Search - world

 
 
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Oct 5, 2013

Trouble is brewing on tracks up north

Last week the Fuji TV variety show "Real Scope" covered Japanese railroads. Most of the celebrities in the studio were densha otaku (train geeks), so it was one big love-in for railways and the people who operate them. However, the entire two-hour program focused on only two systems: the super express...
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 5, 2013

'Obamacare' exchanges have trouble with success

"We're building a complicated piece of technology," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said on the first day of the new Affordable Care Act — or "Obamacare," as it is otherwise known — "and hopefully you'll give us the same slack you give Apple."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Oct 4, 2013

Beatlemania: 'The screamers' and other tales of fandom

The first time Scottish concert promoter Andi Lothian booked the Beatles, in the frozen January of 1963, only 15 people showed up. The next time he brought them north of the border, to Glasgow Odeon on Oct. 5, they had scored a No. 1 album and three No. 1 singles, and it was as if a hurricane had blown...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 4, 2013

India's wealthy must open gates and fight chaos

Even well-to-do Indians, whose disengagement has made the erosion of public institutions possible, can no longer escape the extortion and lawlessness that the less lucky have always faced.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2013

China rise may break Russia impasse: expert

China's growing economic and military might may pose a threat to Japan, but it also works in Tokyo's favor when it comes to settling a long-standing territorial dispute with Russia, a former high-ranking diplomat told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 3, 2013

A taxing challenge to revival

As Shinzo Abe goes ahead with a sales-tax increase aimed at getting a handle on Japan's huge debt burden, he risks killing Japan's best chance for an economic recovery.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2013

Double the trouble, twice the joy for Japan's hafu

Until about 10 years ago, the standard Japanese image of kids of mixed blood was that they were 1) gorgeous, 2) rich and 3) able to live in Japan with none of the kinks and hang out at Azabu clubs when they were 13. In high school, my girlfriends scorned their own Japanese heritage. The common reply...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / SWEET INSPIRATIONS
Oct 3, 2013

A modern twist to traditional snacks

Nowhere is the intersection of Japanese food culture and style more obvious than in the genteel, refined world of wagashi. For centuries, Japanese confectioners, especially those associated with Kyoto and the rituals of the tea ceremony, have produced sweets of astounding intricacy and beauty.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Oct 3, 2013

'R100'

The world premiere of Hitoshi Matsumoto's "R100" in the Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness section must be frustrating for all those Japanese auteurs out there who got rejection letters from North America's most important festival.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
Oct 3, 2013

Sonoma flavors come to Four Seasons; Lawry's beef on the bone; Hungarian fair at Royal Park Hotel

Sonoma flavors come to Four Seasons
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 3, 2013

Housing market exemptions to offset tax hike impact

The housing market will weather a consumption levy increase because of a tax break on home purchases, according to Mizuho Securities Co. and Morgan Stanley MUFG Securities Co.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2013

ANA's extra Haneda slots please United

United Continental Holdings Inc., the world's largest carrier, stands to benefit after ANA Holdings Inc. received 11 additional takeoff and landing rights at Tokyo's Haneda airport.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / ANALYSIS
Oct 3, 2013

As Xi tightens grip, hopes for China reforms vanish

After Xi Jinping took over as head of China's Communist Party in December, some liberals dared to hope that change was in store for the world's most populous nation.
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Oct 2, 2013

True tradition would be preferable to an 'Idolympics' in 2020

Ten-thousand Kumamons doing an elaborate Busby Berkeley-style dance routine to Kyu Sakamoto's international 1963 hit "Sukiyaki"? A 100-meter Hatsune Miku towering over the stadium while 80,000 spectators crane their necks for a glimpse up her skirt? Newly elected Prime Minister Pamyu Pamyu speeding up...
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2013

Tale of two crises: connecting the dots from Iran to Syria

The twin crises involving Syria and Iran demonstrate the continuing utility of the United Nations as the Security Council remains the cockpit for addressing geopolitical upheavals.
Reader Mail
Oct 2, 2013

Suffering from the lack of satire

Regarding Noriko Fujita's Sept. 29 letter, "When cartoons don't go our way": Fujita seems to have absolutely no idea what satire is. This is not surprising in a country whose media habitually treat politicians with deference and where any kind of political satire is lacking. Consequently ordinary people...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2013

Melt-Banana: Being 'stupid' isn't so bad when it comes to touring

For Melt-Banana, the flip side of popularity overseas is that it is often regarded as a band who has never really lived up to its potential at home.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Oct 2, 2013

Nite Jewel's new best-of album, 'Gems,' celebrates a diverse catalog

A best-of album is not what you'd expect from an artist who has been around for five years. But that's exactly what Ramona Gonzalez, who records under the moniker Nite Jewel, released in advance of her upcoming Japanese tour.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013

Federal budget deadlock could stretch into debt-limit fight

Washington begins bracing for a prolonged government shutdown on Tuesday, with signs on Capitol Hill that Republicans — knowing that blame almost certainly will fall most heavily on them — beginning to look for ways to lift some of the pressure.

Longform

An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo