Search - u_times

 
 
Japan Times
WORLD
May 26, 2015

Texas governor: Deadly flooding had 'tsunami-type power'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday described the flash flooding that had killed at least three people in his state as "a relentless wall of water that mowed down huge trees like they were grass."
ASIA PACIFIC
May 25, 2015

China lodges complaint with U.S. over Spratlys spy plane flight

China said on Monday it had lodged a complaint with the United States over a U.S. spy plane that flew over parts of the disputed South China Sea in a diplomatic row that has fueled tension between the world's two largest economies.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 22, 2015

Queen of Japanese media; king of singer-songwriters; CM of the Week: P&G

Queen of all Japanese media, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, will celebrate the 10,000th installment of her long-running daily talk show, "Tetsuko no Heya" ("Tetsuko's Room"; TV Asahi, Wed., 12 noon), with two very special guests, Masahiko Kondo and Noriyuki Higashiyama, considered, respectively, the No. 1 and No....
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 21, 2015

Title aspirations collide for Final Four teams

This time, there's a new look on the grand stage.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 21, 2015

The must-see list is long at Short Shorts film fest

When it comes to getting a movie fix these days, more people opt for their computer screens than venturing outside to a theater. Hollywood has countered this trend with a slew of 3-D blockbusters and cinematic largesse, but how does the short film fare?
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
May 21, 2015

Mother seeks a groom for her son in India's first gay marriage ad

A 57-year-old mother has placed India's first gay matrimonial advertisement, seeking a groom for her son in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
May 20, 2015

YouTuber Ken Tanaka tweaks the nose of our obsession with identity

The best way to talk to (and about) the entertainer and artist Ken Tanaka is to discuss his YouTube videos, of which there are many, and which vary wildly in terms of popularity, production and themes. But first, some biography:
COMMENTARY / World
May 19, 2015

Effort to revive Soviet glory backfire on Putin

Failed attempts by Vladimir Putin to reclaim glory for Russia in areas where the Soviet Union once excelled may present a bigger threat to his regime than falling living standards.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
May 18, 2015

Let's discuss inbound tourism in the news

Japan came ninth on the World Economic Forum's list of the most tourist-friendly countries for 2015, rising from 14th place in the previous 2013 rankings, the WEF said Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
May 17, 2015

Why self-driving cars will always need oversight

Self-driving cars are incapable of making moral decisions so they will always need human oversight.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 16, 2015

Are forces of darkness gathering in Japan?

Certainly it's worse in China, South Korean security recently beat demonstrators and Spain faces a blanket gag rule, but are concerns about the anti-democratic forces of darkness in Japan unduly alarmist? How bad can it be if protestors in Hibiya Park can carry placards depicting Prime Minister Shinzo...
Reader Mail
May 16, 2015

Buraku issues still resonate

It was a pleasure to encounter Stephen Mansfield's review of my recent book, "Working Skin," in the May 3 edition of The Japan Times. Buraku issues continue to be of broad public import in contemporary Japan and deserving of more discussion.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / ANALYSIS
May 16, 2015

South Korean spy agency under scrutiny after reporting execution by Pyongyang

The South Korean spy agency's assertion that North Korea purged its defense chief and executed him with anti-aircraft fire is one of its boldest claims ever and, given the agency's checkered history, has come under growing scrutiny.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 15, 2015

Avon calling takeover bid a hoax but some $91 million in its stock traded in 25 minutes

Traders — human and otherwise — churned about $91 million worth of Avon Products Inc. stock in the 25 minutes after a takeover filing the company is now treating as a hoax.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
May 13, 2015

As Geki×Cine raises its game, Amami goes into battle for her man

Geki×Cine isn't really film and it isn't theater, but rather an intriguing blend of the two. With geki meaning "stage," and "cine" representing film, the finished productions are shown on the big screen. So are they stage-to-screen adaptations? Most certainly not. More accurately, they are stage plays...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 12, 2015

U.S. to station Ospreys at Yokota Air Base starting in 2017

The government formally announces that the U.S. Air Force will deploy a squadron of tilt-rotor CV-22 Osprey aircraft at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in 2017.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 12, 2015

Dog was a savior to tsunami survivor, now a dying friend

About 30 km north of the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, an old shiba dog strains for breath in a temporary, prefabricated house in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
May 9, 2015

Dancing on the waves at Miyajima

"The mystery of the Orient is legendary . . . it was in the air the moment we stepped ashore in Kyoto, and now in Tokyo it began to envelop us." That's how Charlie Chaplin described his arrival in Japan. I'm not sure if the "Little Tramp" ever visited the island of Miyajima on any of his four trips to...
Reader Mail
May 9, 2015

Discrimination is difficult to end

Regarding the May 3 book review "Marginalized in Tokyo's leatherwork districts," I was reminded how the word "rawhide" appeared in a TV cowboy drama's theme song, and how in the Showa late 30s, a friend of mine and I went to a shoemaker near Kyoto Station.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / FOCUS
May 8, 2015

Singapore tries to tame 'Tiger Moms' regarding childrens' higher education

Singaporean Carmen Kok regrets that she never made it to university. She's not letting her daughter make the same mistake, even if she has to send her abroad to get a place.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
May 6, 2015

Uchiyama defends title with patented KO

Watanabe Gym chairman Hitoshi Watanabe confessed that he hadn't been sure if it was right to select undefeated fighter Jomthong Chuwattana as the opponent for his own Takashi Uchiyama, because he knew the Thai could pose a legitimate threat.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 5, 2015

Americans understand free trade's dark side

The American people are intelligent and grown-up enough to hear the basic case against free trade, as well as the case in favor.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 5, 2015

Japan will be last G-7 country to make solar power economically viable

One by one, Japan is turning off the lights at the giant oil-fired power plants that propelled it to the ranks of the world's top industrialized nations. With nuclear power in the doldrums after the Fukushima disaster started in 2011, it's solar energy that is becoming the alternative.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
May 4, 2015

Let's discuss caregivers in the news

A total of 78 people from the Philippines and Indonesia have passed the caregiver certification exam for fiscal 2014, the welfare ministry said Thursday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
May 3, 2015

Japan-U.S. effort to tell suicide pilots' stories dodges controversy, wins praise

JBC sits down for an interview with Dr. M.G. Sheftall of Shizuoka University about the kamikaze phenomenon and what makes this exhibition unique.

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