Search - information

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2008

Westernized subjects for a distinct Japanese style

The history of modern Japanese art has a hierarchy of narratives. As in the West, at the top is the story of the avant-garde. This is a tale of trail-blazing artists taking trips to foreign locales, usually Paris, and bringing back radical foreign styles in their suitcases.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2008

An aura of controversy in the chase for the new

Ever since 1917, when Marcel Duchamp submitted a urinal to the Society of Independent Artists' exhibition, arguing that it was art, anything has become acceptable. Artist Chris Burden shot himself in the arm in a Los Angeles gallery in 1971; Piero Manzoni canned what was allegedly his own feces and sold...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2008

Saskia Olde Wolbers: deceptive images, deceptive tales

If only every piece of video art started with the line: "Here I am lying next to my lover Jean, in intensive care."
Reader Mail
May 4, 2008

Improve content, including letters

I have been a loyal reader of The Japan Times for the 12 years I have been here. This is my first time to write, but I am driven to address two key points. First, I agree with recent letters that the latest changes of format in this paper were ill-advised and poorly thought out. It seems to be following...
EDITORIALS
May 4, 2008

Thou shalt not steal . . . books

On the surface, Japan appears to be a relatively crime-free and comparatively safe society. One crime, though, is on the rise — shoplifting. A recent survey by the Japan Book Publishers Association for Information Infrastructure Development found that nearly ¥4 billion in books are stolen every year,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 2, 2008

'Forest therapy' taking root

For stressed-out workers, this may someday be a doctor's prescription: Walk around in the woods.
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 2, 2008

Voice of angels from Vienna

Get ready, Japan. The sopranos are coming. And they're bringing 10 altos as muscle. No, not "The Sopranos" from the U.S. TV drama series, but the Vienna Boys' Choir. Their angelic voices will grace concerts across Japan from May 3 until mid-June.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
May 2, 2008

Train museum on track for 2 million visitors

Japan's biggest museum devoted to all things locomotive, the Railway Museum in Saitama City, welcomed its millionth visitor at the end of March. Amazingly, it has only been open since October.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 2, 2008

In the carnal realm of Sin

[Note: Sin is no longer in business.]
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 1, 2008

LDP gets drivers' ire for gas hikes

Angry motorists swiftly slammed the government's decision Wednesday to reinstate provisional extra tax rates on gasoline, with some calling the imminent price hike a "terrible act" and others criticizing Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda for his strong-arm political tactics.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2008

Painting a hazy shade of ego

One of the words most often associated with the art of Kaii Higashiyama is spiritual.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
Apr 30, 2008

Japan ignores power-line warning

Electromagnetic fields are everywhere, but to what extent are these EMFs harming our health?
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 29, 2008

Pension system obligations and benefits

As the social welfare system grows in complexity, non-Japanese in particular are likely feeling a sense of frustration at the lack of information available in their native language.
BUSINESS
Apr 29, 2008

Surging cost of fuel, food drives 1.1% jump in retail sales

Retail sales rose in March as households paid more for gasoline and food, leaving them less to spend on clothing and furniture, government statistics showed Monday.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 27, 2008

Travel information, talk show product review, family melodrama

In 2007, more than 8 million people visited Japan from overseas, double the number that visited 10 years ago.
Reader Mail
Apr 27, 2008

Mutual respect is crucial

We should all be concerned with the lack of appropriate political dialogue not between lukewarm diplomats, but rather protesters and pro-China demonstrators. Recent events have been distressing. A brave Chinese student at Duke attempted to disperse a commotion between the two groups, but her attempt...
CULTURE / Books
Apr 27, 2008

Reprising the identity of Vietnam's Mieu

AMBIGUITY OF IDENTITY: The Mieu in Vietnam, by Nguyen Van Thang. Silkworm Books, 2007, 206 pp., 595 bahts (paper) Modern states dominate the lives of minorities to an extent never experienced before. As the lines between respective ethnicities blur under pressures to change and assimilate into the mainstream,...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2008

Rudd has lots of 'big ideas'

Bring on a republic. That's one clear demand to come out of the biggest talk-fest ever stage-managed in Canberra. And new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is just the leader to bring it on.
BUSINESS
Apr 26, 2008

Subprime woes send Nomura to ¥67.8 billion loss

Nomura Holdings Inc. said Friday it booked a group net loss of ¥67.8 billion in the business year ended in March due to losses related to U.S. subprime mortgage loans and falling stock prices.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 24, 2008

One hell of a time

What wasn't to like about an artist who painted the scroll "Hard Times in Hell," in which the king of Hell and his coterie of demons ascend to paradise in search of more suitable employment?
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 22, 2008

New Delhi's dilemma with the Dalai Lama

PRAGUE — As the world reacts to China's crackdown in Tibet, one country is conspicuous by both its centrality to the drama and its reticence over it. India, the land of asylum for the Dalai Lama and the angry young hotheads of the Tibetan Youth Congress, finds itself on the horns of a dilemma.
LIFE / Language
Apr 22, 2008

KY-style Japanese: Express yourself alphabetically

Waiting at the railroad crossing, I couldn't help but overhear the animated conversation that the two students standing behind me were having.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2008

Torch tension mounts in Nagano

Tension is rising in Nagano, where thousands of spectators and demonstrators are expected to gather next Saturday when the city hosts the Olympic torch.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Apr 20, 2008

Helping newcomers settle in Japan

HANDBOOK FOR NEWCOMERS, MIGRANTS AND IMMIGRANTS TO JAPAN, by Arudou Debito and Higuchi Akira, 2008, 376 pp. ¥2,300 (paper) In this important and necessary book the authors address migrants and immigrants to Japan in saying that "we believe that your life in Japan should be under as much of your control...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji