Search - 2012

 
 
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 2, 2012

Gunma fires Hayashi, names Blackwell new coach

The winless Gunma Crane Thunders, who have been handed 35-, 38- and 43-point losses, fired original coach Tadashi Hayashi and named Ryan Blackwell his successor, the Eastern Conference squad announced Thursday.
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Nov 2, 2012

Outdoor art exhibition comes with instruction from the artists on show

It's not often you can talk to artists when viewing their works, but it's possible at the annual "Trolls in the Park 2012."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 1, 2012

Res Artis plots a path for future art residencies

The 1990s saw a tremendous emphasis, continuing through to today, on artist residency programs, run by museums and galleries, educational establishments or independent foundations and organizations.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 28, 2012

Rookie manager Kuriyama deserves credit for job well done

Choosing the 2012 Pacific League manager of the year is a no-brainer for me. It is Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters rookie skipper Hideki Kuriyama, who led his club to a pennant victory, a Climax Series sweep of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks and into the Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants.
CULTURE / Books
Oct 28, 2012

Is poetry lost or found in translation?

BRIGHT MOON, WHITE CLOUDS: Selected Poems of Li Po, edited and translated by J.P. Seaton. Shambhala, 2012, 224 pp., $14.95 (paperback) KANEKO TOHTA: Selected Haiku 1937-1960, translated by The Kon Nichi Translation Group. Red Moon Press, 2012, 256 pp., $12.00 (paperback) Two books of poetry, both pocket-size,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 26, 2012

Festival/Tokyo theater event to give Asia a starring role

Japan has been on a bit of a losing streak for a while now. In 2010, it was overtaken as the world's second-largest economy by China, and in 2011 the nation was rocked by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the ensuing tsunami and nuclear crisis.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS
Oct 24, 2012

Senkaku dispute opens door wider for Istanbul 2020 bid

A prominent Turkish journalist believes that the ongoing dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku Islands could affect the outcome of the voting for the 2020 Olympics, thereby making Istanbul's path to victory easier.
BUSINESS
Oct 23, 2012

U.S. beef restrictions set to be eased

The Food Safety Commission said Monday that it approved easing restrictions on U.S. beef imports, boosting supply to retailers such as Yoshinoya Holdings Co., as concerns about mad cow disease receded.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 19, 2012

Understand Japanese cinema

The Tokyo International Film Festival, which runs Oct. 20-28 at Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills and other venues around the capital and the Tohoku region, is a great opportunity to see new Japanese films — with a couple caveats.
EDITORIALS
Oct 19, 2012

The IMF's new message

Mea culpa. That might be the biggest message from the recent gathering of global financial leaders in Tokyo. The annual IMF/World Bank meeting is an opportunity for finance ministers and central bankers to seek agreement on the state of the global economy and ways to ensure greater or more stable growth....
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2012

Beer sales, Aussie unit shrink Kirin's forecast

Kirin Holdings Co. has cut its 2015 sales forecast because of a weaker outlook for its domestic beer operations and slower growth in its Australian subsidiary.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 16, 2012

Niseko puts faith in powder to revive tourism boom

Throughout most of the 2010s, the meteoric rise in popularity of Hokkaido's ski resorts among foreign visitors was widely documented in both the domestic and overseas media.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Oct 14, 2012

Kakunaka's fortunes change in a hurry

We are establishing a new "prize" here. It is the Baseball Bullet-In "Out of the Blue Award" with recognition given to the player in Japanese pro baseball who has the best season among those virtually unheard of and who came from seemingly nowhere to become a star.
EDITORIALS
Oct 6, 2012

Future of senile dementia

The health and welfare ministry says that the number of elderly people suffering from senile dementia and in need of nursing care has topped 3 million this year. As Japan's population continues to gray, the number of such elderly people will inevitably increase.
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2012

Environment tax in effect

The environment tax was introduced from Oct. 1. Although the introduction came very late, it is hoped that the new tax will help change the mind-set and behavior of enterprises and consumers so that they can contribute to mitigating global warming through reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, which...
EDITORIALS
Oct 5, 2012

Sagging business sentiment

The tankan survey of business sentiments for September by the Bank of Japan shows that uncertainty hovers over the Japanese economy. If necessary, the central bank should take additional monetary easing measures since injecting ¥10 trillion into an assets purchase fund Sept. 19. The government needs...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Oct 5, 2012

Pet Expo helps Fido look spot on

As Tokyo prepares for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, in Osaka fashion has gone to the dogs.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 28, 2012

Postelection fiscal cliff raises stakes for the world

As America's elections approach, with President Barack Obama slightly in front of his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, pollsters still rate the races for control of the presidency and the U.S. Senate too close to call, with the House of Representatives likely to remain in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
Sep 28, 2012

Diversifying Japan's biggest food festival

From its origins as a regional festival in the backwaters of Aomori Prefecture, the B-1 Grand Prix has attained a status of Fuji Rock-like proportions. The seven-year-old event, which attracts enthusiasts of local cooking from around Japan, almost single-handedly kick-started the country's obsession...
EDITORIALS
Sep 26, 2012

Inward-looking DPJ

The retouching of the Democratic Party of Japan leadership, decided Monday by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, shows that he is more interested in avoiding friction within the party than in solving difficult problems the nation is facing.
EDITORIALS
Sep 25, 2012

JAL needs to stand on its own

Japan Airlines was relisted on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Sep. 19 as it has succeeded in strongly improving its business performance during the past two years and seven months of rehabilitation. This is only the first step to full recovery for the airline. JAL achieved its comeback...
CULTURE / Books
Sep 23, 2012

Timely fictional war scenarios that play out in Asian waters

Tiger's Claw, by Dale Brown. William Morrow, 2012, 432 pp., $26.99 (hardcover) Red Cell, by Mark Henshaw. Touchstone, 2012, 336 pp., $24.99 (hardcover) Future war fiction — also known as alternate history or military science fiction — has been around a long time. Occasionally such books have proved...
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2012

Delayed recovery moves BOJ

Apparently motivated by the European Central Bank's decision to buy unlimited amounts of government bonds and the U.S. Federal Reserve's third round of quantitative easing, the Bank of Japan announced new steps for monetary easing on Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Sep 14, 2012

Osprey adds to the burden

On Sept. 9, rally organizers say over 100,000 people took part in a protest in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture, to oppose the plan to deploy 24 MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is in Ginowan.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami