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LIFE / CLOSE-UP
Apr 5, 2009

Hiroshi Mikitani: Retail revolutionary

On a bitterly cold mid-February day, in the midst of an even harsher economic climate, Hiroshi Mikitani — founder, president and CEO of one of Japan's largest online retailers, Rakuten Inc. — shook off a slight cold to announce at a concise news conference that in fiscal 2008 his company had achieved...
CULTURE / Books
Oct 19, 2008

Paul Theroux backtracks through the world

GHOST TRAIN TO THE EASTERN STAR: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar, by Paul Theroux. Hamish Hamilton, 2008, 496 pp., £20 (cloth) Books about traveling in other people's footsteps are commonplace. We have Lesley Downer's "On the Road to the Deep North" and Patrick Symmes' motorbike journey through...
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2005

Japan tour firms catering to disabled foreigners

English-language tours may be increasingly commonplace in Japan, but programs for disabled foreign tourists are still few and far between.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jun 22, 2003

Mapping out Japan

MAPPING EARLY MODERN JAPAN: Space, Place, and Culture in the Tokugawa Period (1603-1868), by Marcia Yonemoto. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003, 234 pp., 86 illustrations, $49.95, (cloth). It was at the beginning of the 17th century that Japanese scholars first began to articulate the notion...
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2003

Combat SARS with emergency loans: Ogi

Transport minister Chikage Ogi said Friday her ministry is considering having governmental financial institutions extend special emergency loans to airlines, travel agencies and other industries that face fallout from the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome that apparently started in China....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 10, 2002

On a voyage to Ionia

THE INLAND SEA, by Donald Richie. Stone Bridge Press, 2002, 255 pp., $16.95 (paper) Since the publication in English of Yukio Mishima's 1954 romance novel, "The Sound of Waves," there has been a fondness for visualizing Japan's Inland Sea, with its islands of olives, oranges, sunburned fisherfolk and...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CLOSE NEIGHBORS
Sep 26, 2002

Ailing tourism sector seeking to lure more Asians

ATAMI, Shizuoka Pref. -- Ryuichiro Mori, sales manager at Hotel New Akao, sees one emerging ray of hope for this hot-spring city mired in a long-term slump: a group tourism boom in Taiwan, South Korea and China.
COMMUNITY
Jul 1, 2001

Take me where the sun don't shine

Another day, another scorcher. What's an overheated person to do?
JAPAN
May 25, 2001

Japan's tour operators asked to join global battle against child sex trade

Leaders of the battle against child-sex tours have recently called on major Japanese travel groups to join a growing international campaign against the widespread practice.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2001

Forty years of flying and dreaming

Forty years ago today, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in to space. It was a short trip: one 108-minute circumnavigation of Earth, but it changed human history. When humankind escaped the bounds of the earth's atmosphere, our views of the world and our place in it changed forever....
LIFE / Travel
Feb 14, 2001

The Chinese are coming!

BEIJING -- For centuries, Chinese living away from home loyally trekked back to their ancestral villages every Spring Festival. Last month, a record 45 million people hit road, rail and airlines during the seven-day public holiday. The most auspicious date in the lunar calendar is a time for family reunions....
JAPAN
May 17, 2000

Summit expected to disrupt tourist industry

Hoteliers in Okinawa seem to have a common message to guests invited to the Group of Eight Summit in Okinawa in July: We will be happy to have you here, but we wish you would come in winter.
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Mar 8, 2000

Where it counts

People would often like to take their vacations in Japan to learn more of the history and culture, but when they start checking, they discover the price is too high and end up in other Asian countries that offer multi-bargains. A reader has heard of the new low fares soon to be available within Japan...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 7, 1999

Behind the Echizen-Rutgers connection

HONOLULU -- It is commonly assumed that the first Japanese students to study in the United States arrived during Japan's dash toward modernization in the early years of the Meiji Period (1868-1912) but, in fact, a number of these young men arrived during the latter years of the long Tokugawa Period (1600-1867)....
JAPAN
Jan 11, 1999

'20,000 yen war' bargain for weekend travelers

Travel agencies are slugging it out in what is being described as a "20,000 yen war," in which their two-day package tours should cost no more than 20,000 yen, even if the destinations are far from Tokyo.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2023

Airlines bask in sky-high summer fares while airports stay stuck

Soaring ticket prices are lining the pockets of the world’s biggest airlines. But as the industry takes off, airports say they’ve been forgotten at the gate.
BUSINESS / Longform
Mar 27, 2023

Can the return of international cruises bolster Japan’s beleaguered tourism industry?

The industry is struggling to deal with pandemic-induced challenges such as staff shortages and concerned residents near ports.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 7, 2023

Eight-week wait for visas to Europe slows China’s reopening

China’s rapid dismantling of COVID-19 has led to complications at European embassies issuing visas to Chinese travelers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 31, 2023

What does China's pivot from 'zero-COVID' mean for global inflation?

China’s reopening could be the single most important factor for global growth in 2023, but there is caution that it could increase the price of oil and lift costs for consumers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2023

With the end of ‘zero-COVID,’ when will Chinese tourists return to Japan?

A number of factors may stand in the way of a timely boost to the hospitality industry over Lunar New Year — from expensive flights to Japan's border rules for arrivals from China.
A major bonus of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme is the time it offers you to be able to plan for long-term goals. Writer Erik M. Jacobs was able to map out what he needed to pursue a career in U.S.-Japan relations, for example.
COMMUNITY / Issues / Learning Curve
Aug 8, 2023

Every situation is different on JET, but they're all similarly rewarding

As a new wave of JET Program participants arrives in the country, a program alumni shares tips on getting the most out of the experience.
Kimono-clad visitors take selfie photographs at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto on Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2023

In July, Japan welcomed most overseas visitors since pandemic hit

The weak yen is helping to boost tourism and contribute to a surge in growth for the world's third-largest economy.
An Air Koryo plane is reflected in a glass structure of the airport in Pyongyang in April 2017.
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 22, 2023

North Korea sees first passenger flight in three years

An Air Koryo flight from Pyongyang landed in Beijing early Tuesday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2023

Local governments tap big data on spending by foreign visitors

Such data allows authorities to analyze consumption trends in detail, "visualize" markets and place targeted advertisements.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen during a practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix. Saudi Aramco has perhaps the most visible presence among fossil fuel giants at Formula One races as one of the series' top sponsors.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Sep 30, 2023

F1 says it will reach net zero by 2030. But can it shake its polluting image?

Formula One's pledge faces myriad challenges, including its long-standing ties to some of the world's dirtiest fossil fuel companies.
Chinese tourists watch the North Korean border on the Yalu river in the Chinese border town of Dandong, in China's northeastern Liaoning province.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Oct 2, 2023

China's gateway to North Korea waits in vain for border opening

The bustling northeastern city of Dandong offers a window into isolated North Korea.
Passengers line up to board a bullet train at Tokyo Station in August.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2023

Shinkansen rail pass prices soar 70% for tourists

Even with the big increase, demand is likely to stay strong thanks to a cheaper yen and steady flow of inbound visitors.
Foreign tourists in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on Wednesday
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2023

Foreign visitors to Japan hit 96% of pre-COVID level in September

The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 2.18 million last month, up slightly from 2.16 million in August.
The Israel-Hamas war is complicating Saudi Prince Mohamed bin Salman's efforts to focus the neighborhood on economic development rather than old feuds.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 23, 2023

War leaves Saudi prince’s dream of a new Mideast in tatters

The Israel-Hamas war is bringing political fissures back to the forefront, complicating the prince's efforts to focus the region on economic development.

Longform

Once smoky, male-dominated spaces, today's net cafes, like Kaikatsu Club, are working to make their operations more attractive to women customers.
The second life of Japan's net cafes