Search - world

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 27, 2008

Israel looks ready for an atypical leader

HAIFA, Israel — Famously irreverent, Israelis tend to call their leaders by their first name or childhood nickname. But don't be fooled: Tzipora "Tzipi" Livni is nobody's close friend. Her dry style, personal remoteness and forced smiles make her an atypical Israeli. Perhaps the country needs exactly...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Sep 26, 2008

Ritenour, Grusin jazz Sumida

Two leading American figures in jazz fusion will give a Tokyo performance in collaboration with one of Japan's foremost orchestras on Oct. 2 at the Sumida Triphony Hall in Sumida Ward.
COMMENTARY
Sep 25, 2008

Bright side of the U.S. financial meltdown

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Rather than curse the current financial darkness, let us try to light candles. Without blowing our credibility entirely, let us see if we can illuminate the brighter side of this global meltdown. Here is a trio of pluses to try on for size.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 25, 2008

An incomprehensible answer for modernity

Check the film listings and you'll find Akira Emoto cast in at least 10 movies playing this autumn. Since winning the Japan Academy Awards prize for supporting actor in 1983 and '97 and for leading actor in '98 — for his role in "Kanzo Sensei (Dr. Liver)" — Emoto has become one of Japan's most well...
COMMENTARY
Sep 24, 2008

Comrade Bush and the banks

LONDON — After Comrade George W. Bush nationalized the two giants of the U.S. mortgage market, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, earlier this month, Anatole Kaletsky wrote in The Times of London that "the most capitalist administration ever, in the world's most capitalist country, (has) decided to wipe out...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 23, 2008

Russia entering third act of financial tragedy

WASHINGTON — The whole world is being hit by a tremendous financial crisis, but Russia is facing a perfect storm. The Russian stock market is in free fall, plummeting by 60 percent since May 19, for a loss of $900 billion. And the plunge is accelerating. As a result, Russia's economic growth is likely...
COMMUNITY
Sep 20, 2008

Putting women on paths of potential at work and at play

Australian-born Sara-Shivani is learning hard and fast the nature of her bliss — what she was born to be and do. Her mantra — As I am now, recognize/ As I was born to be, remember/ As I wish to be, visualize/ As nature intended, live — is the motto of the program of holistic heath she is offering...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 19, 2008

'Kodomo no Kodomo'

Teenage pregnancy has always been with us, but attitudes toward it have changed. A generation ago, the situation of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's daughter — 17, pregnant and unwed — would have inspired conservative tut-tutting. Now it's a cause of conservative celebration.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Sep 18, 2008

Hitting skins to find sound's color

'It is amazing that I have participated in 12 out of the 31 performances of the 'Nihon no Taiko' program that started at the National Theater of Japan in 1977," says the drummer Eitetsu Hayashi, who helped start the wadaiko (Japanese drums used in festivals) boom that has lead to the formation of more...
BUSINESS
Sep 18, 2008

BOJ keeps rate at 0.5% amid 'sluggish' growth

The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged Wednesday after pumping more than ¥5 trillion into money markets so far this week in the wake of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s collapse.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 15, 2008

Europeans draw wrong lesson from Munich

NEW YORK — Seventy years ago this month in Munich, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed a document that allowed Germany to grab a large chunk of Czechoslovakia. The so-called Munich Agreement would come to be seen as an abject betrayal of what Chamberlain termed "a far away country of...
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2008

Takeover to stem the tide?

The decision to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac signals an unprecedented intervention in U.S. financial markets. The move, by a conservative administration no less, is an indication of the concern surrounding the two mortgage companies and the impact of continuing uncertainty on global financial...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2008

Water management for the Mekong basin

SINGAPORE — China says it remains a developing country despite its rapid rise in the league of global power. By some measures, it is now the world's third-biggest economy and second-largest exporter. However gauged, China is clearly a nation with increasing impact and influence, especially if you live...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Sep 12, 2008

Rioja on the rise

Next month sees a radical change in the look of the Rioja logo regularly embossed on bottles of the Spanish vintage. La Rioja Denominacion de Origen Clasificada authorities have chosen to throw out the rather fusty image of a stamp (complete with wobbly lines) and replace it with something altogether...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 9, 2008

Nepal's remarkable do-it-yourself peace

KATMANDU — Nepali Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as "Prachanda," has now been sworn in as the first prime minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, having won an overwhelming vote in the Constituent Assembly elected in April.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2008

'Manga' viewed as vibrant info conduit

KYOTO — In Japan and other parts of Asia, "manga" comic books are not only escapist entertainment but also a powerful and effective medium to educate a broad range of people on important topics like environmental conservation and food safety.
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,...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 6, 2008

Valentine ready to lead Japan's WBC team if asked

CHIBA — Chiba Lotte Marines manger Bobby Valentine has won a Japan Series and managed in a World Series.
Japan Times
JAPAN / LETTERS FROM KOBE
Sep 5, 2008

'Life keeps right on moving'

Ashes and rubble covered the devastated land as far as the eye could see.
SOCCER / SOCCER SCENE
Sep 5, 2008

Utilizing strong midfield key to success for Japan

With Japan still struggling for firepower with the final World Cup qualification round getting under way against Bahrain on Saturday night, a new wind blowing around Europe could help lighten the load.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2008

Shirakawa: Inflation stable; slump not over

The economy will probably keep slowing for now but inflation isn't spreading from commodity-related goods because wage growth is subdued, Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Sep 2, 2008

Zen-Noh's U.S. corn dock idled by storm

Zen-Noh, Japan's largest corn buyer, suspended the operation of its grain export facility in the U.S. Gulf as Hurricane Gustav approached the region, threatening shipments from the world's biggest exporter.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 31, 2008

Legend Moses launches Web site

Track and field legend Edwin Moses has launched a new Web site, www.edwinmoses.com, the two-time gold medalist announced in a press release.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 31, 2008

Is yours a sweet and eco-friendly home?

After hearing all the talk about climate change and global warming, many of us are now aware that we need to change our lifestyle in the battle to stop our planet from being a far less agreeable place to live.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Aug 31, 2008

Results in Beijing prove that baseball has a place in Olympics

After watching that cliff-hanging, nail-biter, barn-burner of a victory by South Korea over Cuba in the gold medal game at the Beijing Olympics, I am more convinced than ever that baseball — and softball — belong in the Games.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past