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COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 4, 2013

How enlightened are you? — it doesn't have to be religion

We've all heard of enlightenment: awakening to the ultimate truth of life, usually achieved by relief from suffering. With the stresses of modern life — careers, love, family, Facebook — all that mental and physical pain, who wouldn't want to suffer a little less? Who wouldn't want enlightenment?...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 3, 2013

Ebizo rethinks kabuki's strategy

In the glitzy and gossipy world of Japanese celebrity, hardly a week goes by without revelations being made about — or made by — Ichikawa Ebizo XI.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2013

Melt-Banana: Being 'stupid' isn't so bad when it comes to touring

For Melt-Banana, the flip side of popularity overseas is that it is often regarded as a band who has never really lived up to its potential at home.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 2, 2013

Where there's a will: Attitudes toward inheritance change

Japanese baby boomers are facing up to the responsibilities of dying.
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 1, 2013

11 pieces of not-so-conventional wisdom on Obamacare

As we approach the Great Unveiling of Obamacare, Americans are going to see a lot of these talking points repeated as if they're facts. Most of the talking points are not dead wrong — they could be true. But they're considerably more uncertain than most pundits seem to think.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 29, 2013

American Dream fading for many in wake of financial crisis

Four years into an economic recovery in which most of the benefits have flowed to the top earners, a majority believes that the American Dream is becoming markedly more elusive, according to the results of a Washington Post-Miller Center poll exploring Americans' changing definition of success and their...
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 28, 2013

Camera artist casts new light on Jomon millennia

The Jomon Period of Japanese history is so shrouded in the mists of time that any bid to fathom its secrets stretches even the usual bounds of prehistoric archeology. Yet as amateurs and experts alike have continued unearthing examples of Jomon pottery and stone tools for more than a century, the pieces of the puzzle are gradually coming together.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 24, 2013

Japan losing competitive edge due to poor practical training, expert warns

There may be many unemployed young people in Japan, but there are also a lot of companies that can't fill their vacancies due to a shortage of talented applicants, Darryl Green, president of major staffing and workforce solution service company ManpowerGroup, said in a recent interview.
Japan Times
WORLD
Sep 22, 2013

Gun-violence victims often greeted by silence

The survivors took their places onstage from memory, because by now they knew exactly where to go. The shooting victims in wheelchairs entered first, rolling into the front row, wearing bracelets engraved with the words "Aurora," "Oak Creek" or "Virginia Tech." Behind them stood a dozen people in black...
Reader Mail
Sep 21, 2013

Tokyo needs better accessibility

Regarding the selection of Tokyo as the host of the 2020 Olympics: A lot of Japanese rejoiced to hear that Japan was selected to host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. While the mass media is highly likely to focus on facilities in which the games are supposed to be held, I think that a lot of...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 16, 2013

Fukushima and the right to responsible government

A responsibility-shirking government is ultimately the people's problem — and responsibility — just as much as the nuclear disaster and all the nation's other problems are, argues Colin P.A. Jones.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 3, 2013

Google crunches data on munching snacks in the office

Last year Google had an M&M problem. So, as it does with most dilemmas, the Internet giant put its data wizards into action.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2013

Chinese democracy gets help

Despite the 'Great Firewall,' that requires anti-block software to cross, the Internet has already facilitated a certain level of democratic development in China.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Aug 25, 2013

Mental health courts seek to treat, rather than jail

The charge was stealing a tow truck. The defendant was a baby-faced 27-year-old in shorts and a Chicago Bulls jersey. His hair was slightly matted, wrists cuffed in front, hands clutching a brown paper bag, demeanor slackened by anti-psychotic medications.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 25, 2013

On guard against worker betrayal

The debacle of Edward Snowden walking away with electronic copies of thousands of classified documents illustrates the challenge of trusting people in any organization.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 24, 2013

Long-gone writer tells it how it is

When Kenji Miyazawa was writing his stories and poems nearly a century ago, Japan was a country with a two-pronged mission: To become the first non-white, non-Christian nation to create a modern prosperous state — and to be the leader of an Asian revival.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Aug 16, 2013

Akiko Kuraoka's documentaries find fresh relevancy amid Fukushima crisis

For Akiko Kuraoka, filmmaker, lecturer and freelance French translator, films have always been her passion. Over a span of nearly four decades, Kuraoka has made three documentaries and is now deep into her fourth. Her films have dealt with chromium pollution, nuclear radiation, war, and the displacement...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 10, 2013

Seven years on, and everyone's itching for more

To date, including his all-male production of "The Merchant of Venice" that's set to run next month at Sainokuni Saitama Arts Theater outside Tokyo, Yukio Ninagawa will have staged 29 of the 38 plays attributed to William Shakespeare — and his ambition to direct the entire oeuvre remains undimmed....
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Aug 3, 2013

Toyohiro Akiyama: Cautionary tales from one not afraid to risk all

In December 1990, journalist Toyohiro Akiyama made headlines the world over when he blasted off aboard a Soviet rocket to become the very first "space correspondent" in history.
WORLD / Society
Jul 30, 2013

Pope's accepting comments on gays mark change in tone

In another act of the kind of humble outreach that has marked the early months of his papacy, Pope Francis called on Monday for the integration of gays into society, remarking that even as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, he has no right to "judge" gay people.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jul 29, 2013

There is more to my son than the fact he's a 'half'

For foreign residents, having a child in Japan can be a daunting prospect. Going to the hospital and trying to figure out what the doctor is saying in complex Japanese medical terms is just one of myriad trials.
EDITORIALS
Jul 25, 2013

Fair treatment of the disabled

The Diet enacts a law prohibiting discriminatory treatment of the disabled as well as obliging local governments to remove obstacles that disabled people face.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 23, 2013

Obama's toughest campaign yet: selling health care reform

Deep inside the White House, in a bare room that the chief of staff uses for meetings, David Simas is still thinking about turnout.
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2013

Short of wholehearted support

The LDP and Komeito parties should not view their Upper House election dominance, amid low voter turnout, as carte blanche to ramrod through pet policy lines.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 22, 2013

Standing up for a longer life span

Michael Jensen, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnessota, is talking on the phone, but his voice is drowned out by what sounds like a vacuum cleaner. "I'm sorry," he says. "I'm on a treadmill."
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jul 19, 2013

That's me in the picture: how 'selfies' became a global craze

It starts with a certain angle: A smartphone tilted at 45 degrees just above your eyeline is generally deemed the most forgiving. Then a light source: the flattering beam of a backlit window or a bursting supernova of flash reflected in a bathroom mirror, as preparations are under way for a night out....
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 15, 2013

If you fear missing out, don't panic, you're not the only one

Have you heard about FOMO — "fear of missing out"? Most common among the under-30 crowd, it happens when someone feels nervous about not attending social events, like that awesome party everyone else enjoyed last weekend.
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2013

Shuffling the books on nursing care

The health ministry's idea of having municipalities provide nursing care services to some elderly people could raise the costs of care while reducing its quality.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 1, 2013

Preposterous population forecasts for Africa

It's hard enough to see how the world can sustain another 4 billion people by 2100. The alarming figure is that three-quarters of that growth will be in Africa.

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