Search - life

 
 
EDITORIALS
Jan 23, 2011

Making sense of Tucson

There are times when the United States seems like a strange and distant place. That distance has seemed larger than usual in the aftermath of the shooting of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, an incident that claimed six lives and wounded 14 others. The reaction in the U.S. to that horrific incident...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 23, 2011

Is 'Galapagos-thinking' Japan back at its evolutionary dead end?

There are expressions that buzz like busy little bees and ones that don't buzz anymore. One of the dead-bee buzzwords in Japan is shimaguni konjo, meaning "island mentality." As for a buzzword for 2011, you'd be hard put to find one more busily doing the rounds than garapagosu, which references the Galapagos...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 23, 2011

An inside look at selection for Japan's Hall of Fame

When Hiromitsu Ochiai is inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame this coming summer, it will be a very convenient situation. As manager of the defending Central League champion Chunichi Dragons, Ochiai will also pilot the 2011 CL All-Star team, and the HOF induction ceremony will take place...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 22, 2011

German braumeister puts Otaru brewery on map

While Japan's major breweries continue to report flat beer sales amid an ailing economy, there is one Hokkaido-based beer maker that's brewing up a storm.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Jan 22, 2011

Arsenal likely to bring end to trophy drought

LONDON — The quadruple of winning the Premier League, Champions League, F.A. Cup and the League Cup has never been achieved in England.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 21, 2011

Okamoto's plot new album release before summer

After being courted by record labels while still in high school in Tokyo, inking a deal with Sony subsidiary Ariola Japan was an easy decision for Okamoto's.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 21, 2011

'Aki Sasamoto: Strange Attractors'

Take Ninagawa
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 20, 2011

J-REITs predicted to double down as bond spreads narrow

Japan's real estate investment trusts may double property purchases in the next fiscal year to ¥1 trillion by boosting bond sales amid the lowest borrowing costs in three years, Credit Suisse said.
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Jan 19, 2011

Japanese Web outlook and predictions for 2011

Last year saw many changes for Japanese Internet users as people began to shift from Japanese social networks to international ones, and from regular cellphones to smart phones. The international influence was felt in other web-based areas too. So what can we expect for 2011?
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
Jan 19, 2011

Resurgent Mao to lead strong team at Four Continents

Following last month's dramatic national championships in Nagano, where Miki Ando won her first title in six years and Takahiko Kozuka broke through for his inaugural victory in a major senior competition, Japan will send a loaded squad to next month's Four Continents Championship in Taipei.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 19, 2011

Paying respect to the Japanese toilet god

One of the mildly disconcerting surprises awaiting the foreign visitor to Japan is the sheer abundance and creativity of its toilet facilities, public and otherwise.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 18, 2011

Russian-held isles: So near, so far

On the morning of Nov. 1, Dmitry Medvedev became the first Russian leader to set foot on one of the four islands off Hokkaido seized by the Soviets at the end of World War II that Japan has long wanted returned.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 18, 2011

Deflation becoming notorious export

Deflation is so entrenched that companies are exporting it.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jan 17, 2011

Unusual souvenirs deliver Japan in a can

Looking for a one-of-a-kind Japanese souvenir? Good chance you might find it in a can.
EDITORIALS
Jan 17, 2011

Students feel heat of joblessness

Many soon-to-graduate university students have not yet found jobs. According to a survey by the education and labor ministries, as of Oct. 1, 2010, only 57.6 percent of university students scheduled to graduate this spring have secured jobs. The figure is a record low and below the figure of slightly...
COMMENTARY
Jan 16, 2011

Political biases trash lauded Ph.D. research

SEATTLE — Deepak Tripathi's most recent book, "Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism" (Potomac Books) raises several issues, both within and outside of its content. It is based on research for a doctoral dissertation that did not qualify.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jan 16, 2011

Japan's tribe of lonely people continues to grow

Results from Japan's national census last year are dribbling in and the reaction in the media often focuses on one pair of statistics: The number of households is increasing while population is declining, which means that there are a lot more single-person households than there were 10 years ago and...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jan 16, 2011

Ryal, Bannister join long list of family connections

The Yomiuri Giants announced Dec. 24 the signing of former Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Rusty Ryal, son of Mark Ryal who played in 1991 and 1992 with the Chunichi Dragons.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jan 15, 2011

Apache's Hill still learning about his players

During last week's four-game homestand, Tokyo Apache coach Bob Hill was given his first opportunity to speak at length to reporters about his team's state of affairs and offer general thoughts on his approach to this season.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jan 15, 2011

Authentic slice of Japan preserved in South Florida

The first two weeks of the new year are over, and Tom Gregersen, 61, is putting away the kine and usu, the traditional wooden mallets and mortars used in the mochitsuki (rice-cake pounding) event held as part of the O-shogatsu Festival at The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2011

Tax hike not question of if, just how

Working mother Gudrun Skuladottir appreciates her life in Sweden, where her two small children can receive a good education for free.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jan 14, 2011

More than words: Triune Gods' rap speaks volumes

Five years ago, Masayuki Yoshimoto found himself rapping at a gig in a Vancouver basement. Few of the crowd had ever heard of MC Sibitt, as he likes to be known, and even fewer could understand anything he was saying, but they seemed to appreciate it all the same. Afterward, one question kept coming...
Reader Mail
Jan 13, 2011

Americans should avoid lecturing

In his Dec. 30 letter, "Conceptions of rape, sexism differ," James Hicks chides me for making a statistical comparison of Japan and the United States in my Dec. 26 letter ("Statistically Japan does value life") "as though their history, culture and tendency toward liberalism were irrelevant." Mine was...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 13, 2011

Ground control, we have a fashionable lift-off

Jean-Paul Gaultier's space
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2011

Kan not a quitter, wife assures

Prime Minister Naoto Kan will not step down despite his low public support rate, his wife and "adviser," Nobuko, said Wednesday.

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