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CULTURE / Music
Dec 24, 2021

Escapist bops and deep pop: Music was a mood in 2021

After a year in which Japan's music industry had to make its peace with streaming, this year saw more of the holdouts get on board with the times.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Dec 21, 2021

As climate anxiety rises, chat groups tackle isolation and taboos

A growing network of discussion groups offer spaces for people to open up about their feelings on the changing climate.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Dec 21, 2021

Jikei Hospital grapples with how to protect women seeking confidential births

A hospital in Kumamoto wants babies to be born safely while protecting their mother's privacy — but legal and administrative obstacles put it at risk.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Dec 21, 2021

At a Kyushu hospital, a wavering mother decides to keep her baby after hearing about a foster child

Still a minor and in her ninth month of pregnancy, she at first wouldn't reveal her full identity and said she wanted her information to be kept from the baby as well.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 20, 2021

Scholars launch effort to assist peers stuck outside of Japan

Japan's border situation and lack of digitized archives continue to cause problems for academics who need access to historical documents.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 17, 2021

All is not golden with the 2021 selection for kanji of the year

There was a sense of serious deja vu when 'u91d1' (kin) was announced as kanji of the year for 2021, it's fourth time to take the honor.
BUSINESS
Dec 14, 2021

Kishida floats buyback regulations, spooking Japanese stocks

Share buybacks surged in Japan under the Abe administration, who implemented a corporate governance code for companies to make them more responsive to shareholders.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Dec 13, 2021

Tohoku tempts Tokyoites as virus prompts many to rethink life in the capital

COVID-19 could be a game changer, with many seeing it as a chance to reassess their approaches to work and life and move into rural areas.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 13, 2021

Legendary temple in Kusatsu seeks funds for restoration through crowdfunding

Even if the temple owner received subsidies from the national, prefectural and municipal governments, it would still have to pay u00a510 million or more from its own pocket.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Dec 6, 2021

A dramatic shift: Subject teachers in Japan's grade schools

The plan may improve teacher effectiveness and ease students' transition to junior high, but some schools don't have the resources to pull it off.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 6, 2021

In speech, Kishida lays out bold plans for health, economic and defense policies

The prime minister introduced an array of specifics, including details about booster shots, tax credits and national security.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 6, 2021

How a vaccine side effect database sowed doubt in vaccinations

Public health communication is one of the greatest challenges of the pandemic. Too little information can lead to falsehoods, while too much can also create confusion.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 5, 2021

Alex Kerr sounded an alarm 25 years ago. Did Japan listen?

On the anniversary of his breakout book u2018Lost Japan,' the author finds reasons for hope in some rural towns.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 1, 2021

China’s rising ultranationalism complicates Xi’s climate ambitions

There's a battle over the climate change narrative between those pushing for green reforms and those who view the measures as bending to demands from hostile Western powers.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Nov 29, 2021

Yamaguchi city of Ube ratifies rights for LGBTQ couples

Experts claim that companies in rural areas must create a welcoming environment for sexual minorities in order to attract new hires.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Nov 29, 2021

As COVID infections fall, Aizuwakamatsu welcomes more late-autumn school trips

Forty-five schools plan to send their students for school trips to the city in December, a period when few schools normally plan trips, the tourism bureau said.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / Regional Voices: Chubu
Nov 29, 2021

Indoor slope in Gifu to close down as popularity of winter sports declines

Snova Hashima has seen a significant drop in the number of skiers and snowboarders since it opened following in 1998 at the time of the Nagano Winter Olympics.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 22, 2021

Concerns linger over Japan's long-term detention of asylum-seekers

There has been criticism at home and abroad over the nation's long-term detention of those considered visa overstayers, some of whom have been detained for over nine years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Nov 22, 2021

Meet the man who welcomed Israeli doctors to a tsunami-hit town after 3/11

Isamu Sato, then the mayor of a city in Miyagi, used his connections to Israel to ensure Tohoku residents received the medical care they needed.
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 15, 2021

Planned scenery regulation hampers development on main street of Hokkaido's Kutchan

Tighter regulations are being considered to maintain views of the picturesque Mount Yotei.
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 15, 2021

Businesses fight for workers ahead of tourism recovery in Hokkaido’s Niseko

When the pandemic caused massive layoffs, many people left. With the possibility of travel restarting, employers hope they return.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 15, 2021

Businesses and town clash over construction regulation in Hokkaido's resort area

While Niseko has seen an influx of foreign investment, some investors are actually “troubled” by properties that they purchased, as the situation has changed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 15, 2021

More development taking place in towns and villages near Hokkaido's Niseko area

The growing interest in towns and villages surrounding Niseko has been reflected in their land prices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Regional Voices: Hokkaido
Nov 15, 2021

Investors see potential in Hokkaido ski resorts in wake of pandemic

Developers began construction of a new hotel in the Kutchan town's Hirafu district, a central part of Hokkaido's Niseko resort, back in Aug. 17, when the prefecture was being hit by the fifth wave of the pandemic with daily cases topping 400.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2021

Opposition tie-up could herald new debate on constitutional revision in Japan

In what could be the start of an opposition party realignment, Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Democratic Party for the People have begun working together to push the issue in parliament.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight