Search - u_times

 
 
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Managing a symbol of unity

Japan and South Korea are too closely connected, and have far too much in common, to quarrel over the Takeshima/Dokdo islets. Simply put, the risks of dragging the conflict out are too great. There are many possible solutions to the problem.
Reader Mail
Sep 13, 2012

Better way than the 'baby post'

We read the Sept. 6 editorial "Up from the 'baby post'" with great dismay. Please understand that these babies and their mothers suffer a profound loss from which they will never recover.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 13, 2012

The woman who could bring Beppu back to life

In Japan's performing arts scene, it's widely believed that 32-year-old Akane Nakamura is one of the country's most famous globally known theater producers. As executive director of the theater production company Precog and the performing arts nonprofit Drifters International — which she founded in...
COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2012

New ships give China's navy a stronger punch

In the latest step in its naval modernization and expansion, China recently announced that it is accelerating serial production of an advanced destroyer. This will tilt the regional balance of power at sea in its favor and put it in a stronger position to enforce its sovereignty claims over Taiwan and...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2012

Syria war reporting risky, and a hard story to sell in Japan

When photojournalist Shin Yahiro heard compatriot video reporter Mika Yamamoto was killed in late August in Aleppo, he was not surprised, because he too has come under fire while covering the civil war raging in Syria.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2012

Reformed Myanmar ready for foreign investment

The rapid political developments in Myanmar since last year, including the April by-elections that saw democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi elected to parliament, have resulted in the easing of economic sanctions by Western nations, with businesses rushing to plan new investments to explore opportunities...
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 11, 2012

Louis Vuitton still going dotty

Fans of French luxury brand Louis Vuitton are still seeing spots before their eyes.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 11, 2012

18 months on, 'stayjin' in Tokyo, Iwaki tell a tale of two cities

While the media both in Japan and overseas reported on a perceived exodus of foreigners in the immediate aftermath of the March 11, 2011, disasters in Tohoku, the reality is that very few actually left for good.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Sep 10, 2012

Home centers forcing JA to improve its game for farmers

Home center Komeri has become a potent challenge to JA's farm-sector retail dominance.
Reader Mail
Sep 9, 2012

Better ways to spend ¥2 billion!

Regarding the Sept. 6 front-page article "Government seen sealing Senkaku deal at ¥2.05 billion": All that for a few small, more-or-less useless islands?
Reader Mail
Sep 9, 2012

Squabbles that cloud the future

Regarding the Sept. 5 question-and-answer article "Island row with South Korea rooted in rival historic claims": In the context of Japan's deliberate policy to obscure the past through its junior high school history textbooks, which have so frequently been used as blunt political weapons to euphemize...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Sep 9, 2012

It will take more than a pop group to save Fukushima's reputation

Last March, Tatsuya Yamaguchi of the idol group Tokio told the media that he was determined to someday reopen Dash Village, the farm that he and his bandmates built from scratch as an ongoing project on their long-running Nippon TV series "The Tetsuwan Dash." The farm is in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture,...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Sep 9, 2012

Aki Basho 2012: Time for ozeki Harumafuji to step up his game

When the Aki-basho starts today, all eyes will be on one man, and this time it is not yokozuna grand champion Hakuho. Rather the focus of sumo fans throughout Japan and around the world will be on ozeki Harumafuji. Looking to secure a second consecutive championship victory and thereby guarantee his...
Reader Mail
Sep 9, 2012

Root cause of Japan's conflicts

Regarding Yoshio Shimoji's Sept. 2 letter, "Best venue for settling dispute": Shimoji points out that the International Court of Justice must prepare for the opportunity to discuss disputes such as the Japan-China territorial row over the Senkaku Islands (called the Diaoyu in China) before the problem...
COMMENTARY
Sep 8, 2012

Tokyo-Seoul: enough is enough!

Enough is enough! Obviously, the political leadership in Tokyo and Seoul never learned about the First Rule of Holes: When you find yourself in one, stop digging. Each side seems to be going out of its way to make a bad situation worse, even while providing private assurances that it won't let the situation...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Sep 8, 2012

Eye surgeon makes a difference, performing 'miracles' in Vietnam

In 1965, Akira Kurosawa directed "Akahige" ("Red Beard"), the story of an Edo Period doctor who teaches his arrogant intern the importance of compassion, responsibility, and empathizing with his patients. Ophthalmologist Tadashi Hattori has seen this movie, but he insists that he was not thinking about...
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 7, 2012

Economists in denial as conventional tools fail

In an exasperated outburst, just before he left the presidency of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet complained that, "as a policymaker during the crisis, I found the available [economic and financial] models of limited help. I would go further: In the face of the crisis, we felt abandoned...
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2012

Men who walked on the moon

While I support the feelings expressed in Gwynne Dyer's Aug. 30 article, "Going to the moon still matters" — about Neil Armstrong and the quest that Americans should make to go to the Moon and beyond — Dyer needs to check his facts.
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2012

'DIY scene' is for true artists

Ian Martin's Aug. 30 column on Japan's live-house scene, "The customer is right, that's what's wrong," asks if most bands performing on live-house stages are mere hobbyists.
Reader Mail
Sep 6, 2012

Takeshima/Dokdo University

I have been reading about the dispute between Japan and South Korea regarding the islets of Takeshima/Dokdo and believe that there is a simple solution that would benefit both countries.
Japan Times
SOCCER / World cup
Sep 5, 2012

Young Nadeshiko stumbles in U-20 Women's World Cup semifinals

Two-time champion Germany ended Japan's bid to reach the Under-20 Women's World Cup final for the first time with a 3-0 win in Tuesday's semifinal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / TECH_JAPAN
Sep 5, 2012

Gunslinging the Japanese way

It's hot. Though this summer, Japanese gamers have been piling into arcades across the country not only to take refuge from the heat, but to also check out one of the most interesting games released this year — and it may surprise you to hear that it's a shooter.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Sep 5, 2012

Japanese baseball union approves participation in 2013 WBC

After weeks of uncertainty, the Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association has decided to participate in next year's World Baseball Classic, it was revealed on Tuesday.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Sep 4, 2012

Toot your own horn — don't let the modesty scam keep you down

As per this column's title, this month's topic was chosen, well, "just because" it's been on my mind.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 4, 2012

Our mixed-race children deserve better than this, so why bother with Japan?

When it comes to parceling out rights, Japanese law makes a very clear distinction: What you get depends upon whether you are a Japanese citizen or not. Sort of.
Reader Mail
Sep 2, 2012

Another anti-nuclear hit piece

Regarding the Aug. 30 editorial "3/11 deaths that were preventable": I would note that Japan's Reconstruction Agency is not a medical committee and thus lacks the knowledge and training to reach any conclusion that can be taken seriously by medical professionals. The editorial is another hit piece against...

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’