Search - question

 
 
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2009

Real 'fraternity' with U.S.

Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama's article on the "Banner of Fraternity" — particularly the part that deals with globalization, Americanism and Japan's relations with her Asian neighbors — has drawn many comments both in Japan and the United States.
Japan Times
LIFE
Sep 13, 2009

Winning was the easy part for Hatoyama's DPJ

After generations of rule, the Liberal Democratic Party was trounced by the Democratic Party of Japan in last month's Lower House elections. Jeff Kingston weighs what went wrong, what went right — and what now for a nation whose voters are sick of 'politics as usual'?
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Sep 13, 2009

Sex in space could be the key to the survival of humans

I've been thinking about sex in space. Not from any interest in a potential new porn genre, or because I've got a chance of joining the 62-mile-high club any time soon. No, my concerns are loftier even than that: I'm worried about the future of humanity.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2009

Accomplices in promoting folly

How can a citizen know that what he reads, sees and hears from the media is accurate and fair? That's the question triggered by Hiroaki Sato's Aug. 30 article, "Media connivance in walking the dogs of war."
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2009

Nothing was lost in translation in Saitama mugging trial, peers believe

The lay judges in the four-day trial of a 20-year-old Filipino said Friday they felt their new court duty was a valuable experience and, although the defendant's case required translators, no question was left unanswered.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2009

JAL hoping DPJ doesn't cut loans

Japan Airlines Corp., the recipient of three government bailouts since 2001, will find out soon if the rules have changed.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 11, 2009

La Scala tour showcases Milan's finest

La Scala is currently on its sixth Japan tour through Sept. 17.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2009

Interpreters put to first test in lay judge trial

SAITAMA — Court interpreters were put to the test Wednesday as the first lay judge trial of a foreign defendant drew on their language and translation skills at the Saitama District Court.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2009

DPJ, two allies agree to form coalition

Leaders of the Democratic Party of Japan and two minor parties agreed Wednesday to form a coalition government, laying the groundwork for the launch of the new administration on Sept. 16.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2009

Bureaucrats may fret but DPJ win has world's attention

Foreign Ministry bureaucrats have yet to fully grasp the policies of the Democratic Party of Japan, but some are welcoming the level of attention the party is generating overseas, especially in the United States, saying there is strong interest in Japan's diplomacy for the first time in decades.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2009

In Hatoyama's 'fraternity,' people the end, not means

An opinion piece by Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama that was originally published in the September edition of the Japanese monthly journal Voice has triggered controversy in the United States for appearing to have an antiglobalization bent.
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
Sep 8, 2009

Cycling after drink may mean five years in clink

Riding under the influence C.F. in Hiroshima wants to know about the revised law on riding bicycles that went into effect in June 2008. He has heard that police can arrest anyone if they have had a few drinks and are caught riding a bicycle home.
EDITORIALS
Sep 7, 2009

Rise of the telecommuters

The number of telecommuters in Japan jumped during fiscal 2008, according to a survey by the transport ministry. Nearly 10 million people telecommuted for eight or more hours per week at the end of last March, up five percentage points from three years earlier, to comprise roughly 15 percent of all workers...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 6, 2009

Donald Keene: A life lived true to the words

Donald Keene is one of the greatest scholars of Japanese literature and has been highly influential in the establishment of Japanese studies in the West.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Sep 6, 2009

My key connection

It was 1954 and the summer holidays were over. The family had moved a few miles south from Tewkesbury to Cheltenham in the beautiful county of Gloucestershire in the west of England, and I had been transferred from the one town's boys grammar school to the other's.
EDITORIALS
Sep 5, 2009

Justice in Scotland

Justice should be tempered by mercy. That was the thinking of the government of Scotland when it decided to release Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal cancer, from prison, eight years into a 27-year minimum sentence for blowing up an airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, and killing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Sep 4, 2009

Dälek and DJ Baku

To promote their "DJ Baku Vs Dälek" CD, Tokyo turntablist DJ Baku and American hip-hop group Dälek (pronounced Die-a-leck) are teaming up for some shows.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 3, 2009

Crime, punishment and the quality of mercy

PRINCETON, N.J. — The recent release of Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, convicted of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, sparked outrage.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2009

Citizens find their place on the bench

As far as civic duties go, most Japanese would probably say voting is the most serious. But last month, a contender emerged with the first trial under the lay judge system.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Sep 3, 2009

Has Tokyo's art-fair scene got the goods?

Credit crunch be damned. Tokyo art fairs are going strong, with more coming to the roster. And now Tokyo Photo is coming into focus.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2009

'Distorted' in translation?

An opinion piece by Democratic Party of Japan President Yukio Hatoyama published in The New York Times has drawn flak in America over its apparent antiglobalization bent, prompting the presumptive prime minister to argue portions of his essay were "distorted" in translation.
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Aso's all-time greatest blooper

Regarding the Aug. 25 article "Poor men too lowly to wed: Aso": Prime Minister Taro Aso's comments that people with little money would be better off not getting married and that it is difficult for him to understand how someone without pay can be seen as worthy of a partner's respect are, to say the...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Responsibility of foreign guests

What inspired me to write was once again the possibly false assumptions pertaining to the reported recent arrest and nearly 10-day detention of a 74-year-old American man for carrying a pocketknife, including the implication that the knife in question had been carried on the plane by the tourist. The...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

'Trainees' a burden in these times

In response to the Aug. 25 Views From the Street question ("What would you do if you were prime minister of Japan?"): If I were the prime minister, I would stop trainees from coming to Japan. Because of these trainees, no more jobs are available. Actually they are not "training" but are a source of...
Reader Mail
Aug 30, 2009

Police gauntlet in the parking lot

Regarding the Aug. 26 article "Tourist's 10-day detention rapped": The Metro Police are asking the same question of foreigners who intend to use the Tokyo Immigration Bureau's parking lot. Police will ask if you have a knife and search your vehicle for knives and other dangerous weapons perhaps known...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / BACKSTREET STORIES
Aug 30, 2009

A textiles tour to dye for

A landlocked train stop named Hikifune (Tugboat) begs a question. Two such stations in Tokyo's downtown Sumida Ward — the other is nearby Keisei Hikifune — suggest there should be some answers.
EDITORIALS
Aug 30, 2009

U.S. Senate loses a lion

Edward Kennedy, the senior U.S. senator from the state of Massachusetts, died Tuesday night after a yearlong struggle with cancer. Mr. Kennedy's death deprives the United States of one of its most powerful and eloquent voices, a man who demanded justice and equal opportunities for the country's weakest...

Longform

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat