Search - long form

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Feb 24, 2007

In Harlem, living on a prayer

On a chilly Saturday afternoon in a narrow, unassuming Harlem church, three sopranos fill the room with the first reluctant notes of a gospel hymn. "Lord, I will lift mine eyes to the hill," they sing.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 23, 2007

Ninagawa paints a vivid picture

Born in 1972, Mika Ninagawa is a photographer with a long list of awards, gallery shows, photo books and credits, from fashion magazine spreads to CD covers. Known for her vivid sense of color and composition, Ninagawa has been branching out into video production and now film, with her first feature...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 22, 2007

Drama despite the Establishment

At last December's press conference heralding this year's Tokyo International Arts Festival, Artistic Director Sachio Ichimura was in a less than festive mood.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / NEW ART SEEN
Feb 22, 2007

Breaking into an insider's tea-drinking club

The term "gaijin artist" can be something of an insult to those who make Japan their home. It is, after all, parochial and old-fashioned to differentiate artists strictly on the basis of what passport they carry.
COMMENTARY
Feb 19, 2007

Nuclear uncertainties linger

For the people of Japan, the world's only country to suffer atomic-bomb attacks, the existence of nuclear weapons in any form is unacceptable. Regrettably, however, nuclear proliferation is continuing outside the framework of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Feb 10, 2007

McClaren taking heat after England's most recent stumble

LONDON -- Seven months after Sven-Goran Eriksson's departure, many of those who were glad to see him walk away are yearning for a return of the good old days under the Swede.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / VINELAND
Feb 9, 2007

Avoiding a vinferno

Midway through our life's journey as wine collectors, we found our wine refrigerator almost lost, its engine straining desperately against the summer heat. Delving into the dark wood of the cabinet to remove all the bottles would provide a chance to catalog and glorify years of strategic acquisitions...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 8, 2007

Brilliant choices reveal seldom seen masterpieces

Despite oft-heard subversive remarks to the contrary, the Japanese have a very highly-developed sense of humor -- it's just different, that's all. While Westerners are baffled by TV comedy shows here, or -- at a higher level -- traditional kyogen stage performances, Japanese will blink through a Monty...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 25, 2007

Modernizers of Japanese art tended toward tradition

In the drive to modernize Japanese art in the 19th century, artists frequently attempted to create a fusion of Eastern and Western styles of painting. But what at first sight seemed to be radical combinations of the two, now actually appear to be more happily at home within pre-existing Japanese traditions....
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jan 23, 2007

'Listen' to your nose: sniff out a calming custom

Swing by any variety store and you will notice how popular aromatherapy has become. There you will find a wide variety of shiny little bottles containing oil extracts of rose, lavender or sandalwood. Along with foot massage, onsen (hot springs) and the music of Mozart, inhaling aromas has in recent years...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 21, 2007

Sex in the Forbidden City

Rene Leys, by Victor Segalen, translated and with an introduction by J.A. Underwood, preface by Ian Buruma. New York: New York Review of Books, 2003, 210 pp. $14 (paper) "Who is this lad, this Belgian youth, who forbids Manchu princes possession of their future concubines? . . . . Who . . . has attained...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jan 21, 2007

Dig in at this genuine cantina

OSAKA -- Osaka likes to brag that it is the kitchen of Japan, where the stomach is the most important body organ. But as the guidebooks might say, "Cheap and cheerful is the rule" when it comes to establishing a decent greasy spoon in this city, which prides itself on its working-class, merchant roots....
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Jan 17, 2007

Seasonal waves of gold

I am fresh back from an exciting wildlife watching adventure in the national parks of Madhya Pradesh and Assam, India (more of that in a subsequent column). Thanks to the latest Internet and satellite software, I can zoom in to view the very area in Assam that I visited last week on the southern bank...
COMMENTARY
Jan 8, 2007

Cabinet office losing its grip

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is under intense pressure to overhaul his administration after two scandal-tainted aides were forced to resign in December. The trouble came only three months after he took office.
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2007

Deja vu in 2007

Readers should be prepared for a recurring sense of deja vu in the year ahead. Few of the problems that dominated international affairs in 2006 were resolved. The headline issues that absorbed decision makers will continue to demand time and attention in 2007. There is little hope for resolution as neither...
CULTURE / Books
Dec 31, 2006

Make sure you read the best Asia books

The holiday season is upon us, and as we look toward 2007, why not make a resolution to read some of the best books about Asia? We introduce a few of our contributors to help you decide what not to miss Donald Richie's selections: RASHOMON AND SEVENTEEN OTHER STORIES by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 30, 2006

Training pays off for hurdling, investing

As a child, hurdler Dai Tamesue did not stand out. He was brought up in an ordinary family and like millions of other kids he was into playing video games.
EDITORIALS
Dec 27, 2006

The U.N. votes, Iran ignores

The United Nations Security Council at long last voted to impose sanctions on Iran for its continuing pursuit of uranium enrichment in defiance of the international community. The Tehran government immediately dismissed the U.N. move and vowed to step up nuclear activities. The stage is thus set for...
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2006

People slow to embrace offer of free hugs

embraces a passerby in the rain in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on Nov. 19. ERIC PRIDEAUX PHOTO
JAPAN
Dec 26, 2006

People slow to embrace offer of free hugs

embraces a passerby in the rain in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on Nov. 19. ERIC PRIDEAUX PHOTO
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 26, 2006

Looking for just the right balance

Having trouble managing life, work and sundry commitments as 2006 speeds to a close? Looking for a refreshing resolution -- something challenging or even cultural -- to ring in the new year?
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 23, 2006

Investigation reveals F.A.'s failure to monitor transfers

LONDON -- Occasionally in the media we will read the blindingly obvious from a university in Texas or wherever that after a year's research they can reveal that diving from a cliff into a ravine is dangerous. Or some other statement that we all know.
COMMENTARY
Dec 22, 2006

New base for reconciliation

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to China in early October was important for several reasons. In the short term, it represented a significant contribution to easing tensions between Tokyo and Beijing. From a long-term perspective, it helped to lay the foundations for a stronger bilateral relationship....
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Dec 15, 2006

Reminiscing on a year at the table

The solstice is upon us, and the holiday season is closing in fast. But before we take refuge under the mistletoe and give ourselves over to the usual Yuletide overindulgence, we must first clear the clutter from the Food File desk and tidy up all the loose ends.
COMMENTARY
Dec 14, 2006

Japan-India partnership key to bolstering stability in Asia

NEW DELHI -- Japan and India are natural allies because they have no conflict of strategic interests and actually share common goals to build stability, power equilibrium and institutionalized multilateral cooperation in Asia. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo this week offers an...
EDITORIALS
Dec 14, 2006

More trouble in paradise

For the fourth time in 19 years, the legal government of the South Pacific country of Fiji has been overthrown. The military is the culprit this time, with the head of the armed forces, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama deposing Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and his Cabinet. The coup has been roundly condemned...
BUSINESS
Dec 12, 2006

Abe pledges to make deepest bond cut ever

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that planned new government bond issues for the next fiscal year will be cut by the largest margin on record.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it