Search - article

 
 
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 27, 2010

Asahiyama's natural touch

Ivan the polar bear has been having relationship problems recently.
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2010

Western media play along in the disinformation game

Are they being manipulated by governments? Or, are they just plain lazy, happy to go along with what everyone else is saying and what readers want to believe without wanting to look too closely into relevant background?
Reader Mail
Jun 24, 2010

Pacifism assures U.S. presence

As I am not an American I cannot comment on the greater part of John Knight's June 20 letter, "Be careful about wishing the U.S. away," but as I am ex-U.K./NATO military, I can comment on the latter part.
JAPAN / DECISION 2010
Jun 24, 2010

Parties focus on economy, taxes

With the campaign officially kicking off for the July 11 Upper House election, political parties are weighing in on rebuilding the economy and government finances, hoping their platforms will translate into votes.
EDITORIALS
Jun 24, 2010

Security treaty 50 years old

Fifty years have passed since the Japan-U.S. security treaty went into force on June 23, 1960. Under this revised treaty, Japan provides military bases to the United States, while the latter is to play an offensive role to defend Japan. Tokyo pursues a defense-only posture, as Article 9 of the Constitution...
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 23, 2010

A veteran plumbs his path to Japanese fluency

On a trans-Pacific flight to Narita several months ago, I struck up a conversation with a passenger who was upbeat about living in Japan. After six months, he told me with a self-satisfied grin, he had "just about got all the hiragana down pat."
Japan Times
Events / WHERE IT'S AT
Jun 22, 2010

'Hafu' draws viewers into world of Japanese identity

"Hafu," the Japanese term for people who are half-Japanese, takes on a more intricate meaning through the unfolding of mixed-race Japanese lives in the documentary "Hafu." Those starring in the film and those behind the project identify themselves as a newly emerging community.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 21, 2010

Janus-faced Russia hiding its snarls from the West

Diplomats in many corners of the world are puzzled by what appears to be a fundamental shift in Russia's foreign policies in recent months, from a strategy based on threat and intimidation to one of a low profile seeking friendship, especially with Western countries. Their consensus, however, is that...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Jun 20, 2010

Who pays for sumo?

Sumo wrestlers don't make huge salaries but they can get a lot of yen in other ways.
Reader Mail
Jun 20, 2010

Scant teachings about human 'soul'

When it comes to the Catholic Church, Rowan Hooper evidently writes with a proverbial chip on his shoulder, as in his June 13 Natural Selections column, "Synthetic life zaps 'the soul.' " He forgets that the Catholic Church consists of human beings and that there are as many opinions as there are human...
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2010

DPJ, LDP platforms test tax hike waters

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition camp unofficially began campaigning Thursday for the July 11 Upper House election, by releasing their platforms, and both sides seemed to be dancing around a tax hike.
Reader Mail
Jun 17, 2010

Say whether tobacco is toxic or not

In his June 10 letter, Japan Tobacco working to cut risks," the Japan Tobacco Inc. general manager for media and investor relations, Hideyuki Yamamoto, states that a Japan Tobacco representative was misquoted in a recent article as saying that "we don't believe smoking causes cancer."
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 15, 2010

Mah-jongg ancient, progressive

Few games may be as addictive as mah-jongg, whose players range from university students to salarymen and tend to go at it all night, often for money.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 15, 2010

A light of hope for abused children

In the dock, Katsuyuki Okuno cut a strange figure as he listened baby-faced, chubby, graying, frightened and seemingly unable to understand what he had done.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Jun 14, 2010

South Koreans show split over what sank their ship

Despite the confident and harsh manner in which President Lee Myung Bak condemned North Korea for attacking and sinking a South Korean naval vessel, his country is deeply split between the conservative anti-Pyongyang forces and the opposition forces favoring promotion of closer ties with the North.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jun 13, 2010

Time was when the future of English is simply real ba-a-a-a-d, or not

So I like OMG Im so not going there no matter what the Quadrangle says it will do Vlad and I are running Alaska from Tea Party headquarters in Cheney and I can see the whole world from my living room Again the TPA (Tea Party of Alaska) government refuses to kowtow [pronounced cow toe] to American imperialism...
Reader Mail
Jun 10, 2010

Tactics discredit dolphin activists

The June 5 article "More cinemas cancel plans to screen 'Cove' " reports on the Japanese extreme right's attempts to disrupt screenings of the film. The majority of the public must find rightwing harassment disturbing, believing it should be left to individuals to decide whether they want to see the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Jun 8, 2010

Whether covered or brazen, tattoos make a statement

Tattoos have long occupied a place in Japanese society, generally in the shadows of the underworld and the realm of taboo.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 8, 2010

Readers weigh in on U.S. military presence

Fear of breaking taboo During my 31 years in Japan I have appreciated The Japan Times' coverage of social issues such as discrimination against ethic and social minorities, which the vernacular papers give only passing mention to.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 6, 2010

The timing behind yakuza crackdown

The media has been filled with revelations of ties between professional sumo and organized crime. Since late May, the tabloids and gossipy "wide shows" on TV have made a huge flap over Sehei Kimura and one other stable master for allowing senior gang members to obtain box-seat tickets to the Nagoya Grand...
EDITORIALS
Jun 4, 2010

Israel overreacts

There are real threats to Israel's security. A flotilla of peace activists that was trying to breach the blockade of Gaza is not one of them. A heavy-handed and poorly prepared response has further blackened Israel's image, claiming innocent lives and alienating close friends and allies. Israel needs...
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2010

U.S. pressure on base said didn't help matters

OSAKA — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's sudden resignation Wednesday ended nine months of tense relations with the United States, which was wary of the new government from the beginning for its determination to seek a less U.S.-centric foreign policy.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 1, 2010

Gunma city does battle with beards

I would like to draw readers' attention to the outstanding work of the municipal government of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. After receiving complaints that citizens find bearded men unpleasant, Isesaki — just as all levels of Japanese government often do — took decisive action to address an important...
COMMENTARY
May 31, 2010

Internet leveling the news field

SEATTLE — The debate is no longer confined to a few academics in distant universities. It is now a mainstream topic of discussion: How will the news of the future be distributed?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 30, 2010

Studies highlight a 'heartwarming' resu of the real thing in Japan

Nothing gets the circulation going like sex.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2010

Futenma blame game in full swing

OSAKA — In the end, the only thing Friday's agreement between the United States and Japan on relocating the Futenma air base does is to yet again avoid fundamental questions and problems that both sides have long ignored in favor of a face-saving political agreement for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama....
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
May 27, 2010

The long-range vision of Monocle

For a jet-setting, award-winning media, design and branding entrepreneur, Tyler Brûlé is pretty accessible. When he called last week, a few days before the opening of his highly anticipated Monocle Shop Tokyo within the new Francfranc Village building in Aoyama, he was at the site making last-minute...
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
May 24, 2010

If China's amazing growth seems illusory, maybe it is

Not many people in Japan are convinced that China has truly become an economic giant even though Beijing has released impressive statistics on the country's economic growth, accumulation of foreign exchange reserves, rising automobile sales and aggregate stock market value.

Longform

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