Search - 2005

 
 
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 18, 2014

Buffaloes' Italian pitcher Maestri keeps track of Azzurri's World Cup progress

When Mario Balotelli headed Italy into a second-half lead over England at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Italians around the globe rejoiced. That included Alessandro "Alex" Maestri, an Italian relief pitcher for the Orix Buffaloes who was watching in Osaka and had a game to suit up for later in the day....
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jun 18, 2014

Japan's 'no immigration principle' looking as solid as ever

In contrast to Hidenori Sakanaka's unbridled optimism, I argue that Japan has little prospect of becoming a 'migrant nation' anytime soon.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jun 17, 2014

New Lions slugger Mejia relishes opportunity to play in NPB

Ernesto Mejia remembers the bus rides. Those long trips to games in rookie ball, Single-A and a notch up the ladder in Double-A. Some of those rides could last for seven, eight, nine hours.
Japan Times
JAPAN / NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Jun 15, 2014

'Womenomics' push raises suspicions for lack of reality

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may be a political hawk who believes Japan can once again become a macho state that can hold its own against regional threats, but as he looks for money and muscle he is turning to an unlikely source: women.
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Jun 14, 2014

Proposed NPB expansion appears unlikely

The office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a suggestion on May 22 that Japanese professional baseball should expand from its current 12 teams to 16. Prospective locations for four new franchises were listed, and the idea would be to help further economic growth in some of the more rural areas of the...
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jun 14, 2014

Carp like fish out of water during interleague

On the eve of the interleague portion of the schedule, nearly one month ago, the Hiroshima Carp were leading the Central League with a 27-15 record and tied with the Pacific League-leading Orix Buffaloes for the best record in NPB. After ending a postseason drought that had stretched over two decades...
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2014

Japan needs tougher laws to end illegal timber imports, NGO says

Japan, the world's fourth-largest buyer of timber products, needs to introduce laws and stricter oversight to stamp out imports of illegally logged wood, according to the activist group Environmental Investigation Agency.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL
Jun 12, 2014

Wakayama can't afford Pavlicevic

After an ultra-successful start in the National Basketball League, the cash-strapped Wakayama Trians are implementing big budget cuts for the upcoming season.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Jun 10, 2014

Putin gambles on culture war with the West

Oleg Makarenko wants to set the story straight and answer the "Russophobes" who he says are trying to split and humiliate Russia.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 9, 2014

ECB's negative interest rates to hasten bund sales by undercutting BOJ

The European Central Bank's undercutting of the Bank of Japan with negative interest rates looks set to accelerate Japanese sales of German bunds, while falling short of the fund flows needed to weaken the yen.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 9, 2014

Intact pterosaur eggs found in China

A spectacular find of fossil eggs from 120 million years ago is providing unique insight into the lifestyle and sex differences of pterosaurs, the flying reptiles that lived alongside the dinosaurs.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 9, 2014

Be-Japon recycles traditional culture to survive modernity

Perhaps it's a case of, "Be careful what you wish for."
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Jun 9, 2014

Cool Biz 2014 inspires refreshing designs

Dressed in a gray suit, a model stops at the end of the runway and strikes a pose before taking off his jacket. Still standing at the end of the runway, instead of throwing the jacket over his shoulder, he begins to casually flip and fold it. Then he holds it up. What had appeared at first glance to...
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2014

Olympics advisory panel mixed bag

The organizing committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has set up an advisory council consisting of 170 people from various parts of society to make sure the games are an "all-Japan" effort.
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Jun 5, 2014

Toyama named new coach of Shiga

Less than two weeks after a memorable title game, the coaching carousel is moving at warp speed.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 5, 2014

The pleasures of driving like an absolute maniac

"Need for Speed" is an ode to the automobile and not the green, hybrid kind either. The vehicles in this movie are sleek, sexy, gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing planet-destroyers, and director Scott Waugh revels in shooting them from every conceivable angle (plus a few you never even thought possible). In...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 4, 2014

Famed Kinosaki hot-spring idyll immerses itself in performing arts

The small hot-spring resort of Kinosaki beside the Sea of Japan in northern Hyogo Prefecture is as picturesque as it is peacefully genteel. However, with April's opening of the Kinosaki International Arts Center (KIAC), this rural home to fewer than 5,000 now aims to become a major performing-arts hub...
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jun 3, 2014

Obama's muted carbon cuts are reachable

In large part, the wide-ranging reaction to President Barack Obama's signature effort to cut power plant carbon emissions could have been written months in advance.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 3, 2014

Ladykillers: Hurricanes with feminine names 'most deadly'

Would more residents of New Orleans have evacuated ahead of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 if it had been named Kurt?
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Jun 2, 2014

Japan urged to make its cosmetics 'cruelty-free'

While Japanese consumers clamor for items that will make their skin smoother or their hair shinier, relatively few people are aware of the horror behind the products in their cosmetics cases.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / NPB NOTEBOOK
Jun 1, 2014

Tough luck for Kaneko

Chihiro Kaneko no-hit the Yomiuri Giants for nine innings on Saturday. He then watched his team lose the game.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jun 1, 2014

Accidental activist battles Japan's part-timer purgatory

Miho Marui isn't exactly sure how she wound up standing on top of a bus on a blustery Tokyo day in 2009, staring up at the 35-story headquarters of KDDI Corp.
WORLD
Jun 1, 2014

China, India may hinder U.S. steps on warming

U.S. President Barack Obama is set to take his boldest step to halt the rise of the oceans and stop the warming of the planet. But it won't be enough unless the rest of the world follows.

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan