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November 21, 2024
 

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Hiroaki Sato

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Hiroaki Sato
A Japan Times columnist since 2000, Hiroaki Sato has won prizes for his translation of poetry (PEN American Center, Japan-US Friendship Commission). A paperback edition of his "Legends of the Samurai" has recently appeared. He is now working on a second collection of samurai tales with their origins.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 26, 2011
Strange how isolationist stance can ruin a politician's reputation
Perhaps because it's a round number, the 70th anniversary of Japan's assault on Pearl Harbor has given me the impression that more articles on it saw print than in the past, except for, as I recall, the 50th anniversary of the same.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 28, 2011
Learning to live with the builders of America
During one week this month, the drivers of four taxis that I took hailed from four different countries.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 31, 2011
Controversy is no stranger to Nobel Peace Prize
Earlier this month, when the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced its decision to award its annual Peace Prize to three African women — two Liberians and one Yemeni — Time magazine published online, on the same day, a list of the top 10 among "the most controversial moments in the 110-year history...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 26, 2011
Two 'systematic' acts of brutality and coverup
When Mark Hatfield, who had served as a U.S. Senator from Oregon for three decades, died in early August, obituaries noted that he was one of the first U.S. soldiers to visit Hiroshima not long after the atomic bombing of the city, and that experience led him to work for nuclear arms control later, after...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 29, 2011
'Gratuitous' bombing of a defeated enemy
The International Center of Photography recently had an exhibition, "Hiroshima: Ground Zero 1945," and I attended the panel discussion. This month 66 years ago the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 25, 2011
The self-inflicted costs of a 'war of choice'
In mid-July when Mumbai was attacked with three explosions, The New York Times carried photos of some of the bloodied casualties up front — at least in its online version — and I wondered: If the newspaper for "all the news that's fit to print" had carried photos of victims of American bombing and...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 27, 2011
Dealing with addiction to the 'war on drugs'
Earlier this month a spate of reports and commentaries came out on the failure of the U.S. "war on drugs," beginning with the Global Commission on Drug Policy flatly stating the war "has failed."
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 30, 2011
Bedfellows of those 'lax,' 'insular' Japanese
Are some of those who write for The New York Times utterly unaware of the rest of the world — including the United States?
COMMENTARY
May 1, 2011
The lowdown on sieverts and a healthy diet
Gastronomic habits are hard to change. That was conventional wisdom as regards Japanese food when I arrived here more than four decades ago. After all, back then, there were said to be only about a dozen Japanese restaurants in this city.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Mar 27, 2011
Don't destroy that invader, it was here first!
NEW YORK — Among the most recent invaders of the United States to be exterminated that I learned about is the red lionfish. Before that, the Asian carp got all the attention. About the time the carp scare was quieting down the yellow jacket — yes, the wasp — came forward as a heinous invader to...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Feb 27, 2011
Indefensible costs of military one-upmanship
NEW YORK — I was recently surprised to learn that Singapore has 72,500 troops on active duty and plans to double the number of "combat-ready aircraft" to more than 200. It also plans to have 10 more submarines to add to the four it has today. Or so the Wall Street Journal reported ("Asia's New Arms...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jan 30, 2011
Pushing the U.S. Constitution to the brink
NEW YORK — On opening day of the 112th session of the U.S. Congress, the members of the House of Representatives recited the U.S. Constitution. The Republican Party, now the majority, instituted the unprecedented step. The tea party instigated it.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Dec 26, 2010
Sexual politics and the veneer of free speech
NEW YORK — One intriguing story that has come to light as a result of the latest round of WikiLeaks revelations is, to use a somewhat dated term, the sexual politics in Sweden. I, like many, I'm sure, had assumed that Sweden is among the most sexually liberated developed countries. As it turns out,...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 28, 2010
Education profiteers and the public trough
NEW YORK — A college or university, especially of a private variety, may not be "an eleemosynary institution," as Sen. Sam Ervin, of the Watergate hearings, might put it were he alive, but the American insistence on free-market notions has brought the matter to the other extreme in higher education....
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Oct 31, 2010
Why does distance ameliorate a war crime?
NEW YORK — One aspect of the modern sense of war, be it delusional, duplicitous or both, was palpable in two articles paired at the top of the front page of The New York Times toward the end of September. The headline of one said "Drug Use Cited In Killings of 3 Civilians"; the headline of the other,...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 26, 2010
Where the osprey and the oxymoron play
NEW YORK — The United States sets aside an area larger than Japan for wildlife conservation. This is one of the things I found out as we spent two weeks this past summer at an isolated cottage on the Chesapeake Bay.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 29, 2010
No country for millions of Canada geese
NEW YORK — The State of New York plans to "gas" or otherwise kill 170,000 Canada geese to reduce the number from 250,000 to 85,000.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 25, 2010
The samurai who were let out of the box
NEW YORK — The Museum of the City of New York has an exhibition titled "Samurai in New York: The First Japanese Delegation, 1860." The "delegation" was the first embassy dispatched by Japan in more than a millennium. The previous one, in 838, went to the Tang Dynasty court to pay tribute to the Chinese...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jun 27, 2010
Still shy of reversion after all these years
NEW YORK — Just about the time Yukio Hatoyama resigned as Japan's prime minister, apologizing to the Okinawa people in tears, I was writing about the last day of Yukio Mishima's life — Nov. 25, 1970.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 6, 2010
Chaos will reign if hidden Buddhas die
"Hidden Buddhas," or hibutsu, are Buddhist statues that are kept out of sight, though only a few are kept so permanently. Most are put on display for worshippers at regular intervals: once or twice a year, once every several years, once every 33 or 66 years.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
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By Kathryn Wortley

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