Search - people

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 7, 2009

Managing fads, frenzies and finance markets

BARCELONA — The financial crisis, credit crunch and ensuing economic downturn have severely damaged the credibility of financial markets, institutions and traders. More and more people are claiming that markets are characterized by irrationality, bubbles, fads and frenzies, and that economic actors...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Jan 7, 2009

Hybrid storage to put new spin on netbook choices

Flash wonder: Netbook makers seem to be particularly keen to shatter the axiom that size always equals power. Their shrunken portables put a premium on being small and light, both in terms of bulk and price, for only a slight tradeoff on performance. Certainly they would also like people to stop describing...
EDITORIALS
Jan 6, 2009

Basic reform of the SDF

In its basic plan to reform the Self-Defense Forces, the Defense Ministry aims to reduce the power of non-uniformed SDF officials while giving more say to uniformed SDF officers. Uniformed officers have been dissatisfied with the level of influence wielded by non-uniformed officials in the current structure...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jan 6, 2009

Lessons from when the bubble burst

With the current global financial crisis, there is much talk in the international economic communities about how to prevent the kind of prolonged slump that hit Japan after the end of the bubble economy years.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2009

Diet reopens; relief package main focus

Diet convened Monday for a regular 150-day session, with debate to focus on immediate economic relief measures mapped out in the second extra budget bill for fiscal 2008.
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2009

Open book on screening

The Textbook Authorization Council has submitted to education minister Ryu Shionoya proposals designed to make the textbook screening process more transparent. The proposals are inadequate and may pose the danger of increasing the secretiveness of the process.
Japan Times
JAPAN / THE MANY FACES OF CITIZENSHIP
Jan 5, 2009

A convenience in peace becomes matter of conflict in war

Last in a series
Reader Mail
Jan 4, 2009

Let the sun shine on transactions

The Dec. 30 editorial, "American capitalism, battered," is a well-written piece bringing out very clearly and persuasively the events/reasons that led to the present turmoil in the world economy. But it is not very heartening to note that the U.S. governmental actions are still not well thought out and...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 4, 2009

A nation adrift cries out for new visions fired by anger and sorrow

Every era in the life of a country begs for creators to define it and give it momentum for its society to progress. Politicians, economists and bureaucrats seem to believe that culture rides on the wave of the economy — but the opposite is true. It is on progressive waves of culture that economic achievement...
CULTURE / Books
Jan 4, 2009

A collection from Tokyo's nests of creativity

More "like a machine than a city" is how Paul Theroux recently characterized Tokyo, a city many of us see as a breeding tank for creativity. True, the more subtle voices of the megalopolis are often drowned out in the din, but this is where artists can help, by adding warmth, depth and texture. Among...
EDITORIALS
Jan 4, 2009

A bloody new year in Gaza

So much for the idea that a new year marks a new beginning. Days into 2009, the world has witnessed another bloody attack by Israel on the Gaza Strip, an assault triggered by senseless provocations by Hamas. The death toll is in the hundreds and has only worsened the desperation felt by most Palestinians...
Japan Times
Reference / Special Presentations / WITNESS TO WAR
Jan 3, 2009

Recalling Nagasaki's fateful day

The city has long been rebuilt and moved on, but Hiroshi Ito still can't come to grips with Nagasaki's obliteration by the United States 63 years ago.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2009

A year of transition

In 2008, talk of change was everywhere. This year that talk will be realized as historic changes take place around the world. In most cases, the process will be gradual and evolutionary. But we must also be prepared for revolutionary transformations as accumulated strains and stresses produce paradigm...
Reader Mail
Jan 1, 2009

Time to get back to basics

Regarding the Dec. 27 front-page article "Record output fall raises alarms": My concern is for those who consider jumping in front of a train as a solution to financial or work-related problems because of the recession that is creating depression in Japanese society. What needs to change is the way the...
Reader Mail
Jan 1, 2009

On the lookout for a slight

In his Dec. 25 letter, "Questionable slang about Asia," Adrian Goodhand seems to be one of those well-meaning chaps who have taken it upon themselves to be the Guardians of the Feelings of Our Foreign Friends (whether they want it or not!), regarding perceived "racism" in associating Oriental countries...
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2009

Ozawa bids to win over young on Aso's 'otaku' turf

On the last day of 2008, Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa showed up at an event held in Tokyo's Akihabara district — home to Prime Minister Taro Aso's "otaku" geeks fan base — apparently to steal some of Aso's thunder.
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2009

Aso set to lead LDP's last stand?

In 2007 it was Shinzo Abe. In 2008 it was Yasuo Fukuda and in 2009 it is Taro Aso.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2009

Volunteers offer jobless temps free food, advice

Temp workers who have lost their jobs amid the global financial crisis lined up Wednesday for free food and consultations with volunteers at Tokyo's Hibiya Park.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2008

Exchange rate woes putting foreign students in a bind

The strong yen and tumbling South Korean won are making life difficult for people whose income depends on the two currency's exchange rates.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / TAKING A CHANCE
Dec 30, 2008

For hotelier, budget prices at resorts are an easy sell

Naoki Yamanaka, president of hotel operator Shiki Resorts Co., wants more Japanese to appreciate the seasonal changes that bless this country.

Longform

Eme-Ima Kitchen is one of over 10,000 kodomo shokudō in Japan. A term first used in 2012 to describe makeshift eateries offering free or cheap meals to disadvantaged kids, it now refers to a diverse range of individuals, groups and organizations working to provide not only food but a sense of belonging to both children and adults.
Japan’s ‘children’s cafeterias’ are booming — but is that a good thing?