get

Researchers have demonstrated facial recognition technology that can identify gay people. Imagine how that could be used in a country where homosexuality is a criminal offense.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 25, 2017

Counting what really counts in development

Statistics, while useful, do not tell the entire story of development.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 17, 2017

Better decision-making in a dangerous world

Leaders today need to step back and give proper thought to problem-solving, lest they plunge the world into an even deeper crisis.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 13, 2017

When the world turns Japanese

Tokyo and the West alike are failing to heed Japan's economic lessons.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 12, 2017

As sanctions bite, are North Korea hackers stepping up bitcoin attacks?

North Korea appears to be stepping up efforts to secure bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which could be used to avoid trade restrictions, a new report from security researcher FireEye Inc. states.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Sep 9, 2017

It takes threats from the unstable for us to question security

Adolf Hitler is like that bad tooth you can't keep your tongue off, though it hurts to touch it. Seventy-two years postwar, he keeps surfacing. He fascinates. All the way up and all the way down the age scale — from Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, 76, who last week praised Hitler's "motives," to the...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Sep 9, 2017

Abe's extremism undermines Japan's interests

Alas, Japan's extremists have still not given up trying to find honor in the nation's 1945 wartime defeat and and the ideology that led to it.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 5, 2017

Most Americans are a little too relaxed about nukes

A new survey has revealed that Americans are surprisingly willing to make a first nuclear strike — and kill millions of civilians abroad.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 2, 2017

A glimmer of good news about fake news

Some people just might be more open to changing their minds than we thought.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 25, 2017

Twisting, stretching carbon nanotubes holds promise for future power generation

A new, high-tech yarn that generates electricity when stretched or twisted could use ocean waves and human motion to lower man's dependency on fossil fuels, researchers said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Aug 20, 2017

Educator calls for better understanding of black history in Japan

On occasion, I still get asked this question: Of what value is a column dedicated exclusively to black issues — particularly here in Japan?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Aug 2, 2017

Hope after the horror revealed in letters from postwar Hiroshima

Sixty years on, letters that formed the basis of Austrian writer Jungk's acclaimed account of life after the A-bomb are set to be published.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 31, 2017

Let's discuss "One Piece"

Popular manga 'One Piece' will become a live-action TV drama through a collaboration with a Hollywood production team.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Jul 29, 2017

'Dream Messenger': A woman searches for her son in Tokyo and New York

The Japanese novel has taken some interesting twists and turns in the post-bubble era, but quality has often been the price of experimentation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 25, 2017

The Democrats are a lost cause

As long as the Democratic Party's leadership is owned by big-monied special interests, it will never give the people what they want and need.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jul 16, 2017

When open minds fight closed courts in Japan

Pressure from academic Lawrence Repeta opened Japan's courts to scrutiny by journalists from outside the press clubs, as well as scholars and bloggers.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jun 25, 2017

Remembering the life and works of Boye De Mente, a giant of writing on Japan

Any Japanophile will have at least one of the 30 or so books authored by Boye Lafayette De Mente during his long and prolific writing career in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 17, 2017

The extraordinary untold Japan story of 'You Only Live Twice'

On the 50th anniversary of the premiere of the fifth 'James Bond' film in Japan, we explore spy rings in Tokyo, a secretive Sherlock Holmes society and an Australian double agent behind 007's Japanese adventure.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 17, 2017

'In the Woods of Memory': Okinawan novelist makes history visceral

It is almost impossible to find a serious novel that does not touch on the subject of death. "In the Woods of Memory," taking for its theme the death of the soul, is no exception.
CULTURE / Books
May 27, 2017

'Record of a Night Too Brief': Hiromi Kawakami uncoils life's mysteries with an exploration of dreams

When I met the popular author Hiromi Kawakami in London recently, I asked her thoughts about the great authors of Japan's literary past. Did she, for example, enjoy the novels of Meiji Era (1868-1912) great Natsume Soseki?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 14, 2017

Racial and ethnic hate speech thrives in online games

Spend enough time hunting terrorists or wandering dystopian wastelands in online games and you are bound to come across players hurling xenophobic and racist taunts at each other, from Islamophobes in Europe to South Koreans and Japanese bickering over disputed islands.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
May 13, 2017

North Korea news simmering on front and back burners

Returning from their Golden Week holiday break, the weekly magazines have directed much of their attention to the Korean Peninsula, with a fusillade of commentary by politicians, former diplomats, journalists, academics and the ubiquitous commentators referred to as gunji hyoron-ka — usually translated...

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