Elizabeth Day - The Japan Times

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Elizabeth Day

For Elizabeth Day's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

WORLD

Jan 5, 2014

The outbreak of the Great War: 100 years on

On New Year's Day 1914, a respected weekly literary publication carried a long article penned by an author referred to only as A Rifleman. Entitled "Letters on War" and published in The New Age, an influential radical magazine in Britain, the three-page piece argued forcefully in favor of military conflict.

Japan Times

ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health

Dec 1, 2013

Painstaking work and a devoted team unearthed the Buddha's secret

When professor Robin Coningham's youngest son, Gus, was 5, he was asked at school what his father did. "He works for the Buddha," said the boy. Which led to a bit of confusion, recalls Coningham.

Japan Times

WORLD / Society

Jul 19, 2013

That's me in the picture: how 'selfies' became a global craze

It starts with a certain angle: A smartphone tilted at 45 degrees just above your eyeline is generally deemed the most forgiving. Then a light source: the flattering beam of a backlit window or a bursting supernova of flash reflected in a bathroom mirror, as preparations are under way for a night out.

Japan Times

WORLD

Jun 29, 2013

Charles Saatchi: art supremo with an image problem

When the art collector Charles Saatchi wants something, he knows how to set about getting it. Gallerists and curators are full of stories about the way he walks into an exhibition, fixes on the single best work of art on show and rushes toward it — in the words of one acquaintance, "like a heat-seeking missile." Those who have seen him in action say that when he likes a piece of art, he will do everything he can to have it for himself. For Saatchi, worth a rumored £135 million, the price is irrelevant.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Books

Apr 28, 2013

Entertaining romps set against Nazi backdrop

It is 1936. Daphne Linden, the unworldly, 18-year-old daughter of a priapic Oxford professor, is sent to finishing school in Germany along with a slew of other nice young girls, all of whom unwittingly get caught up in a period of tumultuous political upheaval. At first, Daphne and her friends are more interested in cream puddings and going out with boys wearing frightfully dashing SS uniforms than paying much attention to the spreading Nazi threat. But the more Daphne opens her eyes to what is happening around her, the more she begins to grasp the unpleasant truths lying just beneath the surface.

Japan Times

WORLD / Science & Health

Apr 27, 2013

Can you really train your brain to be more intelligent?

My week has been pretty hectic so far. On Monday, I manned a busy beach bar and had to remember a range of ice-cream and pizza orders for a constant stream of customers.

Japan Times

WORLD

Apr 20, 2013

A journey across Margaret Thatcher's England

Much of Eileen Jeffrey's adult life has been shaped by a woman she never met and a prime minister she never voted for.

Japan Times

WORLD / Crime & Legal

Feb 23, 2013

The stalking cure: rehabilitating an all too common menace

When forensic psychiatrist Frank Farnham first meets a stalker, he doesn't judge. Some of his clients have done awful things. They have intimidated, pursued and terrified their victims.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Music

Nov 27, 2008

Viva la diva — Xtina keeps it feisty fresh

A year in a dog's life is supposed to be equivalent to seven in human terms. On the way to interview Christina Aguilera, it crosses my mind that there might be a similar exponential growth rate at work for diminutive blonde pop starlets. For how else to explain that, at the grand old age of 27, Aguilera is releasing her greatest-hits album? Don't most people take, well, at least a few decades to accumulate enough material? Isn't it the sort of thing aging artists do to make themselves feel better when they're in their fifties, to remind their fans of a halcyon era before they were destroyed by the gradual onward march of time and deep-fried peanut butter sandwiches?

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

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.

For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on

By Lance Henderstein

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

Leading Japan’s sustainability from Tokyo

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