Search - 2012

 
 
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 11, 2011

Free agency likely to make negative impact on Hawks

They call the baseball off-season the "Hot Stove League" but, this winter, it might be called the "Overheated Stove" or the "Microwave League." As predicted in this column a few weeks ago, the flurry of activity in December would be fast and furious, especially because of the delayed end to the Japan...
COMMENTARY
Dec 10, 2011

Civil reawakening in Russia?

It came as no surprise to Russian citizens that parliamentary elections held Dec. 4 were neither free nor fair. Elections in Russia have become increasingly managed since Vladimir Putin's first stint as prime minister in 1999.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Dec 10, 2011

Every print a poem, artist's self-portrait

Woodblock prints, or moku hanga, may seem to be the quintessential Japanese art, but they have been embraced by artists around the world.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Dec 10, 2011

CL exit exposes Man United's flaws

Three weeks ago, Sir Alex Ferguson walked out of a UEFA news conference when he was asked a question by a reporter that began: "With the two best teams in the Premier League struggling in Europe. . . "
BUSINESS
Dec 10, 2011

Toyota profit forecast stung by Thai floods

Toyota Motor Corp., poised to lose its crown as the world's largest carmaker this year, has cut its profit forecast 54 percent after Thailand's worst floods in almost 70 years disrupted production.
COMMENTARY
Dec 9, 2011

Russia's cooperation options for design of a trade scheme

Nowadays the trend toward trade and investment liberalization is developing under restraints of the opposite — protectionist — tendency strengthened by the shaky and unpredictable world situation, which in turn was created by the global financial and economic crisis.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Dec 9, 2011

Fugu dinner course at Hakone hotel

Through Feb. 29, 2012, the Odakyu Hotel de Yama in the resort area of Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, is offering a special winter accommodation plan that comes with a special Japanese kaiseki dinner featuring fugu, a seasonal fish for winter in Japan.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Dec 9, 2011

Karate, judo tournaments open to public

Ask people what images come to mind when they think of Japanese sports, and they may say martial arts such as karate or judo. Ask them if they've ever been to a championship, and many will say they haven't. There are two great chances to change that this weekend in Tokyo.
EDITORIALS
Dec 9, 2011

A test for Mr. Putin

Real men in Russia never get nervous. Or if they do, they do not show it. And if there is anything that he wants his public to believe, it is that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is a real man. Still, the results of Sunday's parliamentary election must worry him.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / Japan Pulse
Dec 8, 2011

New era for New Year's cards

It'll be nengajo time soon, and clever entrepreneurs have got you covered.
CULTURE / Music
Dec 8, 2011

Forget Santa — spend the holidays at a live house

For those not into the usual Japanese holiday traditions of eating Christmas cake, watching the "Kohaku" music show on TV, and quiet nights with the family, luckily Japan's rockers aren't taking time off. December is filled with must-see gigs.
Japan Times
MULTIMEDIA
Dec 7, 2011

Toyota plug-in hybrids seen going to head of the class

Toyota Motor Corp.'s new plug-in Prius threatens to cast a shadow over competitors' hybrids.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 7, 2011

Putin afflicted by Brezhnev syndrome

The winner of Sunday's legislative election in Russia was a foregone conclusion: United Russia, organized by Vladimir Putin. Likewise, there is no doubt that Putin himself will win the presidential election due in March 2012. But the public enthusiasm that ratified Putin's rule for a decade has vanished,...
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Dec 6, 2011

Tax, pension breaks called favoritism for homemakers

The tax and social security systems have long been seen as favoring full-time homemakers over working women because they are based on single-income households.
EDITORIALS
Dec 3, 2011

IAEA's report on Iran

For years, there have been questions about Iran's nuclear intentions. While Tehran insists that it is merely pursuing its right to the peaceful uses of the atom as a signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), doubts about its ultimate ambitions have ebbed and flowed. On Nov. 8, the International...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 1, 2011

Issues that covered up Japan's nudes

In his popular anecdotal encyclopedia of Japan, "Things Japanese," the 19th-century British Japanologist, Basil Hall Chamberlain, included the comment that "the nude is seen in Japan but not looked at." This reflected a reality in 1890, when the book was published: Nudity was not a big deal, at least...
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2011

Rice goal cut amid glut, cesium fear

The government cut the production target of rice for food after this year's harvest exceeded consumption and as demand may fall further after discoveries of grain tainted by radioactive cesium, the farm ministry said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2011

Jobless rate up for first time in three months

The jobless rate rose in October for the first time in three months, adding to evidence that the postearthquake rebound is fading.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / BACKSTREET STORIES
Nov 27, 2011

Blazing trails in Chiyoda's gardens

With November drawing to a close, I head to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace and the adjacent Kitanomaru Koen park, hoping for fall colors and a mental breather before the season goes nutcrackers with parties and shopping.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 27, 2011

BayStars have chance for fresh start under new ownership

Last week, we examined the history of the Yokohama BayStars and discussed the impending sale of the Central League team and change of ownership from Tokyo Broadcasting Systems Inc. to the DeNA company, and we mentioned where TBS had tried to turn around the fortunes of the club in 2010 by hiring Takao...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 27, 2011

Jewishness infuses the works of Ben Shahn — even his Japanese ones

What does it mean to be a Jewish artist or writer? Is one obliged to assert one's Jewishness — ethnically, religiously, culturally — in order to be seen as such? Or are all Jewish creators by definition "Jewish" creators, even those who create little with what can be considered "Jewish content"?...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 25, 2011

"Shigemori Mirei: Hokutoshichisei no Niwa Ten"

From Dec. 4, the Watari Museum of Contemporary Art explores the essence of Japanese aesthetics through a retrospective exhibition of Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975), a Japanese garden designer and historian.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 25, 2011

"Impressionists in Prints: Angel's Tender Touch on a Sunny Afternoon"

Impressionist paintings are particularly popular in Japan, and it surprises some fans that many of the Impressionists were also skilled and committed print artists. Now, though, Hachioji Yume Art Museum presents around 130 prints from the late 19th to the early 20th century, created by well-known painters...

Longform

A man offers prayers at Hebikubo Shrine in Tokyo's Shinagawa Ward. The shrine is one of several across the country dedicated to the snake.
Shed your skin and reinvent yourself in the Year of the Snake