Search - u_times

 
 
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 10, 2010

Crisis a chance for consolidation

The European debt problem triggered by the Greek crisis this year provides a good opportunity for both Japan and Germany to start fiscal consolidation efforts in the face of mounting public-sector debts, experts from the two countries told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WORDS TO LIVE BY
Jul 8, 2010

The Dalai Lama

His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 75, is respected by the Tibetan people as their temporal and spiritual leader. At age 2, he was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso. The Dalai Lamas are believed to be manifestations of the Bodhisattva of Compassion...
JAPAN / OKINAWA'S HOSTAGE ECONOMY
Jul 7, 2010

Futenma relocation has certain bidders salivating

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — Last month an executive of a major construction company in Nago confessed what was considered a long-held industry secret in this city that is poised to be the replacement site for the Futenma military base: For decades most local contractors had rigged bids for public works projects,...
JAPAN / OKINAWA'S HOSTAGE ECONOMY
Jul 7, 2010

Special burden, special economic benefit

NAGO, Okinawa Pref. — On Aug. 4, 2005, then Okinawa Gov. Keiichi Inamine was told by Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya that the United States had agreed to return all of the major military bases south of Kadena, central Okinawa Island, to Japan on condition that the Futenma air base be relocated...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
Jul 4, 2010

Manga's Cinderella story

"I want to tell you a real love story," whispers a pen-wielding Misako, a graphic-novel version of comic artist Misako Takashima, on the first page of the 2007 book, "Rock and Roll Love."
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
Jun 26, 2010

Global multitasking: it's in her DNA

Miho Natori can recite nursery rhymes in Thai, speak German fluently, converse over coffee in English and is native in Japanese. For this 40-year-old graphic designer, life kaleidoscopes world to world, from Japan, to the orphanage she helped start with her mother in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and to Germany,...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 15, 2010

A light of hope for abused children

In the dock, Katsuyuki Okuno cut a strange figure as he listened baby-faced, chubby, graying, frightened and seemingly unable to understand what he had done.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HAVE YOUR SAY
Jun 8, 2010

Readers weigh in on U.S. military presence

Fear of breaking taboo During my 31 years in Japan I have appreciated The Japan Times' coverage of social issues such as discrimination against ethic and social minorities, which the vernacular papers give only passing mention to.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2010

All things have finally come to veteran who waited

New Prime Minister Naoto Kan never hid his ambition to one day take up the post and empower ordinary citizens by ousting the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 4, 2010

Neu takes over reins in Apache front office

Conor Neu, a former Princeton University basketball player, is the Tokyo Apache's new general manager.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jun 1, 2010

Gunma city does battle with beards

I would like to draw readers' attention to the outstanding work of the municipal government of Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture. After receiving complaints that citizens find bearded men unpleasant, Isesaki — just as all levels of Japanese government often do — took decisive action to address an important...
COMMENTARY
May 31, 2010

Internet leveling the news field

SEATTLE — The debate is no longer confined to a few academics in distant universities. It is now a mainstream topic of discussion: How will the news of the future be distributed?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY
May 29, 2010

Kiwi won't chicken out on farming in Japan

"Red eggs," says Andrew Hitchings, using the Japanese term for brown eggs, "are better quality than white."
Japan Times
LIFE
May 23, 2010

Ibaraki's hidden lure

Whether tourist or resident, anyone looking for a short trip out of Tokyo, but still within the surrounding Kanto region, has plenty of varied options.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT
May 23, 2010

Experts fear Taiji mercury tests are fatally flawed

On May 10, in a front-page lead story headlined "Taiji locals test high for mercury," The Japan Times reported the results of tests by the National Institute of Minamata Disease (NIMD) that found "extremely high methyl-mercury (MeHg) concentrations in the hair of some residents of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture,...
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
May 16, 2010

'Pig Meat' journeys from cute to cutlets

A series of food-safety scandals in the early and mid 2000s — involving, among other scares, bacteria-infected milk and poisonous Chinese dumplings — have made many more people in Japan aware of the need to know — and the danger of not knowing — the origins of their daily fare.
SOCCER / PREMIER REPORT
May 15, 2010

Tough to root for either F.A. Cup finalist

LONDON — Under normal circumstances Portsmouth would enjoy the neutral backing in Saturday's F.A. Cup final against Chelsea.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
May 13, 2010

Eight teams set for playoff party

The Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix made a habit of winning this season — 41 times in 52 games to be precise.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / ONE-ON-ONE WITH ...
May 13, 2010

Pierce prepares for playoffs

The Japan Times will be featuring periodic interviews with individuals in the bj-league. The league's fifth season began in October. Head coach Bob Pierce of the Shiga Lakestars is the subject of this week's profile.
JAPAN
May 10, 2010

Most Taiji residents rest easy, refuse to change diet

TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. — Residents of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, appeared relieved Sunday after health specialists found no symptoms of mercury poisoning in their bodies, even though the hair samples of some residents contained high levels of methyl mercury.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
May 9, 2010

One time zone, shinkansen help NPB clubs on travel

Have you wondered how teams in Japanese baseball move from one city to another and how it differs from the hectic, rat race travel schedule endured by their cousins in the major leagues?
COMMENTARY
May 9, 2010

Beijing projects power in South China Sea

SINGAPORE — Is China becoming more assertive in enforcing its claims to control as much as 80 percent of the South China Sea, a claim that includes sovereignty over dozens of islands disputed with several Southeast Asian states?
JAPAN
May 5, 2010

Secondhand market grows

When Chie Matsumoto buys anything — from a DVD player to golf goods to a telephone — she now chooses secondhand goods because brand-new items aren't necessarily what she needs.
EDITORIALS
Apr 28, 2010

Greece's crisis, Europe's test

The Greek economy continues to slide. The promise of an aid package from the European Union a few weeks ago briefly stanched speculation against Athens, but relief proved fleeting. Acknowledging that the Greek economy was "a sinking ship," Prime Minister George Papandreou last week formally called for...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Apr 21, 2010

Rera Kamuy close to deal with Kobe Bryant

Joe Bryant is poised for a return to Japan.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH
Apr 18, 2010

Brace yourself — I did say 'cute'!

When did you last go out into the woods at night? In this age of media-induced fears, and with far more than half the world's population now being urban- dwellers, fewer of us brave the outdoors even during daylight hours, let alone at night.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Apr 16, 2010

Rowsom's role in Oita's turnaround worthy of honors

Brian Rowsom deserves to be on the short list of candidates for the bj-league's coach of the year honors.
COMMENTARY
Apr 16, 2010

U.K. searching for the center

When national elections are called, the major political parties — while of course emphasizing their differences through their propaganda — in practice all veer toward the center ground and claim it as their own. We are the ones, each leader proclaims, who can unite the nation.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 9, 2010

Up from the underground: Womb turns 10

Since opening its doors in April 2000 with a live set from New York house legend Junior Vasquez, Tokyo's club Womb has been credited with doing more than other local venues to bring dance-music culture into the mainstream.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami