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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Apr 3, 2005

Ryu Murakami: Straight-talking wordsmith wields his pen like a sword

For nearly three decades since his seismic debut with "Almost Transparent Blue," which delved into the sex- and drug-fueled lives of Japanese youths in a town hosting a huge U.S. military base, author Ryu Murakami has often used his trademark explicit, offensive and guiltlessly cheerful language to dig...
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2004

Foreign workers at the gates

negotiations with South Korea and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan faces mounting pressure to open its labor market to foreigners. Among industrial nations, Japan has maintained the toughest exclusion policy toward foreign workers and remains extremely cautious. Japan should...
Japan Times
Features
Feb 8, 2004

Dawn of a tragic era

Across a waterfront park in the Shirahama district of Yokosuka, beyond a bronze statue of Admiral Heihachiro Togo, the 15,000-ton Mikasa, his flagship in the Battle of Tsushima (1905), is anchored in concrete -- its chrysanthemum figurehead golden in the winter light, the Rising Sun snapping at the stern....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 23, 2004

Risky North Korea rescue left unfinished

Desperate to save his sons and other relatives, a 56-year-old escapee from North Korea hatched a bold plan to free them by smuggling himself back into the country.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 14, 2002

No surprise tourism suffers

LOS ANGELES -- The government plan to privatize Narita airport in 2004 is welcome news to international travelers who know what good travel service is. The plan, which also includes a halt to building new airports, upgrading existing airports and improving customer service, could go a long way toward...
Japan Times
JAPAN / THROUGH THE DOOR
Nov 29, 2002

Reluctance to accept refugees draws fire

Since October last year, there have been at least 34 cases in which asylum seekers at immigration facilities purposefully injured themselves, with some even going so far as to attempt suicide, the Justice Ministry has admitted.
JAPAN
Jul 2, 2002

Asian students face slim job prospects

As the decade-long economic slump grinds on, non-Japanese Asians studying in Japan face diminishing job prospects amid language and cultural barriers, a lack of information, a hermetic corporate culture and competition from native students.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2002

Economic gloom just adds to illegal workers' plight

Practically every working condition endured by 36-year-old Sajidur Rahman during his 4 1/2-year stint at a Yokohama factory is illegal under the Labor Standards Law.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 26, 2001

Shaping the future:the politics of language

LANGUAGE PLANNING AND LANGUAGE CHANGE IN JAPAN, by Tessa Carroll, Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 276 pp., 40.00 British pounds (cloth) Most countries consider their official language to be an area of state responsibility requiring "planning" by government agencies or special institutions. Language, from...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 19, 2001

Biased history helps feed U.S. fascination with Pearl Harbor

SAN FRANCISCO -- Why does America continue to nurture a deep preoccupation with Pearl Harbor, 60 years after the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in Hawaii? The makers of Disney's blockbuster $135 million film "Pearl Harbor" said the movie is primarily a love story, but its title, climax and cinematic...
EDITORIALS
Apr 24, 2001

Mr. Lee comes with baggage

Former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui is now on a "private" visit to Japan with a visa the Japanese government issued after days of vacillation -- and with strings attached: Mr. Lee should stay in Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture, where he will get a medical checkup, and should not conduct any political...
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2001

U.S. warships not welcome in Hokkaido

While U.S. Ambassador Thomas Foley was receiving an award Jan. 9 aboard the USS Blue Ridge for his contribution to increased visits by U.S. naval vessels to Japanese ports, the mayor of Tomakomai, Hokkaido, was expressing opposition to a planned February visit to his town by the flagship.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2000

The sacrificed island's dream remains deferred

NAHA, Okinawa Pref. -- On Aug. 9, 1958, the entire nation was riveted to the first round of the National High School Baseball Tournament, which pitted Okinawa's Shuri High School against Fukui Prefecture's Tsuruga High School.
COMMENTARY
Apr 19, 2000

Skewed views of Obuchi par for the course

Memories are short. In 1998, most foreign media poured scorn on the choice of Keizo Obuchi to replace former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who had been forced to resign because of the weak economy and an election setback.
CULTURE / Books
Feb 8, 2000

The cat in the hat goes to war like that

DR. SEUSS GOES TO WAR: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel, by Richard Minear, introduction by Art Spiegelman. The New Press, 1999, 272 pp. To most Americans who grew up with Dr. Seuss' oddly, endearingly drawn critters and facile rhymes ("And then he ran out. / And, then, fast...
CULTURE / Books
May 18, 1999

Progress is fleeting in the fight for sexual equality

THE MOUNTAIN IS MOVING: Japanese Women's Lives, by Patricia Morley. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1999, 240 pp., $39.95 (cloth). The mountain is moving, according to Patricia Morley, but mountains are, by nature, difficult to budge, and this particular one is demonstrating a firm...
Social division and the polarization of the American political system are becoming more and more apparent.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 18, 2023

Where is the America I once knew headed?

The sociopolitical transformation I witnessed in San Francisco is not just a West Coast phenomenon, but perhaps a nationwide trend.
A parent pushes a baby stroller in Shanghai on April 2, 2023.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Nov 6, 2024

China's latest cry for more babies may fall on deaf ears

Events aimed at encouraging couples to marry and have babies were criticized for being regressive, disparaging toward women, and reinforcing gender roles.
In trying to govern AI, the U.N. and other institutions need an approach as dynamic, innovative and creative as the pursuit of the technology itself.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2024

We need effective governance to shape AI for good

How can we govern AI so that it serves the interests of humanity? Three key principles can guide the way for the U.N. and other actors undertaking this daunting challenge.
Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida take part in a news conference in September 2021 in the lead-up to the Liberal Democratic Party presidential race.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Nov 15, 2023

Takaichi makes another play to become the next PM

With the creation of a new study group, Cabinet minister Sanae Takaichi aims to build support for her bid for the top political job.
Since Waifu began, inclusivity goals have become more common in clubs across Tokyo.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 26, 2023

Queer clubbing moves beyond Ni-chome

Those looking for a safe space to party don't have to stick to one neighborhood in the capital.
Many countries including the U.S. and China are prioritizing domestic production and shortening supply chains to enhance economic self-reliance — but they are doing so at the  risk of fueling systemic instability and intensifying great-power tensions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2024

Economic self-reliance is a dangerous delusion

Countries around the world have given high priority to shortening supply chains, rebuilding domestic production capacity and diversifying suppliers.
While Nariaki Obukuro’s previous releases often included lyrics with specific references pulled from his own experiences, on “Zatto,” he’s stepping back to explore the joy and pain of the wider world.
CULTURE / Music
Feb 13, 2025

Nariaki Obukuro found his groove — just not on the dance floor

A J-pop insider’s shift to soul, reggae and flamenco reflects his personal growth, time spent in London and current events.
A couple enjoy the sunset in Seoul. The proportion of people getting married has declined worldwide, but it has plummeted especially far in South Korea.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Aug 21, 2023

Seeking love, with help from the city government

Singles are signing up for city-hosted blind-dating events in South Korea, but some point to their inability to address real issues with family planning.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington on Nov. 13.
COMMENTARY / World / The Year Ahead
Dec 31, 2024

Will the second Trump boom go bust?

Trump is inheriting a strong economy, but he faces a more challenging economic landscape than he did in his first term.
Smoke billows following Israeli strikes amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza, on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2023

Israel calls for all civilians to leave Gaza City

Israeli said it would operate "significantly" in the coming days and that civilians would only be able to return when another announcement was made.
A sign at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6
COMMENTARY / World / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 7, 2023

How AI fits into China's raft of global initiatives

The administration of President Xi Jinping has recently attached great importance to AI technology and is actively set on promoting it.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan