Search - people

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2009

LDP picks Tanigaki to lead comeback

The Liberal Democratic Party elected former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki as its president Monday, giving him the task of guiding back into power a party still stinging from its recent electoral thrashing.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHO'S WHO
Sep 29, 2009

The man who delivered pizza to Japan

Earnest Higa's life is all about being bicultural in Japan and the United States. He has used this aspect of his character in his career, spending the past 24 years making sure U.S.-based Domino Pizza fits in Japan.
BUSINESS
Sep 29, 2009

Fujii denies favoring stronger yen

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said people are wrong to think he is in favor of a stronger yen, even as the currency rose Monday to its highest level since January on speculation the government won't step in to the foreign-exchange market to help the country's exporters.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 29, 2009

Gaijin health coverage: an appeal for choice

Unless you've just made it to this corner of the world in the last couple of weeks, you're probably well aware of the new visa guideline that's scheduled to go into effect in April 2010. Because of this guideline, foreigners who wish to renew their visa and who are required to be enrolled in social health...
EDITORIALS
Sep 27, 2009

Resolution for going nonnuclear

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution "to seek a safer world for all and create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons."
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 27, 2009

Shinjuku shows the way

Property ads in Hatsudai and Hatagaya, immediately west of central Tokyo's Shinjuku Station, often trumpet the fact that it's possible to "commute by bike" to the neighboring hub.
CULTURE / Books
Sep 27, 2009

Murder with hefty history

PAPER BUTTERFLY, by Diane Wei Liang. Simon and Schuster, 2009, 227 pages, $24.00 (hardcover) Reviewed by Mark Schreiber Mei Wang, the Beijing-based female private investigator who made her first appearance in "The Eye of Jade" (2008), is back. Burned out by the demands of her job in the Ministry of Public...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2009

Now or never to settle the Cyprus conflict

ANKARA — Cyprus is back on the international agenda, with leaders of the island's rival Greek and Turkish communities engaged in intense negotiations to resolve the divided country's status. But, although new talks are under way, the international community is, not surprisingly, tired of dealing with...
Reader Mail
Sep 27, 2009

DPJ's softer ban disappointing

Regarding the Sept. 22 article "DPJ's ban on press briefings loosened": It is extremely disappointing that the new government of Japan has so quickly (modified) its earlier decision banning media briefings by bureaucrats. I had understood that the notion of having the people's elected representatives,...
Reader Mail
Sep 27, 2009

Lesser threat from a minority vote

Regarding the Sept. 22 article "Ozawa positive about granting local voting rights to non-Japanese": At first glance, the statement by Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party) that granting suffrage to non-Japanese residents could destabilize the nation seems to suggest that non-Japanese residents are not...
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 27, 2009

Bike tours offer a new view of the city

Despite long-standing conflicts between cyclists and others with a stake in using Tokyo's streets, Japan's capital can be a great place to tour by bike — as I discovered last weekend while participating in the "Tokyo Great Cycling Tour," a one-day guided trip organized by Tokyo-based operator Alive...
Japan Times
SOCCER / J. League
Sep 27, 2009

Wilkie says J. League refs need to slow pace of game

Referees are rarely out of the spotlight in the J. League, but the recent rain-abandoned game between Kashima Antlers and Kawasaki Frontale has turned up the glare.
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2009

China's two-sided 'miracle' should warn the ebullient

CHANGCHUN/LONDON — Is China the economic locomotive that will lift the world back onto the growth path and help eradicate its vast debts?
Japan Times
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 25, 2009

Kitazawa vague on support options for global antiterror role

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa on Thursday repeated that Japan will continue to make antiterrorism contributions after the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean is terminated, but stopped short of outlining possible alternatives.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2009

Asagiri Jam

The last major outdoor music festival of the year, Asagiri Jam has been dubbed "the real Fuji Rock Festival" due to its very scenic location at the foot of Mount Fuji in Shizuoka. The two-day concert was established in 2001 and inspired by the spirit of the late 1960s and the communal atmosphere at early...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Sep 25, 2009

Tokyo bars toast the sugar cane

Thank God for the Crusades, so to speak.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 25, 2009

Miyake score taps the exotic

Jun Miyake is a self-proclaimed lover of the exotic. Nowhere is this more evident than in his latest composition, the music for a revival of avant-garde playwright Shuji Terayama's 1977 play, "Chugoku no Fushigina Yakunin" ("The Miraculous Mandarin").
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 25, 2009

'Fast & Furious'

The article "the" is missing from the latest installment of the "The Fast and the Furious" franchise, now in its fourth sequel — a probable maneuver to lead people into thinking this is the original and arguably the best "THE Fast and THE Furious" — and lure them into theaters. Grammatical antics...

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building