Search - text

 
 
Japan Times
Rugby
Nov 5, 2016

Brave Blossoms upbeat about opportunity to improve, grow as a unit

Despite a lopsided 54-20 loss to Argentina on Saturday afternoon, Japanese players held their heads up high at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground because they know that they can only improve by working more together in practices and games moving forward.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 31, 2016

Farmers have tech, but weeds have evolution

Some 12,000 years ago, humans started a war against weeds — and the weeds are still a step ahead.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Oct 29, 2016

Are Japanese really 'docile'?: challenging an enduring myth

A common perception abroad is that Japanese society is docile. This is partly thanks to Western writers who tried to create a single profile of the Japanese in the early to mid-20th century, such as Ruth Benedict in her 1946 book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword." Today, this dangerous myth of consensus...
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 29, 2016

In blow to U.S., Malaysia announces it will buy navy patrol vessels from China

Malaysia will sign a contract to purchase Littoral Mission Ships from China when Prime Minister Najib Razak visits Beijing next week, according to a Facebook posting by the country's Ministry of Defense.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 29, 2016

EU and Canada to sign trade pact after Belgians approve changes

Canada and the European Union will sign a landmark free trade deal on Sunday after key votes in Belgian regional assemblies on Friday ended opposition that had threatened to destroy the agreement.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 26, 2016

Japan scores tragic own goal

The Abe government's position on 'comfort women' is damaging Japan's international reputation and playing into China's hands.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2016

'Heart of a Dog': Living with the heartbreak of loss

I wake up on a Sunday and my friend is gone. Cancer. I had known, but it was sudden. Memories of her come in a rush, accompanied by old photos re-shared, emails lingering deep in the inbox, a handwritten note. Her absence — the knowledge that I'd never get any more of her stream-of-consciousness texts...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 25, 2016

Kyoto Experiment festival revels in breaking barriers

"Good fences make good neighbors" is an often-quoted line from Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" about two farmers united in their effort to rebuild a wall that divides their land. Less well known is the poem's central query: "Why do good fences make good neighbors?" It's a question that seems particularly...
WORLD
Oct 22, 2016

Czech president accused of denying medal to Holocaust survivor who met Dalai Lama

Czech President Milos Zeman has decided against awarding a state medal to a Holocaust survivor whose nephew, a government minister, met exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama against the president's wishes, the minister said on Friday.
WORLD
Oct 22, 2016

Syrian government forces responsible for third gas attack, inquiry finds

An international inquiry found Syrian government forces responsible for a third toxic gas attack, according to a confidential report submitted to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, setting the stage for a showdown between Russia and western members of the UNSC over how to respond.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2016

Belgian region's rejection imperils EU-Canada trade deal

The Belgian region of Wallonia rejected new amendments to a planned EU-Canada free trade agreement on Thursday, reaffirming its opposition and so threatening the entire deal, a flagship of European Union trade policy.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 18, 2016

China's real 'House of Cards': TV series unveils corruption excesses

Chinese state television is airing a documentary series on President Xi Jinping's signature anti-corruption campaign in prime time this week, unveiling new footage and salacious details of high-profile corruption cases ahead of a key Communist Party meeting.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 18, 2016

Sci-fi and fact at the Okayama Art Summit

The city of Okayama was flattened by incendiary bombs in 1945. Many people died, more than 12,000 homes were destroyed and Okayama's centuries-old wooden castle burned to its stone foundations. In 1966, the donjon was rebuilt with modern concrete, which was likely made in Mizushima — a smoke-spewing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Oct 11, 2016

Thomas Ruff: in the grand scheme of things

Thomas Ruff is one of the key figures of photography in the postmodern era, and his retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, will probably already be pencilled into your calendar if you have any interest in contemporary art.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 6, 2016

Festival/Tokyo speaks with a defiant voice

Press conferences are usually upbeat affairs, but at the one held to herald Festival/Tokyo — a two-month theater festival that kicks off Oct. 15 — Artistic Director Sachio Ichimura appears looking worried and begins proceedings by bemoaning the event's financial situation and wondering aloud about...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 5, 2016

'Genius': The wordsmith who shaped Wolfe

Once upon a time, the word "genius" made us think not the help counter in an Apple Store but of people of incredible intellect who accomplished amazing things and relied on nothing more than their brains and bare hands. This "Genius" transports us back to such a time: 1929, when in New York City, the...
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 1, 2016

Who advises Japan's business leaders?

Take a wild guess: Who's the second most influential management guru in Japan, after — it almost goes without saying — Peter Drucker?
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 29, 2016

Fove Inc. to debut VR goggles that track eyeball movements

Virtual reality is on the cusp of becoming mainstream, but one startup in Japan is betting the technology won't really succeed unless it cracks a critical piece of the puzzle: human eyeballs.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 28, 2016

FBI probes hacks targeting phones of Democratic Party officials

The FBI is investigating suspected attempts to hack mobile phones used by Democratic Party officials as recently as the past month, four people with direct knowledge of the attacks and the investigation told Reuters.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Sep 27, 2016

'No refuge could save the hireling and slave'

Is the U.S. national anthem racist or are the lyrics of the third stanza merely misunderstood?
WORLD / Politics
Sep 25, 2016

Trump's potential guest at first debate: Gennifer Flowers

Donald Trump has threatened to invite Gennifer Flowers, who had an affair with Hillary Clinton's husband, to attend Monday night's presidential debate.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 21, 2016

Hany Abu-Assad: Making strong voices heard

Ever since the first series of "Pop Idol" screened on British TV in 2001, the televised music competition has become practically inescapable, with franchises springing up everywhere from Macedonia to the Maldives. Given how cannily stage-managed these "reality" shows really are, though, it almost comes...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Sep 17, 2016

Okinawan chronicles: 10 books that show the many faces of Japan's 'island paradise'

Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 14, 2016

Love beyond the laws of physics and nature

"Correspondence" (also known as "La Corrispondenza") is the kind of romance the Japanese have traditionally loved to love — two people locked in a relationship that barely exists.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 12, 2016

Can Japanese speakers really read Chinese? It depends on what you mean by 'read'

Will acquiring the ability to read Japanese give you some degree of literacy in Chinese? Well, it could at least give you a head start.

Longform

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