Search - special

 
 
EDITORIALS
Sep 13, 2011

Tohoku mental health care

As the cleanup of the physical wreckage from the Tohoku disasters continues, more work is needed to heal psychological wounds. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced plans in early September to set up mental health care centers for children who lost parents in the March 11 disasters. In August,...
COMMENTARY
Sep 13, 2011

Thanks to 'twinning,' the functional integration of economies has become a universal trend

There is plenty of recent evidence regarding the tight interaction and functional cohesion between the two economies of the United States and China.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2011

Incumbent Iwate Gov. Tasso reelected

Incumbent Takuya Tasso was reelected Sunday to a second term as governor of Iwate Prefecture, according to early returns, with the primary focus of voters' attention being on how to move forward with the reconstruction of the region devastated by the March 11 disasters.
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2011

U.S. now less secure, less free

It has been a decade since that beautiful September day when terrorists brought down the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon, and killed thousands of Americans. Unfortunately, in important ways the terrorists have won.
Japan Times
CULTURE
Sep 8, 2011

True glimpses of the underworld

Cloaked in mystery and perhaps a certain degree of myth, the yakuza constitute one of the hardest subculture groups in Japan to infiltrate. But when Belgian photographer Anton Kusters and his brother, Malik, saw a gangster walk by as they were drinking at a bar in Tokyo's entertainment district of Kabukicho,...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 4, 2011

Sakurai in "Kamisama no Karute"; Japan's smartest high school students; CM of the week: Takasu Clinic

Sho Sakurai of the idol group Arashi can currently be seen playing a physician in the theatrical film "Kamisama no Karute" ("God's Medical Chart") alongside Aoi Miyazaki. Both can also be seen in the ongoing TV commercial series for supplemental medical insurance provider Aflac, alongside a CGI duck...
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Aug 31, 2011

Discount strategies: Every dog, and man, has his day

The service industry is finally targeting guys.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Aug 29, 2011

'Gratuitous' bombing of a defeated enemy

The International Center of Photography recently had an exhibition, "Hiroshima: Ground Zero 1945," and I attended the panel discussion. This month 66 years ago the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Reader Mail
Aug 28, 2011

One-land, two-country solution

Territorial problems between countries are sources of permanent tension and conflict. In the past, wars and military victories were considered the main tools for solving such problems. Although the probability of applying such tools these days has essentially decreased, we still hear about military drills...
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 28, 2011

Earthquake prediction documentary; Mokomichi Hayami's cooking; CM of the week: Toshiba

Since March 11, the science of earthquake prediction has come under fire. Detractors say the methodology is too fraught with variables to make a difference. Resources would be better spent on preparedness.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 26, 2011

Curry — it's more 'Japanese' than you think

To many people in Japan, summertime is synonymous with hot and spicy food. Spices are believed to cool you down by making you perspire, as well as stimulating an appetite dulled by the sweltering weather. The quintessential spicy dish in Japan is curry, which is so popular that it's regarded, along with...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Aug 25, 2011

Japanese brothers who championed Korean ceramics

In ancient times, Japanese arts and crafts were greatly influenced by the introduction of techniques and aesthetics from Korea and China. In particular, Japan owes the development of its ceramics to the skilled craftsmen brought over from Korea at the end of 16th century, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2011

Apple core of capitalism

For a few hours this month Apple, once regarded as a maverick upstart company, became the world's biggest company by stock market capitalization, until Exxon Mobil again seized the title.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 21, 2011

Japan's 'astonishing' islands; story of a motherless chimp; CM of the week: DoCoMo

Though the Nippon Television variety program "Kenmin Show" ("Prefectural Citizen Show") has covered every regional peccadillo there is, the similarly themed occasional TBS series "Japan 47 Channels" attempts to discover towns and villages that have never been visited on TV. On this week's two-hour special...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Aug 13, 2011

Young dancers reap fruits of choreographer's expertise

Kimiho Hulbert danced before she could talk. Crawling backstage between dressing rooms of her Japanese mother and British father, both professional dancers in Belgium where she was born, Hulbert even disdained her first official ballet class at 2 years old as "too babyish."
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Aug 12, 2011

Celebrate Earth with top beats

Enjoy an exciting weekend getaway to Niigata Prefecture for Japan's longest-running music festival, Earth Celebration. Now in its 24th year, this event takes place on Sado Island, which is home to the internationally acclaimed Kodo drumming group.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2011

Ozawa ex-aide tapes inquisitor, talks up don

On May 17 last year, lawmaker Tomohiro Ishikawa, arrested for allegedly falsifying a political funds report but free on bail, walked into the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office with a mission — to record his pending interrogation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 4, 2011

Lesser lights shine amid Fuji Rock rains

When U.S. act Washed Out hit the Red Marquee stage on Friday night, that's when the Fuji Rock Festival 2011 really began to get going.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Jul 24, 2011

What a difference a friend's tales of 'hair on the heart' can still make

"Shinzo ni Ke ga Haeteiru Wake" is the intriguing title of a book published in April by Kadokawa. The book was written by my good friend, Mari Yonehara, and its title in English would be "That's Why Hair Grows on the Heart."
LIFE / Food & Drink / Japan Pulse
Jul 22, 2011

A win-win for Nadeshiko and Japan's merchants

Did retailers predict that the Japan women's team would win the World Cup? Probably not, but they're perfectly happy to capitalize on Nadeshiko fever now.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Jul 15, 2011

Body scrub, Vichy shower for women

The Hyatt Regency Tokyo is offering a special spa package for women called Total Body Scrub Care at the hotel's spa facility, Joule, through Aug. 31.
EDITORIALS
Jul 13, 2011

The quest for food security

At the initiation of France, the Group of 20 agricultural ministers held a summit in Paris on June 22-23 to discuss ways to ensure food security and tame volatility in food prices. Global food prices have soared to a record high this year, raising concerns of new round of social unrest like that which...
EDITORIALS
Jul 12, 2011

Nuclear reactor stress tests

Trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda on July 6 said that all of Japan's nuclear power plants must undergo "stress tests" that comprehensively evaluate their safety. The same day, Prime Minister Naoto Kan told the Diet that he had instructed officials concerned to work out new rules for verifying...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 12, 2011

Monja-yaki restaurant owner Minoru Maruyama

Minoru Maruyama, 68, is the owner of the Maruyama Monja restaurant. Located in Tsukishima's Monja Street in Tokyo, his tiny joint is one of the 70 or so mom-and-pop shops in the area that all serve monja-yaki, a, pan-fried loose-batter shitamachi (downtown) snack food that is loved by children and adults...
EDITORIALS
Jul 10, 2011

Judicial system reform

Aspecial panel of the Justice Ministry's Legislative Council on June 29 started discussions on judicial system reform for criminal cases. The panel was set up in response to the discovery of evidence-tampering by a member of the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office's special investigation squad....

Longform

After pandemic-era border regulations eased, Indian migrants began returning to Japan. Their population now stands at more than 50,000 across the country.
How remote work is rewriting the migrant experience in Japan