Search - things-to-do

 
 
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jun 23, 2015

Young British directors take Tokyo by storm — but why?

This year it's quite noticeable how many non-Japanese are directing plays in Tokyo — not frequent and famed visitors such as David Leveaux, Robert Lepage and Simon McBurney, but relative unknowns here making their debuts at two leading large commercial theaters that almost always feature Japanese dramatists....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2015

Omotenashi promo video of quick shinkansen cleanup goes viral

A short video depicting the cleaning of Japan's famous bullet trains has become an online hit, garnering more than 2.6 million views on YouTube as of Monday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 22, 2015

When too much is not enough, just dial up the 'sugiru'

When something is in excess, English commonly uses the adverb 'too.' Japanese expresses similar things with the verb 'sugiru.'
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jun 21, 2015

Governance guru pushes Japan Inc. to open up and diversify

Former trailblazing dean Christina Ahmadjian finds her balance between the classroom and boardroom.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jun 20, 2015

The true cost of fertility treatment in Japan

An increasing number of couples nationwide are relying on fertility treatments to conceive without adequately understanding the financial, physical and emotional toll such therapy takes on participants.
Japan Times
CULTURE / CULTURE SMASH
Jun 20, 2015

Can #socialmedia boost music sales in Japan?

Last week, Line Corp.'s, the operators of Japan's most popular messaging app, launched an in-app music streaming service called Line Music. Japan is the second-largest music market in the world after the United States, but its consumers have so far been global outliers, clinging to physical products...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 19, 2015

Crystal Kay returns with a confident ballad to soundtrack 'Wild Heroes'

Shortly after Ariana Miyamoto was crowned Miss Universe Japan, the country's first ever mixed-race beauty queen, Crystal Kay took to social media to voice her approval: "You go girl, I'm proud of Japan."
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Jun 16, 2015

Lions teenager Mori thriving on pro level

Tomoya Mori swings hard. Really, really hard. Sometimes, so hard he loses his balance for a moment.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 12, 2015

Times advisory board meets, offers recommendations

Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 11, 2015

Christopher Lee, actor who played Dracula and Frankenstein, dies at 93

Christopher Lee, the English actor who found fame as Count Dracula in the 1950s and whose career was resurrected a half century later with villainous roles in the "Star Wars" and "Lord of The Rings" franchises, has died. He was 93.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 11, 2015

Algorithms give us what we want, but little else

Algorithms may take the guesswork out of marketing, crime prevention and even romance. But they also take the guesswork out of life itself, making it predictably dull.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 9, 2015

Managing disputes with China

U.S.-China relations are not a zero-sum game — and that it's dangerous to act as if they are.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball / HIT AND RUN
Jun 8, 2015

Sarfate continues to pitch at high level for Softbank

Dennis Sarfate doesn't seem to be very complicated. Sarfate wears his heart on his sleeve and says what he feels. He works hard, he plays hard, he throws hard. The way he pitched during his first three NPB seasons was similarly without complexity; he threw a really good fastball and got really good results....
COMMUNITY / Issues / LAW OF THE LAND
Jun 7, 2015

Hey bureaucrats, leave those kids — and teachers — alone

To look at Japan's educational policy in action, you can't help but wonder if insularity and mediocrity might actually be the goal.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 7, 2015

The best and worst ways to default on sovereign debt

If Greece does decide to default, it should seek to make its path as smooth as possible.
Japan Times
ENVIRONMENT / OLD NIC'S NOTEBOOK
Jun 6, 2015

Watch out — there's owls about

The hoot of Japan's most common owl is soft and sonorous, but it can be heard up to 2 km away. When I stay out in the woods at night, with a small campfire and something to sip on, I love to hear the owls calling ... "Ooooo-hoo-hoo." They don't make a lot of noise but when they do give voice, you know...
CULTURE / Film
Jun 3, 2015

Director Kawase disregards criticism of her sentimental leprosy drama 'An'

When I first interviewed Naomi Kawase in 1998, after she won the Cannes Film Festival's Camera d'Or award for her first feature, "Moe no Suzaku" ("Suzaku"), I remarked on her "quietly stubborn determination" to persist in the face of various detractors. If anything, criticism has increased in the intervening...
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 1, 2015

Abe and history: What's next?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe needs to dramatically and definitively address the 'comfort women' issue head on.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jun 1, 2015

To know bamboo is to know Asia — and a whole lot of Japanese

This fast-growing plant has found its way into much of the language of Japan, revealing a great deal about the history and culture of East Asia.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 31, 2015

Sexism no barrier for Japanese exile building India subways

A daring civil engineer blocked from working in Japan is giving Indian women not only a role model, but safe transportation in the city known as the rape capital.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
May 31, 2015

Lions' Seratelli hopes to make mark in Japan

Before a game at Tokyo Dome last week, the Seibu Lions' Anthony Seratelli took a quick glance around to see where his father, Russell, might have sat.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / How-tos / LIFELINES
May 31, 2015

Foreign volunteers in Tokyo and Tottori bring cheer to Fukushima children's homes

Lifelines introduces two groups working to make life better for kids in children's homes in Tokyo and Fukushima Prefecture.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
May 30, 2015

Life inside a juvenile correction center

Young offenders are encouraged to acknowledge the crimes they have committed before learning how to survive in the outside world after their release.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
May 30, 2015

Sayoko Yamaguchi, an enigma to the end

You may not know the name, but there is a good chance you know the face. As Clara Bow, Greta Garbo and Twiggy were iconic of their times, Sayoko Yamaguchi was everywhere in the 1970s. Even if you weren't a dedicated follower of fashion, it would have been difficult to avoid her cool gaze, which appeared...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 29, 2015

Spending slump casts doubt on Bank of Japan optimism

Household spending slumped unexpectedly in April and consumer inflation came in roughly flat, casting doubt on the central bank's view that a steady economic recovery will help move inflation toward its ambitious 2 percent target.

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers