author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 16, 2024
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access
Roger Pulvers

Meta

Roger Pulvers
Roger Pulvers is an author, playwright, theater director and translator who divides his time between Tokyo and Sydney. He has published more than 40 books. His latest book in English is "The Dream of Lafcadio Hearn."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 13, 2008
Self-praise abounds in the pages of wheeler-dealers' own obituaries
Japanese politicians are known for their perseverance and ingenuity, and the Diet may well be the last place in the country still offering lifetime employment.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 6, 2008
Was the Japanese language influenced by Tamil? The war goes on
For years I have been watching from the sidelines as the opponents battle it out. For the players this fight will go on and on, and the theater of war is right here.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 29, 2008
286 reasons to reflect on a Japan long gone, but worthy of reflection
I recently gave a talk on Japanese culture to a group of foreign students at Tokyo Institute of Technology. They hailed from a variety of places, including Scandinavia, the United States and Asian countries. I began by asking them to give me a keyword or two that they thought characterized Japanese life...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 22, 2008
Has Japan's dogged idealism of '68 become truly poodled?
On June 7, The New York Times' op-ed columnist Bob Herbert wrote an intriguing piece about the United States in 1968, recalling the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy exactly 40 years ago, and also referring to Sen. Barack Obama clinching the 2008 Democratic Party nomination for the presidency.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 15, 2008
Nuggets of 'wisdom' can speak volumes beyond what's said
"Biting Comments, Curious Statements and Famous Misstatements" is the headline on the lead article in the June 5 issue of the popular Japanese weekly magazine Bungei Shunju. It features dramatic ejaculations of famous politicians, sports figures and entertainers, among others.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 8, 2008
When it comes to the crunch, remaining neutral isn't an option
When a nation is living through a crisis, whether its citizens like it or not, it becomes a crisis of conscience for every individual.
COMMENTARY / Japan / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 1, 2008
Is aging Japan really ready for all the non-Japanese carers it needs?
One of the cliches most bandied about in the Japanese business world is yareba dekiru. An English equivalent might be the title of Jamaican reggae star Jimmy Cliff's great 1972 hit, "You Can Get It If You Really Want."
LIFE / Language
May 27, 2008
Mastery of kanji takes time to build, just like Rome
If you want yuyujiteki no seikatsu wo suru, to live the life of Riley, in Japan, then you should learn as many four-kanji expresssions as you can. (Yuyujiteki implies living in unsurpassed comfort for the rest of your days, an admirable goal if there ever was one.)
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 25, 2008
St. Petersburg, where a morose spirituality brings forth poets
In Petersburg we will come together again As if we had buried the sun there. — Osip Mandelstam What city in the world can boast as many great poets and novelists as St. Petersburg? Pushkin, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Blok, Akhmatova, Mandelstam, the Bohemian Kharms, the satirist Zoshchenko, Brodsky (the...
LIFE / Language
May 20, 2008
Wielding four-kanji phrases surest way to fluency
You may give yourself heart and soul to something, being focused and determined. Yet, you fail and you have no one to blame but yourself. Well, perhaps it's no consolation, but you can at least learn how to express what happened to you in Japanese.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 18, 2008
Japan affords translators an elevated status not found elsewhere
Here's a little quiz for you.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 11, 2008
Alma mater addresses wartime treatment of its Japanese-Americans
When it comes to making amends, it's never too late. If there were a single principle to guide us in our relations with others — either on a personal or a broader scale — it would be this.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 4, 2008
Japan's media plays nursemaid to nation's immature democracy
A major Japanese newspaper publishes an article denouncing the prime minister. Reporters hold a rally to criticize his Cabinet. The government responds by banning sales of the edition of the newspaper that carried the article, indicting its author for violation of the Newspaper Law. Rightwing agitators...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 27, 2008
Hail and farewell to the world's greatest 'Good Gringo' U.S. president
On April 1, the widely read History News Network (HNN) Web site announced the results of a survey it conducted among historians.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 20, 2008
'Bone Man' bears lifelong witness to the ugly brute of war
Tell me, where is the glory in war?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 13, 2008
Landmark case spotlights 'Japanese-style nationalism'
"The most critical thing for us Japanese in the 21st century is to free ourselves from Japanese-style nationalism, both politically and culturally." So said author Kenzaburo Oe to me in the autumn of 1995, a year after he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 6, 2008
Are Japanese people ready for 'change they can believe in'?
Sometimes journalists ask themselves questions that appear to border on the absurd. Here goes one of them.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 30, 2008
Ireland: From the quintessence of reaction — to what?
Second of two parts
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 16, 2008
Ireland wrestles with a plethora of polemics
First of two parts
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 9, 2008
Surely it's time for Japanese to stop being so parochial
Second of two parts
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals
Exploring Japanese culturevia Tohoku’s festivals

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER