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COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 11, 2015

Imperial family will pay close attention to Abe's statement

The Abe administration's effort to break away from the postwar regime is a defiant political move to file a formal objection to the postwar Imperial family and to put Japan's best 'knowledgeable and thinking people' into a subordinate position.
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
May 10, 2015

Perfect storm of factors conspires to empty Japan

While 'empty-house syndrome' may seem like a problem mostly afflicting rural Japan, it is already an issue in metropolises such as Tokyo and Osaka, and will become more so in the years to come.
Japan Times
JAPAN / GENERATIONAL CHANGE
May 3, 2015

'Omotenashi' a facade, wheelchair-bound consultant says

Unlike other students who enjoyed full mobility and could easily find jobs as convenience store clerks or waiters, the choices available to Toshiya Kakiuchi, 26, were limited as he sought to finance his studies at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 2, 2015

Dramatist brings citizens of all ages together

Public theaters across the country are holding significantly more community productions and workshops aimed at local residents who are looking to get involved in performance art.
EDITORIALS
Apr 29, 2015

A sea, not a cemetery

The European Union must devise a holistic solution to the problem of migrants fleeing to Europe from Africa and the Middle East.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 28, 2015

Quake-displaced thousands flee Kathmandu as Nepal struggles to organize disaster relief

Nepalese officials scrambled on Monday to get aid from the main airport to people left homeless and hungry by a devastating earthquake two days earlier, while thousands tired of waiting fled the capital Kathmandu for the surrounding plains.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 21, 2015

How altruism makes the world a better place

Studies show that people who are generous are typically happier and more satisfied with their lives than those who do not give.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 20, 2015

Migrant crisis continues: Two more boats off Libya send distress calls

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi says Italian and Maltese ships are responding to two migrant emergencies near the Libyan coast.
EDITORIALS
Apr 20, 2015

New assistance for the needy

A new welfare system that begins this month should not be used as an excuse to deny livelihood assistance to those who need it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Apr 20, 2015

Rachel & Jun

Husband-and-wife YouTube team Rachel & Jun first started making videos in 2012 as a fun way to keep in touch while they were apart. Now, with over 350,000 subscribers, the Japanese-American couple covers a variety of subjects, from what’s considered overweight in Japan to making mochi.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Apr 8, 2015

Do Western men have it bad in Japan? Readers discuss

A small selection of the large number of comments received in response to Olga Garnova's recent column, 'Spare a thought for Western men trapped in Japan.'
Japan Times
JAPAN / 3/11 STILL BEING FELT
Mar 9, 2015

Some Tohoku disaster areas on fast track to rebuilding while others stuck in slow lane

A 3-km-long conveyor belt system is spearheading the reconstruction effort in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, but other areas aren't so lucky.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / HOME TRUTHS
Mar 6, 2015

Cheap rural homes come at a price

Though the hollowing-out of population in regional areas in Japan has become a major issue for the central government, it's been a problem for regional governments for more than three decades. Twenty years ago there was a popular promotional method called "I-turn," devised as a supplement to the "U-turn"...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 4, 2015

Countermeasures for Japan's changing demographics

The government can no longer afford to postpone efforts to effectively address Japan's population problem.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 24, 2015

Caribou explains reasons behind the songs on his 1,000-track playlist on YouTube

The worlds of indie and club music are hardly irreconcilable, either in difference or distance, but it can often be hard to spot crossover success that extends beyond one-off hits or remix packages.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Feb 18, 2015

Time to shut down this modern-day minstrel show

If Fuji TV airs the modern-day minstrel show it has planned for next month, it will shine a national spotlight on Japan's extreme ignorance about issues of race and discrimination.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Feb 14, 2015

Love thy neighbor? Chinese nationals who call Japan home

Like tempestuous lovers, China and Japan have sparred for centuries but have remained interdependent in each other's economy, politics, culture, language and arts.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2015

A year on, Crimeans prefer Russia

Poll data suggests that a majority of Crimeans see Ukraine as a poor and unstable country where the media are hostile toward them.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Feb 2, 2015

Going the extra mile for fair-trade fashion

Tokyo fashion industry insiders push the message that what we choose to buy and wear has consequences.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jan 26, 2015

Nous ne sommes pas Charlie: Voices that mock authority in Japan muzzled

Why is there no equivalent of Charlie Hebdo, 'The Daily Show' or 'Monty Python' in Japan?
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 10, 2015

Code + culture: New Internet artists from Japan

If the Internet is an ocean, why do we spend so much time floating on its surface? What's really going on down there? Not just in the deepest, darkest trenches, but among the forgotten protocols, faulty algorithms and emerging parameters outside the busy shipping lanes and far from the crowded life rafts...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 2, 2015

Shanghai cancels New Year's celebrations after deadly crush; money scramble alleged

Shanghai called off New Year's events and the central government demanded a review of crowd-safety procedures after 36 people were killed and dozens injured in a deadly crush on Shanghai's historic Bund on Wednesday night.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2015

Activities to ring in year of the sheep

Usually, the New Year holiday season in Japan is a time to spend with family and many people go back to their hometowns, while others stay indoors for television-watching marathons. Therefore, with the exception of some shopping areas, Tokyo is relatively quiet compared with the usual hustle and bustle....
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 27, 2014

Learning to love robots

With half the decade complete, we examine an industry that has significantly changed the way we think about ourselves.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Dec 22, 2014

Jeers, apologies and silence: Japan's 2014 in quotes

First of all, we're sorry. Everybody is sorry. This was the year that everyone apologized and everyone was sorry about something. The Asahi Shimbun was sorry so many times (even when maybe they shouldn't have been) that we're omitting them from the list. There's not enough space.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Dec 17, 2014

Japan and others gain from Jamaican brain drain

In the last part of this series on Jamaicans in Japan, Baye McNeil speaks to a teacher, author and poet in Yokohama and an attorney in Tokyo.
COMMUNITY / Voices / COMMUNITY CHEST
Dec 14, 2014

Readers' letters: Hague abduction pamphlets, East Asia ties, temping teachers and learning English

Some emails received in response to recent Community articles.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Dec 10, 2014

Electoral dysfunction leaves Japan's voters feeling impotent

This Sunday's poll could well prove a high-water mark of pointlessness even for Japan: an election campaign waged against the unelected.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Nov 15, 2014

Shrinking well: Is depopulation affecting Japan's energy, climate goals?

Keishi looks a lot like it did when Toshiko Nakamura first moved there four decades ago. The quiet farming community in Nagano Prefecture is a patchwork of verdant rice fields, lush kitchen gardens and picturesque post-and-beam houses nestled between pine and chestnut trees on the slopes of Mount Hijiri....
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Nov 4, 2014

Japan wakes up to reality of dementia, seeks unique solutions

Asayo Sakai banged on the front door, demanding to be let out. She was at her daughter's apartment, where Asayo has lived for the past six years. She has no memory of how she got there or what she's doing there.

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