Search - things-to-do

 
 
EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 2003

China's smooth change of power

The People's Republic of China has completed its first smooth transition of power since its founding more than half a century ago. The National People's Congress, the Parliament, ended its two-week session on Tuesday after electing Mr. Hu Jintao as president and Mr. Wen Jiabao as premier. The two men...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2003

Rash of theme park failures blamed on lack of vision, poor management

As large theme parks go bust across Japan, Tokyo Disneyland and its affiliate, Tokyo DisneySea, are exceptions, attracting more than 20 million visitors every year with the help of their innovative business strategy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle / ON THE BOOK TRAIL
Mar 20, 2003

"Coraline," "Frankenstella and the Video Shop Monster"

"Coraline," Neil Gaiman, Bloomsbury; 2002; 171 pp.     "We are small, we are many     We are many, we are small     We were here before you rose,     We will be here when you fall."
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health / NATURAL SELECTIONS
Mar 20, 2003

Happiness and how to achieve it

We are all in search of it, and while some have it, many don't. The pursuit of it was even written into the American Declaration of Independence. We're talking about happiness, surely an ancient and universal human desire, a desire that arose in our brains when we arose on the Ethiopian savanna. But...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2003

Market intervention not the right solution

GUATEMALA CITY -- Japan's Nikkei average is below 8,000 for the first time in 20 years, putting it 80 percent below its 1989 high. A fall in the Nikkei below 7,500 could mean that some Japanese banks would not meet their international capital adequacy requirements.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2003

Hamburger chains trying new ways to lure back customers

Hamburger chains are shifting away from low-price strategies after cheap burgers failed to lure back customers following the outbreak of mad cow disease 1 1/2 years ago.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 18, 2003

Tokyo's immigration bureau gets makeover at new location

"Are you sure this is the place?" our driver inquired.
COMMENTARY
Mar 17, 2003

China shows little worry of U.S. squeeze

HONG KONG -- One figure that emerged from the current session of the National People's Congress in Beijing has intrigued China-watchers -- the 9.6 percent scheduled growth in defense spending this year, far less than the 17.6 percent increase of last year.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 16, 2003

U.S. risks danger of 'global overstretch'

SINGAPORE -- Although U.S. President George W. Bush appears determined to rid Iraq of President Saddam Hussein, the world is deeply divided. On one hand, Hussein has been ruthless, even with his own people, and may have hidden weapons of mass destruction and sponsored al-Qaeda terrorists. On the other...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 16, 2003

Yoji Yamada

A director since 1961, with 77 films to his credit, Yoji Yamada, 71, is a Japanese film industry icon. His "Tora-san" series, about a wandering peddler who is forever falling in love, but never gets the girl, generated 48 hit installments -- and made Yamada the most successful Japanese director of his...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2003

Decontrols to bring in more foreign doctors

Life in Japan as a foreigner is not always easy, especially if you become sick and don't speak the same language as your doctor.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2003

An order of unpalatable patriotism

The United States may or may not be going to war with Iraq this month, but it is already at war with France. In case there was any lingering doubt about that, this week saw two developments that brought the erstwhile allies' mutual hostility out into the open.
COMMENTARY
Mar 15, 2003

U.S., ROK narrow the gap

HONOLULU -- Debates are raging among the security policy communities in the U.S. and South Korea over North Korean motives and intentions and how best to deal with Pyongyang. There seems to be only one point upon which all agree: no solution to the current standoff is practical unless Washington and...
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2003

Ministry says economy is firming

The vice finance minister said Thursday that Japan's real economy is firming, although it is currently being weighed down by geopolitical concerns.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2003

How the U.S. piqued Pyongyang

CAMBRIDGE, England -- If it weren't for the fact that the lives of several million people are at stake it could be fun watching the game of diplomatic poker being played by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and U.S. President George W. Bush. Those lives are at stake, however, as is the future stability...
Japan Times
JAPAN / IN WITH THE NEW
Mar 13, 2003

Edano didn't need family name, cash to enter Diet

What is the quickest, most common way to become a politician in Japan? Be born into a political family and have lots of money to spread around.
LIFE / Digital / TANGLED WEBS
Mar 13, 2003

Poorly laid plans go astray

Let's admit it -- we made a mistake. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we screwed up. It's time to make things right and repeal the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art / CERAMIC SCENE
Mar 12, 2003

The good, the great -- and the freaky

Japan, without a doubt, has the world's largest number of art museums devoted solely to pottery -- more than 500 venues, I've heard. That's a lot of beauty (or not) to take in.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2003

Entire Cabinet attends Diet audit session

Every politician scrambles for a piece of the budget pie to appease local voters, but few seem to care about how effectively the money is actually spent.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 11, 2003

Building projects defy huge cash woe

Until a year ago, the tallest structure I could see from my apartment in Hashimoto, Kanagawa Prefecture, was the neon sign for the local Denny's. Not any more.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 9, 2003

Tourists help Guam Rugby Club show its True Grit

The rugby community in Guam showed their True Grit in every sense of the word by hosting their annual tens tournament in early February.
Events
Mar 9, 2003

KANSAI: Who & What

Giant Buddhas shown for three days only: The Guide Interpreters Volunteer Club is organizing three one-day tours for English-speaking foreigners from March 14 through March 16 to observe huge pictures of Buddha displayed at two temples in Kyoto.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Mar 9, 2003

Lunch as a measure of motherly love

Kazuyo Matsumoto remembers all too clearly how her son's kindergarten sports day used to prey on her mind weeks before the event. She'd worry, not about whether her son would stumble in last, but about the "bare all" contest she would be forced to participate in at lunchtime. The judges were not the...
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW
Mar 9, 2003

Sordid offspring of Uncle Joe

MOSCOW -- Wednesday was the anniversary of Joseph Stalin's death. The sordid man who for 30 years held the Soviet Union in an iron grip expired 50 years ago, but still casts a long shadow.
COMMUNITY
Mar 9, 2003

You too can brew a business

So you've spent one year too many teaching English conversation and it's time for a serious career change. You want a job that's stimulating and creative. You want to be your own boss and perhaps even the boss of others. Maybe, just maybe, you want to run your own cafe, right here in Japan.
COMMENTARY
Mar 9, 2003

Bush will need a quick victory over Iraq

HONOLULU -- Last week U.S. President George W. Bush laid out his vision for the Middle East. For the most part, the text read like any other: It was a stump speech designed to drum up support for "regime change" in Iraq.
EDITORIALS
Mar 9, 2003

Written in stone and light

Poised on the edge of a war of their own seeking, Americans have not forgotten the event that, in their leaders' minds, at least, brought them to this point: the three-pronged attack of Sept. 11, 2001. While the plans to invade Iraq proceeded, so did the competitions to design fitting monuments to the...

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan