Search - u_times

 
 
BUSINESS
Mar 23, 2005

Carmaker pushes hybrids as key environmental technology

The launch Tuesday of two sport utility vehicles featuring hybrid engines highlights Toyota Motor Corp.'s keenness to spread the hybrid system as a core environmental technology.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 23, 2005

The end of the line for American Eden

Times change and things move on. "The past," as L.P Hartley (1892-1972) wrote in his 1956 novel The Go-Between, "is a foreign country, they do things differently there."
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2005

Special court can right Haitian wrongs

PORT-AU-PRINCE -- Known as the "Perle des Antilles" at the time of its independence in 1804, Haiti has gone through several periods of upheaval and terror that have stymied a once promising future. Human rights violations are widespread, and justice is nonexistent in the country today.
COMMUNITY / LIFELINES
Mar 22, 2005

Positive credit card results

There was great interest in last week's Zeit Gist column on credit cards in Japan by Vanessa Mitchell. We'd like to pass on some experiences of card usage in Japan sent in by readers as well as give some information on no-charge cards that there wasn't enough room for last week.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 22, 2005

Fresh foreign angles

Japan has been a magnet for foreign writers and journalists since opening to the West.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 21, 2005

Three leadership styles, three challenges

SINGAPORE -- The different leadership styles of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi in organizing relief and reconstruction after the Dec. 26 tsunami hold important lessons for managing peace, politics and...
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Mar 21, 2005

Stock, flow of economy provide key insight into monetary policy

More attention is being focused on Japan's monetary policy, given the changing economic environment at home and overseas.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 20, 2005

The earnestness of being important

THE HEREDITY OF TASTE, by Natsume Soseki, translated by Sammy I. Tsunematsu, introduced by Stephen W. Kohl. Boston: Tuttle Publishing, 2005, 201 pp., 1,300 yen (paper). MY INDIVIDUALISM and THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF LITERATURE, by Natsume Soseki. Translated by Sammy I. Tsunematsu, introduced by...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 20, 2005

Native soul drifts back home

HUDSON: A Collection of Tanka, by Kisaburo Konoshima, translated by David Callner, text in English and Japanese. Tokyo: The Japan Times, 2004, 135 pp., 2,500 yen (paper). It was 34 years ago, in 1970, that the Meiji Era-born Japanese-American Kisaburo Konoshima (1893-1984) published "Hudson" (Tokyo,...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 20, 2005

TBS celebrates its 50th anniversary with a new version of "Seishun no Mon" and more

This week TBS celebrates its 50th anniversary with a new version of "Seishun no Mon (The Gate of Youth)," one of the great publishing successes of the postwar era. Written by Hiroyuki Itsuki, the seven-volume novel, originally published in 1969 and 1970 in serial form, went on to sell more than 20 million...
EDITORIALS
Mar 20, 2005

A flock of Emiews

I t must say something about the times when a news release heralding yet another piece of cutting-edge Japanese technology makes us scratch our heads and think how quaint and last-century it sounds. That happened last week when we read about Hitachi Ltd.'s rollout of a wheeled humanoid robot that it...
Features / WEEK 3
Mar 20, 2005

Quake amateurs shake skeptical pros

With surprisingly little fanfare, the Japan Meteorological Agency, which keeps tabs on tens of thousands of earthquakes a year, has been setting up a network of ultra-sensitive electronic motion detectors that will pick up on the kind of minute seismic quivering that heralds a major quake.
Features / WEEK 3
Mar 20, 2005

On a wing and no fare

When Momoko Sasaki goes traveling, she literally "goes an extra mile" to enjoy perks that few of her peers have likely ever dreamed of.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 19, 2005

Curing the plague of piracy

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- For years now piracy in the Malacca Strait has been one of the top problems facing the Asian region. A recent Japan Times editorial very succinctly dealt with the potential dangers that it presents, especially with regard to Japan. My purpose here is to consider possible ways...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 19, 2005

Experts trade conflicting views on how to handle U.S. beef

Japan's 15-month-old import ban on U.S. beef has become a major diplomatic issue between Tokyo and Washington, and U.S. lawmakers are increasing pressure on Japan to lift the ban as soon as possible.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2005

Ito-Yokado holds initiation rite for 1,046 rookies

Supermarket chain Ito-Yokado Co. held an initiation ceremony for 1,046 new recruits of its group companies Thursday, ahead of other similar rites by major companies.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Mar 16, 2005

A baroque approach

With his keen, adventurous musical intellect and an interpretative idiosyncrasy that breathes new life into the standard repertoire, Dutch cellist Pieter Wispelwey is fast assuming a hallowed place in the cellist pantheon. Influenced by the revolutionary Early Music movement in the Netherlands under...
CULTURE / Film
Mar 16, 2005

Directing duo blossoms

In 1990, shortly after I started reviewing for The Japan Times, I saw a film by a former porno director, Shun Nakahara, that made me think I was not wasting my time after all.
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 15, 2005

Visa la difference

Although it is certainly not impossible to receive a credit card as a foreigner living in Japan, chances are that unless you're working for a major Japanese company that is prepared to provide you with a family card, you're probably going to be rejected far more often than you might be at home.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 13, 2005

Acceptance of foreign managers reflects yet another change in Japanese baseball

It is obvious Japanese baseball is changing. It was not all that long ago when such terms as free agency, posting, expansion, inter-league games and post-season playoffs were unheard of. Now, everyone here knows them.
COMMENTARY
Mar 13, 2005

Bad time to take a chance on arms sales

WASHINGTON -- When China's National People's Congress convened in Beijing early this month, Premier Wen Jiabao highlighted his nation's military modernization campaign and breathed threats against Taiwan. It would be hard to find a worse time for Europe to offer China military aid.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 13, 2005

Fuji's "Dead Age" tries to bridge babyboomers and youngsters' culture gap and more

Though baby boomers control the creative side of the television industry, a huge part of their audience is a lot younger, a divide that often results in stilted programming.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 12, 2005

End to deposit guarantee symbolic more than strategic: economist

The upcoming removal of the government's decade-long unlimited guarantee on bank deposits is not expected to drastically change the financial portfolio of the average household, said Paul Sheard, chief economist for Asia at Lehman Brothers.
SPORTS / SPORTS SCOPE
Mar 10, 2005

Will the 'Brave Blossoms' soon be drinking champagne?

It's often said that it is a brave man who owns up to being wrong.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / ANIMAL TRACKER
Mar 10, 2005

Mandarin duck

* Japanese name: Oshidori * Scientific name: Aix galericulata * Description: The male Mandarin duck is the last word in avian cuteness. With a wingspan of 68-74 cm, and a body that's 41-49 cm long, he has highly elaborate plumage, with long orange feathers on the "cheeks" of his face, swished-back...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Mar 9, 2005

Can Lions stay focused in midst of scandal?

This could be the final season for the Seibu Lions, at least as we know the ball club by that name.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 9, 2005

The melting pot of theatrical Asia served up for Japan

"Hotel Grand Asia," the debut production resulting from an ambitious pan-Asian collaboration called Lohan Journey, opened at the Setagaya Public Theatre (SEPT) in Sangenjaya on March 8 is the fruit of over two years of intensive preparation since the project was launched by SEPT's director Kentaro Matsui....
BUSINESS
Mar 9, 2005

Toyota booming in world's No. 2 spot over U.S. rival Ford

Back in the 1970s, workers at Toyota Motor Corp. were taught to never turn down an order because good times couldn't be counted on to last forever. These days, Toyota cars are in such demand workers are exhausted just keeping up.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Mar 8, 2005

Creating laws out of thin air

With terrorists striking fear into governments worldwide, Japan too is currently considering its own version of America's Patriot Act, to be passed in a year or two.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 7, 2005

U.S., Taiwan miss communication cues

TAIPEI -- Communications between the governments of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and U.S. President George W. Bush have become increasingly muddled, adding to the possibility of a miscalculation in the confrontation between this island nation and China.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji