Entrepreneur touts power to the people as cure for Czech ills
Tomio Okamura — whose mother is Czech and whose father hails from Niigata Prefecture — ranks as the third-most-popular politician in the country. That's hardly surprising, though, given his...
View ArticleWriter, translator, yoga instructor finds inspiration in ‘the voices that...
Leza Lowitz has shared the worlds of kamikaze pilots and their last letters to their families, published lesbian writings by contemporary Japanese poets, specifically sought out Ainu writers, and...
View ArticleCapturing the life and lives of Tokyo, one day at a time
Every day we presumably walk past about 2,000 or 3,000 people we don't know anything about," French photographer Cedric Riveau says. "But everyone has his or her story to tell. The post Capturing the...
View ArticleTELL vet helps cast net wider to reach kids, stop suicides
The Tokyo English Life Line has been providing support and counseling services to Japan's international community for 40 years. Vickie Skorji, the new director of the Lifeline hot line service, has...
View ArticlePutting down roots with Ryukyu Underground
Keith Gordon, the English half of the Okinawan fusion duo, has found his "spiritual home" on the southern island. The post Putting down roots with Ryukyu Underground appeared first on The Japan Times.
View ArticleWriter inducted into intricacies of country life shares her story
Home for Rebecca Otowa is a 350-year-old farmhouse nestled on the edge of a tiny village in Shiga Prefecture, where generations of her husband's family have lived. It is a lifestyle she has grown to...
View ArticleCook, writer, TV host, actress and more: Briton toasts eventful half-century...
Civil servant, cook, columnist and TV personality are among the hats Jill Sinclair Ito has worn during her 50 years in the country. The post Cook, writer, TV host, actress and more: Briton toasts...
View ArticleDrawing out the demons and dreams of Fukushima
Artist Geoff Read is currently focused on helping Fukushima's children articulate their hopes and fears. As he explains, "In my Strong Children Japan Project, the most important thing the pictures can...
View ArticleEducator with a mission sends out support from Hiroshima
Over the years, Adam Beck has been a children's theater director, an English teacher, a newspaper columnist and the co-founder of an arts-themed NPO to benefit young people. Currently he divides his...
View ArticleCoach serves up support for Japan’s budding tennis stars
Arriving in Japan in 1986, Colombia-born coach and player Rodrigo Hernandez brought with him a wealth of experience and expertise gained from working with and competing against some of the greats of...
View ArticleThree decades on, Tokyo bluesman is still rambling
"You can't go home again," but you can take a little bit of home with you wherever you roam. "Rambling" Steve Gardner does; a Mississippi roots and bluesman based in Tokyo, Gardner travels the world...
View ArticleAmerican tuna trader shares passion born in Tsukiji with the world
"I want to roll together the beauty of the history and culture of Japan into a quality tuna product and export that to the West," says American David Leibowitz. "I want the West consuming that and...
View ArticleStoried family-run toy shop ‘sells dreams’ to Tokyo tourists
"Continuing a small toy shop for five generations is a kind of miracle,” says Masaki Terao, 58, proprietor and purse-string holder at Toys Terao, which his family has been running on Nakamise-dori in...
View ArticleMother’s love helped actress overcome war, poverty and bullying to find fame...
Rescued from the rubble of a war zone as a young girl in Iran, 28-year-old Sahel Rosa has succeeded in carving out a career in Japan as a model, TV personality and actress. The post Mother’s love...
View ArticleThe lesson of the long-distance runner: ‘There are no impossibles’
Maickel Melamed was born with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck, and his parents were told he would not live long. Almost four decades on, Melamed has crossed marathon finishing lines in New...
View ArticleEarly joys, trials put potter on path to the simple life
Growing up with severe asthma, Australian Euan Craig was acutely aware of the fragility of life from an early age. His older sister inexplicably collapsed and was diagnosed with brain damage at the age...
View ArticleDahl still drawing on the joys and absurdities of expat life
For over 20 years, Roger Dahl has been making Japan Times readers laugh — and think — with his Opinion Page political cartoons and “Zero Gravity” comic strip, which pokes gentle fun at the foreign...
View ArticleTV personality Haruka Christine wants youth to get politically savvy
Regular viewers of Japanese TV may remember young Haruka Christine’s first appearances on the variety-show circuit in early 2010, when she had her fellow entertainers and audiences in stitches. Here...
View ArticleEx-refugee uses own experiences to help others
As a former refugee who was forced to leave his own country during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, Iranian-born Sena Vafa hopes to raise awareness about the plight of refugees here in Japan. Now a...
View ArticleHawaiian XLeague player Alo finds much that’s familiar in his adopted land
For most people around the world, football means just what the word suggests: a sport played primarily with the feet in which the ball is rarely touched with the hands. But there is, of course, another...
View Article
