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December 07, 2025
 

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Patrick Parr
Patrick Parr is the author of three books, most recently "Malcolm Before X." He teaches at Lakeland University 91²Ö¿â campus in Ryogoku.
Bilal Karakus serves Turkish kebabs from his signature red truck in various locations around Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, as well as at festivals and events.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Nov 21, 2025
Bilal Karakus: ¡®Coming to Japan has broadened my palate¡¯
The owner of a Turkish food truck shares how he came to Japan and started his own business specializing in kebabs.
From left to right: Green Legacy Hiroshima volunteer staff Mariko Kikuchi, Tomoko Watanabe, Nassrine Azimi and Sophie Qano stand before one of the trees that survived the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
COMMUNITY / Issues
Aug 9, 2025
A campaign to preserve Hiroshima¡¯s historic trees for another 1,000 years
A total of 170 trees survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Since 2011, a nonprofit organization has been dedicated to sharing their seeds and saplings with the world.
Fawn Weaver's book ¡°Love and Whiskey,¡± out this month, is an engrossing narrative tracking the author's discovery of the truth behind one of the most popular whiskey brands in the world.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 30, 2024
¡®Love and Whiskey¡¯: A tale of how an obsession delivered a woman from grief
Through Fawn Weaver¡¯s efforts, bracketed within a personal tragedy, the true story of how Jack Daniel learned how to make whiskey from a Black slave comes to life.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 13, 2022
Chef Kiyoki Umeda dreams of 'Pretty Good¡¯ doughnuts
Don't let the humble name fool you ¡ª these doughnuts are serious business.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Mar 13, 2021
Bridging divides in the workplace with ¡®The Business of We¡¯
Business consultant Laura Kriska provides a roadmap for improving workplace communication in her book, which draws insight from her experiences navigating Japanese corporate culture.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 23, 2021
¡®Indian Migrants in Tokyo¡¯ sheds light on an overlooked community
There are currently around 40,000 Indians living in Japan and their stories, similar to minority groups in other countries, are often ignored or pushed aside. This lack of public awareness and representation can lead to cultural misunderstanding, or worse, discrimination.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jun 27, 2020
Bradford Smith's years in Japan influenced his writing career
For author and educator Bradford Smith, years in Japan inspired a lifelong fascination with the country that influenced his writing career.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 18, 2020
¡®Healing Resistance¡¯ review: Murder, reconciliation and a commitment to nonviolence
For the past 20 years, Japanese-American author Kazu Haga has taught the philosophy of nonviolence in schools, nonprofit organizations and prisons.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Aug 10, 2019
'The Bells of Old Tokyo': Present-day Tokyo explored through its historical soundscape
Anna Sherman's book, 'The Bells of Old Tokyo,' unveils a new way to look at 91²Ö¿â capital: A people-centric examination of its lyrical, historical soundscape and the people that populate its many unique residential neighborhoods.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS ABOUT JAPAN
Apr 27, 2019
'Mr. Straight Arrow' review: An overdue look at the life of journalist John Hersey
'Mr. Straight Arrow' is a refreshingly thoughtful biography about the reclusive journalist John Hersey, best-known for his novel 'Hiroshima.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 17, 2019
How Coretta Scott King brought her husband's message to Japan
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which this year falls on Jan. 21, is a federal holiday that marks the birthday (Jan. 15, 1929) of one of the United States' most-revered civil rights leaders.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2018
ICAN champions grass-roots efforts to persuade Japan and others to support a nuclear-free world
ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, has made significant progress in the last year, but according to core member Akira Kawasaki the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize winning coalition is just getting started.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jan 14, 2018
Japan still has much to learn from Martin Luther King's nonviolent struggle
Could Dr. King's nonviolent methods work in Japan, a country with a completely different relationship between government and citizen than in America?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Feb 8, 2017
Japanese who've studied in U.S. see nation changing for the worse under Trump
The election of President Donald Trump has changed the way many Japanese people who studied in the U.S. feel about their former host country.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
May 15, 2016
Rather than apologize, Obama should vow to halve the U.S. nuclear stockpile
What remains is that egregious, gaudy number: America's 7,000 nuclear weapons, a number that countries without nuclear arms see as a slap in the face.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Mar 2, 2016
Upon re-entry back home after expat life, brace yourself for turbulence
Survey of Japanese returnees suggests two divergent emotional journeys for those heading back home after a stretch abroad.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Dec 9, 2015
Young Abe: focused student, proud Mustang owner
Long before Abenomics or his first stint as prime minister, long before he'd risen through the ranks of the Japanese government, there was once a reserved 24-year-old young man who drove through the streets of Los Angeles in search of cultural illumination. It was 1978, and Shinzo Abe was a student at...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Sep 9, 2015
'MacDonald's,' the first English school in Japan, was its teacher's prison
The first unofficial English school in Japan was 'founded' in the late fall of 1848 in a prison cell in Nagasaki.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues
Sep 2, 2015
Tracing the emotional roller-coaster ride of life abroad
"Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving." ¡ª writer Terry Pratchett
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Aug 5, 2015
MLK's fears of nuclear devastation should continue to resonate
In a letter to Japan, Martin Luther King expressed a desire to visit the country and spread his message about the need for nuclear disarmament.
Trump security strategy demands more from Japan while unveiling ¡®burden-sharing network¡¯
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Oct. 28.
Spotlight shines on humanoid robots at Tokyo show
A representative from Noitom Robotics demonstraties remote robot operation at the iREX International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo on Friday.
Japan¡¯s bear-related casualties hit record on escalating attacks
Bear bells are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop at Shirakawa-go, a popular tourist spot and one of Japan's UNESCO World Heritage sites, in the village of Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, on Nov. 15.
Suspected ³Ù´Ç°ì³Ü°ù²â¨± masterminds in Tokyo-area robberies arrested
Takuya Saito, 26, is one of four men arrested by Japanese police on Friday on suspicion of masterminding a series of robberies in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Average price of rice in Japan hits new record high
In the week ended last Sunday, the average price of rice sold at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan rose by ?23 from the previous week to ?4,335 per 5 kilograms.
Trump security strategy demands more from Japan while unveiling ¡®burden-sharing network¡¯
U.S. President Donald Trump makes a speech aboard the USS George Washington aircraft carrier during his visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture on Oct. 28.
Will Takaichi bank on her high approval ratings to call a snap election?
While media polls show a high support rate for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s Cabinet, the support for the LDP is not as great, meaning there¡¯s no guarantee of a coattail effect if a snap poll is called.
¡®Black Box Diaries¡¯ is Shiori Ito¡¯s unflinching case for the truth
¡°Black Box Diaries¡± documents Shiori Ito¡¯s legal case, while also showing her thoughts and feelings through journal style videos she recorded herself.
Kashima or Kashiwa: J. League title chase goes down to the wire
Kashima's Yuma Suzuki (center) takes a shot during a game against Kashiwa in March.
2025 was the year Japan¡¯s box office returned
In 2025, ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and ¡°Kokuho¡± broke box-office records, while films such as ¡°Renoir,¡± A Pale View of the Hills¡± and ¡°Two Strangers, Two Seasons¡± garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year¡¯s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema¡¯s postwar golden age.

Podcast

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

Longform

Yumi Matsutoya began her decades-long career under her maiden name, Yumi Arai, but Japanese fans might know her better as ¡°Yuming.¡±
Yumi Matsutoya¡¯s human touch in an AI age
By Patrick St. Michel

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