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.
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Apr 28, 2011
Maharaja Company president Emiko Kothari
by Judit Kawaguchi
Emiko Kothari is president of the Maharaja Company Ltd, a chain of Indian restaurants across Japan. In 1968, Emiko and her husband, Shivji, opened their first Indian restaurant in Tokyo, and the couple’s winning recipe of mixing authentic Indian cuisine and Japanese hospitality contributed ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Apr 14, 2011
Fashion designer Saleem d'Aronville
JUDIT KAWAGUCHI Saleem d’Aronville is a British fashion designer based in Tokyo. In 2003, he launched Orihica, a brand he developed for Aoki Holdings Inc., one of Japan’s top fashion retailers. As its creative director, Saleem built Orihica into a major label with 65 ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Mar 10, 2011
Robocon founder Dr. Masahiro Mori
by Judit Kawaguchi
Dr. Masahiro Mori, 84, is a specialist in robotics and Emeritus President of the Robotics Society of Japan. Mori is the founder of Robocon, the robotics contest he started in 1981 when he was a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Since then, ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Feb 24, 2011
Dr. Arihisa Fujimaki
by Judit Kawaguchi
Dr. Arihisa Fujimaki, 67, is the director of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) Hospital in Tokyo. An expert in reconstructive microsurgery, this orthopedic surgeon regularly performs operations to re-attach fingers, toes, hands and the occasional foot. Fujimaki is a hero to many, from construction workers ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Feb 10, 2011
Artist Yoshitaka Amano
by Judit Kawaguchi
Artist Yoshitaka Amano, 58, is a world-famous creator of manga, anime and game characters. At age 15, he launched his professional career with the popular “Speed Racer” anime and has since worked on many hit shows, such as “Time Bokan,” “Gatchaman” (“G-Force”), “Tekkaman” and ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Jan 27, 2011
Champion itasha drivers Rei and Cloud
by Judit Kawaguchi
Rei Densetsu and his sister Cloud are champion itasha (decorated car) drivers. At the 2010 Fuji Speedway itasha event, where Japan’s best-decorated cars are judged on their designs, Cloud won the Impact Prize and Rei received the Special Award for their outrageously decked-out vehicles. ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Jan 13, 2011
Cooking teacher Kaori Baba
by Judit Kawaguchi
Kaori Baba, 56, is a cooking teacher in Tokyo. An advocate of eating local foods, Baba bases her lifework around protecting Japan’s near-extinct traditional vegetables and popularizing their consumption. Whether she’s cooking long, green pumpkins that only grow in one village in Gifu Prefecture ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Dec 23, 2010
Part-time salesman/cleaner Seiji Date
by Judit Kawaguchi
Seiji Date, 60, is a part-time clothing salesman and a part-time cleaner. He has 38 years of experience in the fashion business, but six months ago, the economic slump forced his employer to retire him at the company’s mandatory retirement age of 60. Having ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Dec 9, 2010
Hibiya Matsumotoro owner Tetsuro Kosaka
by Judit Kawaguchi
Tetsuro Kosaka, 78, is the owner of Hibiya Matsumotoro, one of Japan’s most historical restaurants. A three-story building resembling a cozy country estate, Matsumotoro was designed to sit in the center of Japan’s first Western-style park, Hibiya Koen, and it has been in business ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Nov 25, 2010
Showa Women's University President Mariko Bando
by Judit Kawaguchi
Mariko Bando, 64, is the president of Showa Women’s University in Tokyo. She is also a best-selling author with more than 30 books under her belt, including “The Dignity of a Woman,” which has sold over 3 million copies. An advocate of women’s rights, ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Nov 11, 2010
Aiai founder Chieko Awata
by Judit Kawaguchi
Chieko Awata, 68, is the founder of Aiai, a nonprofit organization that provides art education to autistic children and adults. For the past 46 years she has been teaching drawing, painting and social skills to children as young as 2 years old. Some of ...
People | WORDS TO LIVE BY Oct 28, 2010
Ryokan owner Kazushi Sato
by Judit Kawaguchi
Kazushi Sato, 63, is the owner of Tsurunoyu Onsen, a hot-spring ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Akita Prefecture. Nestled within beech woods deep in the mountains, Tsurunoyu is surrounded by natural beauty — bears wander freely, feasting on mountain grapes, and edible wild mushrooms ...