Search - life

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2012

'Hick'

All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl." So wrote Jean-Luc Godard way back in 1961, and some 50 years later people are still testing that theory. The latest young director to do so is Derick Martini, whose "Hick" stars Chloe Grace Moretz ("Hugo," "Kick-Ass") as a jailbait teen runaway, and a Smith...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 23, 2012

Musician Shugo Tokumaru starts to adjust to the spotlight

Among the many billboards looming over Shibuya Station crossing, one of the busiest and most famous intersections in Tokyo, is one for Tower Records that features musician Shugo Tokumaru. The picture looks slightly awkward. The artist sits on a spiral staircase and clutches a guitar, positioned just...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 23, 2012

'Trouble With the Curve' / 'Dream House'

The season of family gatherings is upon us, and here are two movies featuring The Dad in a big way. Though not as familiar as The Mom, The Dad is a cozy Hollywood institution, often deployed to prod at adult male shortcomings — from cold, distant workaholic to warm-hearted slob around the house. There's...
Reader Mail
Nov 22, 2012

To succeed after high school

It's time for teachers, professors, parents, boards of education and ministry officials to get together, take a good look at the education system and ask, "Why is it that high school study, so focused on preparation for university entrance, does so little to prepare students for actual university life?"...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 22, 2012

We've got TNGHT: Young producers Hudson Mohawke and Lunice join forces to bring a new spin on hip-hop

The Red Bull Music Academy studios in South London are the venue for my interview with Ross Birchard (26) and Lunice Fermin Pierre II (24) — better known as Hudson Mohawke and Lunice — about their new project TNGHT. As graduates of the classes of 2007 and 2010 respectively, both have benefited from...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 22, 2012

"Kyohei Sakaguchi: Practice for a Revolution"

As a college student, architect Kyohei Sakaguchi met a homeless man who he remembers as "Mr. Suzuki." Amazed by Suzuki's ingenious survival skills, Sakaguchi became interested in the life of the homeless and spent time observing and interviewing them.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2012

Exports at three-year low as recession nears

Japan is suffering its worst year for exports since the 2009 global contraction as Europe's debt crisis, China's economic slowdown and the Senkakus dispute with Beijing hurt manufacturers and deepen the risk of a recession.
JAPAN
Nov 21, 2012

Parties jockey over tax, nukes, TPP

Whether to hike the consumption tax, join the Trans Pacific Partnership free-trade talks or abandon nuclear power are the three main issues on which the 16 parties vying in the Dec. 16 Lower House election will stand or fall, especially the smaller, single-issue groups that may be sought out for partnerships...
BUSINESS
Nov 20, 2012

Abe call for unlimited BOJ easing rattles bond market

The bond market is growing more concerned that a new administration led by opposition leader Shintaro Abe calling for unlimited easing will stoke inflation and weaken the nation's finances.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Nov 18, 2012

Miyamoto dedicated 2,000th hit to late friend, mentor Higuchi

Three Japanese players joined the Meikyukai (Golden Players Club) during the 2012 season by reaching the career 2,000-hit mark. Tokyo Yakult Swallows infielder Shinya Miyamoto, Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters veteran Atsunori Inaba and Fukuoka Softbank Hawks retiring slugger Hiroki Kokubo are the newest...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Nov 18, 2012

Story behind drug scandal that rocked bj-league to core

Nearly six months after being released from Osaka Prefectural Police custody, Dana Washington, wife of bj-league legend and former Osaka Evessa star Lynn Washington, decided it was time to tell her side of the story.
CULTURE / Books
Nov 18, 2012

Minor Soseki work gets first English translation

NOWAKI, by Natsume Soseki, translated and with an afterword by William N. Ridgeway. Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan, 2011, 120 pp., $15 (paperback) As the translator notes in his afterword, and Donald Keene and Angela Yiu suggest in quotations used as blurbs on the back cover,...
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Nov 18, 2012

The little 'black bird' is a hit, from Liverpool all the way to Asia

It is 50 years this year since the best-selling band in history, The Beatles, released their first single, "Love Me Do." They were set to catapult Britain into the Swinging '60s and launch a global musical phenomenon.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Nov 18, 2012

Democrats win, Italy joins anti-Red pact, Takeshima blocks Japan-ROK accord, Sony buys CBS Records

Ever since Colonel (Theodore) Roosevelt split the Republican Party, and the Democrats at Baltimore chose Dr. (Woodrow) Wilson for their presidential nominee, it was apparent to all unbiased observers that the Democratic candidate would prevail.
BASKETBALL
Nov 18, 2012

Golden Kings edge HeatDevils, remain unbeaten

The Ryukyu Golden Kings celebrated their ninth victory in as many games this season, edging the visiting Oita HeatDevils 85-82 on Saturday evening in a clash between the Western Conference's first- and second-place clubs.
EDITORIALS
Nov 18, 2012

Public libraries are thriving

That Japanese public libraries are thriving may come as no surprise to anyone, but an education ministry report found that the number of books checked out by elementary school children from the 3,274 public libraries nationwide reached an average of 26 per child in fiscal 2010. That is up from 18.8 in...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Nov 18, 2012

It'll take more than few fine or foreign words to make Australia Asian

Australians have always been uncomfortable with their nation's geography.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Nov 17, 2012

LDP-DPJ grudge match may see unity after poll

Friday's dissolution of the Lower House sets the stage for a no-holds-barred grudge match between the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Democratic Party, while emerging "third-force" political groups are seen struggling to raise public awareness enough to change the current two-party system....
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 17, 2012

Medical interpreters in growing need

As Filipino Anamaria Ogahara can testify, going to a hospital in a country whose language you don't speak fluently can be a highly challenging and unnerving experience.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 17, 2012

Miyakojima — dolphins to the port side!

After four days of sightseeing on Okinawa Island, we set sail for Miyakojima, the next major island to the south in the Okinawan chain. Having just visited Okinawa's Churaumi Aquarium, I was more aware of the beautiful sea life underneath our sailboat such as manta rays, sea turtles and maybe even dugong....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Nov 17, 2012

Ink artist pushes the boundaries of tattooing

The skin as canvas, inks and needles replacing the palette: tattoos by Khan transcend mere decorations. Whether he is depicting eye crinkles in a portrait of the Dalai Lama or the leer of a supernatural ghoul, his rich color and technical realism redefines the boundaries of art and pop culture.
EDITORIALS
Nov 17, 2012

Meeting Chinese aspirations

The Chinese Communist Party on Thursday selected China's new leadership headed by Mr. Xi Jinping. He will lead not only the party as general secretary of the party's Central Committee but also the military as chairman of the party's Central Military Commission. He is expected to be elected China's president,...

Longform

Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years