Search - author

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Apr 16, 2016

Accommodating disabilities, but only within reason

Due to his recent sex scandal, best-selling author Hirotada Ototake has decided not to run for the Upper House under the banner of the Liberal Democratic Party this year, but he hasn't officially said he won't run at all. Earlier this month, while the scandal was still hot, he went ahead with a birthday...
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Apr 16, 2016

Anime biz sings the praises of shows

The first time I attended AnimeJapan, the industry's annual spring showcase in Odaiba, Tokyo, it was called the Tokyo International Anime Fair. Members of the public couldn't enter during the first two days, amateur cosplay (costume play) was prohibited, and while there were some presentations, most...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 13, 2016

‘Spotlight’: a beacon for investigative journalism

In 1976 the film "All the President's Men" portrayed the true story of Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford) uncovering the Watergate Scandal. It wasn't the first time in cinema that journalists took center stage, but it was one of few films that...
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 12, 2016

Why women put on the suicide vest

On a list of history's most notorious assassins, alongside John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald and Gavrilo Princip, the name Thenmozhi Rajaratnam would probably draw mostly blank stares. But in her way, the Tamil Tiger terrorist — who blew up herself, the Indian leader Rajiv Gandhi and 13 others in...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Apr 12, 2016

Brilliant-but-humble Curry a product of the modern game

Stephen Curry is about to win his second consecutive NBA Most Valuable Player award. In its penultimate game on Monday, his team tied the all-time record for wins (72) in a season, equaling Michael Jordan's 1995-96 Bulls' record that many believed was as unassailable as Wilt's 100 points.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 12, 2016

Growing terrorism risk leads China to boost role in Afghanistan

As China watches Afghan peace talks founder and Islamic militants make inroads in parts of its troubled neighbor, Beijing is taking its most concrete steps yet toward assuming a direct security role in the country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 11, 2016

It happened before ... it could happen again

Will history repeat itself again?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Apr 9, 2016

'The Stones Cry Out' tells the history of the world through a rock fragment

A Japanese soldier's discovery in a cave during World War II — the realization that a pebble might be a microcosm of the world's entire matter — forever changes the perspective of Tsuyoshi Manase, the main character in the exquisitely written short novel "The Stones Cry Out" that earned author Hikaru...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2016

An apology, forgiveness and reconciliation

Lasting reconciliation can only be achieved when the stories and lessons of the past are handed down to future generations.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 8, 2016

Should U.S. fold its nuclear umbrella in Asia?

Donald Trump shocked the foreign policy establishment when he argued that South Korea and Japan might be justified in building nuclear weapons. But why should only the bad guys in Asia have nukes?
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 8, 2016

U.S. christens self-driving, sub-hunting warship to meet China, Russia threat, eyes Japan tests

The U.S. military on Thursday christened an experimental self-driving warship designed to hunt for enemy submarines, a major advance in robotic warfare at the core of America's strategy to counter Chinese and Russian naval investments.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2016

Everyone but the mainstream media saw 'Trumpism' coming

You can't be a good journalist when you're a shill for a corporate media obsessed with access to the powers that be.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2016

'Trumpanomics' amounts to fantasy over fact

Donald Trump's math-challenged budget is awash in glaring contradictions.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 5, 2016

A vote for 'Brexit' would be a vote for irrelevance

EU membership allows the U.K., a relatively small country with limited economic and political powers, to punch above its weight.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Apr 3, 2016

Japan's indie acts make an impact in New York without the help of 'Cool Japan'

Music industry extravaganza South by Southwest (SXSW) is over and, as always, some of the Japanese acts were able to make it to New York while they were in the country.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 2, 2016

Japan's inescapable 'comfort women' problem

Tokyo and Seoul may believe they have resolved the "comfort women" problem after signing a joint agreement in December, but it's wishful thinking and confronts mounting evidence that this diplomatic deceit is already unraveling and falls short of the grand gesture needed to restore dignity to these victims...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2016

Excessive dieting can be dangerous to teens

Although dieting can be good for people's health, unsupervised efforts — particularly by adolescents who want to be excessively slim — can be dangerous.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2016

Libya mars Clinton's foreign policy credentials

Hillary Clinton was a co-author of the U.S. plan to topple Moammar Gadhafi, which led to Libya becoming a failed state.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Mar 30, 2016

'Bitter Honey': Fishing for the love of a writer

Films about elderly men falling for elusive young women (and utimately regretting it) go back to "The Blue Angel" (1930). One Japanese example is Kaneto Shindo's 1992 "Bokuto Kidan" ("The Strange Tale of Oyuki"), a biopic about writer Kafu Nagai and the prostitute he came to love. Unlike the deluded...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBA / NBA REPORT
Mar 29, 2016

Duncan quietly winding down a sensational career

In this NBA season of Kobe, his season-long farewell tour perhaps the only thing distracting from the Golden State Warriors fast break to history, it is fitting that this likely is the final season for probably the greatest power forward of all time in the NBA. He's a player who may even rank above Bryant...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2016

Virgin America's vision of decency can't compete

Virgin America is finding out the hard way that Americans prefer lower airline fares to good service.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 28, 2016

Trump is positioned to win the presidency

If the Democrats are serious about stopping Donald Trump, they should stop Hillary Clinton from clinching the nomination.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2016

Tackling the jihadi menace

By wielding only carrots and no stick, the West allows the double-talking Saudi royals to run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds — at grave cost to the security of many countries.
EDITORIALS
Mar 27, 2016

Artificial intelligence marches on

As artificial intelligence rapidly advances, we must make sure it's used for the benefit of humanity and not to its detriment.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 27, 2016

Now scientists can keep complicated life simple

The origin of life on Earth remains unexplained, but last week we saw the notion of a simpler version of life go from theory to reality.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2016

There's a better way to secure our airports

Rather than add another layer of baggage and body screens, the aviation industry should emulate the security measures employed by Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

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