Search - u_times

 
 
BUSINESS
Sep 5, 2008

MUFG denies report of bid for controlling stake in Lehman

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, denied a report it is considering entering the bidding for a stake in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
BASKETBALL
Sep 4, 2008

Kyoto awarded bj-league's 13th franchise; team to begin play in 2009

The bj-league's 13th franchise will be based in Kyoto, the league announced on Wednesday.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Aug 31, 2008

Is yours a sweet and eco-friendly home?

After hearing all the talk about climate change and global warming, many of us are now aware that we need to change our lifestyle in the battle to stop our planet from being a far less agreeable place to live.
BUSINESS
Aug 27, 2008

Cash-flush Japan Inc. on the hunt for bargain acquisitions overseas

Japanese companies are increasing overseas acquisitions, using their cash hoards to snap up assets beaten down by the global credit crisis and economic slowdown.
LIFE / Language
Jul 29, 2008

Turning to rock 'n' roll for lyric-sheet linguistics

They say you should always open with a joke, so how about this one: a music journalist with only conversational Japanese writing for The Japan Times' Bilingual Page. Try not to laugh too much, though, as I'll be sticking to what I know: music.
COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM NEW YORK
Jul 28, 2008

The U.S. Supreme Court's risible reasoning

Laws are subject to interpretations, courts are official interpreters, and the Supreme Court has the last word. That is a fact of life, though it is also a fact of life that you sometimes wonder if there is anything "supreme" about the Supreme Court. Yes, you know that individual justices come with individual...
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2008

Tsukiji panel slammed during final meeting

An advisory panel to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government submitted a report Saturday calling on it to take steps against pollution at Toyosu, the new destination for Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jul 25, 2008

Death Set put Japan on the agenda

Nearly every teacher of English as a second language who has worked in Japan longer than a year has wondered at some point, "What the hell am I going to do when I go back home?"
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Jul 23, 2008

There's still hope — despite our milquetoast* leaders

In the runup to the Group of Eight summit held this month in a stupendously policed corner of Japan's most remote northern island, there was widespread expectation that little would be achieved on the environmental agenda.
Japan Times
LIFE / WEEK 3
Jul 20, 2008

What's that smell?

No one in Japan can avoid the sweat and smells of hot humid summer, regardless of sex, age or ethnicity. But a recent survey on body odor reeked of bad news for men.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 8, 2008

How green are Japan's urbanites?

The Group of Eight summit began Monday at the Windsor Hotel Toya, an exquisite, maximum- security resort in Hokkaido. There, the world's top leaders are holed up in conference rooms, trying to strike last-minute deals on various global issues, the most disputed of all being climate change.
Japan Times
JAPAN / G8 COUNTDOWN
Jul 3, 2008

Persistent Japan green tech leader

A technology that originates from an invention by Thomas Edison in the 19th century — a bulb filament made of carbonated bamboo — is now considered one of the keys to curbing global warming.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Jul 1, 2008

Society's role in Kato's crime

'The clicking sound of my cell phone echoes emptily in my room. . . . If only I had a girlfriend, I wouldn't have to live so miserably.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / LIQUID CULTURE
Jun 27, 2008

Eau contraire: no two waters taste the same

From the marketing bumf, you'd think all mineral waters tasted alike. The aquifers are ancient, the nature is untouched and blah blah blah. But H2O is such a great solvent it steals a bit of anything it passes through, resulting in a shelfload of different flavors.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 26, 2008

Energy use stands to soar

WASHINGTON — What will happen to the price of oil and its supply if Asia's emerging economic giants, China and India, continue their quest to raise living standards and catch up with rich nations by emulating the West's energy-intensive growth model? And what will the impact be on the global environment,...
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Jun 17, 2008

Sumo's future isn't in the U.S.

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles Times carried a very brief article on the sport of sumo.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Jun 13, 2008

Getting high with ease

The goal was a lofty one, figuratively: To climb the highest peak within the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Japan Times
LIFE
Jun 8, 2008

Viva matsuri!

To commemorate 100 years of Japanese emigration to Brazil, and the countries' continuing close links, taiko drummers from both cultures will be powering a huge festival set for Sao Paulo on June 21
BUSINESS / UK JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Jun 5, 2008

Innovate to survive, U.K. journalists say

Innovation will be the key to the survival of advanced economies in the intensifying competition with emerging powers with cost advantages.
JAPAN
May 20, 2008

New Tsukiji site highly toxic: panel

The relocation site of the world-famous Tsukiji Fish Market has been contaminated with far more toxic chemical materials than previously thought and around 2 meters of surface soil will probably have to be replaced, an advisory panel to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Monday.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / ICE TIME
May 18, 2008

Skaters going all out to try and keep ice rinks open

With Japan currently boasting the No. 1 ranked female (Mao Asada) and male (Daisuke Takahashi) figure skaters in the world, The Japan Times will begin a periodic notebook chronicling the latest news and notes on Japanese skaters in the buildup to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
May 11, 2008

Aoki top Japanese player in bj-league

Cohey Aoki settled into a comfortable groove as the starting point guard of the Tokyo Apache.
BUSINESS
May 10, 2008

Japan still good place to invest: Nikko Asset

Despite the possibility that the government may block a hedge fund's bid to increase its stake in a power utility, Japan remains an attractive place to invest because of low valuations, Nikko Asset Management Co.'s president said recently.
Reader Mail
May 4, 2008

Improve content, including letters

I have been a loyal reader of The Japan Times for the 12 years I have been here. This is my first time to write, but I am driven to address two key points. First, I agree with recent letters that the latest changes of format in this paper were ill-advised and poorly thought out. It seems to be following...
Reader Mail
May 1, 2008

Why fix what's not broken?

Why fix what's not broken?
ENVIRONMENT / OUR PLANET EARTH
Apr 23, 2008

Is growth driving us to oblivion?

Last month, when I wrote a column headlined "Apocalypse when? Can three experts all be wrong on looming disaster?," I expected that readers would harangue me for taking up ranks with the pessimists. After all, for every doomster, there seems to be a Pangloss reassuring us that all will be well.
Reader Mail
Apr 13, 2008

Tough to read new weather forecast

I have subscribed to The Japan Times for over 18 years but this is the first time that I've felt the need to write. My concern is the new format for the weather forecast. What happened to the instructional weather map, the percentage chance of rain and the "Today's Weather" description? Is The Japan...
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 8, 2008

National holidays trace roots to China, ancients, harvests

Golden Week is approaching, covering four national holidays from late April to early May.

Longform

Figure skater Akiko Suzuki was once told her ideal weight should be 47 kilograms, a number she now admits she “naively believed.” This led to her have a relationship with food that resulted in her suffering from anorexia.
The silent battle Japanese athletes fight with weight