Search - things-to-do

 
 
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2001

New Komeito joins call to lift freeze on peacekeeping forces

The leader of New Komeito said he does not object to a view expressed by Taku Yamasaki, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, that the freeze on Japanese participation in U.N. peacekeeping forces should be lifted.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2001

Can Koizumi turn popularity into power?

Looking at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's popularity and its spillover effect on the Liberal Democratic Party, one has to be impressed. Recent highly popular actions, such as the prime minister's decision not to challenge a court decision awarding compensation to leprosy victims, only add to the...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / PERSONALITY PROFILE
Jun 2, 2001

Glen S. Fukushima

"To me, the U.S. and Japan are fascinating, as they stand at polar extremes in the way their societies are organized. Philosophy, culture, history set Japan apart from other industrialized countries, especially the U.S. Having spent many years in both the U.S. and Japan, I enjoy assisting the two peoples...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 1, 2001

New Zealand tailors defense to real needs

Some Kiwis can fly -- very fast. But the New Zealand government wants to clip their wings.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2001

Romance, danger lurk in e-mail personals

Upon meeting her 28-year-old date, "Koneko" found him to be as cool as she had imagined from his countless e-mails.
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Jun 1, 2001

Japanese rat snake

* Japanese name: Aodaisho
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2001

Koizumi urges adoption of 'e-voting' in local polls

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged a government information technology panel Thursday to consider ways to introduce electronic voting in local elections, officials said.
COMMENTARY / World
May 31, 2001

Smokers' deadly paradise

For Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Hal Boyle, it wasn't too difficult to tell a man from a woman. "If it always offers you a cigar, it's a man," he quipped. "If it always is asking for a cigarette, then waits for a light, it's a woman."
JAPAN
May 31, 2001

Tobacco industry 'Insider' takes his campaign to Japan

Educational and grassroots activities will be crucial if Japan is to successfully reduce the nation's relatively high number of smokers and incidence of lung cancer -- one of the leading causes of death in this country, said scientist and tobacco educator Jeffrey Wigand.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 31, 2001

Drop your drawers and give me 20 (ml, that is)

Mark Heppelle is a 37-year-old Canadian currently living in Japan with his wife and two kids where he runs a small English school. But that's not his only source of income. Heppelle also has a rather unique sports-related job, the results of which can be seen almost daily on sports pages across the globe....
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 30, 2001

'Exciter': Depeche Mode

With a name like a dubious aphrodisiac jelly, "Exciter," the latest effort by the ever-boyish Depeche Mode, promises more of the "pervy" lyrics and electronic pop/rock that has seen it sell 50 million albums since the early '80s.
CULTURE / Art
May 30, 2001

How a legend is born

Born Lenny Hilton McGurr, he first picked up a spray can in 1970, aged 15. An only child from a lower-middle class Manhattan home, graffiti provided him with "a solution to my identity crisis" -- a crisis brought on by the news he was adopted.
CULTURE / Art
May 30, 2001

From darkness into light

At the turn of the 20th century, Odilon Redon (1840-1916) was one of the most intriguing and original painters in Paris, and his subject matter, the timeless world of myths and dreams, has ensured he is not forgotten. With the current exhibition of his works at the Odakyu Museum in Shinjuku, the curators...
COMMENTARY
May 30, 2001

Monarchy makes a comeback

LONDON -- The Crown Prince of Japan visited Britain last week and was warmly received all round.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2001

Fast track eyed for easing capital-gains tax

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Monday he wants to accelerate the schedule for simplifying the capital-gains taxes on stock sales.
MORE SPORTS / THE DUKE OF HAZARDS
May 29, 2001

Olazabal marching toward spot on Europe's Ryder Cup squad

This is the time of year when the world's top pros expect their game to start clicking. Three of the four majors on the golf circuit come up in a short space of time.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
May 28, 2001

Progress made in how Japan sees Korea

The latest instance of textbook controversy has reminded me of the changing descriptions in the entry on Korea in different editions of a well-known Japanese-language dictionary. Reports have it that the South Korean government was so upset by a certain textbook that its protests brought on a diplomatic...
COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE
May 28, 2001

Time for Bush to test his healing powers

Washington is not in an area normally vulnerable to earthquakes, but on Tuesday, the earth began to shake all over town. The epicenter of the quake was up on Capitol Hill; specifically, in Suite 728 of the Hart Senate Office Building, the office of Sen. James Jeffords, the junior senator from Vermont....
JAPAN
May 27, 2001

Roland creator follows his own tune to international success

OSAKA -- From its humble beginnings almost 30 years ago, Roland Corp. today is one of the world's top electronic musical instrument manufacturers. In fact, nearly any musical performance features the ubiquitous brand name somewhere on stage.
EDITORIALS
May 27, 2001

When borders are better

Aliens come in many guises. There is the extraterrestrial kind, variously envisaged over the years as little green men, wrinkly creatures homesick for their own planet, curious kidnappers and genocidal invaders. There is the human kind -- people who fetch up in some foreign country and find themselves...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
May 27, 2001

Cosmetics companies give themselves a makeover

Truth in advertising has never been a strong concept in Japan, but no one flouts it as boldly as the cosmetics industry, which is understandable, since makeup itself is a form of deception. One company's antiwrinkle cream is said to "prevent aging," an obvious impossibility, while the manufacturer of...
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2001

Charting a course as wide as the region

To understand the logic that is driving the Bush administration's redesign of U.S. military strategy, overlay two maps. The first focuses on wealth and population. It highlights Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, some of the world's richest and most important trading nations. China, India and...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
May 26, 2001

Job-hunting tips for the nation's students

Japan's unemployment rate is the highest ever in the postwar era. This is especially bad news for students, who are finding it difficult to find jobs upon graduating. But don't despair, students, deep down the bubble economy is still bubbling! Japan is still paying people to do jobs that don't even exist...
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2001

Can Tanaka fulfill her duties?

The words and actions of Makiko Tanaka, who made a dashing entry onto center stage as foreign minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, are attracting attention from various quarters for various reasons.
JAPAN
May 24, 2001

Energy initiatives at local level stressed

YASU, Shiga Pref. -- Initiatives by local governments in cooperation with residents are indispensable in cutting power consumption and promoting renewable energy, Takeshi Wada, a professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, said Wednesday at the opening of a meeting of local governments pushing green...
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
May 24, 2001

Perez is talking the talk in Japan

All it took for Eduardo Perez to learn the names of his Hanshin Tigers teammates was one embarrassing moment.
CULTURE / Film
May 23, 2001

Director shoots close to home

Director Toshiaki Toyoda recently took time to talk to me about his "Unchain," his new film about four young boxers in Osaka.
CULTURE / Music / HIGH NOTES
May 23, 2001

'If You Happy With You Need Do Nothing': Alfie

In Britain, "slow-fi" (that's one of the terms being bandied about) is the new rock 'n' roll. It's a genre of music that is, yawn, perfect for dropping off to sleep to. That doesn't mean it's boring, it means it's slow acoustic guitar music made by people glued to stools who are probably majorly into...
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2001

Begrudgingly, Bush endorses dialogue

SEOUL -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's meeting with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung last week clearly signaled that the United States will renew bilateral negotiations with North Korea, affirming similar assurances given by Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly at his April...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat