Search - news

 
 
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 25, 2008

The longest day ever for Japan

I recently stumbled upon a YouTube recording — actually, two — of the Showa Emperor telling his subjects over the radio that Japan was accepting defeat. The first one I heard was what appeared to be a cleaned-up version; the second was the one with static, bits of which I had heard before. This was,...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2008

Bush legacy leaves U.S., Asia room to build

BANGKOK — In his last presidential visit to Asia, U.S. President George W. Bush laid out what he considered was his legacy for the region. But what he left out in his last major Asia policy speech, delivered earlier this month in Bangkok, was as revealing as what he underlined as his success.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 24, 2008

Biomimicry: Natural by design

I magine being able to maintain a perfect temperature and humidity in your home year round, without spending a single yen in electricity or gas bills. That's exactly what Professor Emile Ishida of Tohoku University in northern Japan is striving to achieve — and he got the idea from termites.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Aug 22, 2008

The perfect gin and tonic

"A gin and tonic is an entry-level drink," said the ladyfriend recently. It's easy to understand, she said, easy to drink. Like Kahlua milks and Moscow mules. A drink for people who haven't graduated to whiskeys or rickeys.
Japan Times
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 21, 2008

China taking small steps to baseball success

BEIJING — Baseball is experiencing growing pains in China. In order to take a big step forward, China needs time to establish a foundation for the future.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 20, 2008

From Prague Spring to the Velvet Revolution

WARSAW — What was the Prague Spring, or the events of 1968 more generally? Their meaning, it seems, has become more, not less, debatable with the passage of time.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2008

Fukuda looks to restart Diet next month

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda indicated Tuesday he is looking at a mid-September start for the extraordinary Diet session, during which the ruling bloc hopes to introduce emergency economic steps and continue Japan's contribution to antiterrorism efforts.
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2008

TSE suspicious of Urban bond sale

Urban Corp.'s convertible bond sale is being examined by the Tokyo Stock Exchange to determine if the collapsed property developer withheld information from investors, according to the bourse.
BUSINESS
Aug 19, 2008

U.S. bank OKs MUFG tender for $3.5 billion

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and UnionBanCal Corp. agreed on a tender offer at a raised price of $73.50 a share in a deal worth $3.5 billion, MUFG said Monday.
OLYMPICS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 19, 2008

Japan's judoka should be saluted

BEIJING — Every four years there are great expectations for Japan's judoka at the Summer Olympics.
COMMENTARY
Aug 18, 2008

Natural enemy of warming

Severe drought reduced wheat production in Australia by as much as 60 percent in 2006. Other forms of climate change led to lower harvests of other farm products throughout the world. In a market economy, a decline in crop output results in excessive demand and spiraling prices, which in turn causes...
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 17, 2008

Opening week creates stories the world over

BEIJING — More than a week has rapidly gone by since the Beijing Olympics started, and in that time dozens of heart-warming stories have filled up space in newspapers from Swaziland to Saitama.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 17, 2008

Unprecedented love stories, an emigrant artist and world travels

The topic of discussion on this week's installment of the variety show "Za Sekai Gyoten Nyusu (The World's Amazing News)" (Nihon TV, Wednesday, 9 p.m.) is "unprecedented love stories." In particular, hosts Tsurube Shokukutei and Masahiro Nakai, along with their studio guests, listen to the true romantic...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2008

Fukuda sticks to neutral venues

Speaking at the annual ceremony to commemorate Japan's war dead at Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Friday touched on the country's wartime responsibility to its neighbors and renewed the nation's pledge to never again wage war.
COMMENTARY
Aug 15, 2008

Ways of beating malaria without using DDT

NEW YORK — Malaria continues to be endemic in the developing world, causing more than 1 million deaths every year, mostly among children living in Sub-Saharan countries.
BUSINESS
Aug 15, 2008

Utilities emit 13% more CO2 to meet rising demand, offset idled reactors

Tokyo Electric Power Co. and nine other utilities emitted 13 percent more carbon dioxide after burning fossil fuels to meet higher demand and make up a shortfall from the closure of the world's biggest nuclear plant.
Reader Mail
Aug 14, 2008

Getting people to understand

I don't think Debito Arudou has ever been called a "nigger." I have. I have also been called a "gaijin" by every conceivable age group in Japan. I am also a Japanese citizen. You have to start with your own community and be visible as a member of the community to make people understand the word is wrong. ...
CULTURE / Stage
Aug 14, 2008

Staffing decisions at the NNTT cause a stir in theater world

The Japanese theater world is currently in crisis over the question of to whom public theaters belong, since the decision by the New National Theatre Tokyo (NNTT) to appoint new artistic directors for each of its three divisions. The disquiet has been caused by revelations following a June 30 announcement...
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2008

Current account surplus falls 67%

Japan's current account surplus narrowed by a record amount in June as exports fell and higher oil prices pushed up the import bill.
BUSINESS
Aug 14, 2008

MUFG may have to up ante as UnionBanCal shares surge

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's largest bank by market value, may have to raise its $3 billion bid for control of UnionBanCal Corp. after the Californian lender's stock surged.
OLYMPICS
Aug 13, 2008

Phelps in esteemed company at top of Mount Olympus

BEIJING — Here's the answer to an obscure trivia question: Michael Phelps' middle name is Fred.
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 13, 2008

Kitajima's swimming feats inspire a nation

BEIJING — With his head tilted back and his mouth wide open in a victorious roar, Kosuke Kitajima's fist-pump celebration after winning the 100-meter breaststroke final on Monday morning produced Japan's iconic image of the 2008 Summer Games so far.
Japan Times
OLYMPICS / 2008 BEIJING OLYMPICS: GYMNASTICS
Aug 13, 2008

China's men ace gymnastics; Japan second

BEIJING — This story is a familiar one: China was devastated by the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province on May 12, instantly killing thousands and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

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