Transport authorities launched a full-fledged investigation Sunday into the derailment of a bullet train on the Akita Shinkansen Line in Daisen, Akita Prefecture, on Saturday afternoon.
It's a dangerous, unpredictable world. Twice in January Chinese warships in the East China Sea challenged Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces patrols in a manner deemed threatening. And on Feb. 12 came North Korea's nuclear test.
Here's an open secret: Japanese men have a bad international reputation on the romance front.
SELLING WOMEN: Prostitution, Markets and the Household in Early Modern Japan, by Amy Stanley. University of California Press, 2012, 282 pp., $49.95 (hardcover) In the vast cultural landscape, Japan fascinates the mainstream with manga and anime, the martial arts, Zen and kimono. Of course, ...
Kenta Maeda shook off worries about his form with five shutout innings as Japan beat China 5-2 in first-round Pool A of the World Baseball Classic on Sunday at Fukuoka Dome. Japan improved to 2-0 following a tough win over Brazil in Saturday evening’s ...
I can’t wait to see NHK-G’s special program to air Feb. 23. They are finally going to address a topic I have harbored secret thoughts about since I came to Japan in 1994. NHK is going to broach the topic in a no-holds-barred documentary. ...
I lay in bed with a woman with a mask on her face. So I roll her way and coo in her unmasked ear . . . “You can hide your face but not your passion.” To which she sighs and coos back . ...
Ken Hartmann, 71, still opens doors for ladies, and still speaks with a brusque, no-nonsense New York accent even after 27 years in Japan.
On Jan. 7, Tokyo put in its bid to host the 2020 summer Olympic Games. So did Madrid and Istanbul. Who wins the coveted bid will not be known until September. But consider some of the barriers to Tokyo winning. First, Tokyo needs to ...
The new Tokyo Skytree has enjoyed immense popularity and is being credited for giving Japanese people hope for the future. Yes, having with the tallest tower (634 meters) and the second tallest structure in the world, we are all filled with a renewed sense ...
How do you appreciate a Japanese garden? The typical temple visit — where you ponder a seemingly random assemblage of rocks and raked gravel or push your way through a throng of tourists jostling for camera angles — can leave one confused and underwhelmed. ...
At the end of lunch with an old friend, I point out yet another hole in my Swiss cheese knowledge of Japan. “I’ve never really understood this whole ‘Kansai/Kanto’ thing. I mean, sure, I’ve traveled to Kyoto, Osaka and so on. But I’ve never ...
Katsura Sunshine wants to spread the world of rakugo (traditional comic storytelling) to people all over the world, including his home country Canada, by delivering English-translated versions. The 42-year-old Slovenian-Canadian, who was given the stage name from his master, Katsura Bunshi, after three years ...
Having problems keeping your New Year’s resolution? Not me. Because this year I chose resolutions that were easily fulfilled: No more seiza: Seiza is an excruciating form of Japanese style-sitting (on your haunches), invented especially to torture foreigners. I know this is true because ...
Mohammad Moin tries to realize what he calls “intellectual fair trade” through his operation of an online English conversation school for Japanese — all taught by Filipino teachers. The inexpensive English lessons are offered to Japanese students via Skype, while at the same time ...
My buddy grinds his teeth and says, “You know what irks about this country?” And so I summon all the usual suspects . . . The insular mindset? The high cost of living? The crowded trains? The summer heat? “No,” he hisses. “It’s in ...
As 2013 is the Year of the Snake, for your serpentine pleasure, I’ve put together a list of snake-like creatures from Japanese legends and folklore. Loch Ness monster fans, Yeti fans and Bigfoot fans, you’re going to have a heck of a year in ...
