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Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 29, 2021

Her prophecy of an Australian inferno was proven right

Climate change is a politically charged issue in much of the world. But the debate is especially heated in Australia.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Dec 26, 2020

20 Questions: The best answers of 2020

The 20 Questions format aims to get people in Japan to tell us about their thoughts and beliefs in their words. Here are some of the most interesting answers from 2020.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 14, 2020

'Shape of Red' shows what Japanese women really want

Yukiko Mishima addresses the dangers of traditional gender roles with her latest film, 'Shape of Red,' adapted from a Rio Shimamoto novel.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 13, 2019

On migrants and belonging

There are some strategies by which Japanese and foreign advocates for migrants can argue for their rights to work and belong in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
May 4, 2019

'The Forest of Wool and Steel': Music and nature intertwine to paint a portrait of growth — review

Natsu Miyashita's 'The Forest of Wool and Steel' is a mesmerizing reading experience, a slow journey in how one young person renders an occupation into a vocation.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 26, 2018

The Protestant ethic and Carlos Ghosn

For many in Tokyo, the news about Carlos Ghosn was a shock but not a surprise.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 1, 2018

A creative force in a concrete jungle: Architect's Tokyo project draws on love and improvisation

Sandwiched between old residential apartments in the capital's central Minato Ward is the Arimaston Building, an eccentric collage of individually patterned concrete slabs piled upon each other as if by happenstance.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Jan 7, 2018

Much for Japan Times Community readers to crow and squawk about in year of the rooster

A selection of unpublished letters about Community stories from the first half of 2017.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / The Big Questions
Nov 20, 2017

Gender equality critical for Japanese economic success

'I've never been one of those people who's had a passion for Japan since childhood, like some people in Europe,' smiled Helene von Reis, president and CEO of Ikea Japan K.K. Queried by The Japan Times about when the country 'first appeared on her radar,' she let out a hearty laugh. 'Actually, when I was first asked the question, 'Would you like to go work in Japan?''
Nicholas Tarasenko trains at Minato stable in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, on Tuesday. Tarasenko’s potential in sumo was made obvious when he won U18 gold in the 90-kg weight class at the 2023 Baruto Cup in Estonia despite being four years under the age limit and having only had a total of one hour of sumo training before the meet.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Aug 28, 2024

This English schoolboy has big dreams of becoming yokozuna — and more

Nicholas Tarasenko may only be 15 years old, but he is already making big plans for his burgeoning sumo career.
Vladimir Putin meets with schoolchildren in Kyzyl, Russia, on Monday, in a photo released by Russian state media.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 4, 2024

Putin is spending big to shape Russia’s youth in his own image

At some universities in Russia, students attend compulsory courses in the "fundamentals of Russian statehood” that were introduced last year to promote patriotism.
Visitors play Super Mario on a giant video game console during a media preview of the new Nintendo Museum, located inside a renovated old factory, in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, on Sept. 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 2, 2024

From cards to consoles: Nintendo opens its first museum

The museum is part of Nintendo's efforts to broaden its brand that include the release of a Super Mario animated movie last year.
Aonishiki competes at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on Jan. 28.
SUMO / INSIDE SUMO
Nov 6, 2024

Head to sumo's second tier and it's a dog-eat-dog world

Jūryō action is something fans of exciting sumo shouldn’t miss.
An AI robot is cast into a wild environment and forced to adapt to her surroundings in “The Wild Robot.”
CULTURE / Film
Nov 8, 2024

TIFF’s animation entries rediscovered the art of the fable at this year's festival

This year’s animated lineup championed nature, connection and simplicity through stories that revel in the beauty of coexistence.
Jon Walsh, an urban farmer and the owner of Business Grow, has been teaching the residents of Tokyo how to grow their own food for over a decade.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability
Dec 31, 2024

Great things can grow in small places

This is a sponsored story, created and edited exclusively by Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Tokyo Updates website.
Dodgers announcers Stephen Nelson and Jessica Mendoza pose with Ichiro Suzuki before a game against the Mariners in Seattle in 2023.
BASEBALL / MLB
Dec 27, 2024

Dodgers voice Stephen Nelson paves way for Japanese Americans in media

Nelson strongly believes representation matters in media and is aware that he might be helping inspire the next generation of Asian Americans in sports media.
Wawira Njiru, the founder of Food4Education, serves food during the opening of a new kitchen in Mombasa County, Kenya, in 2022. The organization started in 2012 by feeding 25 children out of a single kitchen. Now it feeds nearly half a million every day.
ENVIRONMENT / Sustainability / OUR PLANET
Jan 19, 2025

Amid rising world hunger, a Japan-inspired group in Kenya is making a big impact

Food4Education is helping feed half a million students through a program that drew inspiration from Japan's renowned school lunch programs.
Animated series “Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi” premiered on Cartoon Network on Nov. 29, 2004, and ran for three seasons. The show is based on real-life J-pop band Puffy.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Jan 24, 2025

The cartoon chaos of ‘Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi’ was ahead of its time

Love for the J-pop duo’s zany Cartoon Network series has endured online for over 20 years since its premiere.
Ayumi Matsuki, a priestess at Yoshiwara Shrine, shows off some "o-mamori" charms. She says visitors to the shrine have increased since the NHK drama “Unbound” began airing this month.
JAPAN / History / Longform
Jan 26, 2025

Tracing Tsutaya Juzaburo, Edo’s media maverick

Discover the hometown of the Yoshiwara publisher who helped shape Japan’s artistic legacy and inspired NHK’s latest period drama.
Sanjay in front of his home in Texas
WORLD / Politics
Jan 28, 2025

Trump’s birthright citizenship rattles H-1B visa workers expecting a baby

The U.S. is fairly unique in offering unconditional birthright citizenship, creating a special enticement for foreign workers.
Ichiko Aoba’s latest full-length album, “Luminescent Creatures,” weaves in sounds mimicking whale songs and wind to express her fascination with the natural world and its interconnectedness.
CULTURE / Music
Mar 7, 2025

Ichiko Aoba’s intimate sonic fantasy born from dreams

The singer-songwriter turns her subconscious into songs about the natural world and its interconnectedness on “Luminescent Creatures.”
President Donald Trump’s order making English the official language of the country is unnecessary, as nearly 80% of people in the U.S. already speak it at home.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2025

America doesn’t need an official language

After all, what is our shared culture if not the mix of cultures — including languages — that make and remake America every day?
A 37-year-old son of death-row inmate Masumi Hayashi, who goes by the pseudonym of Koji Hayashi, stands in front of the land of the family's previous house in January.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 2, 2025

Family fights for death-row retrial under Japan's 'snail-paced' system

Japan's current retrial system is often labeled the "unopenable door" because the chances of being granted a legal do-over are so slim.
Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Apr 11, 2025

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

On a man-made island in Osaka Bay, Japan stages a grand vision of the future — and a quiet test of relevance.
Customers line up patiently for some early-afternoon baked goods outside Truffle, which is located close to Hiroo Station on the Hibiya Line.
COMMUNITY / Issues / The Foreign Element
Apr 13, 2025

How to spend the perfect day in Hiroo, Tokyo’s expat enclave

A stroll through Hiroo reveals both the comforts of expat luxury and the quiet intrusions of a changing Tokyo.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 7, 2025

'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships

CEO Takeshi Hakamada envisions a distant future where humans live and work on the moon — just don't ask him to visit.
Vice president of events and exhibitions for Studio Ghibli, Kenichi Yoda (right), and director and Ghibli Park creative development manager, Goro Miyazaki (left), pose at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival before receiving an Honorary Palme d'Or.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025

Studio Ghibli marks 40 years, but future looks uncertain

A look into the legacy of the beloved anime studio.
Mercedes driver George Russell during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday in Montreal.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Jun 15, 2025

Russell grabs dazzling Canadian GP pole then jokes at Verstappen's expense

The 27-year-old British driver was delighted with what he described as "one of the most exhilarating laps of my life."
Elementary school teacher Seiichi Yabushita (Go Ayano) is taken to court for allegedly driving one of his students to attempt suicide in Takashi Miike’s “Sham.”
CULTURE / Film
Jun 25, 2025

‘Sham’ flirts with ambiguity, then picks a side

Takashi Miike’s legal drama draws from a real-life incident and makes a clear but frustratingly simplified case.
A swimmer dives in into the River Seine in Paris on Saturday.
WORLD
Jul 5, 2025

'Childhood dream': Seine reopens to Paris swimmers after centurylong ban

The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji