Akira Okubo - The Japan Times

Today's print edition

Subscribe for more access

Meta

Akira Okubo

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Jul 24, 2014

Sakaiminato — the city of fish and festivities

Sakaiminato in Tottori Prefecture is a city that is ideal for tourists. It's one of the biggest fishing towns in Japan, and as the hometown of Mizuki Shigeru, author of the yōkai (Japanese folklore monsters and ghouls) manga series "GeGeGe no Kitaro," it's known as the birthplace of some of the country's...

Events / Events In Tokyo

Jul 9, 2014

The Miraikan is going down the pan — in a good way

Using the toilet is an everyday part of our lives, yet it's something we rarely talk about in public. But it is of such importance, involving health, sanitation and human dignity, that perhaps it should become a topic of general discussion.

Japan Times

Events / Events In Tokyo

Jul 9, 2014

Visit Japan's prehistoric past

It's hard to imagine, but millions of years ago elephants roamed Japan. Although they died out long before civilization, Tokyo's National Museum of Nature and Science can help us imagine these majestic creatures and other prehistoric mammals through a display of Japan-specific fossils. The "Ancient Mammals...

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Jul 2, 2014

Battle it out in Shinshiro

During the Sengoku period (1482-1573), the Takeda family was one of the strongest clans in Japan, known in particular for its successful cavalry charges. Yet in 1575, it found itself up against something that rendered it powerless — the new western technology of firearms.

Events / Events In Tokyo

Jun 26, 2014

Everyone's having a laugh in Kinokuniya

Rakugo, a traditional form of comic storytelling in Japan, deals with anecdotes about human nature. Described as a "performance of imagination," it is usually done on an empty stage with the artist kneeling on a large cushion and acting out the roles of all characters in the tales, expressing their actions...

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Jun 26, 2014

Osaka's Aizen Festival begins

Even though it is mid-rainy season, the Aizen Festival anticipates the hot summer ahead with a parade of women wearing cool and attractive yukata (light kimono). As Osaka's first summer festival of the year, this is held from June 30 to July 2 at Shoman-in, also known as Aizendou, a 1,400 year-old temple...

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Jun 19, 2014

Royal purple surrounds majestic Mount Fuji

Among the photo opportunities featuring Mount Fuji, there's one that shouldn't be missed: The majestic icon towering behind Lake Kawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture, with a bed of vibrant purple lavender in the foreground.

Japan Times

Events / Events Outside Tokyo

Jun 12, 2014

Niigata's 2 km of festival fun, food and drink

A summer festival wouldn't be complete without an ice-cold drink as you take in the sun and have some fun, and in Japan a popular traditional summer drink is cider — not the alcoholic fermented apple drink, but a fizzy soft drink similar to lemonade.

EDITORIALS

Dec 16, 2010

The empty chair in Oslo

Ever since Mr. Liu Xiaobo was named recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting democratic change in China, the government in Beijing has ensured that he receives maximum publicity — not deliberately, of course. The Chinese government did everything it could to intimidate the awards committee...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.

What comes after 100?

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER

international-reports