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JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 22, 2017

Could Japan become a future cultural melting pot?

Why not welcome 10 million immigrants to Japan by 2050? That's Hidenori Sakanaka's pitch, but it's a hard sell.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 21, 2017

Lawmaker Nakagawa resigns from LDP over extramarital affair

METI's former vice minister, Toshinao Nakagawa, resigns from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over an extramarital affair, causing more turmoil for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 19, 2017

Birth of a Twitter trend: the story behind #gaijinconfessionfriday

Last week, a simple hashtag kicked off an outpouring of guilt and humor on Twitter from Japan's foreign residents.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 19, 2017

Language barriers at Japanese medical institutions put foreign patients at risk: expert

Here's a little-known, unnerving truth about health care in Japan: for non-Japanese, the death rate is higher than that for Japanese.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 17, 2017

A $165 billion money manager says Japan's stock gloom overdone, predicts surge after geopolitical risks ease

Japanese stocks have been battered so badly that they're too cheap to ignore, says the $165 billion investor Pictet Asset Management Ltd., after the Topix index tumbled to its fifth straight weekly loss.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHY DID YOU LEAVE JAPAN?
Apr 15, 2017

Asuka Takita: Veterinarian embraces life on the African plains

The king of the jungle is among the many acquaintances of Japan-born Asuka Takita since she made Kenya her home almost a decade ago.
JAPAN / View from Osaka
Apr 15, 2017

The real Moritomo Gakuen story is clear as mud

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." — Mark Twain
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Apr 13, 2017

Springtime dining in the 'garden of France'

La Tour d'Argent at The Hotel New Otani Tokyo has created a selection of food specialties inspired by the regional cuisine of France's Loire Valley. Two dinner courses, priced at ¥18,000 and ¥25,000 (excluding drinks, tax and service charge), are available until April 25 (closed Mondays).
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 12, 2017

Tottori venture touts simulated patient for budding medical professionals

It looks and feels like a real person. It can cough, has a gag reflex and will even cry “ouch!” if handled roughly.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 8, 2017

Japan suffers from the grand illusion of prosperity

There are so many reasons to hate your job, if you're lucky enough to have one. The top four, according to Spa! magazine, are: stagnant salaries; a sense of being underappreciated and underevaluated; an overriding, unfocused anxiety; and a lost sense of purpose.
JAPAN / Science & Health / A MATTER OF HEALTH
Apr 5, 2017

When it comes to health info, online 'fake news' can have serious repercussions

A recent "fake news" scandal involving IT giant DeNA Co. shows how quickly bogus health information can make the rounds online.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / DESSERT WATCH
Apr 1, 2017

'Oil cut' doughnuts: Most of the taste with half the guilt

Eating desserts — whether as an occasional treat after dinner or for a bi-weekly newspaper column — can lead to complicated feelings. Of course, most of the time it's a delicious experience that leaves you happy and satisfied in the moment. But minutes after, the shame of all those extra calories...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 29, 2017

'Nekoatsume House': The cat's meow of Japanese comedy

Japanese audiences never seem to tire of movies about dogs and cats. The millions of devoted pet owners here are certainly one reason, though the Brits, also known for their animal worship, do not express it as often in films.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 29, 2017

Families of 'karoshi' victims lambaste overtime cap recommendations as legalizing unhealthy working hours

Families of people who have died from overwork blasted a report adopted Tuesday by a government labor reform panel, saying its call for creating a monthly overtime cap of 100 hours could effectively legalize long working hours at the expense of workers' health.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Mar 26, 2017

Overtime deal marks total capitulation by labor

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, long the champion of labor law deregulation, last year announced it was time to place a legally binding upper limit on overtime hours.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 25, 2017

Radiation brings fear, and kids let it all out

Children too young, one might think, to even know the word 'radiation' have picked it up and flung it with gleeful malice at disoriented new classmates who have enough to cope with already.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 25, 2017

Tillerson tells 'frenemies' Japan and South Korea to heal 'comfort women' rift

With Seoul in political paralysis and amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Japan's ambassador to South Korea remains in Tokyo — all because of some statues.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 20, 2017

Hard-line priest's elevation a sign Modi is putting India on path toward becoming a Hindu nation

A saffron-robed Hindu holy man was sworn in Sunday to lead India's most populous state, sealing what appears to be a shift in course by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that could redefine the world's largest democracy as a Hindu nation.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Mar 18, 2017

Asking the tough questions on Fukushima

In January, regional newspaper Fukushima Minpo interviewed Yosuke Takagi, state minister of economy, trade and industry. While talking about reconstruction plans for areas near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Takagi mentioned resurrecting Dash-mura (Dash Village), a farm created from...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Mar 18, 2017

The Japan tabloid guide to health and happiness

An alien first encountering Japan's weekly tabloid magazines might conclude he has come to Earth in a nation of inquisitive hypochondriacs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Mar 18, 2017

Breaking the comic book glass ceiling

Four years ago, Chinese-American writer Marjorie Liu had a simple but persistent idea: create an epic fantasy comic book series about a classic Japanese kaijū (strange beast) movie monster that has a connection to a girl.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 16, 2017

Radwimps were the perfect choice when it came to soundtracking 'Your Name.'

Yokohama Arena feels special on this chilly Tuesday night in early March. It's here that Radwimps — a rock outfit from Kanagawa Prefecture whose members could bike to this very venue when they were teens — are playing the first of two sold-out shows.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Mar 10, 2017

Hidehiko Ishizuka takes his love of sake on tour in streaming TV series

Gourmandizing television personality Hidehiko Ishizuka has a famously large appetite. Apparently, the portly comedian also has a taste for Japanese sake. On a clear February afternoon in the sake-producing region of Fushimi, just south of Kyoto, a camera crew forms a tight circle around Ishizuka as he...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2017

North Korea doesn't belong on state terrorism list

The U.S. and its allies should respond to what Pyongyang is rather than what it isn't.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2017

On-site investigation at Moritomo Gakuen suddenly cut short; new fraud claims emerge

Thursday night visit by prefectural officials shut down when the school's staff allegedly interfered with the investigation.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / B. League / B. LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 9, 2017

Rebounding skills a vital part of Joji Takeuchi's game

Joji Takeuchi consistently provides solid numbers for the Alvark Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Mar 8, 2017

New Zealander is on a mission to turn Japan green, one balcony at a time

Quakes of 2011 in Christchurch and Tohoku put Kiwi on the path to self-reliance and sustainability.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Mar 4, 2017

Learning to stand up to domestic violence in Japan

Satoru Tanaka tentatively pulls from his briefcase a well-thumbed sheet of plain paper, onto which has been sketched three smiling faces along with a simple but astute message: "Daddy's promise," it begins. "Always smile, and if you feel the urge to fight, take a deep breath."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 4, 2017

Yellen points to March rate hike as Fed signals end of easy money

The U.S. Federal Reserve's long-stalled "liftoff" of interest rates may finally get airborne this year as policymakers from Chair Janet Yellen on Friday to regional leaders across the United States signaled that the era of easy money is drawing to a close.

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