At construction sites in Japan, security guards often look old and gray. Ditto delivery staff, taxi drivers, janitors. Despite low official retirement ages, more than 25% of over 65s still work
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Motoko Rich
@motokorich
リッチ 素子 NYT Tokyo bureau chief. Books, chocolate & coffee. She/Her richm@nytimes.com. Find me on Instagram
Motoko Rich’s Tweets
Excellent chat between and . My favorite nugget : John Prine had a concert tour contract rider that a local newspaper be delivered to him every morning. Support local journalism!
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Another perspective on the Miss Con phenomenon in Japan: contestants “diligently self-optimize for what society expects: superwomen with both brains and beauty.”
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US is increasing military presence in the Philippines, asserting the Southeast Asian nation’s role as a key strategic partner for Washington in the event of a conflict with China over Taiwan.
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Today's vocabulary
ひょうめんじょう
表面上
On the surface, superficially, ostensibly
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Setsubun is coming up. Make sure not to let kids under 5 eats the beans.
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Today's vocabulary
いしんでんしん
以心伝心
Telepathy, tacit understanding; thought transference; communion of mind with mind
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Just watched Kurokawa’s 1952 “Ikiru.” Still resonant today: stovepipe bureaucracy; endless paperwork; burdens of aging: finger pointing between agencies; even reference to rising sea temperatures. And the inspiration of making a rabbit for babies of Japan
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“a person can be deemed a recluse or misanthrope for merely declining to maintain a social media account — but any evidence of him engaging with society in even most banal way tends to inspire wonderment” Amazing profile of Anthony Kim
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Looking up a word and discovered this crucial addition to my vocabulary:
りっけい
立茎
propping up asparagus stems during cultivation
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Former Japanese PM Yoshiro Mori, who stepped down as president of Tokyo Olympic Committee after declaring women talk too much in meetings, now questions Japan’s diplomatic stance supporting Ukraine. "It is almost unthinkable that Russia will lose” he said
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California Governor Gavin Newsom: “I started writing ‘Monterey Park.’ Now I have to write in ‘Half Moon Bay.’ What the hell is going on here? It’s said, and it’s said all the time: Only in America.”
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We wrote about how rural voters effectively count more than urban voters in some prefectures
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Japan’s Supreme Court rules on voter malapportionment
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I can’t get enough of NHK’s visuals this morning. A Tupperware showing how cold it is- water froze!
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This is top quality NHK graphics
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Today's vocabulary:
ないふん
内紛
Domestic discord, internal discord; internal strife; internal struggle; infighting
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Ouch, Amazon's physical bookstores: "letting enthusiastic reviews be one of the selection criteria meant stocking self-published titles, some of which were pumped up with reviews by authors’ friends. These were not books readers wanted"
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Today's vocabulary
きょうき
狂気
Madness, insanity
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I am shocked by the news. I worked with her in Tokyo at the Paralympics in 2021 and agree with that she was caring and pushed for the right thing and always wanted to do right by sources and readers. RIP
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Sad to hear of the passing of Gwen Knapp -- such a smart voice for sports readers in Philadelphia and San Francisco for years, then internally as an editor with us at the NYT. Caring and thoughtful, she always pushed for the right thing.
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Got to enthuse about my favorite Aggretsuko, Decision to Leave, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and more
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Japan got there first, but now the population is shrinking in the world’s most populous country, too
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“ This is a supremely hopeful book, one that feels important because it shows that happiness, while not always easy, is still a subject worthy of art.” makes you want to read
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“Fumio, they like you!" President Biden said as press assembled for summit with Japan’s PM Kishida
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The new strategy represents latest step in Japan’s yearslong path toward building a more muscular military After decades of resistance to the idea, recent polls show that over half of the country now supports at least some military buildup
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For context: By asserting its own deterrent power, Japan could become less a U.S. military protectorate and more equal partner. That could help fulfill the desire of American leaders for Japan to serve as a stronger military counter to China
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In joint statement between US and Japanese foreign and defense ministers/secretaries, Japan puts budget increase and counterstrike in black and white
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Props to NHK weather team for keeping it analog
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I did not know Blake but I wish I had. This thread shows us what a great man he was.
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Numb. It's no exaggeration to call Blake a once-in-a-generation talent. The guy could do it all—write short and long, edit newsletters and mag cover stories, conceptualize features in the midst of a tweetstorm—and do it with excellence. But that's not what made him special. 1/
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RIP Blake Hounshell, talented colleague: ‘On Politics’ Editor. And deepest condolences to his family. My heart goes out to them.
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"My ideal partner would be a man who is actively involved in housework and childcare, but I have never met such a guy." -- woman in her late 20s, writing to Yomiuri Shimbun's Troubleshooter advice column
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Japan and its neighbors are already grappling with the consequences of an aging society, including elderly poverty and experiments with policy changes.
& spotlight the lessons Asia offers on how to respond to similar crises.
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Great to work with with photos by & Gilles Sabrié
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Li Man, 67, was forced to retire at 45 from a state-owned refrigerated warehouse in Beijing. She started her own business selling homemade dishes. “Going back to work made me less anxious,” she said. Now, she has back pain and high blood pressure. “Maybe it’s time to retire"
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Employers are adapting. Temp agencies serving older workers have cropped up. Some companies have raised retirement ages, built walking ramps or installed grip handles in trucks. With fewer young people and strict immigration laws, older workers are an important labor force
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Across East Asia, people are working longer. Sometimes it’s a good thing, reflecting longevity and good health. But often, it is about avoiding poverty. Yoshihito Oonami, 73, packs and delivers vegetables to restaurants. The work is not fun, he said. “But I do it to survive.”
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Japan is world’s oldest society, and what happens in workplaces here will ripple out as rest of the world ages. Companies desperately need older workers, who desperately need the work. With bloated pension rolls, governments are struggling to pay retirees enough to live on
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