World
G-8 disappoints Syrian rebels, makes progress on corporate tax evasion
Leaders of the G-8 agree on a plan to clamp down on money launderers, illegal tax evaders and corporate tax avoiders, while pushing for immediate peace talks on Syria.
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For Finnish diplomat Mikko Koivumaa, being an ikumen (men who take an active role in ikuji, or child rearing) comes naturally. Hailing from a country known to have a high level of gender equality, Koivumaa says ikumen is standard practice in Finland. “In Finland, there’s a social welfare policy that ...
When vocalist Herb Kendrick, better known simply by his nickname “Q,” takes the stage next week in Tokyo, he will ...
You often hear about animals being rescued from abusive owners, but I wonder, is there any help for pet owners ...
While hammering nails and cutting planks in the prop department at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Metropolitan Opera in the early 2000s, Barry Silver never dreamed of a life in Japan.
Aging Japan. We hear this phrase all the time. The question is, what are they talking about — the infrastructure? The people? Four Roses whisky? Everything ultimately ages. Even newborns age. So perhaps to defy “aging Japan,” we need people who age younger, or ...
A Japanese colleague trying to improve her English via episodes of the TV sitcom “Friends” once asked me this . . . “Was ‘Friends’ really aired on prime time television? The content seems so racy. Here this would have been late night fare, for ...
Jo Ebisujima describes herself as “a hybrid of MacGyver and Martha Stewart.” In the popular American TV show “MacGyver,” which aired from 1985 to 1992, the hero gets himself out of sticky situations by constructing ingenious devices with everyday materials. Stewart, on the other ...
What is Buddhism? In Australia, Buddhism can be found in a cup of coffee. So waste no time and start your journey to awakening at Buddha Espresso, a cafe in Perth. If you haven’t reached enlightenment by the end of the cup, accept this ...
If you don’t get into the ring once or twice, then you’re a coward, Geoffrey Ima says as he describes people’s attitudes toward boxing in his hometown in Uganda. Ima has been in the ring hundreds of times and came to love boxing so ...
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe aims to globalize Japan’s workforce and says that Japan must become more competitive in the English language. This has touched off a debate among native English teachers, Japanese who teach English, Japanese speakers who don’t speak English, and English sheepdogs ...
“Weird,” he says. “Give me something weird.” The menu boasts both fish sperm and odorigui — small fish you chew while they’re alive. But such food is not on his wish list. At least not anymore. My dinner friend has lived here for years. ...
Life in Japan just seems tailor-made for certain foreign residents, who slip into the fabric of this society as smoothly as a hand slides into a glove. American Curtis Patterson, a professional koto player and music teacher, is a case in point. Not only ...
I thought I had bought a smartphone, but I ended up with a dumb phone instead. It’s probably my fault for not asking for documentation showing it had passed an IQ test. My phone is not smart enough to pass university entrance exams, the ...
For singer Eva Miklas Takamine, who also has been head of the Czech Center in Tokyo since March, singing both Czech and Japanese songs is a way of expressing her identity. The Czech-born Miklas, 52, who began her career as a professional singer only ...
The Go Fish! Foundation is an international organization for the protection of fish, their parents, family and friends. Go Fish! rescues, rehabilitates and gives sanctuary to fish in need. Our services include protection of species, sheltering in state-of-the-art aquariums and access to secret spawning ...