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Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Nov 2, 2022

Hey Japan, are you happy?

Deep Dive explores whether the Japanese are content or not with the help of Alex K.T. Marin, who has written several features on the polls and surveys of happiness.
PODCAST / deep dive
Oct 19, 2022

Japan reopens its borders. Are tourists ready to return?

Masks? Vaccinations? Yen? You're ready to come to Japan! News chief Kanako Takahara and reporter Will Fee join the podcast this week to discuss whether the country's grand reopening will help its beleaguered tourism sector.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
May 12, 2022

When will Japan open to tourists?

Kanako Takahara joins to discuss when Japan might reopen to international tourism, and what form that reopening might take.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 18, 2022

Is COVID more dangerous than driving? How scientists are parsing COVID-19 risks.

Even two years into the pandemic, the coronavirus remains new enough, and its long-term effects unpredictable enough, that measuring the threat posed by an infection is a thorny problem.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 31, 2022

As Japan looks to possible fourth COVID shots, hesitancy and disinformation linger

Almost 80% of people in Japan have received at least two COVID-19 doses, but that doesn't mean all are planning to get additional shots.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 23, 2022

One month into war, a Ukrainian family reunites in Japan

Kanako Takahara explains Japan's efforts to help these refugees, and why the government here isn't calling them by that name.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 16, 2022

Where is Japan's Great Resignation?

This week, senior staff writer Alex Martin joins to discuss the changing face of work in Japan, and why so few people seem inclined to switch roles.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Mar 9, 2022

Sanctions and sanctuary: Japan responds to Russia's war in Ukraine

As Vladimir Putin's grim war in Ukraine escalates, The Economist's Tokyo bureau chief, Noah Sneider, joins to discuss the reasons for the conflict, the lengths to which Japan is supporting Ukraine, and how the war will redefine relationships between Japan and its northern neighbor, Russia.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 24, 2022

Japan relaxes its border restrictions

Japan's strict border policies are finally relaxing — at least a little bit — and from March, new entrants will be allowed to come to the country once again.
Japan Times
PODCAST / deep dive
Feb 16, 2022

Where the wild things grow — foraging in Japan

Winifred Bird is the author of 'Eating Wild Japan,' a book that goes deep into the foraging culture of Japan and contains essays on foraging, a selection of recipes and a guide to forageable plants.
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 19, 2021

Hidden Pentagon records reveal patterns of failure in deadly U.S. airstrikes

A trove of documents lays bare how the U.S. air war has been marked by deeply flawed intelligence, rushed and often imprecise targeting and the deaths of thousands of civilians.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Feb 7, 2021

What is needed to bring back freedom of movement

As Japan struggles to find a way to resume normal life and international travel, a lesson could be learned from Taiwan's approach.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jul 4, 2020

Grappling with the 'American idea' from across the Pacific

Tokyoites with close connections to the United States express empathy for the present and optimism for the future of the country.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 13, 2020

Suicide in Japan: Seeking to part the dark clouds as pandemic threatens recent progress

The death of u2018Terrace House' star Hana Kimura in May has thrust the issue of suicide back into the national spotlight.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2020

Masayoshi Son's SoftBank strained by losses and infighting at the top

In early March, before the coronavirus pandemic triggered a global economic lockdown, SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son paid tribute to Rajeev Misra, the man who runs his $100 billion technology investment fund. Wearing a $70 (¥7,500) Uniqlo down jacket, the Japanese billionaire put his arm...
Special Supplements / Work from Home Special
May 25, 2020

Purpose, respect, fairness: The 3 ingredients for happiness at work

In this time of global crisis, work can seem more stressful and overwhelming than ever. Many of us are confronted with a new daily reality, whether it's having to work in isolation, being afraid for our livelihood, or having to work overtime to deal with the consequences of the pandemic.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Apr 5, 2020

Japan’s homeless at risk from coronavirus pandemic

Many of Tokyo's homeless also have underlying health problems, making them particularly vulnerable as cases of COVID-19 continue to climb in the capital.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 1, 2019

The prison inside: Japan's hikikomori lack relationships, not physical spaces

Fifty-three-year-old Kenji Yamase doesn't fit the traditional image of a hikikomori, but then perceptions of Japan's social recluses are changing.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 2, 2019

'No one wants to be homeless': A glimpse at life on the streets of Tokyo

Seventy-year-old Yoshitomo Hara now lives in a housing facility, but he is well-versed in strategies to deal with sleeping rough in Tokyo during winter.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 25, 2018

Japan's indigenous Ainu sue to bring their ancestors' bones back home

Activist group's hardball tactics expose rifts in the Ainu community over the fate of bones held at universities.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2018

Officials discuss water quality hopes at home, abroad

Water is a basic need for humans, the environment and the Earth. Governments, engineers and researchers have worked together toward securing water supplies and managing water quality around the world. The International Water Association is one of the biggest international organizations working to achieve...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 12, 2018

War games: Examining the fascination with recreational airsoft combat games in Japan

I know that scores of heavily armed people are out there lying in wait to shoot me, but I can't see them.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Deep Dive
Apr 19, 2018

Dual citizenship in Japan: A 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy leaves many in the dark

Do you have to renounce citizenship? Do you switch passports at the airport? Has anyone ever been punished? Dual nationals tell their stories.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2016

President Trump: Japanese-Americans, Japanese in U.S. weigh in

People of Japanese ancestry speak up about their impressions of President-elect Donald Trump.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 11, 2016

Needs of post-3/11 Tohoku stay in focus for filmmakers

The dramatic imagery that emerged from the disasters of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, documented so extensively by mainstream and social media, is hard to forget. However, there were and still are many stories to be told about the people who were left to pick up the pieces of their lives...
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 26, 2015

'Ōsōji': ways to keep your home spick and span

Three experts discuss their philosophy on the New Year's chore that everybody loves — cleaning.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Feb 23, 2015

Sharla in Japan

Sharla of Sharla in Japan is a 29-year-old, Canadian-born, Tokyo-based “YouTuber” (“That's what they call it here,” she says). With over 200,000 subscribers to her channel, she documents her life.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 2, 2013

The LDP constitution, article by article: a preview of things to come?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing for constitutional change. Yet he is playing the political huckster by proposing to first only fiddle with the amendment procedure in Article 96, lowering the threshold for the process to move forward from the approval of two-thirds of both houses of the Diet, as...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2013

Deepening, revising ties with Southeast Asia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Japan mark the 40th anniversary of their cooperative relations this year. ASEAN and Japan's partnership, which began with the establishment of the ASEAN-Japan forum on synthetic rubber, has evolved over the 40 years. The two parties have formed close cooperation...
LIFE
May 26, 2013

Whatever some say, there's no Japanese-language 'code' to be deciphered

Ever since Japan opened to the outside world in the middle of the 19th century after some 250 years of isolation imposed and enforced by its ruling shoguns, the Japanese language has been widely regarded as a kind of code.

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