National Sep 8, 2013

Tokyo wins bid to host 2020 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee selects Tokyo to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics on Saturday in Buenos Aires, giving Japan’s capital its second Summer Games, and first since 1964.

National Sep 5, 2013

Experts uncertain about Tokyo bid

by Masaaki Kameda

As the weekend vote looms by the International Olympic Committee to decide the city that will host the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, experts in Japan say the three candidates are neck and neck amid lingering worries about the radioactive water leaking from the ...

National Sep 4, 2013

Tokyo sets up English website on radiation

by Mizuho Aoki

The metro government opens an English website offering radiation-related information — a last-ditch effort before the 2020 Olympics host is picked — to brush off the negative impact from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant mess.

Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Sep 2, 2013

Tokyo: How would you describe Roppongi in one word?

by Mark Buckton

Hiroyuki Kadota, 32Nursery school teacher (Japanese)“Roadworks.” When I was a lot younger I went there, and I don’t have a great memory of that time because it was all roadworks, everywhere you look. And later, when a little older, when I went into bars ...

Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 2, 2013

Tin Man's throne: the rise and fall of a Roppongi royal

by Dreux Richard

Gilbert Otaigbe is the current owner of Black Horse bar and nightclub in Roppongi. At the height of his success in the mid-2000s, he owned at least seven bars, clubs and restaurants.

Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Aug 26, 2013

Tokyo: How much TV do you watch each week, and what do you watch?

by Mark Buckton

From "none" to "watching TV is pretty much all I do," Tokyoites explain their diverse viewing habits.

National Aug 22, 2013

Cloud-seeding brings rain to Tama

For the first time in 12 years, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government attempts on a trial basis to artificially produce rain to cope with lower-than-average water levels in a Tama River reservoir.

Art Aug 21, 2013

Spreading the word through manga

by Patrick ST. Michel

Videos of anime conventions in America greet visitors to Tokyo’s Museum of Contemporary Art at this summer’s “The Power of Manga — Osamu Tezuka and Shotaro Ishinomori” exhibition. Looped footage of attendants in cosplay at the Los Angeles Anime Expo and other similar events ...

Voices | HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO Aug 19, 2013

Abe and his ministers give anti-foreigner rallies tacit green light

To the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe: I read with sadness The Japan Times of July 11. In it, an article (“Politicians silent on curbing hate speech” by Eric Johnston) spoke of the demonstrations taking place, largely in Osaka and Tokyo, which demonize ...

Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Aug 12, 2013

Tokyo: If today was your last day on Earth, what on Earth would you do?

by Mark Buckton

Shintaro Horiki Barman, 33 (Japanese) I would do as I always do — no real changes for me. I would stay home or go to work, to sleep — same as always, except perhaps for one thing: I always take one hour to get ...

Business Aug 6, 2013

Tokyo real estate lures Asian bargain hunters

by Kathleen Chu and Katsuyo Kuwako

When Julia Chang, a 48-year-old Taiwanese who divides her time between Taiwan and Tokyo, decided to diversify her family’s overseas investments, she settled on real estate in the Japanese capital, where prices have slumped for two decades. Chang, a former flight attendant, is looking ...