51³Ô¹ÏÍø

author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 24, 2026
 

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Motoko Rich
Midori Kato has been voice acting the character Sazae Fuguta in the TV animation series "Sazae-san" since it started in 1969.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming
Dec 30, 2024
Still sounding young at 85, Midori Kato is the voice of old Japan
The voice actor is the last original member of the cast of ¡°Sazae-san,¡± a cartoon series that premiered in 1969 and never quite joined the modern world.
Japan has been trying to boost its fertility rate for 30 years and now the rest of the rich world is, too.
WORLD / Society
Oct 14, 2024
Can the government get people to have more babies?
The number of babies born in Japan last year fell to the lowest level since the government started collecting statistics in 1899.
Ngun Nei Par, the general manager at Ginshotei Awashima in Numata, Gunma Prefecture, graduated from a university in Myanmar with a degree in geography.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
Aug 6, 2024
Japan needs foreign workers, but it might not want them to stay long
Japanese politicians remain reluctant to create pathways for foreign workers, especially those in low-skill jobs, to stay indefinitely.
Sony employees simulate the physical sensations of pregnancy at the company¡¯s headquarters in Tokyo in February. The simple power of numbers can begin to remake workplace cultures, but many Japanese women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Society
May 8, 2024
It took decades, but Japan¡¯s working women are making progress
Employers have taken steps to change a male-dominated workplace culture. But women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
Cars and homes destroyed by a Russian missile that fell between a residential building and a public preschool in Kyiv on Dec. 13, 2023. In January, the White House said it had evidence that North Korea had provided ballistic missiles used by Russia.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 6, 2024
A Russian bank account may offer clues to North Korean arms deal
Russia has allowed the release of $9 million in frozen North Korean assets from a Russian financial institution, according to intelligence officials.
Alpha Tauri's Yuki Tsunoda is the first Japanese driver in Formula One since 2014.
MORE SPORTS / Auto Racing
Sep 30, 2023
Foul-mouthed Yuki Tsunoda becoming cult star in Formula One
Tsunoda¡¯s foul mouth and devil-may-care attitude have inspired a cult following and an international appeal.
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 22, 2023
As Rahm Emanuel pushes Japan on gay rights, conservatives bristle
The U.S. ambassador has enthusiastically embraced his host country. But critics say he has overstepped diplomatic bounds with his advocacy on equality.
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 18, 2023
The religious right¡¯s hidden sway as Japan trails allies on gay rights
As a G7 summit nears in Hiroshima, Japan is under pressure to show greater support for equality. A national Shinto group has spread a more hostile message.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Apr 22, 2023
A Japanese island where the wild things are
From badgering nuisances to downright evil forces, y¨­kai fill some of the most colorful corners of Japanese folklore. These artists are dreaming up even more.
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jan 8, 2023
As Asian societies age, ¡®retirement¡¯ just means more work
Across East Asia, populations are graying faster than anywhere else in the world, and while younger generations shrink, older workers are often toiling well into their 70s and beyond.
Japan Times
LIFE
Nov 28, 2022
Beauty over brains: Japan¡¯s skin-deep university pageants
The contests perpetuate a culture that often places women in rigid gender roles, and have seen some contestants face abuse and harassment from organizers.
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Jul 3, 2022
Japan¡¯s secret to taming the coronavirus: peer pressure
The country has never mandated masks or vaccinations, but it¡¯s evaded the worst of COVID-19, thanks to a fear of public shaming and the ¡°self restraint police.¡±
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2022
Filmmaker Chie Hayakawa imagines a Japan where the elderly volunteer to die
The premise for Chie Hayakawa¡¯s film, ¡°Plan 75,¡± is shocking: a government push to euthanize the elderly. In a rapidly aging society, some also wonder: Is the movie prescient?
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 19, 2022
Katsumoto Saotome, who preserved memories of Tokyo firebombing, dies at 90
He compiled six books of survivors¡¯ recollections of the 1945 attack. He also founded ¡ª without government support ¡ª a memorial museum.
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
May 5, 2022
Japan says it needs nuclear power. Can host towns ever trust it again?
The decision to restart plants is fraught with emotions, not to mention the gargantuan technical task of fortifying the stations against future disasters in an earthquake-prone nation.
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø
Nov 22, 2021
A new source of fuel in an aging Japan: adult incontinence
Waste from adult diapers is growing by tens of thousands of tons a year in Japan. One town may have a solution: recycle it into fuel pellets.
Japan Times
51³Ô¹ÏÍø / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2021
Japan faces big problems. Its next leader offers few bold solutions.
The country¡¯s governing party, with a stranglehold on power, bucked the wishes of the public to select a moderate mainstay.
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS
Sep 6, 2021
Taekwondo¡¯s Paralympic debut showed the sport¡¯s democratizing effect
The sport does not require expensive equipment or large training facilities, and even saw the participation of one of Afghanistan¡¯s two Paralympians.
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS
Sep 4, 2021
Disabled Japanese are often invisible. Will Paralympics bring lasting light?
Tokyo improved its infrastructure before the Games, but activists wonder how long the focus will continue in a country with a long history of excluding people with disabilities.
Japan Times
PARALYMPICS
Aug 31, 2021
How two Afghan Paralympians defied the odds to get from Kabul to Tokyo
Their evacuation and eventual arrival in Japan involved multiple stops and many helping hands.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Low-income families in Japan cut food and air conditioning during summer break
Yumiko Watanabe, the chairperson of nonprofit Kidsdoor, explains the results of a survey in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on July 1.
Iran strikes on CIA facilities prompt questions about possible Russian role
Iranian drones are displayed in an undisclosed location in Iran, in this handout image obtained on Jan. 13, 2025.U.S. officials have acknowledged that Russia has ?provided targeting ?and other support for Iran in its drone strikes on U.S. targets in the Persian Gulf region.
Intervention is the word after yen moves beyond ?163 and sits there
The government could prop up the yen at any moment, though its signaling is hard to read.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.
The 180-day locals: Life on Japan¡¯s digital nomad visa
Christopher Flinn works remotely from Tokyo earlier this month. Japan issued 646 digital nomad visas in 2025, but tourism officials are hoping to increase that figure in the coming years, with Japan's relatively cheap cost of living and the weak yen seen as potential draws for young professionals.
Japan reveals hint of new defense spending target in fiscal blueprint
The Self-Defense Forces' Type 16 mobile combat vehicle fires during a joint live-fire drill with U.S. Marines as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita Prefecture, on June 28.
Summer has arrived in Japan and so have hot sleepless nights
Amid the heat and humidity in Japan, a good night¡¯s sleep is growing increasingly elusive without the heavy use of air conditioning.
Maya Ongaku¡¯s DIY dream is getting bigger
The members of Maya Ongaku ¡ª (from left) Tsutomu Sonoda, Shoei Ikeda and Ryota Takano ¡ª grew up on the Shonan Coast south of Tokyo and have been friends since their school days.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE 51³Ô¹ÏÍø

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER