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JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 23, 2019

Leopalace21 scandal highlights the risk tenants face in Japan compared to building owners

The theme of the Nippon Television series "Shiawase! Bonbi Girl" (“Happy Poor Girls”) is one of the most resilient on Japanese television: People of limited means getting by. As the title indicates, the subject is young women and one of the regular segments, "Jokyo Girl," highlights a young woman...
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Feb 23, 2019

Artificial intelligence debate raises more questions than answers

"The human race, version 2" — a thought to inspire hope or fear, maybe a little (or a lot) of both. "We today," says Komazawa University economist Tomohiro Inoue, whose thought it is, "will soon be 'the former human race.'"
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 23, 2019

'Tokyo Ueno Station' shows the dark side of the postwar boom

In her new novel, 'Tokyo Ueno Station,' writer Yu Miri connects Japan's modern past with the homeless in Ueno Park, giving faces and voices to the dispossessed.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 23, 2019

'I was like a prisoner': Saudi sisters trapped in Hong Kong recall beatings

Two sisters from Saudi Arabia who fled the conservative kingdom and have been hiding out in Hong Kong for nearly six months said they did so to escape beatings at the hands of their brothers and father.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Feb 23, 2019

North Korea's Kim cites own children as reason to give up nukes: ex-CIA official

A former top CIA officer who took part in several meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said that Kim had voiced his sincerity to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about giving up his nuclear weapons by citing the burden that they would be for his children, media reports said Friday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 22, 2019

Hong Kong central banker Norman Chan to step down after a decade as China clouds outlook

Hong Kong's de facto central bank is bidding farewell to its chief after a decade, starting the search for a successor at a time when the city faces an outlook made uncertain by the slowing Chinese economy and the trade war with the U.S.
JAPAN / History / FOCUS
Feb 22, 2019

Crown Princess Masako: A symbol of Japanese women's struggles in a male-dominated society

When Rika Kayama attended a violin concert at a Tokyo music hall in February last year, she was stunned to find a certain famous face in the crowd.
Special Supplements / The Emperor’s 30-year Anniversary
Feb 22, 2019

Exercising goodwill in symbolic role

Emperor Akihito marked the 30th year of his reign on Jan. 7, and the government will be holding a ceremony on Sunday to celebrate this milestone. On April 30, after three decades on the throne, the Emperor will be the first living Japanese monarch in about 200 years to step down.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Feb 22, 2019

Family ties thwart Cambodia's efforts to tackle bride trafficking to China

Although a rising number of Cambodian women are being sold as brides in China, complaints and convictions are on the decline, with many victims refusing to speak out because their families are colluding with trafficking rings, a regional police chief says.
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Southeastern USA report 2019
Feb 22, 2019

A steadily growing partner for Japan

GEORGIA: Old, reliable partner
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Southeastern USA report 2019
Feb 22, 2019

Double milestone for NGK Ceramics USA

Since its founding in Mooresville, North Carolina, in 1988, NGK Ceramics USA has expanded more than 15 times over the last 30 years. One of eight subsidiaries in the Ceramics Products Division, the company makes ceramic substrates for catalytic converters, which clean the exhaust emissions of cars and...
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Southeastern USA report 2019
Feb 22, 2019

Lincoln County NC: Partnerships Done Right

Located just 40 minutes from one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, Lincoln County in North Carolina is among those low-profile investment areas across the United States that are becoming more visible in highlighting their advantages.
Japan Times
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Southeastern USA report 2019
Feb 22, 2019

True Southern hospitality in Conyers-Rockdale

Located less than half an hour drive from downtown Atlanta, Conyers is a small city that has benefited from its proximity to the state capital, the third-fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States. 
GLOBAL MEDIA POST / Southeastern USA report 2019
Feb 22, 2019

Charleston: Perfectly positioned for global business

Named the best city in the United States and Canada by “Travel + Leisure” magazine, Charleston in South Carolina is a popular destination for foreign investment. With more than 180 multinational firms operating in the region, the community currently ranks ninth among U.S. metro areas for foreign...
EDITORIALS
Feb 21, 2019

A court warns of bullying's grave consequences

The Otsu District Court's warning of the irreparable consequences of bullying needs to be taken seriously by all parties.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 21, 2019

Telling the musical story of Japan's ambient era

At the time, the Japanese music scene of the 1970s felt pretty flat to Daisuke Hinata. "But (then) Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) and Plastics came out, and we thought the market would open up for more new sounds," the Los Angeles-based musician tells The Japan Times. Along with three Japanese classmates...
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Feb 21, 2019

America bars entry of U.S.-born Islamic State propagandist held by Kurds in Syria, saying she isn't a citizen

An Alabama woman who joined the Islamic State group in Syria won't be allowed to return to the United States with her toddler son because she is not an American citizen, the U.S. said on Wednesday. Her lawyer is challenging that claim.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Feb 20, 2019

The onus is still on us to be black history

A few years back, I wrote a piece for Black History Month in which I challenged people of African descent living here in Japan to "be black history." I implored them not to necessarily dwell on the past but to: "Dwell on the now instead. Because everything you do now becomes history and herstory the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 20, 2019

'Another World': An uneasy reunion for old friends

While the jury at last year's Tokyo International Film Festival made some unimpeachable selections, it was left to viewers to supply the biggest surprise of the event. "Another World" was an unexpected choice for the Audience Award, which typically goes to more comedic fare in the vein of 2017 winner...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2019

'The Affluent Society' revisited

John Kenneth Galbraith expected more prosperity than was delivered.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 19, 2019

Churchill was more villain than hero in Britain's colonies

His record in the British Empire more closely resembles that of a war criminal than a defender of democracy and freedom.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Feb 18, 2019

World's masterpieces cast in Shigaraki ceramic at museum in Shikoku

The Otsuka Museum of Art in Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, drew a lot of attention last year when popular singer-songwriter Kenshi Yonezu held his first live TV performance there on Dec. 31 for NHK's year-end "Kohaku Uta Gassen" ("Red and White Song Battle") music contest.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Feb 18, 2019

Corporate governance is improving, but not by enough

Poorly run companies are under international and domestic pressure to adopt global standards of capitalism.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Feb 18, 2019

Japan bolsters steps to aid non-Japanese in event of a quake

This Japanese news article introduces vocabulary that has to do with disaster preparedness, a topic we should all know a little more about.
LIFE / Digital / ON: TECH
Feb 17, 2019

Home and life improvements

Keep the pets happy, clean the apartment in style and walk for your money. On Tech looks at home tech with a little extra something.
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 17, 2019

Whitewashing racial bias: The ball's in Japan's court

In what felt something like a case of deja vu from last year's Masatoshi Hamada blackface fiasco, Japan welcomed in 2019 with yet another racially insensitive controversy, this time in the form of an ad from food company Nissin.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 16, 2019

Embracing a buraku heritage: Examining changing attitudes toward a social minority

When Chie Takaiwa struck up the courage to reveal a family secret to her colleague some years ago, she was met by an unexpected response.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 16, 2019

Are press activities being undermined in Japan?

The Foreign Ministry ordered freelance journalist Kosuke Tsuneoka to surrender his passport after he tried to leave Japan on Feb. 2 for Yemen, which is in the midst of a civil war. The ostensible reason for the order is that Tsuneoka in January attempted to travel to Yemen through Oman, which refused...
BUSINESS
Feb 16, 2019

Japanese comedian Teruyoshi Uchimura and TV presenter Asami Miura top ideal boss rankings

Japanese comedian Teruyoshi Uchimura topped the list of this year's ideal male bosses selected by new graduates set to start working this spring, an annual survey by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. has shown.

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