Search - u_times

 
 
Japan Times
Figure Skating / ICE TIME
Nov 18, 2014

Hongo's rise illustrates depth of Japan's talent pool

Japan's strong showing in the Grand Prix season continued with Rika Hongo's victory at the Cup of Russia on Saturday. Hongo's triumph marked the third time in four weeks that Japan has taken the gold at one of the GP events.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 18, 2014

Putin-bashing at G-20 meeting was juvenile

What were Western leaders trying to achieve by humiliating Russia President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit?
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Nov 18, 2014

RBMA gifts Tokyo with some impressive events, but did they simply preach to the converted?

At Liquidroom last Friday night, clubbers attending the Red Bull Music Academy Tokyo closing party formed an orderly mob outside the venue as they waited for upward of half an hour to get inside. Only on reaching the head of the queue did it become clear that the bottleneck wasn't being caused by a surfeit...
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 17, 2014

Xi shows U.S. his no-nonsense approach to bilateral relations

Last week, President Xi Jinping showed the world a newly assertive China that's less worried about impressing others than in pursuing its own goals.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 14, 2014

America's money politics

The success of big money was even greater than widely expected in America's mid-term election.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Nov 14, 2014

Honminoshi traditional paper-making flows from long dedication, and UNESCO takes notice

UNESCO recently announced that Honminoshi, a traditional Japanese paper-making craft, is being considered for the organization's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Reader Mail
Nov 12, 2014

Minister's idea of free expression

With regard to Tomohiro Osaki's Nov. 6 article titled "New justice minister against outlawing hate speech," I'd like to add my two-pence worth. First, I wonder what Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa means by "freedom of expression." It seems that many politicians in Japan believe that freedom of expression...
Reader Mail
Nov 12, 2014

No complaints from the natives

Regarding professor Jiro Yamaguchi's Oct. 20 article, "Perilous spirit of the times": I entirely agree with his observation that "It is pathetic that we have to quote the foreign media to criticize what's going on in this country."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 12, 2014

Hope 'glitters like a firefly' in sisterly drama

Yu Shibuya, a rising writer/director for both the big screen and theater, believes in the redemptive power of narrative: "We don't really have to be reminded that humans are weak, or that we have the ability to commit violence," he told The Japan Times in a recent interview. "There's a place for that...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2014

Takata chairman stays out of sight as air bag crisis imperils dynasty

Takata Corp. Chairman Shigehisa Takada's failure to come forward and address an air bag crisis ensnaring the world's biggest automakers risks shaking investor confidence in the 81-year-old company's prospects.
BASKETBALL
Nov 10, 2014

Susanoo Magic fire coach Hanson

The Shimane Susanoo Magic ended their season-long losing streak on Sunday. But that wasn't enough for head coach Reggie Hanson to retain his job.
BASKETBALL
Nov 9, 2014

Susanoo Magic end drought with win over Firebonds

Rebuilding a team from scratch is never expected to be a simple task. There are countless examples that it takes hard work and patience to accomplish this, including in the NBA this season with team president Phil Jackson's New York Knicks.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 8, 2014

Kendama: great balls of fire

The photographers who attended the Catch & Flow tournament in September would have been well advised to keep an eye on their equipment, as some of the tricks performed during the freestyle competition were so outrageous that balls flew dangerously close to their lenses.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / JAPAN WEB WATCH
Nov 8, 2014

Smartphone app CocoPPa takes a custom approach to overseas sales

Although very few smartphone apps made in Japan have managed to take the world by storm, one that has is CocoPPa. Made by Japanese company United, Inc., the app allows users to customize the design of not only their smartphone wallpaper but also the icons for the other apps on their phone.
BASKETBALL
Nov 7, 2014

Hot-shooting Akita pounds struggling Fukuoka

Deshawn Stephens scored a team-high 24 points on 9-for-11 shooting and five teammates reached double figures as the Akita Northern Happinets rolled to a 116-86 road victory over the Rizing Fukuoka on Friday night.
BASKETBALL / BJ-LEAGUE NOTEBOOK
Nov 6, 2014

Takeno making big impact in first season with Akita

What fuels point guard Akitomo Takeno's competitive fire?
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2014

Renowned architect condemns Olympic stadium design

A revised design for the main Tokyo Olympic stadium is nothing more than a "white elephant" that's been stripped of its original designer's artistic talent and will forever burden the capital if built, internationally renowned architect Arata Isozaki said.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Nov 5, 2014

A more potent beauty, a more complex beast

Some people under 40 are likely to think "Beauty and the Beast" is a classic story created by Disney in 1991. But that animated movie, which has enthralled millions of little girls and boys (and many of their parents, too), was actually based on a hefty novel by France's Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve...
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Nov 5, 2014

Let's ensure no happy returns to Japan for this vile 'dating coach'

After bragging on a YouTube video about degrading assaults on women in Tokyo, Blanc says he's coming back.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Nov 5, 2014

Does social change in Japan come from the top down or bottom up?

Should bad social habits be thrown out the second-floor window, or patiently cajoled down the stairs and out the front door? Discuss.
Japan Times
MORE SPORTS / MAN ABOUT SPORTS
Nov 4, 2014

Surprise showing by Jaguars forces change of plan

Every NFL dog has its day. Even the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Nov 3, 2014

Survey shows popularity of U.K. opposition leader Miliband at record low

Opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband's approval rating has hit a record low, a poll showed Sunday, raising further doubts about his ability to unseat Prime Minister David Cameron in a national election in just over six months.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 3, 2014

Obama makes final campaign push, hoping to avert electoral rout

President Barack Obama made a final push on Sunday to help struggling Democrats before this week's midterm elections, making campaign stops in Connecticut and Pennsylvania to try to avert a "shellacking" at the polls like the one in 2010.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Nov 1, 2014

Fuminori writes noir, but not as we know it

Fuminori Nakamura has won many of the major literary prizes in Japan and is quickly making the same kind of impact in the English-speaking world. His third novel to be translated into English, "Last Winter, We Parted," is out now. It's a tense, layered story centered around a young writer commissioned...
Japan Times
BASKETBALL / NBL NOTEBOOK
Oct 31, 2014

Off-court distractions create additional challenges for Tsukuba Robots

Usually, the first few weeks of any sports league's season should be happy, exciting times as both the teams and fans had eagerly anticipated its arrival.
BASEBALL / Japanese Baseball
Oct 31, 2014

Hawks eliminate Tigers on bizarre game-ending double play, capture Japan Series title

It wasn't the ending anyone envisioned, but the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks aren't complaining.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Oct 28, 2014

Organizational flaws, collusive ties taking a toll on the WHO

Critics of the World Health Organization say its inability to fight Ebola thus far can be traced not only to its own organizational problems but also to its 'collusive relations' with the pharmaceutical industry.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Oct 27, 2014

Japan holds separate military drills with Russia, U.S.

Japan begins exercises with the U.S. Army in Hokkaido, a day after it started naval maneuvers with Russia 800 km away off the coast of Vladivostok.
BASKETBALL
Oct 26, 2014

Kyoto bounces back with victory over Ryukyu

Shun Watanuki scored 20 points for the second day in a row, converting 8 of 10 shots from the field, and the Kyoto Hannaryz clamped down on the defending champion Ryukyu Golden Kings in the second quarter, holding them to seven points in the period.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / LEARNING CURVE
Oct 26, 2014

Japan struggles to keep up as China woos international students

Japan's efforts to increase the number of international students coming to its shores are being dwarfed by similar initiatives in neighboring China.

Longform

Sumadori Bar on Shibuya Ward's main Center Gai street targets young customers who prefer low-alcohol drinks or abstain altogether.
Rethinking that second drink: Japan’s Gen Z gets ‘sober curious’