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Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 21, 2020

Exploring the origins of kanji is a fine science

Many of us learn kanji by associating them with the pictographs on which they were originally based. What happens when scholars dispute those commonly held associations?
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 21, 2020

Let's discuss Hikakin and Yuriko Koike

A Japan Times story looks at the YouTube interview social media personality Hikakin did with Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Kateigaho International Japan Edition
Apr 18, 2020

The gold standard: Ginza Tanaka’s helmets celebrate the craftsman’s skill

Ginza Tanaka's Children's Day-themed kabuto helmets embody valor and are meticulously handcrafted by master artisans with heartfelt good wishes for young boys' futures.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 16, 2020

U.S. warns North Korean hacking threatens international finance

The U.S. government warned that North Korea’s digital activities, including cybertheft and extortion, threatens the "integrity and stability of the international finance system.”
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 14, 2020

Let's discuss memes

This Japan Times article looks at a recent meme spawned by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent mask policy, but what's a meme?
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Apr 13, 2020

African ambassadors complain to China over 'discrimination' in Guangzhou

African ambassadors in China have written to the country's foreign minister over what they call discrimination against Africans as the country seeks to prevent a resurgence of the coronavirus.
CULTURE / Film
Apr 9, 2020

Japan’s film and TV industries soldier on despite coronavirus

The death of comedian Ken Shimura on March 29 due to pneumonia caused by COVID-19 sent a shock wave throughout the country. A star on Japanese TV for decades, he was the first major celebrity here to pass away after contracting the virus.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 7, 2020

Let's discuss panic-buying at the supermarket

An English lesson looks at what you do to prepare for a weekend at home.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2020

Japanese officials say Tokyo is at risk of an 'overshoot,' but what exactly does that mean?

Health ministry officials are using the term to refer to an explosive spike in coronavirus infections.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Apr 3, 2020

In Taiwan, anger at China over coronavirus drives identity debate

Anger at being confused with China amid the coronavirus outbreak and Beijing's stepped-up efforts to assert sovereignty is stirring heated debate in Taiwan about how to further distance itself from its giant and often threatening neighbor.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 31, 2020

The programmed end to Japan’s coronavirus ‘Mizaru’ policy

It's now time for the nation to face the COVID-19 crisis bravely and proactively.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 31, 2020

Let's discuss the cherry blossoms

An article by Alex Martin looks at the history of Japan's iconic cherry blossoms, serving up new English terms in the process.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2020

Is the pandemic a moment of promise or peril?

We are about to make a historical step — hopefully forward — as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 24, 2020

Let's discuss the mask shortage

The reselling of face masks for profit will become a crime punishable by a one-year prison term or a u00a51 million ($9,800) fine — or both — as demand surged amid the growing coronavirus epidemic, the government said Tuesday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 24, 2020

Can’t find tissues? Get some towels, it’s moving time

It’s a bad time to run out of toilet paper and tissues. March is a month of big life changes in Japan such as 入学 (nyūgaku, entering university), 入社 (nyūsha, entering a company) and 転勤 (tenkin, company transfers), and those will often require your moving to a new apartment. A 空っぽな...
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mar 20, 2020

To our readers: Internal review of 'comfort women' and 'wartime labor' descriptions

In November 2018, The Japan Times published an Editor's Note announcing the paper's decision to change its description of "comfort women" and "forced labor."
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 17, 2020

Let's discuss NHK's new web service

NHK plans to offer broadcasting on the internet, though the organization has had to scale back its goals.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2020

China's information warfare is failing again

Beijing may have failed in its international effort to pin the COVID-19 outbreak on the U.S., but don't underestimate its ability to control information domestically.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Mar 16, 2020

The plumbing behind world's financial markets is creaking — loudly

The coronavirus panic is jolting stock markets, with steep drops in major indexes grabbing the public's attention. But behind the scenes, there is less understood and potentially more worrying evidence that stress is building to dangerous levels in crucial arteries of the financial system.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Mar 14, 2020

In the footsteps of Okinawa's forgotten priestesses

Utaki (sacred sites) are scattered throughout the islands of Okinawa. Historically the purview of priestesses and kings, these sites have recently seen an uptick in visitors interested in exploring their own history.
SOCCER / From the Spot
Mar 11, 2020

J. League running out of scheduling options

The J. League is not without options as it adjusts its schedule in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 11, 2020

Let's discuss emergency school closures

A Kyodo article looks at the government's latest effort to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 9, 2020

The March 1945 firebombing of Tokyo and the immorality of war

The U.S. attack on Tokyo on the night of March 9-10, 1945, reinforces the reality that it usually is the civilians who suffer the most from the horrors of war.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Mar 3, 2020

Let's discuss whether you want to go to the Olympics

An article reports that Japanese are not as enthused about attending the Games as organizers would like.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Mar 2, 2020

'Moment of truth:' Pete Buttigieg drops out of Democratic race two days before Super Tuesday

Pete Buttigieg dropped out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sunday, saying he no longer saw a change of winning, the day after fellow moderate Joe Biden won a big victory in South Carolina.

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