Search - things-to-do

 
 
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 9, 2010

Kings face uphill fight to retain title

The Ryukyu Golden Kings have faced plenty of adversity this season. Losing shooting guard Shigeyuki Kinjo and big man Jeff Newton, the league's regular-season and playoff MVP last season, for significant chunks of time, has tested the team's resilience and competitive spirit.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Apr 8, 2010

Japan outclassed by Serbia

OSAKA — Japan's World Cup preparations took another heavy blow after being outclassed by a second-string Serbia in a 3-0 defeat on Wednesday night.
JAPAN
Apr 7, 2010

U.N. rights rep has bone to pick

Jorge Bustamante, U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of immigrants, has concluded his Japan visit and takes with him a sense that the government lacks a system to curb discrimination and better protect the human rights of foreigners.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 6, 2010

2channel's success rests on anonymity

The nation's largest online forum, 2channel, draws millions of people ranging from the benign to the malignant, from police hunting criminals to politicians and corporations keeping their ears to the rail of public opinion.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Apr 6, 2010

Yakushima keeps expat busy as a bee

Long-term residents of Japan might remember the name Rainer Kaminski. In 1985 he made headlines as the first Westerner to become a taxi driver in Tokyo.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 2, 2010

Old meets new at Art Fair Tokyo

So you like art? That's great — but I'm afraid you're going to have to be a little more specific. That's because — in Japan — you can't just like art. You have to like a certain type of art: old art, for instance, or contemporary art, yoga (Western-style) or nihonga (Japanese-style) painting. There...
Japan Times
BASEBALL / HIT AND RUN
Mar 30, 2010

Time ripe for Fighters, Eagles to make moves in bullpen

There are fewer things more frustrating to baseball managers, players and fans than watching a lead slip away in the ninth inning.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 27, 2010

Spring arrives with big black belching fires

As it gets warmer on Shiraishi Island, the old ladies sit out on their porches to warm themselves in the sun. There is renewed activity on the port as 83-year-old Man-chan scurries around his party tent, taking down Christmas lights and decorations.
COMMENTARY
Mar 26, 2010

Pedophile-priest coverup transcends 'secular' belief

LONDON — The Biblical advice "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" is generally taken to mean that people should recognize the authority of the state in secular matters, but that is not necessarily what Jesus meant by it. It is certainly not the...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 26, 2010

Back to those gold soundz

Last fall, when the American rock band Pavement announced it would reunite for a series of concerts in New York's Central Park one year hence, nobody seemed surprised. Though the group stopped touring and recording 10 years ago, it never officially called it quits. The feeling was that Stephen Malkmus,...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2010

Let 'occupation tax' make the settlers pay

CAIRO — Arab intellectuals and policymakers have often accused Europe of using financial generosity to cover up its political impotence over the Arab-Israeli conflict. If Europe is to be taken seriously as a global player, they argue, it must also flex some muscle when it delivers the money.
Japan Times
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Mar 21, 2010

Lions DH Brown still gets thrills on Opening Day

TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. — As far as debuts go, it doesn't get much better than this.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Mar 21, 2010

Joho's passion gives Lakestars a real boost

Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Mar 20, 2010

American gomi yashiki

I was recently asked by a Japanese person if we have gomi yashiki (trash houses) in the United States. In Japan, such houses refer to those whose inhabitants hoard things to the point that their stuff is overflowing onto the streets, sometimes impeding traffic.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Mar 19, 2010

Roberts says Broncos have underachieved

Three teams are in the hunt for the Eastern Conference's fourth and final playoff berth. But in a month a clearer picture should emerge as to which team will be the favorite.
COMMENTARY
Mar 18, 2010

China's hollow constitution

In many ways, the Chinese Constitution is a marvelous document. It guarantees Chinese citizens a host of rights, including "freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration."
Reader Mail
Mar 18, 2010

Double-take on fashion label

Regarding the March 12 article "Prada accused of maltreatment": I am shocked and surprised [that the Italian fashion label has been accused of discriminating against managers in Japan because of their appearance]. I knew things like this happen in the industry, but not to this extent. That loyal, hardworking...
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2010

Sea Shepherd activist arrested

The Japan Coast Guard on Friday arrested a member of U.S.-based antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for trespassing in connection with his boarding of a whaling fleet vessel in the Antarctic Ocean last month.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 7, 2010

Olympic memories are priceless

It was only fitting that hockey's beloved icon lit the Olympic torch and Canada's top current star scored the gold medal-clinching goal — in overtime, the proverbial icing on the cake — on the final day of the Vancouver Winter Games.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 5, 2010

Bigelow sticks to her guns

HOLLYWOOD — Kathryn Bigelow is only the fourth woman ever to be nominated for the Best Director Academy Award — and only the second American female. The first two nominees were Italian Lina Wertmuller and Australian Jane Campion; the third was Sofia Coppola.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Mar 3, 2010

U.S. to host pre-worlds tourney in New York

NEW YORK — The specific formula is not yet official, but plans are far enough along to speculate with great certainty Team USA will headline an international doubleheader at Madison Square Garden in mid-August prior to the FIBA World Championship that commences later that month in Turkey.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Mar 2, 2010

Sumo body deserves mawashi wedgie for racist wrestler ruling

I've noticed how highly Japan regards sports. We love investing taxes in games and facilities, hosting international events and Olympics. Sports are even part of a government ministry, the one in charge of Japan's science, education and culture.
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Mar 2, 2010

Finke's vision slowly taking root at Urawa

Volker Finke knew his job was not going to be easy when he took over as manager of Urawa Reds last season, and so it proved.
Reader Mail
Feb 28, 2010

Futenma's closure will leave void

Regarding the Feb. 21 article "Futenma in the end may stay in Okinawa, (Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi) Hirano hints": I live right across from the U.S. Marine Corps air strip at Futenma. Sometimes I can see the pilots' faces during takeoffs and landings. I got used to the takeoffs after a while. I...
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Feb 28, 2010

Is the Atsugi tragedy finally drawing to a close?

During the 18 years I have been writing this column, few stories have haunted me as much as that about the Japanese-owned incinerator that, for more than a decade, fumigated the U.S. Naval Air Facility at Atsugi in the Kanagawa Prefecture cities of Yamato and Ayase.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 28, 2010

Feeling revulsion may signal you're finally home away from home

There is a curious and very telling phrase in Japanese to describe the feeling of hatred that people can have for family. It is kinshin-zoo, or "close-relative abhorrence."
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 28, 2010

Gold against the soul: The media and the Olympics

When Japan Newsweek editor Keigo Takeda said that it was all over during the live broadcast of Fuji TV's Sunday night newsmagazine "Journal" on the second day of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, he was talking about Japanese news coverage of the games.
COMMENTARY
Feb 27, 2010

Falklands war, round two?

Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina's finest writer, dismissed the Falklands War of 1982 as "two bald men fighting over a comb," but it killed almost a thousand British and Argentine soldiers, sailors and airmen anyway. So what would happen if the bald men started fighting over something really valuable, like...

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