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July 05, 2025
 

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FESTIVALS

Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 20, 2019
Japan's summer festivals plan for a final party before Olympic fever hits
As Yo La Tengo once sang, "summer's what you make it," and that's especially true in Japan this year. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are likely to throw a major wrench (or should that be hammer?) in the works for next summer's festival calendar, so it's worth enjoying things while the going...
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 8, 2019
Stranger things: Weird ways to get festive in Japan
Men in straw capes wearing ferocious horned masks with gleaming eyes and long, pointed fangs stare down at a group of reporters. Others donning masks of a devil, monkey and a long-nosed tengu birdman squat as they pose for photographs during a news conference on Nov. 30 — the day after UNESCO added...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2019
Namahage demon festival of northern Japan grapples with blessing and curse of UNESCO listing
As a child, Tatsuo Sato was terrified when the Namahage demons roared into his house every year, but in adulthood he mourned as the centuries-old tradition faded away.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Oct 31, 2018
The death of a Japanese countryside festival
Ancient rites bend to an aging, shrinking population, but how much longer can local traditions hold out?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 22, 2018
Halloween in Japan: Make up, dress up — and hook up?
Halloween has become one of the coolest days on the calendar, and it's less about sweets for kids than it is an occasion for grown-ups to deck themselves out in costumes for all-night reveling.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 19, 2018
Firecrackers and reluctant authorities: New Delhi's smog set to worsen during Diwali
With a toxic smog beginning to envelop New Delhi as winter approaches, residents of the Indian capital are set to make matters a lot worse by burning hundreds of thousands of firecrackers to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali early next month.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Sep 8, 2018
200-year-old Mie puppet's neck on the line as whaling ban makes crucial part scarce
Onyudo is a giant kimono-clad, long-necked puppet that has been preserved by residents of the Nakanaya area of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, for more than 200 years.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 19, 2018
Japan's traditional festivals struggling with financial difficulties
Traditional festivals are having a more difficult time securing financing for their events these days.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 21, 2018
Over 9,000 people gather at Britain's ancient Stonehenge to greet longest day of the year
Wrapped in jackets and blankets, thousands of people gathered at Britain's Stonehenge for the summer solstice, watching the sun rise over the Neolithic monument and welcoming the longest day of the year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Apr 9, 2018
Let's discuss Easter in Japan
Compared to other imported festivals, Easter in Japan has never really taken off. But why?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Jan 28, 2018
Launch a tourist-friendly Seto Inland Sea ferry system and they will come
The 250 or so inhabited islands scattered like pebbles between Honshu and Shikoku have been unfairly relegated to guidebook sidebars labeled 'Off the beaten track.'
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2018
Traditional events to welcome Year of the Dog
For many city dwellers, the beginning of the year is a time to rest the body and the soul — be it at home or at an onsen (hot spring) resort — but for others, it's a perfect time to go out and enjoy themselves on the town.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE
Dec 17, 2017
What the world needs right now is more Kwanzaa
Although the celebration was designed as a Pan-African affair, its seven principles could benefit every one of us.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Apr 1, 2017
Easter in Japan shows signs of life as businesses tap the final festival frontier
Easter is one of the few major calendar events in the West that goes largely unnoticed here — until now, anyway.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 12, 2017
Sleepy Colorado town comes alive for Frozen Dead Guy Days
Every March the cryogenically frozen corpse of a Norwegian man breathes fresh life into sleepy Nederland, Colorado, where throngs of fun-lovers fill the streets for Frozen Dead Guy Days, a festival in honor of the town's most famous resident.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 26, 2017
Oldest Rio party kicks off as Carnival hits full stride in Brazil
Rio de Janeiro's famed Carnival bacchanalia hit full stride on Saturday as hundreds of thousands roared into the streets for one of the city's oldest and by far its biggest "bloco" street party, the Bola Preta.
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2017
Rural Japan's folk traditions fading as residents age
Traditions die hard in the small mountain town of Kanegasaki, whose history includes a series of battles nearly 1,000 years ago that drove an ancestor of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to leave the area for southern Japan.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 27, 2017
Beijing tells officials not to set off New Year fireworks to curb smog
The Beijing city government has told officials to lead by example and not set off fireworks or firecrackers to welcome the Lunar New Year on Friday to help prevent smog, after the city was blanketed in choking smog earlier this month.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 23, 2017
New Year's festivities in Japan ain't what they used to be
For one thing, it's too warm. Back in mid-century Tokyo, お正月 (o-Shōgatsu, New Year's Day) used to be so cold, according to my grandmother, that peoples' laundry froze on the 物干し竿 (monohoshizao, bamboo drying pole).
Japan Times
WORLD
Dec 23, 2016
After passing written exam, health check, Santa gets pilot's license renewed in the nick of time
Santa Claus has successfully renewed his commercial pilot's license, passing a written exam as well as a health check — despite high sugar levels — and is good to fly for Christmas, Canada's transportation department said Thursday.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
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