Search - olympics

 
 
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 19, 2014

Team Abe's alternate-reality Kool-Aid

Japan's relations with China and South Korea are in tatters, there has been no progress on dealing with North Korea's nuclear weapons program, strains with Washington persist, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks are at an impasse, whaling got harpooned and hopes for a deal with Russia on the northern...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 19, 2014

Christel Takigawa gets Akita 'omotenashi'; a dandy drama; CM of the week: Nisshinbo

Former news anchor Christel Takigawa gets to sample some of that famous Japanese omotenashi (hospitality) she promoted during the bid process for the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is this week's guest on NHK's travel show "Tsurube no Kazoku ni Kampai" ("Tsurube Toasts Families"; NHK-G, Mon., 8 p.m.), the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2014

'Japanese Only' sign sparks bigotry debate

For nearly two decades, Shunji Usui has been a fixture at Urawa Red Diamonds matches at Saitama Stadium in the suburbs of Tokyo, a face in the crowd among the most avid — and sometimes rabid — fans of any Japanese soccer club.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Apr 16, 2014

Arts Council Tokyo sets its sights high

"For decades, many people involved in the arts — including producers, creators, administrators and academics — were pointing to the need for an overall arts-policy body in Tokyo, and finally Arts Council Tokyo came into being in November 2012," its program director, Yuko Ishiwata, noted with some...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech / ADVANCES IN PROGRESS
Apr 14, 2014

KDDI sending futuristic technologies to a screen near you

While technology continues to brings us new and unexpected ways to make our lives more convenient, it is difficult to predict how much further it will evolve and the impact it will have on the world.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 14, 2014

Hagino's grand ambition on display during nationals

While some veterans have shown signs of decline, several young Japanese swimmers have shown they have the potential to raise their level higher.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS
Apr 10, 2014

Hagino wins showdown with Seto, takes 400 IM title at nationals

Kosuke Hagino outraced defending world champion Daiya Seto in the men's 400-meter individual medley final on the first day of the 90th Japan national championships at Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center on Thursday.
MORE SPORTS
Apr 9, 2014

Olympic swim champ Rice retires

Australia's triple Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Rice announced her retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 25 on Wednesday.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LABOR PAINS
Apr 9, 2014

Foreign workers fear exploitation as Olympic projects gather steam

My first Labor Pains column of the new fiscal year will look at the government's recent proposal for bringing in foreign workers.
Japan Times
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 8, 2014

Tearful Pistorius details terrified, sleepless nights since shooting

His voice trembling with emotion, Oscar Pistorius took the witness stand in his own defense Monday, saying the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend last year had left him sleepless, terrified and plagued by nightmares.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 7, 2014

New SDF unit shores up thinly protected cyberborders

Japan has embarked on an effort to improve cybersecurity as an ever-increasing number of sophisticated computer viruses threaten to endanger national security.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 7, 2014

Japan's Hutterites hold on to a dream for community

Otawara — yes, that's spelled with a "t" — is one of those places few people know and most confuse with somewhere else (in this case with Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture).
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 4, 2014

Foreign coaches making impact in revamped NBL

While the National Basketball League of Japan is essentially the rebranded Japan Basketball League, there's one distinguishing aspect that is different from before — it's a foreign coach-filled league.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 4, 2014

Abe's immigrant dream is a wage nightmare

Prime Miniser Shinzo Abe wants to import 200,000 foreign workers a year into Japan to counter the decline in the population. But the gambit might work at cross-purposes with his push to get companies to increase wages.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2014

Mori Building, LVMH to invest ¥83 billion in Ginza retail development

Mori Building Co., Japan's biggest closely held developer by sales, and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the world's largest luxury-goods maker, will form part of a group developing a retail and office complex in central Tokyo, in a bid to cash in on expectations of increasing consumer spending leading...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2014

Japan moves to expand controversial foreign worker scheme

Japan is considering expanding a controversial program that now offers workers from China and elsewhere permits to work for up to three years, as the world's fastest-aging nation scrambles to plug gaps in a rapidly shrinking workforce.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 30, 2014

Japan might win more friends if it just shuts up

Although there's plenty of blame to go around for the sorry state of relations between Japan and its neighbors, there's something Abe could do to ratchet down tensions: Tell people in his inner circle to clam up.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Mar 30, 2014

Osaka embraces English Reformation

While Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's controversial political antics have increasingly drawn criticism, little attention has been paid to how his leadership has prompted the most progressive reforms of English-language education in the nation.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2014

Haneda expansion a travel game-changer

To counter cutthroat competition from hub airports elsewhere in Asia, Haneda airport will expand its international flight capacity Sunday when it takes the wraps off a more spacious terminal.
Japan Times
Figure Skating
Mar 27, 2014

Flawless Mao sets new world record after short program

Mao Asada set a new world record of 78.66 points with a superb short program at the world championships on Thursday night.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health / FOCUS
Mar 27, 2014

Indonesian forest fires feed air pollution across Asia

High above the vast Indonesian island of Sumatra, satellites identify hundreds of plumes of smoke drifting over the oil palm plantations and rain forests.

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?