Search - u_times

 
 
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Sep 2, 2007

Danjuro Ichikawa: Destined to act wild

When Danjuro Ichikawa stomps around the stage in flamboyant costumes, his face painted in red-and-white makeup and his voice virtually bellowing, it is kabuki in its rawest, most dramatic form. This actor and his ancestors through 11 previous generations have been wreaking havoc in the elegant world...
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Sep 1, 2007

The honorable language

Whenever the work and weariness of life fills my house with gloom, the one sure way to drive away the clouds and ring in the laughter is this:
JAPAN / ATOMIC POWER AT ANY COST
Sep 1, 2007

Nuclear doubts spread in wake of Niigata

Global competition for energy resources and tougher controls on greenhouse gas emissions have made Japan reliant on nuclear power. While the government and regional power utilities are quick to associate the word "safety" with atomic energy, several fatalities, accidents, coverups and earthquake threats...
JAPAN
Sep 1, 2007

Lower House might be dissolved if MSDF duty isn't extended: Ishihara

bin Laden and al-Qaida (are located), and the antiterrorism law is enabling activities to prevent narcotics from Afghanistan to be sold around the world and the money used for international terrorism," Ishihara told reporters in a group interview. "I think that the decision by the Diet (whether to extend...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 31, 2007

Plucking the final string

The Vermeer Quartet, the internationally renowned string ensemble formed in Marlboro, Vermont, will play their final tour of Japan Sept. 24 to Oct. 7, before retirement at the end of the year. They have played in Japan four times since 1996, and this time they will teach talented young students in masterclasses...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 31, 2007

Transformation of Turkey

ISTANBUL — Abdullah Gul's election as Turkey's 11th president marks a watershed in the country's history.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2007

Marcus Miller "Free"

Brooklyn-born Marcus Miller kicks off his latest album playing the sitar, lending "Blast" an Indian groove before adopting a hip-hop beat in the chorus. It's an early indication of Miller's diverse musical tastes: "Free" features the noted bass guitarist playing 14 different instruments.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Aug 31, 2007

'Planet Terror'/'Death Proof'

With their double-feature project "Grindhouse," directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez seek to revive a bit of cinematic history, namely the grindhouse: the flea-pit inner-city theaters of the 1970s (think NYC's old Times Square), with dodgy clientele, that inevitably had a double-feature of...
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Aug 31, 2007

A great escape to Biwako

Jasmine, a writer who hails from Hiroshima and is much older than me but has a refined magnetizing beauty that cannot be ignored, pours me a cup of green tea on my first ever junket. It's just before the world turns blue; just before I'm dropped into a Marc Chagall painting by an invisible but all-seeing...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 31, 2007

Mono find fan in Steve Albini

While big-name music acts look to foreign markets to continue fattening their already oversize bank accounts, for Tokyo quartet Mono, it's a simple matter of survival.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2007

McCafe aims for slice of coffee shop pie

McDonald's fans thronged Wednesday to be the first to taste cappuccinos, croissants and vegetable soups at McCafe, the fast-food giant's new chain of cafe-style eateries.
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2007

Japan profited as opium dealer in wartime China

A Japanese narcotics firm in wartime occupied China sold enough opium to nearly match the annual budget of Tokyo's puppet government in Nanjing, according to an internal company document recently discovered by The Japan Times.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2007

Why shield an accused authority?

I don't want The Japan Times to take this criticism as mean-spirited, but there seems to be an endemic problem in reports about authorities. For example, in the Aug. 19 article "Prosecutor faces dismissal for axing complaint," the name of the 40-year-old prosecutor (who allegedly withdrew a criminal...
MORE SPORTS
Aug 28, 2007

Worlds notebook; Day 3

OSAKA — News and notes from Day 3 of the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Championships.
EDITORIALS
Aug 28, 2007

Learning from a summer of disasters

With an airplane exploding, bridges collapsing, and a nuclear plant shutting down, it has been a summer of disasters. Around the globe since May, no continent has been left untouched — whether by fire, flood, tornado, airplane crash or a collapsing mine. Disasters, clearly, do not take summer vacations....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Aug 28, 2007

The blame game

We live in interesting times. With the shortage and high cost of domestic labor, the Japanese government has brought over record numbers of cheap foreign workers. Even though whole industrial sectors now depend on foreign labor, few publicly accept the symbiosis as permanent. Instead, foreigners are...
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2007

Muto's prospects for taking BOJ helm seen fading

Bank of Japan deputy chief Toshiro Muto is less likely to become the next governor since the opposition won last month's election, casting doubt on the central bank's plan to gradually raise interest rates.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 27, 2007

Steeplechase kings

OSAKA — Few things in life are guaranteed, but there seems to be one automatic occurrence in athletics: a Kenyan-born athlete will win a major international steeplechase race.
MORE SPORTS
Aug 27, 2007

Worlds notebook; Day 2

OSAKA — News and notes from Day 2 of the 2007 IAAF World Athletics Championships.
SPORTS / ODDS AND EVENS
Aug 27, 2007

Gay blows away Powell in 100 final

OSAKA — Muhammad Ali declared decades ago that he's The Greatest.
COMMENTARY
Aug 27, 2007

Issues with U.S. hurt LDP

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has been rocked by its humiliating defeat in the July 29 House of Councilors (Upper House) election. The LDP's loss was generally attributed to the government's long-standing mismanagement of public pension accounts, but in my opinion, two United States-related issues...
Reader Mail
Aug 26, 2007

What about shootings in Japan?

The timing of Hiroaki Sato's article leaves something to be desired. Sato asks why Americans can't give up their guns, yet a Japan Times front-page article on the same day ("Gang boss shot hours after rival gunned down," Aug. 20) is about two yakuza shootings. Why can't the Japanese give up their...
MORE SPORTS
Aug 25, 2007

IAAF WORLD ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

Here's a rundown on the top five individual performers for events in the IAAF World Athletics Championships, as well as Japan's top-ranked individuals.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2007

Wynn, 'pachislo' wizard Okada await casino boom in Japan

Steve Wynn turned to Kazuo Okada when the gambling magnate needed cash to fund his namesake Las Vegas casino in 2000. Now, Okada could be the ace up Wynn's sleeve in the Japanese businessman's home market.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 25, 2007

Ami, guitar team up against sex trafficking

Ami & Her Guitar revolve dramatically through the doors at What the Dickens pub in Tokyo's Ebisu. She's late, she's late, for a very important date, but on a day when temperatures have hit 40 C plus, she is easily forgiven.

Longform

Japan's growing ranks of centenarians are redefining what it means to live in a super-aging society.
What comes after 100?