Search - category

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Dec 11, 2007

Tamegoro Sudo

Tamegoro Sudo, 50, is a movie producer and actor whose many friends in Tokyo's downtown Asakusa area provide him with the hilarious characters and plots in his movies. His five "Dekotora no Shu (Shu, the Dekotora Man)" movies star his favorite decorated trucks and his buddies, actors Sho Aikawa and Shingo...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 8, 2007

Yes — I have a cell phone

"Hate" is a powerful word, and one that I would never toss around lightly, not even to such potentially worthy targets as the Tokyo Giants, Fox News and eggplant (blech!). But having said that, let me further say this:
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Dec 7, 2007

Rizing Fukuoka finds wings

The Rizing Fukuoka have quietly put together a solid stretch of games and now find themselves in the thick of things in the bj-league's Western Conference.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2007

Setting the record straight on Indonesia

BALI, Indonesia — Japan and India stand as beacons for democracy that surely inspire many of their Asian neighbors. For its part, Indonesia has been struggling with its own experiment with democracy that has enormous implications for the region and the rest of the world.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Nov 26, 2007

Plenty wrong with U.S. agricultural policy

NEW YORK — The U.S. farm bill — a blanket term for all measures related to agriculture, some barely so — appears doomed this year. The House version passed at the end of July, but the Senate version has been stalled in such a way that there's even talk that its enactment may not occur until after...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Nov 20, 2007

World's suicide capital — tough image to shake

Japan has attained a reputation as the suicide capital of the world. A 2007 international comparison of suicide rates (per 100,000 people) by the World Health Organization ranked Japan sixth for females, at 12.8, behind Sri Lanka, South Korea and Lithuania, and 11th for males, at 35.6, well below Lithuania,...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Nov 16, 2007

N_1155: Naka-Meguro goes organic

Who'd have thought it? Vegetables have become hip. Forget those premium cuts of chu-toro tuna and gourmet meals of beer-pampered wagyu beef: The really happening restaurants these days are those that can offer bespoke produce shipped straight from the farm.
Reader Mail
Nov 15, 2007

Exemptions not based on nationality

In his Nov 11 letter, Donald Seekins wonders "Why exempt Korean residents (from biometric screening at ports of entry)?" The short answer is that "Korean residents" are not< /I> exempt. There is no such category in Japanese law, and Special Permanent Residents (SPRs) are not defined by nationality. ...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 15, 2007

Ullens gets the private party started in Beijing

"Rarely has there been such an extravagant press tour," commented one of the 40-plus foreign journalists invited earlier this month to witness the opening of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing's newest and, for the moment, most important contemporary-art venue.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Nov 14, 2007

Isiah shows confidence in Curry

NEW YORK — The more I'm around Eddy Curry, the more I like his honesty and off-court jesting. He smiles easily, good humoredly messes with teammates and is quick to poke fun at himself.
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Nov 13, 2007

Murakami's Nobel leanings

The news that 88-year-old Doris Lessing received the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature was not greeted by the Japanese media with as much fanfare as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's winning the Nobel Peace Prize. This perhaps was because Japanese literary circles were more interested in whether Haruki...
Reader Mail
Nov 13, 2007

Too old to pose a threat

Has Japan's immigration department gone mad? I am 80 years old, have lived in Japan for 46 years and am a card-carrying resident. Martyrdom (as sought by Islamic terrorists) is not in the cards for me unless there is a category for nonbelievers, and in any case, I would not be interested in even 30...
MORE SPORTS
Nov 11, 2007

Suguri perseveres as rivals grow younger

Sometimes in life we tend to take things that endure for granted.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 9, 2007

Tokyo's FILMeX: small but tasty

Now in its eighth year, Tokyo FILMeX (Nov. 17-25) continues to prove that good things come in small packages. With the sprawling Tokyo International Film Festival over, think of FILMeX as the more interesting, more memorable nijikai (after party) following TIFF's pomp and circumstance. FILMeX's devoted...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 9, 2007

'Ten Ten'

Some directors are like fashion brands, churning out immediately identifiable product the same way again and again. Others are more like a hot stock: a spectacular rise, followed by an equally spectacular fall. There are also those who are like an underperforming athlete who suddenly changes into a worldbeater....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Nov 4, 2007

Rural living of an old man who does as he pleases

Late Poems Of Lu You, The Old Man Who Does As He Pleases: New Translations by Burton Watson. Burlington, Ontario: Ahadada Books, 2007, 74 pp., $12, ¥2,000 (paper) Lu You (Yu) (1125-1210), often referred to by his literary name of Lu Fangweng ("The Old Man Who Does as He Pleases"), is one of China's...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Nov 3, 2007

Hillman bids farewell to Fighters

NAGOYA — The Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters have hired a proven winner in Masataka Nashida to manage the team next year. That's good because the Trey Hillman era will be a tough act to follow.
JAPAN / Q&A
Nov 3, 2007

Nova failure: Can teachers recoup lost pay, keep jobs?

When Japan's largest employer of foreigners effectively went bankrupt last week, thousands of instructors at the foreign-language school giant were left without jobs. Many now face complicated legal problems in a language not their own.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 1, 2007

Curios spice commercial fare

Tokyo International Film Festival remains an ambitious also-ran on the circuit, even if its regional-movie showings give cheer
BASKETBALL
Oct 30, 2007

Mighty Osaka Evessa in the mood for a three-peat

The Osaka Evessa are a proud, confident basketball team. And they've clearly earned this distinction.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Oct 30, 2007

Avoid the chemically impaired

Anyone who has cruised around a Japanese supermarket or the basement of a department store has no doubt feasted their eyes on the robust, red and super-shiny apples at about ¥1,000 a pop.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 28, 2007

Having rebuilt Fighters, Hillman faces new challenge in K.C.

Outgoing Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters manager Trey Hillman obviously has only one thing on his mind right now — beating the Chunichi Dragons again and winning a second consecutive Japan Series title.
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Oct 24, 2007

Holdouts cause for concern in Cleveland

NEW YORK — At what point will LeBron James flex his all-mighty muscle and put pressure on Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert to resolve the contract gridlock restricted free agents Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic?
Reader Mail
Oct 23, 2007

Nakatani aping Bush's logic

Regarding the Oct. 16 article "LDP's Nakatani calls foes of MSDF mission 'terrorists' ": I found the logic of security panel head Gen Nakatani similar to that used by the Bush administration in leading the charge into the muck of war in the Middle East with the catchphrase "You're either with us or...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 23, 2007

Human rights survey stinks

On Aug. 25, the Japanese government released findings from a Cabinet poll conducted every four years. Called the "Public Survey on the Defense of Human Rights" ( www8.cao.go.jp/survey/h19/h19-jinken ), it sparked media attention with some apparently good news.

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