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Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / KANSAI PERSPECTIVE
Jun 26, 2016

Cities take cutesy tack to get youths to go to the polls

For town, city and prefectural government offices around Japan, the key issue in next month's Upper House election is not constitutional revision or the economy. It's persuading 18-year-olds to go to the polls.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 20, 2016

Business ticks on for artisan clockmakers as wind-up timepieces find renewed favor

The number of people looking to repair old wind-up clocks is on the rise nationwide.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
Jun 19, 2016

Fukushima rice set to make first EU foray with debut in Britain

Fukushima-harvested rice will hit the stores in Britain in July, which might make it the first member of the EU to import the grain, following a sustained effort by a group of Fukushima natives in London fighting rumors about the safety of the crop.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2016

Japan's first lady, Akie Abe, speaks her own mind

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has outlasted those that scoffed at his return to power as leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party in 2012. And yet while the prime minister appears to have established himself as an increasingly dominant force in domestic politics over the past decade, the most...
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 13, 2016

Aichi students take cruise ship crews on quick Nagoya tours

University students from Aichi Prefecture are volunteering to show crew members of luxury cruise ships around Nagoya when the vessels visit the port.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 7, 2016

Women's empowerment: The time is now, Japan

While Japan's GDP growth is declining, the country is experiencing a rise in gross domestic power of the feminine persuasion.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Jun 6, 2016

Aichi hospital partners with IT firm in first for air ambulance training

Aichi Medical University Hospital has partnered with an IT firm to develop software designed to better train air ambulance crews.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 4, 2016

'Mechademia 10: World Renewal' attempts to link 3/11 and parallel universes

Mechademia is an annual English-language academic journal on Japanese pop culture and related topics. Each issue has its own theme, and volume 10's is "World Renewal." In theory, this includes not only the branching timelines and parallel worlds of games and anime such as "Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni"...
LIFE / Digital
Jun 3, 2016

That Japanese Man Yuta uses YouTube to show us what Japan really thinks

Almost every weekend, Yuta Aoki heads to Tokyo's Shibuya Ward armed with a camera, a stabilizer and a microphone. His mission is to find and speak to Japanese people, but they must look happy or, at least, not busy — "I don't want any trouble," he says with a laugh. He's hunting for opinions: "Is 'gaijin'...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 3, 2016

Close Abe aides eyed over last-minute change in economy slides presented at G-7 summit

The Group of Seven summit meeting last week in Ise, Mie Prefecture, chaired by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has raised suspicions about Japan's political agenda.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 31, 2016

In Okinawa, community relations really matter

The U.S. and Japanese governments need to take a number of steps to build strong relationships with local communities in Okinawa that are hosting U.S. bases.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 30, 2016

Dental clinic for patients with disabilities opens at Aichi health center

A dental clinic for people with mental and physical disabilities opened inside a health care center in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, in April. It aims to serve patients who find it difficult to visit regular dentists.
JAPAN / G7 ISE-SHIMA SUMMIT SPECIAL
May 25, 2016

G7 ministerial meetings

The G7 foreign ministers issued the “Hiroshima Declaration on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation” to reaffirm their commitment to creating a world without nuclear weapons, also naming Syria, Ukraine and North Korea as countries that may endanger that goal
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 23, 2016

What's mine is yours: build bridges by sharing cultures

Saying Japanese culture can only be experienced by the Japanese inhibits cross-cultural exchanges and ignores the fact that Japan has borrowed liberally from other cultures.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 23, 2016

With quake disruptions in mind, Aichi team working on flying car

Young automotive engineers working in the Mikawa district of Aichi Prefecture are developing a flying car.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 20, 2016

Japan to take in 150 Syrians as exchange students after criticism of harsh refugee policy

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announces Japan will accept 150 Syrians over five years as exchange students to help conflict-stricken Syria.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2016

How to tame North Korea

Pyongyang's belligerence is a complex geopolitical issue affecting regional security. It's time for new strategies to deal with the rogue state.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 16, 2016

Mie temple dog consoles bereaved families with novel trick

A chief priest of Chodenji, an ancient temple in Matsusaka, Mie Prefecture, has found a novel way to cheer up bereaved family members after a funeral using his pet dog.
Japan Times
JAPAN / FUKUSHIMA FILE
May 15, 2016

Fukushima river fish business plots revival after spotless tests

River fish distributor Yoshida Suisan in the town of Miyakoji, Fukushima Prefecture, is back in business shipping char, trout and rainbow trout for the first time in five years since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake kicked off the core meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
COMMENTARY / World
May 14, 2016

Germany's middle class is endangered, too

The middle class is shrinking in both the U.S. and Germany, but the reasons for the contraction tell a lot about the different priorities of the two societies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
May 13, 2016

World was a stage for acclaimed theater director Yukio Ninagawa

Acclaimed stage director Yukio Ninagawa was a titan of global theater but his hand felt astonishingly fragile when I shook it in delight in 2012 after the world premiere of "Trojan Women," which brought together a remarkable ensemble of Japanese, Arab-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli actors.
JAPAN / Politics
May 13, 2016

Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe apologizes but remains defiant in face of funds scandal

Yoichi Masuzoe insists his use of political money was legal even as he admits feeling embarrassed and vows to do better for his city.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 12, 2016

Hillary to Bernie supporters: don't vote for me

Confident that she has the Democratic nomination locked down, Hillary Clinton's surrogates are targeting Bernie Sanders devotees with a low-key sales pitch.
JAPAN
May 10, 2016

Tokyo warms to idea of reducing immigration hurdles for foreign housekeepers

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government considers asking the central government for special deregulated zone status so it can import foreign housekeepers.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
May 9, 2016

'I am not your minder,' and other mistakes made in North Korea

At least 130 foreign journalists traveled to Pyongyang to cover the first full congress of North Korea's ruling party in 36 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 9, 2016

Aichi town residents setting up mini libraries to get locals reading, chatting

Higashiura Town Central Library in Aichi Prefecture is working with local residents to build mini libraries in the town so that residents have more opportunities to read books. Through it, the effort aims to nurture a stronger community.
JAPAN / Politics
May 2, 2016

Systemic avoidance of political issues by schools keeps youth vote in the dark

Although 2.4 million teens will have a chance to vote in one of Japan's most pivotal elections ever, most are indifferent because politics is widely ignored in class.
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
May 2, 2016

Over 80% of non-Japanese residents aware of 'Big One' threat, but not all prepared: survey

A recent survey by the Nagoya Municipal Government revealed that more than 80 percent of foreign residents in the city are aware of the risks of a Nankai mega-thrust earthquake and the devastation it would bring to the area.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight