Search - u_times

 
 
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 26, 2010

Dark side of a Western defense of freedom

BRUSSELS — The price of freedom, it is said, is eternal vigilance. But that price can take the form of morally squalid decisions in which innocent people bear the brunt of the cost of freedom's defense.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Oct 26, 2010

Foreigners victims, perpetrators of sekuhara

When "Tracy," an American then in her late 20s, started her career in Japan as a JET instructor at a high school in Kagoshima nearly 20 years ago, nothing in her training could have prepared her for what she witnessed.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2010

Eda urges stronger ties with China to handle disputes

Fresh from a four-day trip to China that ended Thursday, Satsuki Eda, former president of the House of Councilors, said the Democratic Party of Japan needs to work harder to create stronger lines of communication with China to avoid future diplomatic spats with the neighboring giant.
Reader Mail
Oct 24, 2010

Opera singer Joan Sutherland dies

The Japan Times has printed nothing on the passing (Oct. 10) of Dame Joan Sutherland (83), one of the great opera sopranos of the 20th century and arguably Australia's greatest singer. I realize that not many readers are opera fans, but isn't it a newspaper's professional obligation to print news irrespective...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 24, 2010

Stabilization of Afghanistan could serve as cornerstone of NATO-Russia foundation

BRUSSELS — When I gave my first public speech as NATO secretary general just over a year ago, I focused on the NATO-Russia relationship, because I believe it is crucial for global, not just European, security. At that time, I thought the relationship to be in urgent need of repair, and that the North...
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2010

Hard times for bookstores

Will traditional bookstores be able to survive in an age of e-publishing and book distribution, when young people are increasingly turning away from books in favor of other forms of information and entertainment? The Japanese e-book market is expected to grow dramatically in the next few years. In distribution,...
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 24, 2010

Some participants' hopes for COP10

The Japan Times asked delegates and other COP10 participants what their top priorities are at the conference. Many mentioned an Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) Protocol that is currently the subject of intense negotiations. This would determine how companies and researchers gain access to and distribute...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Oct 24, 2010

Nibutani, Hokkaido: Travel, hospitality and the Ainu identity

Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands and much of Sakhalin. However, their culture in Hokkaido, dating back to the 13th century, was decimated after Japanese settlers began flocking to the huge northern island in the 1800s.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 24, 2010

Kostner skates to win at NHK Trophy; Murakami third

NAGOYA — Italy's Carolina Kostner skated steady if not spectacular on the way to victory in the ladies singles at the NHK Trophy on Saturday night.
SOCCER / J. League
Oct 24, 2010

Gonda stands tall late as FC Tokyo earns point

Shuichi Gonda saved a last-minute penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw for relegation-threatened FC Tokyo against Albirex Niigata on Saturday.
LIFE
Oct 24, 2010

Striving to stave off marine extinctions

Although oceans cover 73 percent of the surface of the Earth, little is known about marine plant and animal biodiversity.
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Oct 24, 2010

Can we fix Japan's moral morass?

As a gauge of where this country is heading and what kind of mood it's in, consider this fact: Last week, almost every mainstream weekly news magazine ran at least one story on old age and/or death.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 24, 2010

Key facts and figures

Key data drawn from numerous quoted sources here succinctly suggest the enormous range of problems and issues facing delegates to COP10 — and the world.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Oct 24, 2010

Saving biological diversity: a challenge for survival

Eight years ago in Johannesburg, government delegates from around the world gathered for the World Summit on Sustainable Development — and made a promise "to substantially reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity."
LIFE
Oct 24, 2010

An ABC of CBD acronyms

Don't know your MOP from your COP? You're not alone. United Nations conferences are awash with organizational and procedural monikers containing more letters than a Welsh train station sign.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 23, 2010

Dhaka envoy pushes for trade

Newly appointed Bangladeshi Ambassador to Japan Majibur Rahman Bhuiyan wants to generate greater interest in Japan toward his country, especially its most important export items — ready-made garments.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
Oct 23, 2010

Deplorable behavior tarnishes Rooney's reputation forever

LONDON — Thick, greedy, mercenary, unfaithful to his wife, photographed urinating and smoking outside a bar, has brought Manchester United into disrepute by his off-field actions, injured and hopelessly out of form; Wayne Rooney's resume for the second half of 2011 is surely one that even he must look...
LIFE / Style & Design / Japan Pulse
Oct 22, 2010

Snoods a hot item for both women and canines

That's a wrap: Snoods are back with a vengeance, for both women and dogs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2010

Senkaku challenge surmountable: departing U.S. Forces commander

Lt. Gen. Edward Rice, before he steps down next week as the commander of U.S. Forces Japan, said Thursday it is natural for any country, including Japan and China, to face bilateral "challenges" and expressed optimism the two countries will be able to move forward in a positive direction.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2010

Salarymen feeling pressure of elderly care

For Itsuo Kandatsu, cooking three meals a day is a task he performs for his wheelchair-using mother and disabled brother. But the 49-year-old Tokyo resident isn't a house husband.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 22, 2010

Is Tokyo staging the next major theater festival?

Festival/Tokyo, which launched last year with two sets of events in spring and autumn, is in a bid to join the ranks of the world's top-flight theater festivals — such as Edinburgh's annual spectacular in Scotland, Avignon's in the South of France and Adelaide's in South Australia. The question is,...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 22, 2010

First-time director takes on Murakami

Many filmmakers say the difficulties of adapting a best-selling novel to the screen can be daunting. How about the challenge of adapting a story by a foreign best-selling author ("All God's Children Can Dance" by Haruki Murakami) from a country one had never visited (Japan) and to choose the project...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 22, 2010

80Kidz "Weekend Warrior"

Ali and Jun, aka 80Kidz, might be Japan's very own blogosphere darlings, but time hasn't been kind on their peers in the West. Indie-dance favorites such as The Shoes and Autokratz, both of whom featured as guests on the band's debut full-length, "This Is My Shit," have fallen into irrelevance — victims...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 22, 2010

Here be Vampires

V ampire Weekend bassist Chris Baio exudes a happy demeanor, albeit a slightly weary one. Weary thanks to an unyielding touring schedule that finds him traveling to San Diego midway through an extensive tour of the United States; happy because there can be no reservation that his band have dominated...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / HOOP SCOOP
Oct 22, 2010

Hill, Apache ready for season to tip off

The Tokyo Apache and the Niigata Albirex BB begin the 2010-11 bj-league season a week later than the other 14 teams. And so they've both had extra time to make preparations for their first game.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2010

Okada urges less heat in Senkaku row

Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Katsuya Okada cautioned both Japan and China not to resort to extreme nationalism following the recent bilateral spat in connection with the Senkaku Islands.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 21, 2010

JAL chief touts 'amoeba' style of management

Japan Airlines Corp. CEO and Chairman Kazuo Inamori voiced confidence Wednesday in turning the ailing airline around, saying it is improving financially and will achieve restructuring goals through his "amoeba" management style.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 21, 2010

Return of a maverick

HONG KONG — On the way to the airport in early 1990, I saw a strange face among the profusion and confusion of election posters. Not a European grandee, or indigenous Indian, or mestizo, or mulatto. It was more like Chinese, but surely not in this heart of Latin America.

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