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April 26, 2024
 

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Peter Lyon
For Peter Lyon's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 7, 2008
What's behind all the funny car names?
Over the years, Japanese car names have been a source of unending comedy, frivolity and perplexity in international motoring circles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Nov 2, 2008
EVs lead the charge on Paris stage
Gather a bunch of Japanese car journalists or engineers together for a chat on the current state of the industry and you will hear heated debate about design, downsizing, performance, safety and maybe even fuel economy. But for some strange reason, few seem to talk about carbon dioxide (CO2). You know, that awful gas which is said to be responsible for global warming, and of which cars pump out one-quarter in total volume.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Oct 12, 2008
Lamborghini's Gallardo: Italian flair meets German engineering
You could say that I am extremely sensitive to certain types of sound, especially those that fill you with awe and cause goose bumps. Every time I hear tenor sensation Luciano Pavarotti sing the last climactic note in "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera "Turandot," the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, and then, as fast as electricity, a wave of goose bumps engulfs my whole body.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Sep 7, 2008
Toyota's iQ — a smart move in microcar stakes
As a reporter who covers motor shows in Paris, Geneva and Frankfurt, I get to chat with a lot of European car engineers, designers and journalists. And I'm sorry to say but, no folks, they are not all in a lather about skyrocketing oil prices. Global warming's No. 1 cause, rising carbon dioxide levels, is the issue on everyone's lips and the one being addressed on every manufacturer's stand.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Aug 3, 2008
Maserati: The ultimate in automotive artwork
Ask any concert pianist whether they would rather play a Steinway & Sons piano or a Yamaha, and I'll bet you a season ticket to the Opera House in London's Covent Garden that they would nod for the former. When I chatted with just such a virtuoso several months ago, he was smitten with the Steinway. "It's not that the Japanese brand is inferior," he stressed. "It is world class, and the sound is superb. But, well, to be honest, it's how the Steinway makes me feel inside. Special."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jul 6, 2008
Nissan stages own 'Olympics' to get ahead in hard times
Imagine you are a marketing mogul at one of Japan's big carmakers. Your job is to get the world's motoring press driving your cars, generate international exposure and spread the word about your company's products. And right now car sales are plummeting in many countries as rising oil prices hit consumers in the pocket. What would you do?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jun 15, 2008
Women vie for the lead in motor racing
Hollywood's finest scriptwriters couldn't have come up with a better story line. A 92-year-old American car race where the winners celebrate with milk rather than champagne; where female drivers are more popular than their male counterparts; and where all V8 engines, supplied by Honda, run on renewable ethanol fuel.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 27, 2008
Time that Japan's numbers came up
Given that much less than 1 percent of Japan's population are native English speakers, you can understand my surprise when the word "POLICE" suddenly appeared in bold reflective lettering on the nation's patrol cars last year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Apr 13, 2008
Why Japan finally got its foot off the brake
No other phrase more eloquently captures the essence of Japan's car industry than jishu-kisei, or "mutual self-restraint."
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 30, 2008
General Motors banks on an Aussie invasion
If you were fortunate enough to score an invite to a Hollywood party these days, you'd be hard-pressed to avoid rubbing shoulders with an Australian actor. Tinseltown is awash with them. Academy Award winners Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush lead an ever-growing troupe that also includes Toni Collette, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce. Nor can we forget the recently deceased Academy Award-nominated Heath Ledger.
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 16, 2008
Why some of Japan's top cars can't be found here
Ever wondered why some of the best automotive achievements from Japanese carmakers never make it to Japan?
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Mar 2, 2008
Inviting Big Brother along for the ride
In-car camera systems that record accidents have the potential to change our behavior — and curb the rising number of traffic fatalities occurring around the globe as more vehicles pour onto our roads. They also open a debate on the right to personal safety versus the right to privacy; such systems could one day evolve in tandem with GPS satellite-navigation systems to allow authorities to track your location and actually see where you are through the camera — in real-time.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 17, 2008
Taking to the streets of tomorrow
Listen carefully and you might detect the slight whir of this car's motor, a little wind noise and a faint thrum from the tires. Could this be the sound of driving in the future? Will our streets one day be whisper-quiet even as they teem with traffic? Mitsubishi's electric mini-car, due on the market at the end of next year, points in that direction.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Feb 3, 2008
Nano's low price comes at a cost
It's hardly surprising that Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata chose the theme from the film "2001: A Space Odyssey" as the soundtrack to his unveiling of the Nano mini-car. Simply put, this car is epoch-making. It is the Ford Model T of India.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Jan 6, 2008
Games so real the best of drivers take them seriously
Advancing technology blurs the line between virtual and real-world driving as today's champions practice on television screens.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 30, 2007
From start to sale in 15 secs
What looks like NASA's mission-control center is actually the world's biggest, most high-tech car auction.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 16, 2007
How to handle a mobster on the move
Status and fear can do a swift job of clearing a congested road ahead of you. It's a phenomenon I've seen twice on double-lane highways in Japan in the past six months. One time, crawling along at 15 kph in heavy traffic, I spotted a convoy of three black S-Class limos in my rearview mirror threading their way through the congestion. The precision with which they maintained single-file formation and the way they blocked both lanes by straddling the center white lines was as eye-popping as it was educational. None of the other motorists got upset. Nobody honked their horns. Try such antics on roads in Europe or the United States and people are bound to take offense, call the cops or just block you.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 2, 2007
'Godzilla' stomps on the competition
They called it "Godzilla" — and with good reason. When the original turbocharged Nissan Skyline GT-R emerged in 1989, it was hailed as the greatest ever Japanese sports car, a coupe to challenge Europe's top speedsters such as the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Testarossa. It was never officially exported to Europe or the United States, yet that's where the car's mystique and legend began; fans outside of Japan heard about Godzilla, but couldn't have one.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Nov 18, 2007
Roadside profits and the parking lottery
For my stationary sins, I have been slapped with parking tickets from Los Angeles to London, and I used to think all fines were basically the same. Eagle-eyed traffic wardens pinpoint infringers and litter windscreens with $100 fines before you can say "Gimme a break!" Then you either pay up in person at a police station, city council office or your local post office, or online via credit card.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Nov 11, 2007
'Mad Max' loose on the streets of Tokyo
KITT, the talking Pontiac Trans Am in David Hasselhoff's "Knight Rider" TV series, doesn't get a mention. Steve McQueen's Mustang from the movie "Bullit" barely rates a response. And what about all those Aston Martins that James Bond drove? Not a whisper. Confessed car nut Yoshinao Hirata of Chofu, in western Tokyo, reckons that Mel Gibson's Ford Falcon V8 — from the 1979 Australian cult classic "Mad Max" — is the greatest screen car ever. That's why he bought one.
'So hot you can't breathe': Extreme heat hits the Philippines
A pedestrian cools himself with a folding hand fan as he waits for a ride along a road in Manila on Wednesday, as extreme heat hit the Philippines.
Over 40% of Japan's municipalities at risk of vanishing, study finds
Of 1,729 local municipalities nationwide, 744 have been identified as being at risk of disappearing.
Princess Aiko makes debut at imperial garden party
Princess Aiko attends an imperial garden party in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Yen inches closer to intervention point as BOJ meeting starts
The rate of the yen against the U.S. dollar is displayed in the trading room at foreign exchange brokerage Gaitame.com in Tokyo on Thursday.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
For amateur sumo, a fresh start offers hope against time-wasting and gamesmanship
Wrestlers prepare for the start of a bout at the 2023 Sumo World Championships in Tokyo. Starting this month, placing one hand on the clay first is no longer allowed.
LDP veteran Nikai's youngest son expected to succeed him in Wakayama
Toshihiro Nikai, former secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party, announced in March that he would not run in the next Lower House election to take responsibility for the political funds scandal that rocked his party and his own faction.
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.

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

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass
Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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