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BUSINESS / Longform
Oct 31, 2022

Can Japan’s pandemic-hit amusement parks return with a bang?

Does the opening of Ghibli Park in Aichi Prefecture reflect a turnaround in fortunes for theme park operators in Japan?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 15, 2022

‘Undesirable consequences’ may await Japan’s well-meaning tourists

The return to full-scale tourism may be much more of a slog than previously thought — for tourists and Japan alike.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 25, 2022

‘Bullet Train’ proves that Hollywood hasn’t lost its knack for topsy-turvy visions of Japan

David Leitch's hyper-violent comedy may be the least authentic screen depiction of the country since “Austin Powers,” but it's hardly the first Western movie to take such liberties.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2022

Retailer Miniso to ditch Japanese styling after Chinese outcry

The Guangzhou-based company has long promoted itself as Japanese-influenced, with a Japanese chief designer and Japanese characters on its shopping bags and marketing language.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 30, 2022

For the most complex heroines in animation, look to Japan

The girls and women of anime tend to experience the conflicting emotions of real life. That's because the auteurs try to create “an everyday, real person.”
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jan 28, 2022

Japanese films to look out for in 2022

Hollywood will see strong competition from domestic fare, including Makoto Shinkai's “Suzume no Tojimari” and Naomi Kawase's documentary on the Tokyo Olympics, at the box office this year.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Jan 16, 2022

A tragic narrative for women persists even as times change

A Heian Period text reads, 'Ladies must often depend on men who are nothing to them — it is the way of the world.' In Japanese literature, not much has changed.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 22, 2021

Terry Ellis: ‘You take Japan with you … it’s a way of living’

At the start of the pandemic Terry Ellis made the move to Japan, but the creative part of him had already been calling it home for years.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 1, 2021

Confab offers foreign residents wealth of information

The international and expatriate population of the Tokyo metropolitan area has been growing rapidly in recent years. One in every 25 residents of the capital is now of foreign origin, according to government statistics, and despite a dip last year due to the pandemic, this trend is expected to continue...
BUSINESS / Longform
Sep 20, 2021

Kyoto is facing bankruptcy. What happens now?

Massive budget cuts have been proposed to stem the losses now that international tourism to the city has all but dried up.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Aug 7, 2021

Tokyo tomorrow: What comes after the 2020 Games?

Rebuilt from the war and continually building back stronger, the 1964 Olympics gave Tokyo an identity. Will the 2020 Games do the same?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 17, 2021

‘Culture Gate’ brings top-flight artworks to Japan’s airports

Dozens of works are now on display in terminal buildings across Japan as part of a major media arts exhibition split between seven airports and one international cruise port.
JAPAN / 2020 in Review
Dec 28, 2020

Images of 2020 | COVID-19: The only story

A brief look at images that reflected the coronavirus pandemic's impact on Japan
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Dec 5, 2020

‘Family Crests of Japan’: For the miniaturist who appreciates fine details

This comprehensive overview of Japanese family crests delves into the motifs and geometries that fill even the simplest designs with meaning.
Japan Times
JAPAN / History / THE LIVING PAST
Nov 16, 2020

A charm offensive in the Yoshiwara pleasure district

Life in the pleasure district was fun, if you were capable of mustering up the right amount of charm.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Nov 9, 2020

Kenzo Takada: The fashion industry mourns the loss of a dreamer

Takada was the first Japanese designer to gain international success out of Paris's fashion industry, making his designs accessible and affordable.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 3, 2020

Sean Connery and James Bond brought Japan to the world

“You Only Live Twice” highlights the cultural differences between Japan and the West without belittling them.
The influx of foreign tourists in Japan is pushing up hotel room prices, forcing some business travelers to stay at capsule hotels.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 15, 2025

Japan's tourism boom prices out local business travelers

The average price of a basic room at a business hotel in Tokyo has nearly doubled between 2019 and last year.
The Japanese government is considering allowing foreign workers under its specified skilled worker program to take orders and serve and cook food at restaurants within inns and hotels.
JAPAN
Feb 1, 2025

Japan to ease foreign worker rules for hotel restaurants

The government is considering allowing foreign workers under the program to take orders and serve and cook food at restaurants at inns and hotels.
As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 15, 2025

New street patrol helps Nara's deer clean up their act

Garbage dropped by tourists can pose a serious risk to Nara's famous deer, but a new group is cleaning up the town.
Tatsumi Onose (right), who plays the part of Commodore Matthew Perry in Shimoda's Black Ship Festival, says the historical episode the event is based on should be remembered for its positives more than its negatives.
LIFE / Travel
May 8, 2025

Celebrating Japan’s defeat at Shimoda’s Black Ship Festival

Held this year from May 16 to 18, an event to the south of Tokyo turns a historical episode of national humiliation into a plain old good time.
Laurent Patouillet, the CEO and president of Agnes b. Japan, says the focus of its business is to remain independent, and evolve and adapt.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2025

Agnes b. Japan CEO hopes to evolve the brand with focus on sustainability

Laurent Patouillet, who has headed the brand's Japanese operations since 2018, believes there is more that it can do to be environmentally sustainable.
A crowd of tourists walk on the street near Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. There has been growing pushback from residents in the tradition-steeped city as visitor numbers continue to rise.
JAPAN / Society
May 21, 2025

Japan's tourist arrivals soared 28.5% in April to hit record 3.9 million

For the first four months of the year, foreign visitor arrivals totaled 14.4 million, a 24.5% increase.
Mexican designer Italia Segovia, 26, known as "Kumiko," poses for a picture wearing clothes from her brand Chicanjuku.
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 26, 2025

Mexican designer blends Chicano and Harajuku styles

Designer Italia "Kumiko" Segovia says experimentation is great as long as it's from a place of knowledge and respect.
Maria Seiren, known for winning the first-ever “Japan’s Got Talent” with her opera voice, has also been training in traditional noh theater, creating productions that combine opera, noh and even pop music.
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 28, 2025

Diva of dualities: Maria Seiren sings opera and noh in both a female and male voice

The first-ever winner of talent show competition “Japan’s Got Talent” is having a stacked year with two noh and opera productions and her 10th anniversary album release.

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