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Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2019

Reiwa Era to open in wake of decades of tumultuous economic change in Japan

The Heisei Era began three decades ago with Emperor Akihito ascending the throne near the zenith of one of the biggest stock market bubbles in history. It's been punctuated by the triple hit of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown, the fall of tech icons and the rise of automotive giants, and...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 28, 2019

How 'laid back' Sri Lanka became a soft target for Islamist strike

A week ago, Sri Lankan tourist guide Ricky Costa was preparing for a typically easy Sunday ferrying backpackers between Colombo's tea shops and beach bars in his canary-yellow rickshaw. Then the blasts began.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / CHILD'S PLAY
Apr 28, 2019

Unko Museum: Nothing wrong with a little toilet humor

The Unko Museum, the world's first museum of poop, may be a flush of joy for kids, but is it fun for adults too?
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 28, 2019

Meeting the Reiwa Era's challenges

As we brace for the Reiwa Era, we must be ready to take on structural reform of the economy as well as administrative and fiscal reforms of a much larger and broader scale than took place in Heisei.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / ADOPT ME!
Apr 28, 2019

A family that found a blessing in Wenceslas

The beautiful Wenceslas was first featured in Adopt Me! in November 2017. He'd been rescued from the mountains of Yamaguchi Prefecture along with tens of other dogs.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 28, 2019

San Diego-area synagogue shooting leaves one worshipper dead, three wounded

A gunman walked into a San Diego-area synagogue crowded with Sabbath worshippers on Saturday and opened fire with an assault-style rifle, killing one woman inside and wounding three others in a hate crime carried out on the last day of Passover, authorities said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 27, 2019

Keeping up appearances in the workplace in Japan

Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Inc., which employs about 17,000 people, announced earlier this month it would allow office workers to come to work in jeans and sneakers. Factory workers in the company will still be required to wear uniforms and sales staff will still be expected to don business suits as per...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 27, 2019

Konbi: Offering a refined take on the classic konbini sandwich

Of the many konbini (convenience store) classics available on store shelves — from onigiri rice balls to ready-to-eat paper cups of fried chicken — you can't go wrong with the quintessential konbini sandwich.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 27, 2019

Yukio Mishima’s attempt at personal branding comes to light in the rediscovered 'Star'

In 'Star,' Yukio Mishima confronts issues of celebrity, youth and aging in hypercharged and manically subjective first-person prose.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 27, 2019

The unseen crisis of drug shortages

High costs plague American health care, but so do low costs: Life-saving generics can become so cheap that companies stop making them.
Reader Mail
Apr 26, 2019

Stop settling for appearance of achievement

Regarding the story "Medical school conducts roll call using facial recognition" in the April 13 edition, you can take a horse to water ... or in this case, you can force a student to sit in classes. But either way, if the water or the class isn't worth trying, it will come to nothing — the horse won't...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 26, 2019

Kurayami Matsuri: A long night of darkness, a long night of revelry

Past, present and future traditions collide at the centuries-old Darkness Festival at Fuchu's Okunitama Shrine, one of the oldest in the country.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2019

Japan grants first work permits under new blue-collar visa system to address labor crunch

Two permits were issued and similar visas are in the works for another 45 applicants engaged mainly in agriculture.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Apr 26, 2019

Instant Democratic front-runner Joe Biden's 2020 bid reshapes crowded White House race

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden entered the 2020 Democratic presidential field on Thursday as an instant front-runner, drawing momentum away from other leading candidates and putting new pressure on underperformers to find ways to stay relevant.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Apr 26, 2019

How China is replacing America as Asia's military titan

In 1938, in the midst of a long campaign to bring China under Communist Party rule, revolutionary leader Mao Zedong wrote: "Whoever has an army has power."
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 25, 2019

Journalist sues city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence by senior official

A journalist Thursday filed a damages lawsuit against the city of Nagasaki over alleged sexual violence during her newsgathering activities by a senior municipal official, who has since taken his own life.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / Heisei Icons
Apr 25, 2019

Junichiro Koizumi: Maverick reformer left Japan all shook up

Junichiro Koizumi is regarded as the most accomplished politician of the Heisei Era, according to one survey.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 25, 2019

Is a new era dawning for women in politics?

Last Sunday's local elections saw the largest number of female assembly and mayoral candidates being elected ever.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / VIEWS FROM THE STREET
Apr 25, 2019

Views from Tokyo: Do you have any plans for the extra-long Golden Week?

If you don't have any plans for Golden Week, what would you have done? And what do you recommend other people do?
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Apr 25, 2019

U.N. evacuates 325 detained African migrants as war reaches Tripoli

The United Nations refugee agency evacuated 325 African refugees on Wednesday from Qasr Ben Gashir detention center in southern Tripoli because of deteriorating security and escalating violence.
SOCCER / From the Spot
Apr 24, 2019

Vissel faces challenges after week of turmoil

Seven weeks ago, David Villa's first J. League goal in front of an enthusiastic home crowd led even the most cynical of observers to wonder whether this could be the year that perennial underperformer Vissel Kobe would finally put together a campaign worthy of its arsenal of European talent.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2019

Adding to Ghosn woes, Nissan slashes profit outlook to near-decade low

Nissan Motor Co. slashed its full-year profit forecast to its lowest in nearly a decade due to weakness in the United States, just as it adjusts to life without Carlos Ghosn and charts its future with alliance partner Renault SA.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 24, 2019

John McAfee vows to unmask bitcoin pioneer Satoshi Nakamoto within days

John McAfee, the eccentric antivirus pioneer known for his brushes with the law, said he has spoken with bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and plans to reveal the person's identity shortly.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos
Apr 24, 2019

Nobody's perfect, but an apology really helps at a Japanese company

What if you were doing something that drove your Japanese colleagues crazy, but you didn't realize it? Conducting seminars for Japanese businesspeople who work with people from other countries, I found a common theme that comes up every time I ask what behaviors of their foreign colleagues are hard for...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 24, 2019

'Lust in a Karaoke Box': Celebrating the joys of student life

When I taught at colleges here in the 1980s, I marveled at my students' freedom, including freedom from study. They could spend most of their waking hours at part-time jobs or club activities and still, somehow, graduate.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Apr 24, 2019

Ex-U.S. Marine accused in raid of North Korea's Madrid embassy ordered to stay behind bars in LA

A former U.S. Marine accused of stealing electronics from the North Korean Embassy in Madrid in a robbery of the diplomatic compound was ordered by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Tuesday to remain in U.S. custody pending possible extradition to Spain.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past