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Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 23, 2019

88rising's quest to find a Japanese hip-hop sensation

Japanese music hasn't made many inroads into Western markets this decade. Save for some brief viral flashes and niche success, the country's artists have mostly been overlooked. However, Sean Miyashiro, founder of media company 88rising, thinks Japan still holds one big advantage.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jan 14, 2019

Using 'kaneru' incorrectly is something we simply cannot do

The verb u304bu306du308b is slightly complicated. It translates as “being unable to” and is often attached to a verb (X) in its masu-stem form (the masu-form with u307eu3059 removed).
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 12, 2019

A rare glimpse into the world of Japan's cozy snack bars

Cigarette smoke wafts across rows of whisky and shōchū bottles with dedicated name tags draped around the necks as an elderly man, microphone in hand, belts out a Showa Era enka tune playing on the karaoke machine.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 12, 2019

Japan's vernacular press coverage tiptoes around tattoo controversy

Before the Olympic Games come to Tokyo in the summer of 2020, Japan will get a chance to prove its mettle as an international sporting events host with the Rugby World Cup this fall. The games will be spread out among 12 stadiums nationwide, which means the whole country will be the focus rather than...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jan 11, 2019

In 2019, how hungry is Japan for whale meat?

Japan is currently the object of criticism for its decision to leave the International Whaling Commission, and resume commercial whaling in territorial waters and its own exclusive economic zone. People who support the move cite either cultural reasons — Japan traditionally, they assert, is a whale-eating...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 10, 2019

Can the social security system be sustained?

Due to demographic changes, the welfare state that many developed countries aimed to create in the mid-20th century is now out of reach.
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Dec 22, 2018

Defining the Heisei Era: When communication in Japan went mobile

The launch of a pager known as the Pocket Bell marked the birth of texting and mobile communications in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Dec 18, 2018

Music in 2018: Saying goodbye to Heisei with 'U.S.A.'

The final full year of the Heisei Era was one of the most discombobulating for Japanese music this decade. Nostalgia for the soon-to-end era clashed with efforts to figure out where J-pop goes moving forward. Tunes covered in cobwebs suddenly became the soundtrack for viral dances on trendy video apps....
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 17, 2018

Prospects for U.S.-China ties

In 2019, China's leaders will likely attempt to re-stabilize bilateral ties and ease tensions in its non-U.S. relationships, and form a deeper judgment about the future of U.S. politics and foreign policy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Dec 10, 2018

Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei survived a famine. Can he weather Trump?

At the sprawling Huawei Technologies Co. campus in Shenzhen, the food court's walls are emblazoned with quotes from the company's billionaire founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei. Then there's the research lab that resembles the White House in Washington. Perhaps the most curious thing, though, are three black...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2018

Trump presidency a symptom of a deeper American problem

The real long-term problem faced by America is not the U.S. president. It's the crumbling legitimacy of the entire U.S. system of government.
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Nov 26, 2018

Time running out for Osaka leaders seeking to push city-prefecture integration plan

When Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui and Osaka Mayor Hirofumi Yoshimura left for Paris early last week for one final lobbying effort for the 2025 World Expo, they left behind a city and prefecture that remain deeply divided over their most basic political goal — the integration of Osaka Prefecture and the...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 8, 2018

NeoPhoenix retool roster as former NBA forward Josh Childress rejoins team

Teams are reshaping their rosters and rotations as the season quickly marches closer to the midway point.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2018

Time for Europe to step up its China game

The EU must form stronger political and economic alliances with Asia's top liberal economies.
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Oct 30, 2018

Shoma Uno, Mako Yamashita stake claims for GP Final spots

Shoma Uno looked in midseason form as he rallied to victory at Skate Canada on Saturday in Laval, Quebec.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 22, 2018

What are the distinguishing features that define a 'sōgō shōsha'?

This is the third part of a new series of reports written by industry specialists. The first 12 articles are about Japanese general trading companies, or sōgō shōsha.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 13, 2018

Akinori Nakagawa captures Frankie Valli's voice in 'Jersey Boys'

Nothing sounds quite like the early 1960s more than the vocals of Frankie Valli. As lead singer of The Four Seasons, his falsetto remains an unmistakable part of classic tunes such as "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry," though it's also his remarkable voice, in a lower register, behind hits like "Can't...
Japan Times
JAPAN / History
Aug 24, 2018

Tourism boom highlights evolution of Japan guidebooks

The nation's continuing tourism boom has been accompanied by countless new guidebooks and websites on all things Japanese. Today, those who want to learn about Japan are spoiled for choice. But that was not always the case.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Aug 5, 2018

The Kanpo: Where everything in Japan goes to happen (officially)

Read all about it in the government's daily gazette, from laws and notices of naughtiness to deaths and even poetry.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2018

Europe must stand for itself

Europeans can no longer assume that their interests are synonymous with those of the U.S.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 22, 2018

Beijing invents a different way to run an economy

The nation has avoided a recession for a quarter-century. Few countries can make the same claim.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 9, 2018

Japan's robot revolution in senior care

Being cared for by robots is becoming the method of choice among elderly residents.
Japan Times
SOCCER
May 29, 2018

Japan boss Akira Nishino hoping friendly against Ghana will ease his World Cup roster decisions

National team manager Akira Nishino expects to agonize over his World Cup selections right up until he names his 23-man squad on Thursday but hopes Wednesday's friendly match against Ghana will provide some answers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
May 16, 2018

Iran faces further tests after Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's election win in Iraq

Already pressured by the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran faces a major test in managing Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a formidable opponent who beat Tehran's longtime allies to achieve a shock victory in Iraq's parliamentary election.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Apr 15, 2018

The sweet smell of an incense workshop success

Incense workshops can be a sweet-smelling way to teach kids about a traditional craft of Japan
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
Apr 14, 2018

Celebrating the spring with homemade Japanese sweets

Spring is a great time for fans of wagashi, traditional Japanese sweets. While many wagashi reflect the seasons all year long visually — especially the colorful, beautifully formed nerikiri created by skilled artisans — this is the time of year when you can taste, as well as see, the season as it...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 12, 2018

Mariah Carey says she has bipolar disorder, is on meds

Pop singer Mariah Carey revealed on Wednesday that she suffers from bipolar disorder, telling People magazine that she was diagnosed in 2001 but had only recently been taking medication.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 10, 2018

Jaw fossil from English beach belongs to monstrous marine reptile

A jawbone fossil found on a rocky English beach belongs to one of the biggest marine animals on record, a type of seagoing reptile called an ichthyosaur that scientists estimated at up to 26 meters (85 feet) long — approaching the size of a blue whale.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami