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May 17, 2024
 

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Roger Pulvers

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Roger Pulvers
Roger Pulvers is an author, playwright, theater director and translator who divides his time between Tokyo and Sydney. He has published more than 40 books. His latest book in English is "The Dream of Lafcadio Hearn."
For Roger Pulvers's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Mar 7, 2010
For humanity's sake, let's tie whaling in with animal welfare as a whole
Back in the early '90s, my wife, children and I lived in the picturesque and historical Sydney suburb of Mosman . . . well, historical by white-settler Australian standards.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 28, 2010
Feeling revulsion may signal you're finally home away from home
There is a curious and very telling phrase in Japanese to describe the feeling of hatred that people can have for family. It is kinshin-zoo, or "close-relative abhorrence."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 21, 2010
Never mind 'strategy,' a basic education involves others' languages
"Americans have never been particularly interested in learning other languages and are even less interested today. . . . Our government spends 25 per cent less, adjusted for inflation, than it did 40 years ago on foreign-language training at university level."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 14, 2010
Today's complex society in Japan spawns a new 'foreigner complex'
Among the many Japanese words and phrases that have fallen by the wayside of late and become shigo (obsolete), gaijin komupurekkusu (foreigner complex) is certainly among the least missed.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Feb 7, 2010
To resolve its 'core issue' Beijing needs to take heed of Dalai Lama
"From the perspective of Chinese Communist Party ideology, China was a victim of Western imperialism from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and, as a result, the Chinese tend to remember the humiliations they suffered while rarely considering their own nation to be an imperial power."
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 31, 2010
Checkmates and imbalances are derailing Obama's bid for change
When historians look back on the Obama administration, they may deem the senatorial election in Massachusetts on Jan. 19, 2010, to have been the pivotal event determining its destiny.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 24, 2010
For all his failings, MacArthur was a fine precursor of Obama's bow
Two photographs, separated in time and context by 64 years, may symbolize, as well as anything can, the nature of the postwar Japanese-American alliance. Both in their time gave rise to uproar.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 17, 2010
Seeking exactitude can sometimes exact a high cultural price
I freely admit a prejudice. It is against the concept of "national character," or kokuminsei in Japanese. Is there really such a thing or is it merely a jumble of stereotypes, whichever is the country or culture in question?
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 10, 2010
Danger lurks when self-restraint segues into media self-censorship
If I had to choose a word that characterized a good deal of Japanese social behavior it would probably be jishuku.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jan 3, 2010
A world beyond the United States now beckons Japanese youth
...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 27, 2009
Decade's end abuzz and a-flutter with wist for a warm poetic past
At the end of the year — and, particularly, the end of a decade — an old man's fancy turns, involuntarily, to nostalgia.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 27, 2009
Decade's end abuzz and a-flutter with wist for a warm poetic past
At the end of the year — and, particularly, the end of a decade — an old man's fancy turns, involuntarily, to nostalgia.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 20, 2009
Stunning book speaks volumes about the ravages visited on Tibet
Ten years ago, near the end of 1999, the Chinese author Wang Lixiong received a package from a young woman of Tibetan origin named Tsering Woeser. It contained several hundred black-and-white negatives.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 13, 2009
Tragedy exposes need to care more for carers' mental well-being
Shortly after 1 p.m. on April 21, 2009, a worker at Fuji Reien cemetery in Gotenba City, Shizuoka Prefecture, discovered the body of a woman on its grounds. Nearby, a semi-conscious elderly lady sat shivering in a wheelchair.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Dec 6, 2009
Politically incorrect maybe, but also some trenchant home truths
The world used to be one hell of a racist place. All you need do is go back a few decades to find public pronouncements that today would land you a punch on the schnozz, if not a stint in the slammer.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 29, 2009
Though elusive to all, the language of Japan surely merits a break
When I was staying in a pension in Seoul for a month in the autumn of 1967, I tried to speak some Japanese, our only common language, with its 80-year-old Korean proprietor. He refused outright until about a week into my stay, when he gave in and said, "I haven't spoken Japanese since the war and I vowed...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 22, 2009
Ozawa's sermon hardly befitted the spirit of the mount he chose
On Nov. 10, Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, dropped a bombshell in a speech he made atop one of Japan's most sacred mountains, Mount Koya, in Wakayama Prefecture.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 15, 2009
Children pay the price when parents put their own feelings first
It is hard enough for a child to be shuffled back and forth for scheduled stays like a puck over the ice that separates divorced parents. Difficulty turns to tragedy when one parent takes it into their head to abduct the child and keep it out of reach of the other.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 15, 2009
Children pay the price when parents put their own feelings first
It is hard enough for a child to be shuffled back and forth for scheduled stays like a puck over the ice that separates divorced parents. Difficulty turns to tragedy when one parent takes it into their head to abduct the child and keep it out of reach of the other.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 8, 2009
Reading between the lines of Hatoyama's far-sighted 'vision thing'
The prime minister's keynote policy address in the Diet affords the nation's leader an opportunity to present their overall thinking to the people — as its name in Japanese, shoshin hyomei (declaration of convictions), would indeed suggest.
Japanese stripper bids to have her porn movies taken off internet
Plaintiff Miyuki Ariga (left) speaks at a news conference along with her lawyer, Yoshitomo Morohashi, after filing a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on Monday.
Kishida defends planned rule to revoke foreigners' residency
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a meeting of the Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
Human bone-like objects found at Nippon Steel plant’s molten iron pot, with one worker missing
Police believe it’s highly possible that human bones found in a molten iron pot at Nippon Steel's Oita factory belong to a missing male employee.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Japanese billionaire sues Meta over investment scams using his image
Entrepreneurs Yusaku Maezawa (second from right) and Takafumi Horie (third from right) attend a study session on fake social media ads and investment scams at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo on April 10.
Japanese rap creates its mecca in Pop Yours
Tokyo-based artist Jumadiba says he forgoes the label of simply “rap” for his music because the Japanese rap scene isn’t confined to a particular sound.
Who’s toughest on China? Biden’s tariff tactic ups ante as election looms.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about new actions to protect American workers and businesses from China's "unfair" trade practices, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Tuesday.
Was Onosato's defeat of Terunofuji an era-defining bout?
Onosato (right) defeats Terunofuji at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo on May 12. While nothing in sumo is guaranteed, it seems almost inevitable that Onosato is destined for the top of the sport's pyramid.
Ishin struggles to set itself apart from other parties
Nippon Ishin no Kai Secretary-General Fumitake Fujita (right) speaks beside Yui Kanazawa, the party's candidate in the Tokyo 15th district by-election on April 28. Nippon Ishin lost in this by-election as well as another in Nagasaki held on the same day.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.
How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan
By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there
Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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