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Japan Times
JAPAN / Longform
Dec 12, 2022

Smooth operator: Rahm Emanuel’s transition to life as a diplomat

The U.S. ambassador on adjusting to life in Tokyo, his direct management style and dealing with Japanese politicians.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 12, 2021

‘It’s a Flickering Life’: A heartfelt ode to golden oldies spread thin

Veteran filmmaker Yoji Yamada's tribute to the film industry and the audiences who are keeping it alive is well-meaning but doesn't quite hit its mark.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 17, 2018

'Passage of Life': A family drama that treats refugees with respect

Hollywood films about the immigrant experience are common enough (see "The Godfather" and other classic gangster movies for examples), while Japanese films on the same topic are rare, save for those about Zainichi (ethnic Koreans) in Japan. (Among the best is Zainichi director Yoichi Sai's "Blood and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR JAPANOPHILES
Feb 18, 2017

'Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era': Essays on growth and bureaucracy

"Edo and Paris" compares the development of these two great cities of the early modern era. It compiles 19 essays by American, European and Japanese academics, edited by James L. McClain, John M. Merriman and Kaoru Ugawa, professors of history at Brown, Yale and Rikkyo universities, respectively.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Aug 2, 2015

Moriumius project brings young life and learning back to the Tohoku disaster zone

A unique educational project aims to revitalize the Miyagi town of Ogatsu, which lost around 80 percent of its buildings and 10 percent of its 4,300 population to the 3/11 disasters.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 14, 2008

Kutcher gets lucky — in Vegas and in life

Model turned actor and TV producer Ashton Kutcher is the first to admit he's a very lucky man. In the mid-1990s he auditioned for several U.S. TV series before joining "That '70s Show," which in 1998 launched his career as a nationally known face.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 23, 2013

Search for Mars life to continue despite rover's findings

Martian life is awfully cryptic — that is a scientific term; it means life that is out of sight, below the surface, burrowed into ecological niches not easily scrutinized by robotic sentinels from the planet Earth.
DOPS Director Dr. Jim Tucker (back row, from left), David Acunzo, Marina Weiler, Philip Cozzolino (front row, from left) Marieta Pehlivanova and Elliot Gish, pose for a photo on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, on July 15. Is reincarnation real? Is communication from the "beyond” possible? A small set of academics are trying to find out, case by case.
WORLD / Society
Jan 4, 2025

Do you believe in life after death? These scientists study it.

Is reincarnation real? Is communication from the “beyond” possible? A small set of academics are trying to find out, case by case.
A handout artist's impression released on Thursday by N. Madhusudhan/University of Cambridge shows the K2-18b super-Earth, a hycean world, in which astronomers say they have found the strongest yet “hints” of life outside our solar system.
WORLD
Apr 17, 2025

Scientists find strongest evidence yet of life on an alien planet

The scientists stressed they are not announcing the discovery of actual living organisms and that the findings should be viewed cautiously.
There are expectations that Japan’s life insurers may increase purchases of Japanese government bonds as yields rise at home along with signs that the central bank is edging toward a normalization of monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 13, 2023

Japan’s rising yields and yen hedging costs drive insurers to JGBs

Japanese government bonds are drawing interest amid signs that the central bank is edging toward a normalization of monetary policy.
Nippon Life Insurance headquarters in Osaka. Japanese insurers are seeking more investments in private credit, attracted to their floating interest rates as global borrowing costs jump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2023

Private credit boom attracts Japan insurers with $2.6 trillion

Dai-ichi Life Insurance and Nippon Life Insurance are among companies that are seeking more investments in private credit.
Singer and dancer Shizuko Kasagi's life is the basis for the new morning drama series on NHK.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / Longform
Oct 1, 2023

When the 'Queen of Boogie' reigned in Japan

Shizuko Kasagi gave Japan a reason to rejoice again and inspired a generation of young women in the process.
A reddish rock nicknamed Cheyava Falls is seen in Mars' Jezero Crater on July 18 in an image captured by NASA's Perseverance rover.
WORLD / Science & Health
Jul 27, 2024

NASA did not say it found life on Mars. But it’s very excited about this rock.

The rock has been closely analyzed by scientists on Earth who say that nonmicrobial processes could also explain its features.
The expansionist era is over for Taiwan's life insurance industry.
BUSINESS
Jul 27, 2023

U.S. interest rate hikes haunt Taiwan’s $1 trillion life insurance industry

Over the past year, local regulators have repeatedly loosened operating rules after a cocktail of unrealized investment losses.
Japan's culture of floor-sitting stretches back to ancient times. Only in the last 60 years has it faced off against a new lifestyle brought along by the rapid spread of chairs and other high furniture.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 20, 2023

Has Japan mastered sitting?

Sitting is a deceptively simple act. But the story of sitting in Japan spans centuries of culture, politics and religion.
Shinichiro Kashima
ESG CONSORTIUM
May 22, 2024

Nippon Life engages to encourage green transition

Engaging with high-emitting companies to spur transformation of their business rather than divesting from them is becoming increasingly important to combat climate change, said an executive officer of Japan’s biggest insurance company. “Thinking about society as a whole, it is important that we asset...
When describing meal times in his novel “No Longer Human,” Osamu Dazai refers to his family as being "jūikunin," which translates to "10 and change." By being vague, he diminishes the importance of the size of his family.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 21, 2024

Attempting the classics: Decoding Osamu Dazai’s sinister diction

A gritty realism and gut-wrenching plots were the mark of the "I-novel" push in the 20th century.
People sit on a rail track as smoke rises from steel mills near a slum in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Aug 30, 2023

Air pollution now a risk to life expectancy in South Asia: study

Rapid industrialization and population growth have contributed to declining air quality in South Asia.
A new report by the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts in quality of life.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 8, 2024

Black Americans gain no ground on income and wealth

One study estimates that it could take up to 320 years for Black Americans to catch up to their white counterparts' in quality of life.
The nationwide average for men's healthy life expectancy decreased 0.11 year from the previous survey, three years earlier, to 72.57 years, while that for women rose 0.07 year to 75.45 years.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 25, 2024

Residents of Shizuoka live longest healthy lives in Japan, ranking shows

Every three years the health ministry estimates healthy life expectancy based on a comprehensive survey of living conditions.
It's back to the classroom for some residents as municipal governments across the country conduct lessons to learn how to use new technologies.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Jan 13, 2025

Can aging Japan go digital without leaving anyone behind?

Amid a push to digitalize, some experts believe citizens should have the right to stay offline.
A panoramic view of Earth taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS)
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 15, 2025

Was the emergence of intelligent life on Earth just a fluke? Some scientists think not.

Some scientists says that Homo sapiens may be the probable end result when a planet has a certain set of attributes that make it habitable.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.