Search - author

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2009

Writer slams Google Book deal

A freelance journalist said Thursday he has sent a letter to a U.S. district court informing it of his "clear objection" to the controversial Google Book Search settlement.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 31, 2009

Historic sea change at polls product of frustrated public

For better or worse, history has been made.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2009
Aug 29, 2009

Game almost up for LDP in Aomori

AOMORI — Perched on the upper tip of Honshu, Aomori Prefecture is tired of being left behind.
BUSINESS
Aug 29, 2009

In 'sinking world,' geisha turn barmaids

In the stifling summer heat at the roadside Yebisu Beer stall in Kyoto's Gion district, Sakiko, dressed in a thick floral kimono, face plastered in white makeup, looks flustered as two foreign tourists photograph her. "Pouring beer here is different but fun," said Sakiko, one of about 90 apprentice geisha,...
COMMENTARY
Aug 23, 2009

Scrutinizing the Chinese threat to Taiwan

LOS ANGELES — In the United States we refer to it as the Powell Doctrine. And it helps unravel a bit of mystery about what China is up to these days. Remember Colin Powell? Before Barack Obama rode into the U.S. scene on his white horse, Powell was America's most admired black public political figure....
COMMENTARY
Aug 21, 2009

Decay of Japanese politics

Japan's politics in recent years has lacked dynamism and incurred people's distrust. The purpose of politics is to present a vision for the nation's future, identify the systems and policies needed, and ensure the safety and prosperity of the nation and its people. Recently, though, Japanese politics...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Aug 19, 2009

Offhand but on record

Facebook recently made changes to its service agreement in order to make members' data more accessible to other computer users. Amuse, Inc. announced last week that hackers stole credit-card information from about 150,000 clients. Hackers broke into the social network Twitter's system and stole documents....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 18, 2009

TOEIC: Where does the money go?

In a country of test-takers, the Test of English for International Communication has become one of Japan's most recognized exams. In 2008, people in Japan paid ¥4,040 — or slightly less if their company or school paid a ¥100,000 membership fee — to take the TOEIC Institutional Program (IP) at their...
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Aug 16, 2009

Hitler assumes presidency, repatriation to North Korea and a young Kazuo Ishiguro interviewed

75 YEARS AGO Friday, Aug. 3, 1934
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 16, 2009

Fatah's new status quo leaders

HERZLIYA, Israel — The Sixth Fatah Congress, held recently in Bethlehem, was an important event for the future of the Arab-Israeli conflict and for the Palestinian movement. But a careful look at the results of the Congress' elections to Fatah's Central Committee yields a picture that is quite different...
Reader Mail
Aug 16, 2009

Good education feeds dreams

Regarding Michael Hoffman's Aug. 5 article, "Heisei kids: a generation that struggles to dream": I am 31 and have thought about this subject for a long time. Why are so many kids today, who have access to so many fancy gadgets, have so few or such hazy dreams? What inspires one to dream?
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Aug 16, 2009

Back where they belong

High in the fork of a tall tree on a wooded slope close to narrow rice paddies on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan off Nigata Prefecture was a flimsy, ragged nest made of twigs.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 14, 2009

Dancing to N.Y. and back

Trying to rate the energy levels of a troupe of Broadway performers is like looking at a group of ants and trying to work out which is walking the fastest. They all seem to be going at 120 percent.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 11, 2009

TOEIC no turkey at 30

The Test of English for International Communication turns 30 this year. In three decades it has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the best-known tests in Japan. In December 1979, 3,000 people sat the first TOEIC. In 2008, people in Japan took it 1.7 million times. Many were repeat customers;...
JAPAN / History
Aug 9, 2009

'It is time to discuss this more frankly'

Kazuhiko Togo, Professor of International Politics at Kyoto Sangyo University, is a former Ambassador to the Netherlands and the author of 2005's "Japan's Foreign Policy 1945-2003" and 2008's "Rekishi to Gaiko" ("History and Diplomacy"). He is also a grandson of Shigenori Togo (1882-1950), who, after...
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 9, 2009

'No public discourse' in Pakistan about its nukes

Kamila Shamsie is a Pakistan-born novelist who was educated in the United States and now lives in London, from where she recently gave the interview below. In her 2009 novel "Burnt Shadows," Kamila Shamsie explores the indelible mark that the larger sweep of history leaves on people caught up in its...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2009

One Europe in one confusing world order

PARIS — G8, G-5, G20, G-2, G3, and now the G-14 (Group of Eight plus the Group of Five plus Egypt): Never have the "mathematics" of world order seemed more complex and confusing.
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2009

Safe and accommodating country

I have lived in Japan for only two years, but may have more experience than the author of the letter ("Pocket knife lends tourist, 74, in lockup") appears to have of the culture and life in this beautiful country.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 2, 2009

Two funerals plus the legacy of Khrushchev

NEW YORK — My great-grandfather, Nikita Khrushchev, has been on my mind recently. I suppose it was the 50th anniversary of the "kitchen debate," which he held with Richard Nixon that first triggered my memories.
Reader Mail
Aug 2, 2009

Questions fly over arrest of tourist

Brian Hedge's July 28 letter, "Pocket knife lands tourist, 74, in lockup," presented in the Hotline to Nagatacho column, relates what seems to be an unfortunate incident stemming from police being overly zealous to enforce a new law. However, the article also raises a number of questions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 31, 2009

Sake returns to its organic roots

The sake world is looking greener as an increasing number of producers invest more time and resources in developing organic lines. In 2004, Niigata-based giant Kikusui attracted attention for opening the Sake Culture Institute, an immaculate facility dedicated to organic sake research, and small producers...
COMMENTARY
Jul 30, 2009

Japan reaches a crossroad

With all eyes on a rising India, an awakened China and a roiling Islam, we tend to take good old solid Japan (still the world's second-largest economy, please don't forget) as a given. But that is a mistake: These are the times that try Japan's soul.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 29, 2009

Old problem festers on China's new frontier

WARSAW — Had the August 1991 putsch against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev not failed, the riots and death recently seen in Xinjiang could have been taking place in Russia. Instead of hearing about a crackdown in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital, we might be reading about hundreds killed on the streets...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 27, 2009

Dollar beauty may be fading but it still tops currency pageant list

The Group of Eight countries and the outreach participants in the July 8-10 summit in L'Aquila, Italy, discussed promotion of an international currency system that is stable and functions well. But it remains an elusive goal to find concrete ways of reforming the system.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2009

Threats against Iran feed off modern myths

NEW YORK — Several myths regarding Iran stand in the way of the United States and other nations reaching a peaceful relationship with that country. Much of the concern that Iran may attack Israel, if Iran successfully develops nuclear weapons, rests on the statement by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Jul 27, 2009

How to Japonese

The blog How To Japonese should appeal to anyone studying intermediate and advanced Japanese, but don't expect structured step-by-step courses. Launched in 2008 by Daniel Morales, a New Orleanian who first came to Japan in 2002 and currently works as a translation coordinator in Tokyo, the blog pretty...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2009

Pope's dream of heaven on Earth

HONG KONG — Of all the criticisms and critiques of the state of the world since the financial crisis that triggered global recession, the most devastating and yet the most profound and constructive came this month from such an unusual and unlikely source that many media ignored them. Yet the comments...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jul 25, 2009

Lifetime of travels at root of keen insights into Japan

One person you want to meet for a coffee in Tokyo: Stephen Mansfield. The British author and photojournalist has written 10 books (14, including collaborative work) and produced over 2,000 published articles for newspapers, magazines and journals since 1992.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 24, 2009

Franz Ferdinand ready for Fuji to rock

Barely a minute into our conversation, and without prompt Franz Ferdinand drummer Paul Thomson begins talking up the virtues of Japan
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 23, 2009

Translator Kiyoko Zaborszky

Kiyoko Zaborszky, 83, is a translator with a reputation for picking winners. She's worked on books with positive messages that help readers deal with difficult and often controversial issues such as adoption, organ donation, disease and dying. In a career spanning four decades, Zaborszky translated 31...

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake