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EDITORIALS
Dec 22, 2010

Cancun has done its job

When it comes to international climate negotiations, anything that is not a clear-cut failure can be called a success. That is the best justification for the "Cancun Agreements," the deal reached after two weeks of multilateral talks held earlier this month. While key disputes were not resolved, the...
CULTURE / Books
Nov 28, 2010

Tales of a Heian Casanova

Ariwara no Narihira (825-880), a Japanese Don Juan, a Casanova of the Heian Period (794-1185), a poet, one of the prime authors of "Ise Monogatari," is the hero of these 125 interconnected tales written in verse with prose links.
Japan Times
LIFE
Oct 24, 2010

Key facts and figures

Key data drawn from numerous quoted sources here succinctly suggest the enormous range of problems and issues facing delegates to COP10 — and the world.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Sep 28, 2010

COP10 to take on genetic, indigenous issues

From Oct. 18 to 29, the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP10, takes place in Nagoya.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 23, 2010

Reflections of Chekhov's Russia in modern-day Japan

"People compare me with Bertolt Brecht, and I am glad to hear that — but why won't anyone call me Anton Inoue?"
CULTURE / Books
Jun 6, 2010

Art rebel without a cause

Pulse waves from the art world of the early 20th Century may have been felt far and wide, but the movements, practitioners and individual works of art themselves were far from being globally coordinate.
CULTURE / Books
May 23, 2010

An epic slog through history

This doorstopper of a book focuses on American and Soviet rivalry in post-World War II Asia while providing an overview of dramatic developments in 14 nations across Asia over the past century or so. This is an ambitious agenda, one that proves too much for the author and, one might add, any weary reader...
CULTURE / Books
May 16, 2010

A splendid tour through the 'real' Tokyo

It is likely that as many people will appreciate Donald Richie's "Tokyo Megacity" as a tasteful addition to their living room decor as will open it, and that most who do open it will assiduously avoid Richie's text in favor of Ben Simmons' photographs.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
May 13, 2010

The poor man's alternative to iPad, Kindle, et al.

Is EYE-Reader a dark horse that will trample the competition in Japan's e-reader market? Or is it just a picture frame?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / WHEN EAST MARRIES WEST
Dec 26, 2009

The industry of the under-motivated

"How do you do?" The man greets her in Japanese and bows in his doorway. He wears the same teasing grin and the same rumpled shirt as always. Even the cookie crumbs on his collar seem the same.
Reader Mail
Dec 6, 2009

Rare occasions to speak English

Regarding T. Mamoru Hanami's Nov. 29 letter, "Why pay just to learn to read?" (which was a reply to Shoko Tana's Nov. 26 letter, "Learning English to read a text"): First, I would like to point out to Hanami that very few Japanese need English for oral communication. The rare occasion would be an encounter...
BUSINESS
Dec 5, 2009

'Open skies' talks herald easing of U.S.-Japan flight curbs

Japan and the U.S. will try to reach agreement on the draft of an "open skies" treaty next week, clearing the way for carriers including United Airlines and All Nippon Airways Co. to seek antitrust immunity. The agreement would outline plans to erase government limits on flights between the two nations....
Japan Times
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2009

Environment minister prepared for ringmaster's role at COP15

Environment Minister Sakihito Ozawa said Wednesday he is ready to exercise leadership as Japan's negotiator at next week's international meeting in Copenhagen on climate change and to work to ensure China and the United States commit to setting new reduction targets from 2013.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Dec 2, 2009

King Jim puts pen to screen; Phiaton turns red

Jot it down: While the typewriter has pretty much become extinct, the notebook and pen combination has shown greater resilience. This is mainly due to to their simplicity, something computers are not known for. But they can do color touchscreens, multimedia and other surplus features. In the form of...
Reader Mail
Nov 29, 2009

Why pay just to learn to read?

I found Shoko Tana's Nov. 26 letter, "Learning English to read a text," disturbing to say the least. According to Tana, "for better or worse, we learn English (in Japan) to acquire knowledge on how to read a text, not to communicate, as important as that skill may be outside of Japan."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 23, 2009

Tokyo theater scene gets kiss of life

The Edinburgh theater and street-performance festival in Scotland annually sends a buzz round the arts world; France's Avignon invariably features a cordon bleu international menu; and Adelaide and Singapore vie for the Asia-Pacific spotlight.
CULTURE / Books
Aug 23, 2009

Making the time to find mono no aware

Detached and contemplative,"Oh!" draws the reader into a mesmerizing journey of discovery while also exploring contemporary Japanese pathologies along the way. This philosophical mystery gives us leads on understanding sadness, loss, family ties, identity and suicide. It is also a search for clues about...
Japan Times
Events / Events Outside Tokyo
Jul 3, 2009

Jazz meets literature in concert

Three Japanese artists living in Berlin, together with a French musician, will stage two performances in Yokohama featuring music, dance and readings to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the city's port.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
May 24, 2009

From Meiji gentleman to 'Japanese Yankee'

This curiosity (a first-person account of the writer's gradual transformation from Meiji gentleman to self-proclaimed "Japanese Yankee") was first published in 1898 (by the Congregational Church) and never again seen until now.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 22, 2009

An era of translation by everybody, for everybody

The Internet has brought us closer together than ever before, or so the cliche goes. But has it really?
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 5, 2008

The fatal flaw in trying to impose a new interpretation on Article 9

The report of the "Panel on the Reconstruction of the National Security Legal Foundation," commonly known as the Yanai Report, argues that a reinterpretation of Article 9 of the Constitution is necessary to permit Japan to participate in collective self-defense and collective security operations. Both...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2008

Can YouTube cure political apathy?

Thanks to video-sharing Web sites like YouTube, it has become easier to broadcast and share video clips with the world, whether it's a short film shot with a cell phone or an elaborately choreographed movie.
LIFE / Language
Jun 24, 2008

Building bridges across continents and cultures

Twelve Japanese elementary-school students gathered at Yoyogi Elementary School in central Tokyo on Saturday, May 10, to play games, cooperate with and learn a little about a similar group of students at an elementary school in Seoul, South Korea via Webcam on the Internet.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / IGADGET
Apr 23, 2008

Tech to get people talking

Say what you want: Why use a tiny keypad to communicate when the human voice can do the job? NTT DoCoMo last week launched a new mobile phone from Fujitsu, the F884i, that will put the joy back into talking to your e-mail contacts. Employing the new FOMA Raku Raku Phone Premium system, users enter their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 6, 2008

Sulky modern youths return

"It was officially the runaway disaster of 2006. I was really glad that so many people didn't like it at all," laughs 34-year-old Toshiki Okada about his debut at the New National Theater, "Enjoy," which Japan's theater critics voted the year's worst play. The old guards' thumbs down was all the more...
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN TIMES BLOGROLL
Feb 20, 2008

The Blog from Another Dimension

The Blog from Another Dimension might conjure up images of science fiction, but click through to Luis Poza's blog and you'll quickly see that it's about the here and now, cataloging his thoughts about current events, technology and social issues in Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Feb 7, 2008

The gobbiest girl in London, innit?

Adele cringes: "I can't believe I did a peace sign on TV — like Ringo Starr!"
CULTURE / Books
Dec 30, 2007

Certain 'connotations' of Asian Americans

SHORTCOMINGS, by Adrian Tomine. Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2007, 108 pp., $19.95 (cloth) Comic books are respectable enough now that it is no longer necessary to attempt to burnish their image by renaming them "graphic novels." Neither is it necessary to remind readers that comics can be art and, as...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji